Sewing Onward! Hooray!

This is the time when many bloggers regale you with tales of how many yards of their fabric stash they have sewn up over the past year. They may tell you how many patterns they have sewn or even purchased. The numbers  of tops and skirts and pants tumble forward as they recall their efforts for 2020.  Some of those efforts are downright amazing given what 2020 has dealt us. And, some sewists can tell you the THOUSANDS of masks they have sewn and the lives they have touched as we have all experienced this pandemic. My sewing friend and fabulous bagmaker Jill Goldsmith can. She went from making hundreds of masks for those who needed them to fulfilling the needs of hospitals and nursing homes to setting up workrooms throughout Florida.  When PPE was at a premium in those early months Jill provided  PPE for our precious health care workers as prescribed by the professional health care community. She organized  an army in  Florida working to provide what was needed in hospitals and nursing homes. Anyone who knows her knows Jill is a force to be reckoned with. She can make a mask. She can make a beautiful bag. She can get masks of high quality out to thousands of professionals and organize an army to help her do that. Jill is amazing and I am so proud to know her. She is a very good friend of my daughters. Jill is now recuperating from surgery on her hands. Any wonder? Need I say more about this angel? These are some of the people that sewing has brought to the fore in 2020, angels like Jill Goldsmith.

 I made masks for friends and family as they needed them. Mask making was hard.  I found my isolation and disconnect very difficult. I  missed milestones planned and dreamed of for years hard to handle. I had many days of tears coming and going, sleepless nights and anxiety over this pandemic that were further fueled by political unrest and division.  I am not like my friend for various reasons. Wish I was. But I powered through and sewing was my comfort. Letting it be my comfort gets  and got me through. I am so thankful for that. I have several good friends, met over the years of blogging and sewing that were in the same place as I was. We helped each other through. It was good to know I was not alone. I am in a better place now. 2020 is behind. I am learning about and practicing mindfulness. I like it. I see light at the end of this tunnel but am in the moment and my husband and I are so enjoying each moment as we are blessed with them. So you will get no garment counts here or yards removed from my available resources. Instead will share just a handful of things that I am particularly proud of. 

I share garments that were challenging to make, that I felt I mastered for whatever reason and that I have worn a lot. They are not hanging in my closet as monuments to my sewing skills. These are the things I have made and really enjoyed wearing. 

I could not wear these flow-y rayon cullottes enough.

My cropped linen top ended up being a VERY practical garment and a lot of fun to wear. 

This vest, has become exactly what I wanted it to be, a cuddly, warm throw on. Love this!

Some new things I tried in 2020:

Keep in mind, I've been sewing decades, but I am always learning and discovering new things in sewing. I try to keep my mind open to them all. 

* Linda Lee of Sewing Workshop showed me on one of her FB videos how to use poly mesh as a lining for flow-y sheer fabrics. Works great! I talk about that here. 

* I made a couple of tanks with shelf bras. I have since learned a better way to make them and will use that new technique next time I do a tank top. Thank you, Whitney of Tom Kat Stitchery. 

* Made myself my own underwear as in in nice, pretty undies. I am very proud of those. They are so comfy and so much easier to make than I thought. Thank you Megan Nielsen for your free pattern. Fit me perfectly and I love the style.

* I started using 100% cotton thread for all my wovens and keeping the poly thread for my knits. I fought this for years but Linda Lee convinced me and I decided to experiment. I was not impressed but with the current construction of a white shirt I get it. My topstitching and seams do not have the slightest pucker to them, something inherent to poly threads. Poly threads have a bit of stretch that happens as they are wound on their spools and perfectly flat stitching can sometimes be the sacrifice. For now I will continue with this new lesson learned. I really see the difference on my  white shirt.

Some minor sewing accomplishments in 2020:

* I began searching out and making clothing with elastic waists. This is more  about wearing what is comfortable than anything else. So far, so good. Linda Lee's patterns have great elastic waist designs.

* I'm discovered new designers in and out of the Big Four. I LOVE Mimi G's patterns. They have details that are so well executed and that are so lacking in 95% of patterns out there. I am sitting on pins and needles right now waiting for one of her OOP designs that is stuck in the mail. Can't wait to get my hands on it.  I've also returned to Sewing Workshop designs and really like the Picasso pants that I have made two of already. She has a unique viewpoint to her construction methods and I like it.  

* I made my first pair of real pleated, full legged trousers in years and I absolutely love them. There will be more. So comfy and feminine. 

* I've gotten quite utilitarian and resource conscious as I sewed through my queue and then had no where to wear all my pretty clothes. I've made undies, aprons, scarves from leftovers, tank tops from leftovers, pants slips. Is this the equivalent of killing time with sewing? I sure hope not. I really like to be thrifty and mindful of the resources I have and I hate waste. I guess these items are also palate cleansers of a sort. 

* Inspired by Peggy Sagers, I tried some of her brilliant cut and sew ideas for wraps and mini ponchos. I love that she shows how these are actual knockoffs of very big ticket designer items. It was a lot of fun making these projects and so easy. 

* I read the entire manual on my newest serger during lockdown. Uh, seems I should have done that a long time ago. I learned a lot. Yes, this was an accomplishment.

And now 2021 awaits!!!

It will be better. I know it will. I have plans.

* My husband and I are building an extension table for my Pfaff. I priced them and it is no financial issue to buy one but I am sorry I am not paying those ridiculous prices! I did a lot of research, we both hit Lowe's and tomorrow we hope to put it all together. Yay! I'll have a detailed blogpost coming on that. 

* I hope to add variety to my creative endeavors in 2021 beyond sewing. I really would like to get into free motion quilting but on art pieces, not quilts. Think landscapes, portraits, still lifes, etc. That is why I want the table!

* I would like to be more coordinated about my clothing. We will see how far that gets. 

* I REALLY want to get into Visible Mending. I have been researching and practicing and it intrigues me intensely. I am waiting for some waste canvas to arrive to help me with that process. Our local shop is without as is Joann's. I can't wait to play with a couple of sweaters I have. It just fascinates me and some of it is so very artistic. High priority on this one. 

* Make lots more undies! Just too much fun. 

* At the moment I have no big clothing goals other than the White Shirt I am working on right now that I need badly. I would like to make some cool sweat shirts but I just can't find the right fabric yet. I'm getting closer. With no big clothing goals and no big events on the horizon and a closet full of casual clothes I need to expand my creativity into other areas. I will. I think that will be a wonderful journey of discovery. I will like that. 

May you all put the old year behind and be blessed with a fabulous, healthy, and creative New Year!!! Love you all!!!...........Bunny