Year in Review: 2014

I predicted earlier this year that 2014 was going to be a busy year, but I had no idea just how right I was going to be.

Perhaps every year is busy and formative and life changing, but we never stop to think about it and examine what happened (or at least I don't) so we just move on, thinking that another year flew past us. And really, this year completely flew by. Before I get in to some of the crazy ups and downs, let's start by addressing the goals I set for myself at the beginning of this year:

Circle Skirt and Gray Wrap Top

Sewing Less. I definitely achieved this. I sewed a lot less than normal, but I am SO pleased with the results. I think my finished products are much higher quality than they would have been if I was just zipping through them. While I want to sew more next year, I'm pleased with how my garments turned out, and I like the whole going slow movement.

My cape!

Mend and Refashion. I think I mended zero things this year. BUT I did do one refashion. I was actually going to make a blog post about it - I took pictures and everything - but a few days later I decided I wanted to redo the contrast fabric in something else. I have yet to do it.

My one refashion!

If you recognize the fabric, it used to be this dress that was pretty shoddily sewn. To be fair, it was only my second project! Anyway, I used Vintage Butterick 6647 for the jacket and generally I love it and I'm counting it towards my Vintage Pledge this year. So why haven't you seen a blog post about it? Because a few days after I took pictures of it, I decided I wanted to change it. The gray cotton contrast is lovely, but it feels a bit too much like a robe. I want to switch it out with some charcoal wool to make it a bit heavier, and I'm thinking about adding some cuffs. So this finished object is officially a WIP!

My first knitting design!

New blogs. I started two new blogs this year. The first, Crunchy in the City, is all about food, fermentation, and skin care products I make. I want to do more with it, but I'm pleased with how it's coming along so far. The second, We All Knit Here, is dedicated to the beginner knitter, or anyone who wants to learn to knit from home. I think announced it in March, but apparently it's hard work to create online video courses - my first course launched this month, and you can find it here (and hey, it's half off for the holidays!). Enjoy my bloopers.




RTW Fast. I pledged to not buy any ready to wear clothes this year, as part of Goodbye Valentino's pledge. I'm happy to say I stuck with that pledge with a few exceptions: I bought two pairs of leggings and a bra. In fact, I was actually really happy to have that as an excuse when I'd go out shopping with friends; otherwise I would have spent way too much money on items that I probably wouldn't have worn. It also really made me examine what I need in my closet and what I should be making, rather than just making pretty dresses. Even though I made mostly pretty dresses, ha!

My mermaid inspired skirt - for the Mermaid Parade, of course!

Stashbusting Sewing. I pledged not to buy anymore fabric until the summer, thinking that would make a huge dent in my stash. Or even a small dent in my stash. It did not, and in fact my stash grew. I was given loads of fabric by a few generous souls, I won some contests, and I participated in some sewing swaps. And then, I think in August, I bought some more fabric that I haven't used. I bought more fabric in November, but I'm happy to say I at least made something out of that.

One of my faves, buying this fabric was totally worth it.

More crafts. I failed. I did manage to find time to make art in Central Park this summer, but my goal of crafting once a month was a complete failure.

SO. Those were just the ideas I had for myself at the start of this year. Some stuck, some didn't (isn't that always how it goes?), but generally I'm happy with them. Of course, other things happened as well:

Ruffled Maxi

I found my soul sister in fashion, Ulyana Sergeenko. Are you tired of hearing about her yet? I hope not because I want to create more outfits inspired by her.

I actually have WIPs! Typically I don't move onto a new project until I'm finished, but I've been working on multiple projects at once and actually tossing some to the side.

What was supposed to be my Halloween costume had turned into a muslin for my @wearinghistory jacket.

A photo posted by Kristin (@kristincreates) on Nov 11, 2014 at 1:19pm PST

This, as you can see, was supposed to be my Halloween costume. I was much too slow to make that deadline, but as I continued on, I realized that it was much too large. Originally I was going to ignore the size and continue on, as a little extra room in a jacket isn't always so bad, but the arms are so gigantic that I have to go back and take a closer look at it, which I just haven't done yet.

A photo posted by Kristin (@kristincreates) on Sep 9, 2014 at 2:16pm PDT

These are my Colette Iris shorts. The pattern seems easy and straightforward, but I really hate shorts on me. See, my thighs rub together when I walk and while that creates holes in my fabric when I wear jeans, hose, tights, etc, it makes my shorts ride up into my crotch. It isn't pretty. I thought maybe it would be different if I sewed a pair though. After some investigating, I read that if the shorts are longer that the fattest part of your thigh, they won't ride up. So I made these longer to avoid that, but I HATE how long they look. I could also make them super short, but who wears short shorts? Not this girl. They're also a bit large so maybe taking them in would help? I don't know.

On a more personal note, part of the reason I didn't make as much stuff this year was because I had quite a few ups and downs. I down want to label anything as negative because it's my belief that negative situations tend to be some of the best ways to grow and succeed. I quit the job I hated with every fiber of my being and took 6 weeks off to explore NYC with my sister. It was her first time visiting and we had a blast. It was much needed because I fell back in love with NYC again by the end of her visit. (I mean, I still want to move, but at least I can appreciate it now!)

At the same time, my boyfriend's heavy drinking got way out of control. While that is/was a terrible, awful thing, it pushed me to seek outside help, make new friends, and even take a bit of a spiritual journey along the way. I hope that doesn't sound too corny, but those aren't words I ever thought I'd speak, and I find myself coping with the stress and anxiety of life so much easier now.

And then, because I hadn't grown enough spiritually or something, the universe threw an autoimmune disease at me. I've unwittingly had symptoms for years, but my body decided this year was too much and suddenly I found myself unable to walk and remember how to form complete sentences and sometimes I didn't even have the strength to open my eyes. (PS - if you saw me at a sewing event in NYC this year and I was acting weird or seemed to avoid you, that's why. I promise I'm not angry or ignoring you!) I'm very lucky in that I found some great doctors and while I don't have a diagnosis yet, I am responding to some medications so I can function most days.

My gown - 2 years in the making!

I'm actually not too disappointed about the latter because I finally know what's been causing my weird symptoms all these weird, plus, as my body becomes increasingly intolerant to cold and hot days and as I can really only work part time, I find my dreams of retiring to a temperate climate, becoming an eccentric, and wearing long sundresses within reach. I've been dying to make a parasol for years now, and now I'll have to because I'll actually need to use it. Perhaps I can semi-retire and move to a beach town in Costa Rica next year after all... Or maybe California. We'll see.

Goodness me, this wrap-up is a bit long. Stay tuned for my goals for next year! (And maybe even another project, if I can fit it in this year!)

End of the Year Review: Crafting, Knitting, Sewing

I wasn't going to do one of those year end reviews because I don't think anyone cared. Plus, I didn't think 2012 had been that great to me, sewing or otherwise.

But then I started thinking about everything I've accomplished and I was completely wrong! It may not have been the bang up year that I was hoping for, and I may not be close to where I want to be in life, but I certainly accomplished a lot!

On a professional level, I worked on some pretty amazing jobs. I was lucky enough to be able to be fairly picky about what jobs I took, and as a result, I only worked on fantastic jobs, rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. I also worked on jobs that my friends created, and I ended up loving all of those as well. Slightly unsatisfyingly, I've been brainstorming this past year on what I want to do with my life, and I think I've finally got the answer, though since it involves a career change (and more money to go back to school), I'm not sure it can happen anytime soon. But we'll see.

On a personal level, my boyfriend and I moved in together and our relationship is much more solid than it was a year ago when we were still figuring things out. I suppose figuring things out in any relationship never goes away, but we're closer to being on the same page. We need more conversations, but we're slowly planning our future together, and it should be exciting.

On another personal note, I was sick for much of the year, and I finally figured out (in October) that it was my stupid birth control going haywire. I'm not sure if it malfunctioned or if my body just started rejecting the hormones, but I'm now feeling MUCH better, and hopefully that'll lead to a more productive 2013.

OH AND I GOT TWO ADORABLE KITTENS!!

Now for my creative review, I feel like I grew leaps and bounds in 2012.

I never considered myself creative. Perhaps I'd even go so far as to tell people I was the opposite, not so much because I couldn't come up with grand ideas - I've always had a rich imagination - but because I couldn't carry through. My writing is fairly juvenile and anything I wanted to create physically ended up a terrible disaster.

One of the biggest things holding me back was my belief that if someone else could do it better, what was the point in me doing it?

Clearly this is wrong. Do I need to explain this to anyone? Because I could write a whole post on it if necessary.

So now I'm creating, my results and other people's creations be damned. And my results just keep getting better and better!

(Also, not all of my 2012 projects are up yet on the blog so the list is a little incomplete! I may update this page throughout January - or maybe not...)

Crafting:

Generally I like the idea of pinwheel, but not how it's been carried  out. Perhaps I should paint over it and try again?

Ditto with this pixelated one. I loved the idea behind it, but it seemed rather lackluster once completed.

 I also tried my hand at crafting clothing. The skull tshirt was nice in theory, but I'm too pale and small to wear a white, oversized tshirt. I am still interested in this concept, but perhaps with more fitted, darker clothing.

Onto the good parts of crafting! While not technically a skill I learned this year, I did learn it December 2011 so I'm counting it! Memory candles are perfect for everyone. You can put anything on them, and I chose to put nice memories on most of mine and hand them out as gifts. Of course, I didn't photograph THOSE, just this one with my sister and mother in our 80s glory.

I consider gardening to be like crafting in that I've never really been good at it. But I do love plants, so this year, I grabbed my plants before they could die, and put them in jars. Terrariums are fairly simple and look beautiful. I can't wait to make more next year!

Does this count as crafting or sewing? Does it matter? I took a plain bulletin board and figured out how to make it pretty. Or at least, prettier. I just love the cover around the bulletin board, and I'm so glad my mind is now working in ways to conceive of this idea!

Knitting:

I love sewing and crafting (who knew?), but they can be very solitary activities. Obviously crafting begs people to come over and help and have fun, but it can be difficult in NYC to cart around a huge box of supplies from house to house. I was very hesitant to take up knitting because it seemed so awful and I was sure I couldn't get the hang of it, but it's fairly easy, I have a new, productive way of hanging out with friends, and I don't have to make the awful projects if I don't want to. I've only been knitting for a month, so these are some of my basic beginner projects.

My first two projects were the cat blanket and the bunny filled with catnip. You get no close ups of the blanket because of all my mistakes, and there are no features or embellishments on the bunny because I was 100% sure the cats would rip it apart within a day. They did not. (They also love the blanket.)

Because they loved the catnip bunny so much, I made another toy. I do have 2 kittens after all, so 2 toys are necessary. Enter: the mouse filled with catnip.

I decided, beyond cat accessories and the usual beginner project of scarves, that coffee cozies were my best chance of learning to knit so I made quite a few.

Enlarged XO cable knit coffee cozy (with hot chocolate inside!)

His (basketweave) and Hers (XO cable) cozies

Sewing:

The real reason you're here, I'm sure. This was the year I properly learned to sew. I had taken a costume class in college (aka 6 years ago), but I had never drafted anything or really even completed an entire project, unless you count the doll's dress I finished for my final project. And since it was so long ago, I was pretty much relearning everything all over again.

My very first skirt! It turned out nothing like the pattern, but I love it anyway and wear it all the time.

This was the second thing I tackled this year, for the Mad Men Sew-along, and I consider it a failure. I loved the fabric, so I bought the dress incredibly large with the goal of fitting it to me. Technically, it fits much better than before (when it was a tent), but I had never worked with linings or invisible zippers before this, and it didn't turn out as well as I think it would if I re-did it. It hangs in my closet, utterly useless. Perhaps I need to move it to my projects bin in the house...

Another failure was this purse. Generally it looks cute, but something went horrible wrong with the straps and  they're slowly coming apart. The lining also had issues and doesn't exactly fit. Nor did I insert it correctly... It was meant to be a mock-up of what the purse could be, but I felt very uninspired afterwards and did not attempt again.

Hello oversized bow that I still don't know what to do with!

 Luckily I got my act together once the warmer months arrived and started cranking out nicer things!

Instead of tossing, I tailored this dress and continue to wear it all the time. Also, mandatory pics of Grayson and Franklin.

This was supposed to replace the dress I was going to toss (above), but then I ended up keeping both. They're different enough that I don't think it's too strange that I have 2 yellow sundresses in my wardrobe.

Self drafted 1920s inspired dress

1950s vintage dress

 And then I started nesting and churning out home decor:

Curtains

More curtains

Not quite home decor, but I feel like baby things should be in a similar category. I made these for a baby shower, and my gosh, baby clothes are so tiny (and tough to sew)!

Baby things!

Whew, so that's it for 2012.

I'm looking forward to see what I can accomplish next year. My mother purchased a dress form for me for Christmas, so I can't wait to put that to great use.

Already I'm working on a (replacement) purse for my sister, another jersey dress for spring/fall, a knitted sweater, more curtains, and probably more curtains since I'm getting asked to make them for other people. I really want to make a few more everyday dresses for my wardrobe, a swimsuit, and a cloak for next winter.

Hope everyone continues to have a great holiday! Happy New Year!