Monday, January 6, 2014

Sewing and other goals for the New Year




I finished my first semester back to school three wonderful weeks ago. I thought I would be knee deep back into blogging by now, but I am only just getting started for a number of reasons. I spent the past three weeks moving into my new sewing room, giving my house an in-depth reorganization and cleaning, reading a book I promised my husband six months ago I would get around to and spending as much time as I could snuggling him and our children (the furry kind).

First an update on school, I loved every minute of it. I could write an entire blog post or two about my experiences in going back to school in my thirties, but I am not sure that is of interest to any of you. The short of it is that I will be starting spring semester today with three more classes that I am excited about. I was a little sad that my photography class ended but I'll be doing some lab course work during the upcoming semesters and practicing some of what I learned here on the blog *(though I do need to get some new equipment (mostly a remote so I can take my pictures on my own). You will see some of my work when I show you my new sewing room in a future post.

My goals for the New Year are as follows (non-sewing / craft related):

* find time to eat healthier and excersize more
* continue to get good grades in school and make school a priority in my life
* take on two big home improvement projects (new windows, new insulation, redoing the fire place are some of the things being considered)
* take time to read for fun
* spend time improving my photography



Sewing / craft related goals:

* make time to blog (I would like to average two posts per a week)
* knit a sweater or cardigan
* ensure I am using some of the items that I pin
* make another quilt
* sew 10 new patterns **

I struggled my first semester back to school finding time to balance everything I needed to do with what I wanted to do. I arranged my scheduled a little bit better this time around and also decided that I needed to make a plan and that was easier to accomplish. I wanted to sew so many things last year that I got stuck in the wanting stage and when I did find time to sew I struggled with making the choice of what to sew and what had to wait and by the time I made any meaningful decisions I was out of time or needed to work on a gift for someone. I also ran last minute on nearly everything and I made some great things I wish I had photographed before giving them away.

This year my plan is simple. I am borrowing a little from Lucky Lucille and her 12 pattern plan but tweaking it slightly to fit what I feel I can accomplish. I am going to sew 10 patterns one each month, leaving one month to finish items in WIP and reserving one month for my quilt. Like Rochelle, I can make multiples of an item. I do want to ensure that I have a nice fit before cutting into any expensive fabrics, but since I feel I could end up struggling to complete anything time-wise if I make an actual muslin of anything I am going to settle for using some of the cheaper fabrics in my stash to make what will hopefully be wearable muslins. I am trying to use patterns that are already in my stash for the most part. I am only going to plan for the six months at a time.

No comments:

Post a Comment