2012 Sewing Goals and Dreams

Today is a good day to put my sewing goals for the new year out into the universe.  My personal new year seems to feel more real around the US Labor Day weekend when summer vacations end, school starts and the weather has an early, cool autumn tinge.  But I do love the ancient earth-centered celebrations of the return of the light and longer days, even when I live closer to the equator nowadays.  And today, of course, is the day to honor and remember a most courageous and visionary person, Martin Luther King, who lived his dreams and goals each day.  So here are my humble sewing ambitions for the upcoming year.  As I write them down for the worldwide public, I'm more inclined to be realistic and honest about what I'm willing to take on in 2012.

1.  I'm going to make the time to learn how to use my two mechanical machines.  I have a beautiful Singer Rocketeer in Maryland and a Necchi Supernova here in Florda but I let both of them sit while I sew on my Vikings regularly.  My Quilt Designer One is due to go in to get the bobbin winder repaired and I'd be more willing to drop it off if I knew that I could sit down and start sewing on my mechanical alternative.  But first I have to re-oil and become more familiar with these machines.  This is the year I'm going to do that.

2.  I'm going to focus on sewing extensively from my "resource center" while also re-evaluating fabrics that are there.  Last week I gave  away a collection of lovely, drape-y fabrics that I had intended to sew up as Louise Cutting One Seam pants.  But guess what?  I've made about 8 pairs of those lovely pants, nicely fitting and can count on one hand how often I've worn them.  Since I have a pair of brown, black and navy ones in my closet, I've given away the others and have no need to make more.  Better to sew up fabric as mock ups, sell it or give it away than keep it around for someday.

3.  I'm going to get caught up on my Patternreview reviews.  It's not like the world is breathlessly waiting for me to write down my opinions about a particular pattern....probably a  year or two after it's OOP anyway.  But I do feel a commitment to keep Patternreview stocked with opinions from all levels and ages of experience.  I'm slow at the process and get frustrated sometimes by my picture posting but it's a good discipline for me.

4.  Re-design my blog.  Another computer-related goal and again one that will take me more time than I want to give but I'll be satisfied with the outcome.  After all, Lucky the rescue dog has lived with us for more than year now and he's not even mentioned or pictured in my profile....and that's the world's loss:-)  I've started taking notes about what I like about the design elements of others' blogs.  Some of these things I can probably figure out on my own but other parts may mean I have to hire a blog designer to make my desired changes.  Anyone ever use a blog designer?  Any advice?

By now you're wondering what about sewing goals, Jane?  Ok, here are the few commitments I'm willing to make.

5.  Pants.  Yup, I'm going to work on some pants patterns this year.  I don't need trousers but casual jeans like pants and exercise pants.  I can usually buy RTW that's good enough but I'm willing to give pants a go this year and see what I can come up with.  

Lafayette 148

6.  A dressy blouse project.  I don't wear woven shirts very frequently, mostly knits or jackets and sleeveless shells.  But I do own a few upscale blouses that I enjoy wearing and I'd like to get a pattern tweaked for a similar look.  

7.  Home Dec.  I have a large project to work on here in Florida....a comforter with piping, pillow shams and bedskirt.  I'm finally agreeing to get this off my mental to do list.  It's a lot of fabric to manage, lots of measuring and committing to the final design picture ....but it needs to be done so I can cross it off that list. 

I'm working on different projects for the next two weeks but I'm glad that I've put these down on paper today.  Thanks to you, my dear readers, I'm more likely to tackle these goals and share my experiences. Here's to a good year ahead for all of us.