Wardrobe Planning, Color, and New School Year Goals

I've started school! Two years ago, I decided I wanted to return to school to get my Master's degree and become a librarian. I applied to the iSchool at the University of Michigan, but after I was accepted, my partner was offered a post-doctoral position at the University of Illinois. By then, it was too late for me to apply to UofI's library program, so I waited until the next year rolled around. I not only got in; I also got one of the coveted graduate assistantship positions, which is really what enables me to afford out-of-state tuition.

The week before classes started, our house was completely divided. On my side, it was "I'm so excited for classes to start!" and on my partner's side it was pure dread (she's teaching a 750-student class that's half online and half in person, and the amount of work she's putting into it is the equivalent of two or three normal classes).

At any rate, all of this is to say that I've been incredibly busy. Just taking the time to type this out is... well... not exactly the best use of my time. But I miss blogging! And I really miss sewing! I haven't sewn anything since August 28.

In spite of my lack of time right now, I wanted to share some of my thoughts about wardrobe planning with you. Have any of you been following StephC's Conversant in Color series? If you haven't been, you really should. It's inspiring, and it contains a lot of really useful information. My favorite post so far was about buying fabric. Her comments about buying prints are a little controversial, but I have to say that I agree 100%. I've been having the same thoughts about my own wardrobe. When I used to buy RTW clothing, I always purchased solids, but when I buy fabric to make my own clothes, I buy prints. Why?! The items I've made often match nothing else in my closet, or they only match one thing, or I thank God that I made it into a dress so it doesn't have to match much else. Either way, I stand in front of my closet every morning wondering how in the world I'm going to piece together an outfit from what I own.

my scarf collection, around which I intend to base my sewing color palette

I decided to take a page out of Cindy's (from Cation Designs) book and write up a list of goals for the school year, although I'm a little late. Lucky this isn't getting graded!

• Create a cohesive wardrobe of at least 9 interchangeable items (which can include items that already exist in my closet).
• Edit my wardrobe and repair/alter anything that's not working.
• Make a rain jacket - before the spring rains hit!
• Make a blazer or similar jacket (I'm loving the Burdastyle Crossover Blazer).
• Make at least three items from fabric in my stash.
• Make at least three items from patterns in my stash (these can double count with fabric).
• Sew something with a knit.
• Make curtains for the living room.
• Purchase or make jewelery/accessories that accent my wardrobe.
• Invest in a good quality pair of shoes.
• Try sewing bras & undies.

It's a short list, but it kind of has to be. I am a crazy stresscase of a student again, after all!

Perfectionism

One of my biggest problems is perfectionism. I want something to be perfect before I show it to anyone (or even before I allow myself to finish it), which is a problem as a beginning sewer because it means I often don't finish anything. I honestly couldn't tell you how many UFOs I have in my sewing space right now. I've spent around 12 hours on the Colette Jasmine blouse. It's a simple design and should go together beautifully, but my perfectionism means that I was so dissatisfied with the wonky seams on my collar that I ripped the whole thing off and decided to cut new pieces for it and start the collar over again. Erm... Let's be honest here. SWAP is so not happening this year. :) I think it's time for some more modest goals, and possibly time for me to put some effort into letting go of perfect a little bit. Because really. No one would have noticed that collar but me. I'm going to really focus on just finishing the blouse this week, and after it's done, I'm going to go through my UFOS and make them into FOs.

Are there any other procrastinators out there? UFO hoarders? Do you have the same problem I do, with wanting it to be perfect and knowing it won't be, or do you have another problem altogether? Those of you who manage to finish multitudes of garments every year, how do you do it?! Are you speedy sewers? Fearless in the face of failure? Do you have mad time management skills? Please, spill your deepest sewing secrets!

I'm the Tortoise, and a Puppy Picture

I  haven't posted because I've been sewing. And fitting. And sewing. And ripping seams. And sewing some more. And contemplating exactly how a lining goes into a pencil skirt vent. And looking up tutorials. And sewing even more. And trying on what I'd worked on only to find that in spite of hours and hours of fitting and ten muslins, the darts were still in the wrong places and the bodice was too tight. Sad day.

I set down my ages-long project to pick up something a little easier. Right now, I'm working on a denim pencil skirt inspired by the first photo in this post and a new scarf I bought in early December. I'm hoping to finish it tonight and post it tomorrow. *crosses fingers* Even this project has taken me longer than expected. I think I'm just a slow stitcher, and I vastly underestimate the time it takes me to do things. I think I may have to take a more realistic look at my resolutions and modify them into something that's more inspirational than aspirational.

Ah, well. Such is life. Since I haven't provided you with anything fun lately, here's a super cute photo of my babies. Onyx (the black one. And yes, I have had someone ask me why we named him Onyx) is the male and is 2 1/2 years old, and Siri is the female and will be 2 in February, and before you ask, no, I'm not really sure what breeds they are. They're both rescues, and all I can say for sure is that Onyx's mother was a pure bred German shepherd, his father was probably a black lab mix, and they told us that Siri is a chocolate lab mix. Everyone has theories about what she's mixed with. Border collie? Rodesian ridgeback? Who knows? I honestly believe that they are the cutest dogs in the entire world. Ever. I thought I'd post evidence that I am, in fact, a seamstress with dogs and no cats. I feel like I'm a true anomaly in the community. :)

Butterick Sale = More Patterns

So.... I bought some more patterns over the weekend. There was a .99 sale at JoAnn on Butterick patterns, and at the thrift store, I found that Simplicity pattern for .25. It'll be a great basic pattern I can use to base new dresses on.

I think I have a problem. I currently own more patterns than I think I'll be able to sew up in the next five years. Cutting back would be a good idea, but in a way that encourages creativity and productivity. Hmm...

I'm thinking out loud here... I could only buy new patterns (one at a time) if I have an idea for them already (like they're included in my SWAP). Or I can buy a new pattern for every three old patterns I stitch up. Looking through my stash, there are quite a few beautiful vintage patterns that just aren't quite my style or that won't look good on someone as A/pear-shaped as me. I'm thinking a giveaway might be in order. I haven't done one of those yet! Check back next week. I'll have something beautiful for someone. :)

Sunday Night Productivity - Hemming Jeans and Sewing Skirts

I got slightly over an hour to sew last night, and for once I feel like I really made the most of it. I hemmed A's jeans, and it was a bit of an experiment, because I'd never hemmed jeans before, let alone sewn denim! There are a lot of "how to hem jeans" tutorials out there, and they all seem to say pretty much the same thing, but the easiest to follow in my opinion is this one. You're not supposed to take the original hem into account, so I'm a little afraid that the math doesn't quite add up and the jeans will still be too long (by however long the original hem is, so, like, a half inch). We'll see. She's coming home on Thursday, so I can report back after I make her try them on. :) If they do fit, I'll tack up the hem and call it good. Yay! And then I can be a hemming fiend and buy whatever jeans I want and just take them up. It literally took me half an hour, and it was my first time, so I don't see it being a lengthy project ever.

My pink Ginger (version 3) is sitting on my sewing table in a lovely little folded pile of shell, lining, and zipper, just waiting for my invisible zipper foot to arrive. Right next to it is my second Ginger (version 2), which is what I decided to do with that gorgeous heavy navy and white cotton fabric that I posted about last month. It's in a second lovely folded pile of shell, waistband facing, and zipper, again, just waiting for that invisible zipper foot to arrive. The day I get that thing, I'm going to hole up in my sewing room for an hour and finish both skirts, then I'm going to celebrate by taking photos of both of them and posting them and possibly doing a celebratory I'm-not-really-a-total-slacker-and-I-can-finish-things dance. :)

That will make my total items for the Colette Fall Palette Challenge three. Woohoo! Well, after I tear out the wonky hem on my circle skirt and re-hem it. Maybe I'll do that tonight. Unless I get my invisible zipper foot. If that happens, all bets are off!

Glitches and Sewing Productivity (or lack thereof)

So, I've run into a minor glitch. I've gotten the Ginger almost all the way to completion. All it needs is to get the zipper inserted, the top stitched, and the bottom hemmed. I bought an invisible zipper for my pink Ginger skirt, but...I don't have an invisible zipper foot. Definitely a glitch. I just bought one on Amazon, but since Amazon's not the company shipping it, I have no clue when it'll actually get here. What do I do in the meantime? Mmmm.... start another Ginger? Haha. Maybe by the time I get that zipper foot, I'll have two skirts ready for zippers!

I did promise to write about my sewing productivity. Well, I didn't track it super carefully, but I did take note of how I spend my time every day, when I'm not in the office, cooking, or doing chores. I spend most of my time with my dogs, my partner, or my friends. I hula hoop every Thursday for an hour and a half. I also spend a lot of time reading. I sewed for about 5 hours on Sunday, and then one hour on Tuesday and Wednesday, which is a grand total of 7. And did I manage to finish this skirt in those 7 hours, you wonder? Nope. Because I have glitches, and also because I'm slow, and also because I multitask and watch Project Runway, Once Upon a Time, and Pan Am while sewing, which slows me down like crazy. Not a very productive 7 hours!

Hopefully, I'll have something gorgeous to show you next week!

On My Project List

So, my project list just seems to keep growing and growing. Here's what I have on it right now:

Hem A's Renaissance cloak
Finish pink pinstriped Ginger
Sew red wool dress
Shorten vintage seafoam green dress and remove lace
Re-hem circle skirt (the hem is all out of wack, since I apparently didn't hang it long enough before hemming..whoops!) and add pleats
Make pillows for the bland loveseat
Embroider wedding album cover
Bind 2012 calendar for A (annual Christmas gift)
Knit scarf for my sister (told her I'd do this last year)
Knit scarf for my mom (she was admiring the one I made myself)
Cover keyboard base for A (essentially a piece of 1x4 that she'll use to raise the keyboard up to the level of the wristpad)

How many projects do you have in the works, or are you planning on finishing by the new year? How many do you think you'll actually finish? I'm not really sure about myself. Not really sure at all...

Late to the Party: Sewing Productivity Project

 

I am chronically late to the party. Every party, even the parties that aren't actually parties. I just now discovered Tilly and the Buttons' Sewing Productivity Project. How have I missed that? I suppose the how of it is irrelevant, as I intend to participate even though it was clearly ages ago. :)

I'll report back in... well, November 1 seems like a good date. I'll do a Blogtoberfest recap and sewing productivity report all in one. Yay!