2 Year Blog Anniversary! A brand new blog & Project roundup
Today is the day that marks the 2nd anniversary of my blog! In order to celebrate, I've been working behind the scenes to give my blog a much needed make-over and upgrade. How do you like the new fancy schmancy design huh?! I still need to design a new banner and make a few tweaks, but so far I'm pretty pleased. I now have some handy buttons on the top that will help you find the type of content you're looking for.
Just like last year I wanted to look back at the past blogging year by doing a project round-up. First, let's take a look at the goal I set for myself last year: (Or wait - maybe not, 'cause it's slightly embarrassing)
"By May 10th, 2015 I will try to have finished 24 (sewn) garments. So that's 2 garments a month. I think that should be doable!"Ha! Nope. I started off really well, sewing some 6 items in 3 months, exactly according to my goal. But it was then that I fell into a sewing slump, which was partially due to the fact that I started to realize that I was never going to be able to keep this up with my jobless budget. I was pushing way too much towards quantity over quality. I started getting majorly frustrated with the limited quality fabric choices in my budget and ended up hardly sewing at all since last August. Now y'all know I've finally had a job since February and I am happy to say that I am finally sewing again thanks to my much increased budget.
It's thanks to my steady knitting that I have still been able to add a few handmade items to my wardrobe. Let's look at the Hits first, and the Misses/UFO's later.
May 2014
Simplicity 3364 - 1940s gathered palazzo pants
Simplicity 3688 - reproduction 1940s slacks
June 2014
Simplicity 3364 - blouse (with a waistband hack)
Advance 2943 - hooded 1940s blouse
July 2014
Simplicity 3884 - 1940s dirndl skirt with pockets.
I've actually never shared this project on the blog, and yet it is one of my most successful sews! The fabric I used for this project is a very lightweight poly cotton and works extremely well for the warmest of summer days. I've worn it tons last summer and actually got multiple compliments of strangers on the street!
November/December 2014
In Vintage Tone - 1940s jumper
January 2015
Smart Jumper in Diamond Weave - 1940s jumper
February 2015
Elinor - 1940s lace jumper
March 2015
The Jan Sweater - reproduced 1930s jumper
April 2015
Your Victory Jumper - 1945 jumper to celebrate the end of WWII
Misses & UFOs
Simplicity 3884 - blouse
As you can see on the picture, the fit of this blouse is just all sorts of wrong. Actually, I think this is mostly a fabric problem rather than a fit problem. It seems that this blouse will simply only work with an extremely drapey fabric. Despite the way it looks in the picture the fabric I used was already quite soft and drapey but it still gets pushed into awkward shapes. I'm planning to redo it with some soft jersey.
Sun-Glo Tailored Chic - 1940s knitted dress
This one took me about 4 months of knitting, only to discover that it was going to be too big. I still haven't found the motivation to cut & sew to make it fit, and honestly - I doubt if I ever will finish it. I definitely still love the pattern but I think I will redo it sometime in the future when I have a knitting machine (which I hope to have next year).
Butterick 5281 - Reproduction 1940s dress.
I started this one in November and still haven't finished it. All I have left to do is hem the lining and add a closure to the sleeves and neckline, yet I still haven't found the motivation to finish it! (Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the uncompleted dress that I can share at the moment.)
Right, so that's everything I made (or attempted to make) in the past year! I'm not going to set a goal again for myself this year, let's just fully get back in the sewing game first. I do have a treat for you guys - to celebrate my blog's anniversary I will be sharing a few lovely vintage knitting patterns in the coming days, so stay tuned!
Lots of love,
Wow, mooi overzicht hoor! Je hebt best veel gemaakt, vooral gebreid!
ReplyDeleteJa ik heb mezelf wel echt gevonden in breien, ik denk dat ik het nog leuker vind dan naaien!
Deleteall your makes are in my favourite colours, its a pity the knitted dress will be too big as the the shaping is divine. and glad you posted the simplicity 3688 as i have the pattern on my to-do and dithering over starting it...... i adore those wide leg palazzo pants - what are they like to wear?
ReplyDeleteThey are very comfortable to wear and perfect for a very summer day. The only downside is that stairs and escalators are tricky and if there is a heavy wind outside the legs tend to wrap around you making it a bit hard to walk, lol!
DeleteI love the new design! It looks lovely!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite sewn item that you made from last year are your palazzo pants and your trousers. They are both just so perfect! And of course I love all of the sweaters that you made.
Brigid
the Middle Sister and Singer
Thank you Brigid! :)
DeleteYou have made some beautiful items over the past year, lovely to look at them all.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for blog anniversary! Gosh! You have made beautiful pieces, you have magic hands :-)
ReplyDeleteBeta xx