Monday 30 January 2017

2016 - my year in sewing

A bit late I know but I wanted to get this post in before the end of January. More than ever now sewing is a form of therapy, relaxation and escape - I plan to get more actively involved in politics and protest this year but I also crave and highly value my sewing time as time to get away from it all and create!
So this is a quick summary of what I made last year, with some photos, and I'm sure some omissions.  I was really surprised by how many garments I made in 2016, in addition to quilts and other presents.  There are some blogs I follow where people sew 12 garments in a month or two but for me 12 in a year is quite a lot, especially now that quilting is taking up more and more of my spare time.  Given that I wear and love them all I'm very happy with how much I made in 2016.
clockwise from top left: Purple Brumby, Pink wool A-line skirt from Sewing Bee Fashion with Fabric book, Blue & beige Brumby skirt, Pink Brumby skirt

Clothes for me:
Pink wool skirt
Pink raglan sweater
Geometric raglan sweater
Green plantain dress
Pink Brumby skirt
Inari tee dress
Bright pink Burda Pleated Shorts 02/2013 #129
Pale pink Burda Pleated Shorts 02/2013 #129
Purple Brumby skirt
Pale blue & beige striped Brumby skirt
Marilla Walker Maya top - unblogged but you can see it here. I really should blog this as I love it!

Clockwise from top left: Bright pink Burda shorts, pale pink Burda shorts, Pink raglan sweater, Geometric raglan sweater
So for me 4x skirts, 2x shorts, 2x sweater, 2x dress, 1x top, 1x cardigan -  12 garments made using 8 patterns


From left to right: Inari dress; Jalie drop pocket cardigan, worn with Marilla Walker Maya top & purple Brumby; Green plantain tee dress
Clothes for others:
African wax fabric shorts from Fashion with Fabric Great British Sewing Bee book for Oliver (never blogged - my first time doing a zip fly front, which worked well. Unfortunately they were too big)
Purl Soho baby pants (gift)
2 x pattern no.10 from Ottobre magazine 1/2013 - navy/white striped & pink with blue/white stripes (pink one didn't work, neckline too big - need to alter)
2x skinny flashback tee
Geometric raglan sweater
Gifts:
Book bags 3 unblogged & 4 blogged (well they will be by the time I post this)
3 x Totoro soft toys
Quilts: 5 baby quilts of varying sizes


Two of my Totoro's.
Quilts





So the key question, how successful have my makes been?! Well none of the items I've made for me have been duds and I wear them all. The majority of what I made is more Spring/summer wear but the pink wool skirt gets a LOT of wear at the moment. I lined it so it's nice and warm for this cold weather. Likewise both my raglan sweaters have been getting a lot of wear in the colder weather.  I wore my Inari dress on New years eve with tights but generally prefer it in warmer weather without tights as it's quite thin so not the warmest dress.  The shorts for my husband were a dud, as was one of the t-shirts I made for my son.  Both of these are fixable though, if I ever get round to it!


Looking at all these makes I can't wait to get into some warmer weather again and start wearing my Brumby skirts, and make some more!  I really enjoyed reading everyone's round-ups from last year, hopefully this isn't too late to be of enjoyment to others.

14 comments:

  1. Never too late for a round-up -- I love reading them whenever they appear :-) I love how colorful your self-stitched wardrobe is. All beautiful colors, too! I feel energized just looking at the clothes, but maybe I should step away from the grays and blacks for a bit myself, hmmm...

    And the quilts are just stunning, Kathryn.

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    1. Thank you! My summer wardrobe is definitely more colorful than my winter but hopefully I can sort that out too! Thanks for the compliment on the quilts too, I'm so enjoying my new creative outlet.

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  2. You had some fantastic makes in 2016. Here's to creativity and moving forward with positive energy for 2017!

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    1. Thanks Caroline! Yes definitely more space all round for positive energy!

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  3. All the Brumbies!! What a great year for you. I think it's great that you made so many successes too. Nothing worse than wasted craft time! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Ha that would have been a good post title, 'the year of the Brumby' Thanks Helen. I guess part of the reason I had so many successes is because I'm not very adventurous & tend to sew the same patterns over & over. But when craft time is limited in happy to make things I know will bring me joy to wear. Though I would like to challenge myself with making trousers, a shirt & a coat in 2017! You've had a brilliant sewing year too!

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  4. Never too late! You had quite a productive year. Glad to hear that most of your makes are getting a lot of wear.

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    1. Thanks Claire! It is satisfying to make things that get worn so much, and bring me joy to wear! I would love to learn to knit my own socks like you do!

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  5. I like round ups, you have made so much. All those amazing quilts, I particularly liked the triangle one, so modern and fresh. Fabulous outfits and toys too. Well done

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    1. Thanks Louise! Yes looking back at that triangle quilt I'd really like to make another one like this sometime.

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  6. You've been busy and made loads, the fact all the clothes you've made for yourself and wearable and being worn is a total win.

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    1. Yes I've had a pretty good run this year which is very satisfying! Fingers crossed 2017 sewing is as successful!

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  7. it's never too late for a roundup! you've made some really cute things for yourself and it's clear they are all perfectly suited to your lovely style

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