Saturday, January 1, 2011

2010 in Review and Goals for 2011

2010 has been a great year for us!  Personally, our family has done well, we've remained gainfully employed, matched to a great fellowship program for 2011 and added a sweet little boy to our family to cap the year off.  Sewing-wise, I feel like I've had a pretty good year as well.  I've been pretty productive, learned a few new things and accomplished some of my goals.  I also begun my Self-Imposed Sewing Club, and have sewn 2 of the 12 garments.

Over the year, I made 162 items, 142 of which were sewn and 20 were knit.  52 of those were for me, 19 for Mitch, 20 for Logan, 35 for Myra, 15 for Duncan and 18 were gifted.
I sewed mostly from Simplicity patterns (28), 20 Ottobre, 14 New Looks, 11 burda, 9 each McCalls and Butterick, 5 Vogues and 28 "others".
I sewed 53 tops, 40 pants, 9 skirts, 16 dresses, 9 accessories, 4 jackets and 9 PJs.

My goals for 2010 were:
1) Sew from burda style - at least one garment per month.
- I didn't quite manage this one.  I did sew 10 items from burdastyle, but from only 7 patterns.  I do have a few already traced and started to tackle in the new year!

2) Make a tailored jacket using classical tailoring techniques.  This is probably going to be a year long project, since step one is LEARN classical tailoring techniques!

- I didn't do this one, mostly because I didn't see the point in attempting a hand tailored jacket during the pregnancy, but this one is back on the books for 2011!

3) Learn or practice a new technique in a sewn garment every month.  

- I didn't do this every month, but I feel like I did seek out and learn a lot of new things this year, which was what the spirit of this goal was about.

4) Sew outfits rather than orphan pieces, including for the kids.

- I definitely fell off of this wagon!  I'll be trying again for 2011, but I think with a more "Endless Combinations" approach.

5) Sew more than half of my projects each month from stash fabric and patterns.

- I lost my spreadsheet when the computer crashed a couple of months ago, so I'm not sure that I achieved this one.  Again, the spirit of this was to attempt to cull down the stash, but I'm afraid that it has grown significantly this year. 

6) Participate in a contest at PR

- I did this, but found that I didn't really enjoy sewing under the gun.  I think that for the future, if a contest grabs me and motivates me then great, but I'm not going to make a formal goal.

7) Keep better track of the garments that I create throughout to year.

- I was doing well with this until the computer crashed and all my data was lost!  I'm going to pick it back up though for 2011.  I really like knowing what I'm sewing!

8) Make an LBD.

- I didn't do this, mostly because I already own a black maternity dress and didn't want to sew another.  We'll be revisiting this for 2011!

9) Knit an actual garment(ie, not a scarf) that requires shaping.

- I've done this several times over!!  I'm really enjoying knitting and have already made hats, scarves, mitts, and even several sweaters, although only one for me.  I have tons of knitterly ideas for the upcoming year.  I'll show you the fun ones, or you can follow along with me on Ravelry.

For 2011, I'm not sure I'm really ready to make too many hard and fast goals.  My sewing time is still pretty spotty and revolves around a newborn's sleep schedule.  I know that will change as the year wears on though, and I do want to have some focus to my sewing.  One thing I plan to revisit is the spreadsheet for keeping track of the yardage and garments that I sew.  I also plan to continue on with the goal of making a tailored jacket.  There are several contenders in my SISC grouping.  I am also planning to continue with the SISC sewing, but without a rigid timeline.  As I finish one, I'll choose another to work on, all the while working around the needs of my family and the things that spark my interest.  I want to keep things fluid and fun.  At the same time, I am interested in creating useful pieces that will expand my wardrobe and fulfill needs for my kids.

In the coming few weeks, there are a couple of projects that I need to complete, and a few that I really want to work on.  I already have a couple of knit tops cut out to whip up on the serger.  I really want to play around with what she can do!  My current SISC project, the Vogue 8603 skirt hasn't even been traced, so that is high up on my list.
Logan needs some church appropriate pants, and I have some cozy navy flannel backed twill that will be perfect for the rest of winter, as well as some green cords of Mitch's that need refashioning.
There also might be some hot pink cotton jacquard that will become a ruffly dress for my favorite princess.
I'm sure I'll find lots of fun things to sew and share in between!

For my own personal use, I'm tacking this at the end.  It is the linked list to each item I completed in 2010.  I'll start a new one for 2011 on the right sidebar of the blog.


January
Kwik Sew 2881 bike shorts (M)
Simplicity 3765 pant X2 (G)
Simplicity 4378 top and pant (M)
Lekaka 5674 top (K) - wadder!
KS 3570 fleece top (M)
KS 2881 bike shorts (M)
A bag for blocks (L/My)
Sew Chic 7401 dress (K)
February
Ottobre 01/2009-21 fleece pant (L)
Jalie 2787 top (K)
Ottobre 01/2009-21 Valentine pant (L)
McCall's 3830 skirt (K)
Kitschy Coo mittens (My)
New Look 6575 dress (My)
McCall's 6024 dress (K)
Jalie 2805 turtleneck (K)
March
Vogue 8598 blouse (K)
New Look 6638 PJs (My)
DIY skirt (K)
RTW copy tee (K)
McCall's 5142 jeans (K)
Vogue 8157 capris (K)
New Look 6641 shorts (L)
Self-drafted skirt (K)
Kwik Sew 2881 bike shorts (M)
April
New Look 6932 PJs (My)
Little Mermaid pillow (My)
Vintage Simplicity 2823 dress and bloomers (My)
Helicopter pillow (L)
Butterick 5042 skirt (K)
Simplicity 4023 shorts (My)
Kitschy Coo Smocky Top (My)
Simplicity 4378 scrubs (M)
Vogue 8649 top (K)
Kitschy Coo Smocky Top (My)
Simplicity 4023 shorts (My)
DIY tee (K)
Ottobre 03/2008-2 Puffis tee (My)
BWOF 02/2009-125 blouse (K)
May
Simplicity 2609 skirt (K)
Butterick 5284 blouse (K)
Kwik Sew 2881 top (M)
Jalie 2794 top (G)
Kwik Sew 2881 shorts (M)
June
Simplicity 2520 skirt (K)
Sew Chic 9005 dress (K)
Kwik Sew 2881 shorts x2 (M)
McCall's 5560 dress (My)
Butterick 4222 PJ top (L)
New Look 6638 PJs (My)
New Look 6932 PJs (My)
July
New Look 6816 pants (K)
August
Simplicity 2907 dress (My)
Simplicity 5695 dress (My)
New Look 6816 pants (K)
Simplicity 2563 dress (My)
September
Kitschy Coo Reversible Hoodie (My)
New Look 6816 pants (K)
DIY maternity pants (K)
Little Red cape (My)
Vintage Simplicity 9446 maternity top (K)
Vogue 8322 blouse (K)
Baby Sophisticate cardigan (D)
Butterick 4054 dress and pinafore (My)
McCalls 5500 tunic (L)
Burda 9671 pants (L)
October
Knitting needle bag (K)
Coronet hat (My)
Edelweiss neckwarmer (K)
McCall's 6141 dress (K)
McCall's 4530 tunic (M)
Simplicity 4378 pant (M)
Kitschy Coo Reversible Hoodie (L)
Ribbed Watchman's Hat x2 (M & L)
Child's Play crown (My)
Little Boy Blue baby hat (D)
Baby Mitts (D)
Simplicity 4378 top & pant (M)
Simplicity 3765 corduroy pant (D)
burda style 09/2010-121 top (K)
Simplicity 3765 fleece pant (D)
November
Joyful cloche (G)
Butterick 4910 dress (My)
Baby Mitts (D&G)
Simplicity 2561 belt (My)
Simplicity 3765 pants (G)
Simplicity 2526 pants (My)
Firefly sweater (My)
Kwik Sew 3570 shirt x2 (G)
Ottobre 03/2010-6&7 outfit (G)
Just Enough Ruffles (G)
Vogue 1099 jacket (K)
Simplicity 2290 PJ pants (L)
December
Ottobre 06/2010-13 jumpsuit (My)
Fleece blankets x2 (L&My)
Butterick 6567 apron (G)
Ottobre 03/2004-19 shirt x2 (L)
Ottobre 06/2010-5 sleeper (D)
Simplicity 3765 pants (D)
Simplicity 2603 cardi (K)

19 comments:

wendy said...

Happy new year!!

Beangirl said...

good. grief. you make my head spin.

word verification? "impoti" this is how I feel when I see how much you've sewn this year... impoti.

;-)

Happy New Year!!!

SEWN said...

Wow, you are one of the most productive sewists I know in the online sense. I am so impressed! And with kids! I have no idea how you do it.

Kudos!

Happy new year!!!

Heather said...

I think it's neat to see how busy you got in the months right before the baby! Nesting! I'm in total awe of you, Katie. You are the Sewing Queen! I myself have done really well with sewing only stash patterns and fabric. It's a good feeling!

Pam said...

Katie - YOU ARE SO PRODUCTIVE!! That is fantastic! I can't wait to see your Vogue skirt! Happy New Year!

Shannon said...

You had an all around excellent 2010!

Happy New Year and onward into 2011...

Beth said...

Impressive in every sense! Amazing talent. I'm so glad you were willing to share parts of it with me.

(The most amazing part to me is how much you get done while pregnant. I just want to curl up on my couch for 9 months. Great job!)

Sandi said...

Great job - I also fell off the documenting wagon about 225 projects into 2010, but I'm also resolving to do better with that this year. I definitely gives you a sense of accomplishment.

Sascha said...

I'm starting to fear that you are not human... or that there are actually three of you. Yeah, that's it! You are actually a triplet.

Amy said...

You are simply amazing! What an incredible list of projects. Happy new year!

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

Okay I didnt get past the number of items you made this year! Oh my did you have a productive year!!!

Julia said...

You have been a very busy lady this past year! I pray that your family has a Happy, Healthy, Safe 2011!

NuJoi said...

Did you sleep at all last year? Your list is huge! Congrats! Happy New Year!

Susan said...

Happy New Year! I can't believe how productive you were! Here's to a great 2011, especially while enjoying your new addition.

Big in Japan said...

WoW! That's a lotta stitching! And more to come in 2011.... cheers!

Eugenia said...

Wow - I am so impressed with your extraordinary productivity. Congratulations on a wonderful sewing year. A very happy New Year to you.

Joy said...

I've been waiting for your stats, since I figured you'd made more than I did (:

I document everything I make in an excel worksheet - it's really handy to be able to look back on the pattern number, sizing, or adjustments I made.

DNAgallows said...

Congratulations! You are so talented. I love how you "tailor" to your family's needs, create from what you have and seek to learn more! Way to go! I look forward to your 2011 creations...and watching those other three creations grow.

amber said...

Your quantity and quality of production is seriously impressive! Here's to a fabulous 2011!