Happy New Year

My end of 2012 delight has been to finally sit down for an hour or two and read through postings on my blogroll.  The holidays at our house this year were rather subdued since we are in the midst of a construction project that resulted in half the furniture put into the other half of the condo while new floors were installed in two rooms.  The delay right now is that the remaining edge molding has been caught up in shipping, what with two holidays in the midst of each week.  So our at home time has been jumbled and unsettling.  We have enjoyed  lovely times with friends, however, and just have to let go of our expectations for construction timeframes.  So it's been nice this morning to catch up on reading about holidays around the world among the sewing bloggers I so enjoy.  Whether it's warm weather in Hawaii, Australia or my own Florida or the chills of Canada, Europe and the stormy cities of the northern US, I do enjoy seeing the various ways humans celebrate and gather in community.
Despite our ramshackle living, I did get to some sewing while the construction was going on but not much exciting to post.  One of the results of an enormous amount of anxiety that has plagued me the last five months has been that I've unexpectedly lost about eight pounds.  (Trust me, for a foodie like me that's rather unusual and not a system I would ever recommend.) It's not much on someone tall like me but enough that my jeans with lycra could use some altering.  So my mindless work has been to rip out about five pairs of jean seams and remake them into a smaller size and even turn a few into narrow legged versions, making me feel a little more fashionable.  
However, you did not come here to read about renovations or tedious jean altering so I do have a new favorite knit cardigan pattern to share and a new year sewing project round up.

Here's McCalls 6444.  

McCalls 6444

I stitched it up in some orange poly knit that has been hanging in my stash for years, ever since Hancock's closed here in SWFL.  I tried a few other knit tops from similar fabrics but hated how hot and clammy they felt on me.  An open cardigan is the perfect use for this fabric, however, since it doesn't cling to me if the humidity rises.  

There are two more versions already cut out and stashed away for my "sewing while house selling" time starting sometime in February.  Only three pattern pieces means it's an easy project to start and finish in one sitting. I didn't even bother with a FBA and it seems just fine to me.

And now, for my own record keeping and enjoyment, here's my sewing tally for 2012:  15 tops, 12 skirts, 9 dresses, 5 pillows, 4 booties, 3 pants, 3 jackets, 3 cardigans, 1 nightgown, 1 quilt.   I"ll review my goals and thoughts on the sewing year at another time but it was encouraging to look back at my previous posts and feel a sense of accomplishment that otherwise is escaping me at the moment.  
And also for my own record keeping, here's the jumble of our lives for the last 12 days:

Living room piled with kitchen and family room stuff

Guest room filled with sewing room furniture and all the closet stuff

old floor removed

Former cutting table on its way to oblivion....but still in use until then!

Can you believe it....seven dry wall holes just to rewire one hallway in order to restore phone service to all the rooms in our condo.

Tonight we'll be taking a picnic for sunset at the beach followed by fireworks at 7:30.....yup, living in SWFL means that even New Years is an "early bird special."  Tomorrow I'll head out for some retail therapy at the wonderful annual Dillards sale, a department store that we don't have up north in the Baltimore area.  Since I anticipate that this will be our last Florida winter, I'm looking for boots and warm weather clothes for the upcoming year.  No matter where I am this year or next, however, I get to enjoy some wonderful friends, some great family and the happiness of sharing a passion with like-minded people around the world.  Happy New Year to all of you.