Sunday, January 1, 2012

2011: Year End Review

Apparently, 2011 was the Year of the Dress, because I made a LOT of them.

Going back through my Month End Review posts for the year to try to pull together my favorites, I was surprised at just how many dresses there were. I felt like I'd kept it mixed up - pants, skirts, tops - but, no, dresses outnumbered everything.  By a considerable amount.

Oops.

I started off in the early spring with dresses, continued on through the late spring and summer with dresses, discovered Vogue 1250 and made knit dresses, and finished off in the fall with yet more dresses.

I'm so glad I managed to pull together my plaid jacket just so I can feel that I made a complicated, lined, fitted jacket this year. I thought I'd made a few of them, but apparently, no. I made dresses.

Did I say I made dresses?

Another thing that's difficult not to notice when looking at a selection of my garments:  I can't get excited about sewing with solids.  I'm a prints all the way girl, and I'm okay with that.  Face it, some of the prints I chose made those dresses.  My fling with scoop-necked, vintage inspired dresses wouldn't have been half as much fun if they'd been one color.  (Who'd give up that black and white border print for a solid?)

Stepping away from loud clothes for me, there is always the option of loud clothes for my handsome gentleman.  Mario got quite a selection of shirts this year - from black-and-white stock reports to parchment-colored vintage bamboo print to his alltime favorite, the Dr. Who "Exterminate" shirt made from a Spoonflower print.  He wears it entirely too often.  Then again, it's so memorable does it really matter whether he wears it once a quarter or once a week?  It's not as if his co-workers are likely  to forget it.

Patterns used this year were the full gamut: BWOF, KwikSew, Vogue, McCalls, Simplicity and Ottobre.  I think the only major pattern company that didn't make my "best of" list here was Butterick, and I can't think of the last time I sewed one of their patterns. 

I also tried out My Image this year, and really need to try another pattern.  They had some cute stuff, though their fabrics were such busy prints that it was difficult to make out the details of some of their patterns.

Ummm, pot? Meet kettle. Loud, printed kettle.

For 2012, I'm putting together a plan for myself.  (A plan which will be put into action after I finish cleaning up the workroom which, you will be glad to hear, is well under way so I will stop whining about it soon).  Somehow, it involves yet more dresses.

Today, there will be no work in the sewing room - at least not until this evening. We've been spending much of our time off working on the never-ending renovations at Mario's house, but now we're beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel that isn't an oncoming train. Fingers crossed that it will be finished and available for rent by the end of January.

Which is the only reason I'm spending my New Year's day plastering the downstairs bathroom instead of sorting fabrics. The things you do for love (and money).

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year and are having a much more enjoyably productive day than I am.

I'll be back soon with a photo of the complete, reorganized and unspeakably tidy work space.

Really.

10 comments:

annie said...

Well. I'm watching the Eagles with my SO. Really productive. And I intended to work on some UFOs today.

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

So how many dresses did you make in 2011? There was no total listed. However, the dresses you pictured were all beautiful and I totally understand why you made so many of them. After years of working my mind meld magic, you have fallen under the dress spell and realized what an awesome garment it is! *LOL* Or you just realized how comfortable they are to wear and fun to sew!

Can't wait to see what sewing journeys you take in 2012!

Janine said...

All your favourite dresses here are beautiful so I can why you gravitate towards sewing them. Happy New Year.

gMarie said...

Love those dresses. Especially the black and white border print. and really - can a girl have too many dresses? Makes it so darn easy to get ready for work in the morning. It's either a dress or a loud printed skirt and a white tee in my world. g

Lori said...

Great job on all the sewing in 2011

Kyle said...

Happy New Year Karen!
I like sewing dresses too. :)

velosews said...

Love your dresses, especially the ones with prints. They are so easy to choose at the beginning of a hectic day ahead. I'm a bit of a dress chick myself. Happy New Year.

renee said...

You made some really great dresses this year. And of course, I can see why Mario loves that Exterminate shirt. Happy New Year.

Becky said...

You say that about prints like it's a bad thing! I understand completely-- I know sometimes it's necessary, but I have trouble getting excited about sewing solids too. I think that's why my solid stuff is developing a habit of having loud, printed linings!

It does look like you had a productive year, and your dresses are lovely!

The Slapdash Sewist said...

Nothing wrong with dresses! I made 23 of them last year. And prints are sooo much better than solids. You had such a productive year--can't wait to see what's coming in 2012.