A review of 2009

Here are my goals for 2009, written on this day last year. Let's see if I met them.

1. Participate in at least one Patternreview.com sewing contest.
Well, despite my best efforts to do this, I did not achieve this goal. I'm carrying this through to 2010.

2. Make more day-to-day wear.
Yes, I did do that. I'd say about 80% of what I made was casual.

3. Learn how to sew a nice pair of pants.
Yes, I did this as well. I made a pair of capris and a pair of pants, both from the same pattern. I want to make even more pants in 2010, perhaps trying some from my Burda subscription.

4. Make more casual dresses.
Hmmm... Out of the 11 dresses I made this year, 6 of them were either casual (meaning unlined) or knit. I tried to make at least 3 more that turned out to be wadders, 2 of which were salvaged into other garments. So I'm not sure if I met this goal or not. I'll be carrying this one through to 2010 as well.

5. Make at least one of the coats I planned for 2008/2009 winter.
Nope, did not do this. And really, most of what's in my stash are jackets, not coats. I think there's only one coat pattern waiting with fabric bought.

6. Continue learning/perfecting my knitting skills. Complete at least one knitted garment every two months.
I did continue learning new knitting techniques and skills, but did not produce 6 garments this year. Only 4. However, I love each and every piece I made. I don't like to move onto another project until I'm done with the current one, and I got stuck on an ugly white monster of a sweater from February to June.

Okay, so here's what was made:
Dresses - 11
Jackets - 5
Skirts - 12
Tops - 14
Pants - 2
Vests - 1

That's a total of 45 garments! Which was very surprising to me when I added everything up. It really doesn't seem like that many items when each thing takes around a week and some turn out to be wadders.

Now, here's what I'd like to accomplish for 2010:

1. Enter at least 1 contest at Patternreview.com.

2. Make at least one jacket each month. I love to wear jackets and even to sew jackets, but often decide to make other projects instead. Which is why I have so many of them waiting in my drawers.

3. Make more knit/casual dresses.

4. Make more pants.

5. Continue learning new knitting techniques. I'm not setting a number goal for myself this next year. I like to knit on car trips and while I'm sitting with my son doing school, so I always have something going. Perhaps it will be a surprise at the end of the year to see how many FO I've completed.

Finally, I want to thank each and every person who has left a comment. I don't always get back to thank everyone, but I really do appreciate it. Have a very Happy New Year!!!

January BWOF picks

I am mostly very uninspired by this new Burda. I like fitted garments with interesting details. These designs are mostly unfitted and simple. They aren't super ugly or unflattering, just not my style.

The line drawing for dress 109 doesn't really show you how pretty and flowing it can be, so I'm posting the magazine picture instead. I like the front tucks/button closure, skirt pleats and long sleeves. I'm not too hot for the big double pleats in the back, and would change them to match the ones in the front. Getting the right fabric would be the key.

I also sorta like this blouse, 113A. It's suppose to be made from rayon crepe (whatever that is) and stretch jersey. I like the inset front panel and drawstring waist.
But really, I'm not chomping at the bit to make either. Hopefully next month's magazine will have some fitted and detailed designs. How about you? Have any favorites from this new magazine?

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We certainly had a good time opening presents and visiting with loads of family. However, I am relieved it's over. Now I can get back to regular life and not have so many deadlines to meet nor things to remember.

I am currently buried under a pile of mending/updating. Why does everything seem to need attention at the same time? I should have something new to show you next weekend and a yearly wrap-up later this week. Have a fabulous Sunday!

Vogue 8593 - Black knit dress w/ large pink flowers

My collection of winter dresses is extremely small. Of the 5 (!) I own, only 3 currently fit. The only one with long sleeves is my black funeral dress; the other 2 have 3/4 sleeves. Last week after a wardrobe malfunction on Sunday that resulted in my making the entire family extremely late for church, I decided I needed some new dresses. With long sleeves.

I have very average length arms. Since sleeve length has never been an issue with patterns, I didn't think to measure before I cut out the sleeves. They ended up falling right above the wrist bone, and the slightest movement resulted in high-water sleeves. So I cut them shorter, and now have yet another dress with 3/4 sleeves.

This fabric is a matte jersey purchased from Denverfabrics.com several months ago. (They currently still have some if anyone's interested.) I loved the large pink flowers, but had a hard time coming up with a pattern that was simple enough. This pattern does have a CB seam, and back darts that run all the way to the hemline. After playing around with the pattern pieces for awhile, I think I found a pleasing layout. You can hardly see the seams in the back.

Not being a huge fan of zippers in knit dresses, my first thought was to eliminate it. However, this dress has a somewhat small neckline, and there was no way I was fitting my huge melon through it. I opted for a short 8" invisible zipper to get an opening big enough.

Here's what drew me to this pattern - the neat pleated neckline:

Since I used such a short zipper, I knew the body of this dress would have to stretch over my shoulders to be put on. An invisible hem would have surely ripped out, so I opted for a double-needle stretchable hem. Not wanting a black seam on pink flowers or a pink seam on black background, I used both colors to sew the hem. It disappears at the bottom, exactly how I wanted.

I know there are lots of people that don't like facings in knits, but on this dress I think it's necessary to hold the pleats in place. I trimmed mine with black bias tape for a smooth finish. I also used bias tape to finish off the armhole exposed seam, and french seams at the shoulders and sides.

The back seam was covered with bias tape and pressed open, since it carries the zipper.

I'm off to clean my house from top to bottom. This is my 5th year to host Christmas and I love it! I did my big grocery shop yesterday and only have a few presents still to wrap. There is a jacket that I revamped and would like to show you, but haven't gotten any pictures in it yet. In case I don't get to post again until after Friday, Merry CHRISTmas to you all!!!