Goooooooals! Looking back (2014) and looking ahead (2015)

If you can stand one more self-reflective post from me, I want to go over how I did on the sewing goals that I set for myself back at the beginning of 2014 and set a few new goals for myself for 2015. If you can't stand one more post of this nature, go ahead and mark this as "read" in your blog reader; I won't be offended. Like my hits and misses post, I'm writing my goals post mainly for myself to help assess my sewing journey.

Let's start with how I did last year.

2014

Let's face it--I got a bit carried away with the goal stuff last year, so much so that it took me several posts to write about all of the goals that I was setting for myself and the convoluted systems that I was using to track those goals.

Here are those posts:

• 2014 Sewing Goals: Pattern Stash
• 2014 Sewing Goals: Non-stash related
• 2104 Sewing Goals: 12-piece capsule wardrobe

Gee, with so many rigid goals that I set for myself, how ever did I lose interest? 

I did manage to do one re-assessment (when I was still sort of on track) back at the end of Q1 of 2014:

2014 Q1 Sewing Goals check-in

And then I pretty much gave up. But let's see what I accomplished, anyway.

Stash goals

The following statement gives my "stash goals" for 2014:

"I, Michelle of happilycaffeinated, commit to using at least 15 patterns from the candidate pattern stash and using at least 20 pieces of stash fabric in 2014. Stash includes any fabric or patterns on hand/purchased prior to the date of this pledge, 8 Jan 2013."

And then I had a spreadsheet (of course) of "candidate patterns" to choose from. Here are the ones that I actually sewed from that list:

1. Mr. HotPatterns Nice & Easy t-shirt (I sewed 2 of these for my husband.)
2. HotPatterns 4 Season Kimono Jacket
3. HotPatterns Tailored Trackpant
4. Oliver + S Playtime Tunic and Leggings (sewn for my daughter)
5. StyleArc Slip-on Suzie dress
6. StyleArc Olive Spliced tee
7. StyleArc Amber top

 So, 7 out of 15. Meh. My use of stash patterns really dropped off as the year progressed and more new patterns came out because "Ooooh! Shiney!" I need to be more realistic about my tendencies to get distracted and just go with them instead of trying to fight them. So no pattern stash goals for 2015.

Yes, the Colette Hawthorn was on that "candidate" list, and no that never did get sewn this year.

I did track whether the fabric that I used for a given project came from stash or not, as well. "Stash" fabric was any fabric that I owned prior to January 8, 2014.

By my count, I used 23 pieces of stash fabric, so yay, me on that one!

Non-stash goals

Here are the more interesting (I'd imagine) goals that I set for myself, based on my blog post:

• Sew a water-resistant jacket with a hood. This didn't happen in 2014, but I still very much need one of these. This will be one of my few carry-over goals, which I'll discuss later in this post.
  
•  Sew a winter coat.
  
  Well, we all know how that is going. This is still very much in-progress. I will finish at some point this month (January). Can I ask for an extension on this one or get partial credit for a coat that's about 2/3 of the way finished?
•  Sew my daughter's Halloween costume.Done. You remember my daughter, Queen Elsa?
  
  

  

  Queen Elsa trick-or-treats at my office.
  

• Sew a capsule wardrobe.Well, I did sew a capsule wardrobe, although it was 4 pieces and not 12, and it certainly wasn't the wardrobe that I spent an entire post rambling on about.  Partial credit.
  

• Get over my fear of fly zippers.
  
  A weird thing happened with this one. I did sew a number of zippers this year, albeit none were fly zippers since I didn't sew a single pair of fly front pants. But you know what? I don't feel any sort of dread of sewing fly zippers any more, either. I can't give myself credit for this one, though. We'll talk more about fly fronts and pants in my 2015 goals.

•  Execute a wearable set of welt pockets.
  
  I did this! But you all don't know about it because it was on that pattern that I tested. It's a single welt, inseam pocket. By funny coincidence, I'm actually wearing this top today. So yeah, it's wearable. Here's photographic evidence that doesn't give away the pattern before it's released.
  
  

  

  Welt pocket

  Not perfect, but certainly wearable. Especially when not viewed in an overexposed photo at close range.
• Fabric out for the year should be 50% greater than fabric in.Hahahahahahahaha!
  
  I stopped keeping track of my purchases back in June, when a work deadline caused a few stress-related online shopping binges. I did, however, track that I sewed 77.5 yards this year (including 4 yards for the coat that's still not finished) and donated another 50 yards. I don't want to think about the "fabric in" portion of that, though.
• Explore the functionality of my Babylock Evolve.I definitely played around with a lot of stitches on my Evolve.  I think we can count this one as "accomplished".

Non-goal: RTW fast

I didn't actually set out to do a RTW fast this year, but looking back, the only RTW that I purchased in 2014 was underwear, socks, bras, and a couple of souvenir t-shirts. I'm kind of amused that I accomplished what is sometimes a major goal for us sewists without even trying, but that I didn't achieve some of my easier sewing goals. That's life, I guess.

2015 Goals

In 2014,  I did better on the more general goals than the more rigid goals. I'm not sure that having rigid goals really accomplished anything for me beyond stealing my sewjo. In any case, 2014 is over. It was a crappy year for a number of personal reasons that I haven't blogged about (mostly family and pet health-related issues).

To quote the Counting Crows, "Maybe this year will be better than the last."

I'm going to keep my goals more project-based this year, for the most part. I am interested in stretching my sewing and fitting skills a bit, but I don't want to take on more than I can realistically handle.

In general, I want to be more thoughtful in my sewing this year (it seems like everyone has been saying that as a goal, doesn't it?) and also concentrate more on woven wardrobe staples and not just sew quick knit tops and dresses.

Here are the things that I want to accomplish:

Finish that damn winter coat.

I will finish it, and I will finish it while the weather still allows me to wear it. And then I'll have a nice, warm winter coat for next fall/winter, too. I finished inserting the lining at the facings/hem over the weekend. Currently, I'm trying to figure out the instructions for attaching the sleeve hem/sleeve lining hem. With the coat turned right-side-out, you're supposed to pull the sleeve and sleeve lining through the neck opening, anchor the armscye seam allowances together, and stitch the hems together. I couldn't wrap my head around how this would work. I'll google and see if I can figure it out, but if not, I'll just hand stitch everything like I've done in the past.

Bathroom mirror selfie verifying my coat's progress

 I'm really, really hoping to have the whole thing done in the next week or two.

Pattern stash goal: none

One thing that I learned about myself last year is that I really do enjoy picking up a pattern on a whim and diving right into it. Trying to deny the "Oooh, shiney!" nature of choosing my sewing projects sucks some of the fun out of it. In general, though, I am going to try to avoid jumping on bandwagons and buying a certain pattern just because it's the hot new indie pattern that everyone is sewing. I might do that, but only if I truly see myself sewing up and wearing the pattern.

Fabric stash goal: Shop my stash first, shop local for wovens, and quality over quantity

One thing that I learned this past year in semi-tracking my fabric purchases and comprehensively tracking my fabric usage is that knits, especially knit prints, don't stay in my stash for long. I probably have fewer than 10 cuts of better-than-muslin quality knit prints in my stash and another 10 of good quality solid knits. Wovens, on the other hand, are another story since I sew those a lot less frequently.

I really want to stop my impulse buying at FabricMart sales where a big box of 6 cuts of fabric arrives on my doorstep, and I sew 2 cuts right away, and the other 4 go into the stash for god knows how long. In fact, I have one those boxes sitting at my desk at work because I was embarrassed to have it sent to my house and didn't want to have to deal with the "More fabric?" from my husband. I am keeping this box at my desk as a reminder to myself to not order more fabric, unless it's for a specific project and fabric that I can't find locally. (We do have a pretty decent assortment of apparel fabric stores in Seattle.) I know that doing a total fabric fast is unrealistic for myself, but I do want to hold myself to shopping my stash first, then shopping locally, and then shopping online (where the real shopping danger for me lies) if I can't find the "right" fabric at home or locally.

I will continue to track my fabric usage, if only because I like seeing the yardage number go up throughout the year.

Sew a water-resistant jacket with a hood.

Here's that hold-over goal from last year. I still need this. Ideally, I'll sew two of these--one lightweight for spring/early fall, and another, heavier version for colder, rainy weather. Part of why I've stalled on this goal is that there really hasn't been hooded jacket pattern that's spoken to me. I want something with a hood and a zipper--something like the Sewaholic Minoru, but not drafted for the completely opposite figure type of mine and actually available in my size range without grading up. I also really like HotPatterns Mr. HP Hemingway Windcheater, but it's a mens' pattern--those details are perfect for Seattle. I am really tempted to at least muslin it and see how much of a stretch it would be to feminize the fit.

Jeans! Jeans! Jeans!

I've been wearing the same three pairs of RTW jeans for the past year and a half, and two of the pairs are looking pretty worn. I really want a go-to jeans pattern. I'm looking at muslining the StyleArc Sandra narrow leg jean and Closet Case Files Ginger jeans (the non-skinny version) and going with whichever one has the more promising muslin.

Fit and sew a button-down blouse.

A button-down blouse that fits without gaping is pretty much the unicorn of the uber-busty, isn't it? I really like the yoke and details of the Grainline Archer and have had the pattern forever, so that's probably what I'll go with. I'll need an FBA and will leave the bust dart in mine for shaping. There's also a McCall's pattern (with shoulder princess seams and cup sizes!) that's really similar to the Deer & Doe Bruyere shirt that I really want to make, so that's another candidate for this goal. Maybe I'll even use two button-down blouse patterns this year!

Watch and complete the relevant projects for at least two of my Craftsy classes.

I know that my Craftsy class stash isn't as bad as some people's, but I do have a handful of classes that I've paid for and never watched. In particular, I'd like to watch/take the two sloper classes (skirt and bodice) that I bought for $19.99 each when they were on sale a little while back.

Final thoughts

So that's it--seven goals for myself for the year, and nothing tying me to a specific pattern or anything like that, beyond finishing my winter coat.

With me planning to fit and sew more wovens this year, expect to see a lot more "muslin" and "in progress" posts from me. I'm sure that those bore some people, but I'm personally fascinated with the evolution of people's muslins to their finished garments, so I'll be posting mine. If you haven't figured it out, I tend to post the same types of posts that I enjoy reading on other blogs. Plus, I think that muslin posts are helpful for people who find your blog via googling a pattern that they're working on or planning to make--you learn that "Oh, she had that fitting issue, too?"

Happy 2015 sewing, everyone!

Mini-wardrobe 2014 summary and lessons learned

Okay, I promise this will be my last mini-wardrobe post. I'm sick of writing them, and I'm sure that you're sick of reading them. Plus, the challenge/contest ended on July 31st, and it's now August 6th. But in the interest of documenting what I've sewn, both for myself and anyone who happens across this blog in the future, I do want to do a wrap-up post.

The premise

Way back in June, I started planning for the Pattern Review mini-wardrobe contest. With no illusions of winning, I looked at it as a personal challenge, much in the same way many marathon runner are simply looking to beat a personal best time or break the 4-hour mark. The challenge was to sew five different garments during the month of July. The five garments had to be able to be combined in such a way as to create six different looks. While paper patterns could be cut out and patterns could be muslined before July 1st, cutting fashion fabric and sewing could only take place between July 1st and 31st.

I knew that we'd be heading out of town for a mini-break from July 30-August 1st, so I'd need to have everything done and submitted by late morning on the 30th.

The planned pieces

I initially set out to create a lightweight layering wardrobe for Seattle's varying summer weather. This has been my first full summer in Seattle, and it's been a change from San Diego's summers, which are simply, hot, hotter, and hottest.

I love the blue and white combinations that have been so popular in recent months, so I used that color combination as my initial inspiration. I knew that I wanted to make another Moneta dress, and that I wanted a knit maxi skirt, so those were the first two pieces that I scribbled into my plan. I built a few other possibilities around them, winding up with an initial plan (with several pieces still undecided) that looked like the following mood board:

Initial moodboard for mini-wardrobe

Yeah, so that plan was a little ambitious. Because of laundry accidents, time limitations, and simple changes-of-mind, here's what I actually completed:

Final mini-wardrobe moodboard

The look-and-feel is still similar, but I wound up introducing two new colors (coral and radiant orchid) into the mix. Here's what changed from the initial plan:

• First out was the Archer blouse. I knew that I'd need to muslin that and wouldn't have time to properly fit and sew a button-down blouse on my figure. I initially planned to replace the Archer with one of two possible gray knit tops, but in the end, decided to introduce a bit more color into the wardrobe and went with the coral Mimosa blouse.
• About halfway through the month, I realized that I wouldn't have the fitting time to do those ikat-print jeans justice. I swapped those out in favor of the easier-fitting rayon challis trackpant.
• Finally, as you probably knew, I sewed a white hoodie. Said white hoodie was accidentally turned pink via a laundry cycle with a red t-shirt. Of course, this happened right before the final photo shoot for the hoodie. My husband and I tried a couple of rounds of Rit color remover on the pink hoodie but were only able to lighten the pinkness of it. After playing around with some fabrics that I had on hand and seeing how they'd coordinate with the other pieces, I opted to dye the pink hoodie "radiant orchid" (aka Pantone's "color of the year" for 2014).

The completed looks

It came down to the wire (particularly because of the hoodie-laundry-dye debacle), but I did manage to complete all five pieces in time and was able to get my husband to photograph all six looks.

Look 1 (Hoodie + maxi skirt):

Look 2 (Moneta dress):

Look 3 (Moneta + hoodie):

Look 4 (Mimosa blouse + maxi skirt):

 

Look 5 (Mimosa blouse + trackpant):

Look 6 (hoodie + trackpant):

Lessons learned

At the end of the month, I wound up having a few great new outfits to introduce into my summer wardrobe. Given that I work full time and have a 2-year-old, I definitely found it challenging to complete five pieces in a month, even if most of the pieces were fairly easy and didn't require extensive fitting. I also felt like a learned a few things about my "sewing self" in this process:

• Having an aggressive short-term sewing goal was a huge motivator for me. As I started to fall behind, I found myself setting my alarm to wake up an hour before everyone else in the house. (I usually get up 30 minutes early to have some me-time/sewing time.)
• Planning a mini-wardrobe like this helped keep me on track with creating a handful of wearable garments in a short period of time. There are no orphans here and no "frosting" pieces. While I've gotten off-track from the capsule wardrobe that I'd originally planned for 2014 (having sewn only 3 of 12 items at the end of July), a shorter version still fills wardrobe holes for me and doesn't seem so overwhelming.
• Setting out a plan at the beginning of the month and holding myself accountable really helped me stick to that plan. I am going to try to do this on a regular basis. Planning ~4 pieces/month will still give me the flexibility to jump right in and tackle whatever bright and shiny new pattern catches my eye right away.
• I have no desire to do anything like this more than once or maybe twice a year.

For those of you who did the mini-wardrobe challenge this year, how did it go? If not this challenge, have you done something similar, and did you find that it changed how you planned or executed your sewing projects afterward?

Finished Project: HotPatterns 1158 - Fast & Fabulous Tailored Trackpants

I finished these pants about a week ago, but in that time, we took a short family vacation to Mt. Rainier and have returned home, and it feels like I sewed these months ago instead of days ago. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to wear these since we took photographs because Seattle has been having yet another heatwave (with temperatures in the high 80's/low 90's), and it's just been too friggin hot for pants, even lightweight summer pants like these.

HotPatterns Fast & Fabulous Tailored Trackpants

Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure that you've noticed that lightweight/flowy pants with ethnic or tribal prints have been EVERYWHERE for the past few months. I wanted my own pair. I also thought that this would be a good choice for one of the five garments of my 2014 mini-wardrobe challenge. I would have loved to have made those ikat print pants that I had originally planned, but it became clear early on that I wasn't going to have the time to do them justice. I do still want to make them, but I want to take my time with them.

These pants were a good compromise. The pattern is the HotPatterns Fast & Fabulous Tailored Trackpants. I am amazed that I have not seen more versions of these pop up in the online sewing community. This pant style is very on-trend right now, and it didn't take me much longer to whip these up than a pair of pajama pants.

The back view is better than this, I promise:

HP Trackpants - rear view

The drag lines you are seeing are from my hands being jammed into the side seam pockets. These fall amazingly nicely from my ample rear end into the tapered leg shape that you see at the bottom.

For fabric, I used this silver dot print rayon challis from FabricMart. I'd ordered a second cut of challis in the same order; however, this cut was a little beefier. I thought that it would hold up a little better when made into a pair of pants. (Granted, these pants probably aren't going to last longer than a year of wearing and washing, but when you only pay $2.99 for the fabric, you can't really complain.)

Fitting/sizing and alterations

I found these pants to fit true-to-size for the measurements on the HotPatterns size chart. Per their size chart, I fell into a size 22, which is what I sewed. I know that sometimes their knit patterns can run a bit large, but I've not generally found this to be the case with their woven patterns. Note that these pants have a leg-skimming shape and are not a "skinny pant".

For alterations, I only shortened the inseam length by 2" (I'm 5'2"). I probably should have shortened them by another 1/2-1" if I wanted to be true to the envelope line drawing, but I'm fine with the length that their at now.

On a personal note...

On a personal note, when I was in Italy in 2009 for my honeymoon, I saw some of the Italian women wearing pants very similar to these in what looked like washed silks. They embodied the phrase "effortlessly chic". I coveted my own pair, but couldn't find a similar pattern. (At the time, Burda and European pattern magazines were bent on convincing us that harem pants were on their way back. Those were sort of close, but the pants I wanted definitely did NOT have a dropped crotch.)

Five years later, the trend seems to have finally made its way over to the US, and I am very happy to finally have my own pair.

Finished Project: Colette 1028 - Moneta dress (version 2 in blue)

Accidentally pink-dyed hoodies aside, I did get caught up on photographing some of my finished projects for the mini-wardrobe challenge this weekend. First up is this peacock blue Moneta, which I finished about two weeks ago:

Peacock blue Moneta

For this version, I used peacock blue cotton-spandex blend jersey from Girl Charlee. This fabric is a nice mid-weight, and I felt that it worked well for this dress. I used the same view as I did in my previous version. This time, however, instead of doing a self-bound neck opening, I just turned and stitched with my coverstitch. I'd been skeptical that a turn-and-stitch approach would work for a neckline, but seeing that others had had good luck with it, I decided to "follow the instructions" this time. I did also lower/scoop out the front neckline by 1.5" from the original pattern piece.

I think that because this fabric has a little more body/less drape than my previous version, you're seeing a little bit of "flippiness" on my short sleeves that wasn't there on the last version. It doesn't really bother me, but I've seen other people ask about this with the Moneta, so I have to conclude that fabric choice plays a big part in it, since I didn't change anything else with this version.

Love my pockets!

I am also going to use this dress to tick a box in my planned/in-process capsule wardrobe. I am swapping out the "solid-colored t-shirt dress" for this dress. I just don't think that a relaxed t-shirt dress is the best look for me, and this dress can serve the same purpose.

We got a pretty good/funny "out take" shot that afternoon as well:

Pawed.

Finished Project: HotPatterns Weekender Daytona Hoodie (version 2 - in white)

I'll keep this post short, since I'm primarily using it to document the first piece that I completed in my mini-wardrobe, another version of the HotPatterns Weekender Daytona Hoodie:

HotPatterns Weekender Daytona Hoodie

I made exactly the same view (elbow-length sleeves, pullover version) as I did the last time that I used this pattern. I didn't even make any fit changes, since I was happy with the fit on the last version (I had made a wearable muslin prior to that and worked out a few fit tweaks at that point.)

The fabric for this version came from my stash: a white cotton-lycra jersey from Fashionista Fabrics (now closed). It's a nice, mid-weight jersey with both good drape and good body. I'd held onto it for a few years because I felt that the "perfect t-shirt fabric" should be used by the "perfect t-shirt pattern", and while this isn't a t-shirt exactly, I know that I will wear it a ton. Thankfully, we keep a tub of oxyclean in our laundry room to help it maintain its whiteness when I spill things on it, or it gets toddlered.

I love this pattern--it has so many options for either a relaxed pullover top or lightweight layering piece. However, at this point, having made three versions of it in recent months (including the wearable muslin that I've worn a ton but never photographed), I am putting it away until Fall. (I do have a couple of fun knits already pulled out of my stash and earmarked for long-sleeved versions of it then, though!)

Mini-Wardrobe Progress: Week 2

We're just past the halfway point of the month of July, and I am just over halfway finished with my 5-piece mini-wardrobe for the Mini-Wardrobe Contest on Pattern Review:

Mini-wardrobe status as of July 17th

I've completed 3 out of the 5 planned pieces so far:

• White hoodie (HP Weekender Daytona Hoodie)
• Striped maxi-skirt (McCall's 6966)
• Solid blue knit dress (Colette Moneta)

I just finished the Moneta and haven't been able to take pictures yet. I did get my husband to take a few photos of my hoodie and maxi-skirt look a few days ago:

Hoodie + maxi-skirt

The skirt was a royal pain to cut out and sew, but I'll save the details about that for another post. I do love the finished skirt, though, and while I have no intention of sewing this view of this skirt again, I would like to add at least one more knit maxi-skirt to my wardrobe.

Here's the back view (with toddler photobomb):

It was 90 degrees out that day; Eva is the one dressed appropriately, not me.

Now, if you've followed my mini-wardrobe progress, you might have noticed a change in plans regarding my remaining two garments. First off, as I sort of expected, there's no way that I'll have time to properly muslin and do fitting justice for those ikat print pants/jeans that I wanted to make. I'm swapping them out with a set of rayon challis track pants. The look will still be very much on-trend for this summer, but will be a heck of a lot easier to fit and sew. I've got two cuts of rayon challis on the way from FabricMart (ordered over the weekend where everything was 40% off--these were $2.99/yard, I think). My options are either the gray-and-black rose print or the silver-and-black dots print. From the photos, I think that the "dots" print is more of what I'm looking for, but the fabric description contains "Small Dot Pattern with some Glitter," which has me worried that this fabric won't be suitable for anything other than a muslin. I think that the rose print makes a suitable backup.

The other change is that I just wasn't feeling a gray knit top (probably the HP La Strada) as part of this wardrobe. I have a shirting-weight coral cotton pique in my stash, and I'm thinking that I'd rather make the SBCC Minosa top to go with the trackpants and maxi-skirt. I've been wanting to make the Mimosa for a while and kept getting distracted by other projects, but now I think I'm finally going to do it.

Have you done a mini- or capsule wardrobe before? Did you find that you kept changing your mind about what you wanted to sew, or did you come up with a plan and stick to it?

Mini-Wardrobe progress: Week 1

Well, we're one week into the Pattern Review mini-wardrobe contest, and I have been steadily executing against my planned 5-piece wardrobe:

Planned 5-piece mini-wardrobe

 

At the end of my first week, I haven't made quite as much progress as I would have liked to at this point, but I've at least put a dent in my wardrobe plan.

Over the weekend, I did mange to finish my HP Daytona hoodie, made from a white cotton-lycra jersey:

HP Daytona Hoodie

As I've mentioned in previous posts, my dress form isn't padded to my current measurements, so that's why the hoodie looks big/baggy. Trust me, it fits as well as my last Daytona hoodie and will be a great addition to my summer wardrobe.

I've started work on my McCall's 6966 maxi-skirt, and wow, was that a pain to cut out. It's cut and pieced together now. I still need to sew the side seams and add the yoke/waistband. Here's the front half, draped over my dress form:

McCalls 6966 WIP

Now, you'll notice that much to my frustration, the stripes don't entirely line up. I'm not sure if this is by design or a drafting issue, but that's just how it is with this pattern. Check out the envelope photo--the stripes on the model's skirt don't match up exactly, either:

McCalls 6966 envelope picture

I think this is by design. If you lay your pattern pieces out on your fabric according to the pattern piece markings, the stripes will meet at different angles. This layout will give you the zig-zagging stripes that you see in my skirt and the envelope picture, but it won't give you nice, neat chevrons, if that's the effect that you're going for. The detail-oriented part of me is irritated by this, but in reality, I think it will be a nice, wearable skirt, and I doubt if my husband or any of my coworkers will care that it has zig-zagging stripes instead of chevrons.

I just haven't been able to put in the sewing time that I had hoped I'd be able to this past week. It's a lot easier to get up 30 minutes before everyone else in the house than it is to get up 60 minutes early. I am trying to grab 15 minutes here and there to pin or stitch a seam, and that seems to be helping. My big concern is not having enough time towards the end of the month to properly muslin, fit, and construct those ikat pants in my plan. My current game plan is to get my other four garments finished by the 20th, which will give me 10 days for the pants. If I don't have everything else completed by then, I'm switching to plan B for the pants, which is to do a drapey rayon challis track pant in a fun print. The backup pants will still be very on-trend for this summer, but should need much less time for fitting and construction. I'm keeping an eye out for the right challis, but if I don't find it and do need to fall back to that plan, I have a gray and black floral print that I can use.

From the looks of everyone else's blogs, it looks like everyone else's wardrobe plans are coming along nicely! I can't wait to see the final storyboards/photo shoots!

Planning: Mini-Wardrobe Contest 2014

As I think I've mentioned in previous posts, although I'm an active member of PatternReview, I rarely enter the monthly contests that run there. I have several reasons for this:

• The contests rarely align with my sewing goals at the time for a given month.
• When I do give it a go, I rarely feel like my finished garment is worth entering in the contest (see my Lekala wadder from the New To Me pattern contest).
• Most (but no, not all) of the contest winners tend to be young, slim, and are either masters of a tripod and a self-timer or have much more willing SO's than I do to do a semi-professional photo shoot.

However, the annual mini-wardrobe contest is running this July, and that does happen to align with my current sewing goals, so I think I'm in for this one. I'm also going to use this as motivation for knocking out another four garments that will be entries in my neglected-but-still-in-progress 12-piece capsule wardrobe.

The contest runs from July 1st-31st and has the following rules:

• Participants must sew 5 garments, one of which may be a "wearable accessory", such as a scarf, belt, or hat.
• The 5 garments should combine to create 6 different outfits or looks.
• You must take a photo of each of the 6 looks (my husband is going to love that one).

I've picked out the patterns that I'm planning to use, going with a theme of "Seattle Summer Style". These are the types of garments that I see being worn by a lot of women around Seattle right now:

• Colette Moneta dress (in a peacock blue or galaxy print jersey)
• Grainline Archer blouse (in white cotton shirting)
• HotPatterns Weekender Daytona hoodie (in white cotton jersey)
• McCall's 6966 maxi-skirt (in blue and white striped French terry)
• HotPatterns Weekender Boyfriend jeans (in turquoise denim or an Ikat-print twill)

Note that these are all fabrics and patterns that I already have on hand, so I don't need to worry about hunting any of these down for the contest. Many of them are already pre-washed and ready to go!

Here's how I'm planning to pair these garments to create my six looks:

1. Moneta dress (alone)
2. Moneta dress + Archer blouse (worn unbuttoned like an overblouse)
3. McCall's maxi skirt + Archer
4. Boyfriend jeans + Archer
5. McCall's maxi skirt + short-sleeved pullover Daytona hoodie
6. Boyfriend jeans + Daytona hoodie

I'm still on the fence with fabric choice for the dress and the jeans.  I was originally going to go with all blues and whites, but am a little worried that might be a bit boring, so I threw in the galaxy print as an option to make things a little more interesting. (Plus, isn't everyone in the blogosphere making a galaxy print skater-style dress this year?)

My main hesitation with the Ikat-print jeans is that I really love the fabric (and it was a little pricey, but not horribly so) is that I'm probably not going to have time to truly muslin the jeans (plus, I want to enter the jeans in the Pattern Stash contest), and I'm a little hesitant to cut that fabric without muslining first. On the other hand, HotPatterns pants have historically fit me pretty well with minimal pattern alterations, so it's not as big of a risk as it might sound like. I do want to make up those Ikat pants (and a galaxy Moneta) even if I don't make them for this contest.

I will need to muslin the body (at least) of the Archer blouse. I am hoping that a standard FBA with a bust dart (I will leave the dart in for shaping) should give me a decent fit.

I'm thinking that maybe I'll leave the jeans to be the last thing that I sew, so that I can see if I have the time to do a proper muslin or not. The turquoise denim is a really gorgeous color, but it was also fairly inexpensive, so if I don't have time to muslin, that might be the way to go.

Thoughts?

Update (28-June-2014)

After reading the comments here and on Pattern Review, I think I really want to concentrate on making the ikat print pants the "star" of this wardrobe, so I'm simplifying a bit to have more time for those. Here's the revised wardrobe mood board:

Revised mood board

This wardrobe plan will give me time to properly muslin the ikat pants and make fitting tweaks.

• If the jeans muslin is a disaster, depending on the amount of time that I have left, I'll either go with another pant pattern (the ikat fabric is a lighter bottom weight stretch twill--it's really perfect for summer pants) or will go with Debbie's suggestion of a skirt. I certainly have a few patterns in my stash that would work for a straight twill skirt. 
• The hoodie can still be worn over the dress, so the number of looks doesn't change.
• I'm debating between the Torque top (which looks better on a person on the ones I've seen made up than it does in the line drawing) and the La Strada top. The Torque (on a real person) appears to be similar to that draped asymmetric hem BurdaStyle top that everyone was making a few months ago. I really like the La Strada, but I'm not sure how well that will go with the maxi-skirt, although I could always belt it if I made it and it seemed like too much volume.

2014 Q1 sewing goals check-in

I'm sure that none of us can believe it, but the first three months of 2014 have already flown by, and with that, one quarter of the year is behind us. Back in January, I made a list of sewing goals for myself for the year. In the interest of holding myself accountable and maybe re-igniting some motivation for a few things, I thought I'd check in and comment on how I'm doing.

You can go back and read the original posts, if you're interested:

• 2014 Sewing Goals: Pattern Stash

• 2014 Sewing Goals: Non-stash related

Goal: Sew at least 15 patterns from the candidate pattern stash.
Status: On track (slightly ahead of pace)
Summary: I've been updating my spreadsheet with each pattern I've sewn, where applicable. Here's a snapshot of the current spreadsheet (highlighted patterns are candidates for my capsule wardrobe):

Pattern stash spreadsheet - 01-Apr-2014

So far, I've made 6 different patterns from this list this year. Of those 6, I've made 4 of them multiple times. I'm very easily on track to sew up 15 of these this year.

Goal: Sew at least 20 pieces of stashed fabric.
Status: On track (well ahead of pace)
Summary: I've been updating a different spreadsheet with my fabric stash progress. So far, I've used 11 pieces of stash fabric this year. Given that it's only the end of Q1, I'm thinking that I may have been a little conservative in this goal. On the other hand, this goal has definitely motivated me to sew from stash more and run out and buy new fabric less.

Goal: Sew a water-resistant jacket with a hood
Status: Not started yet.
Summary: I keep going back and forth on a pattern for this, but the bottom line is that I still need one and haven't sewn one yet.

Goal: Sew a winter coat
Status: Not started yet.
Summary: I thought that we were done with our big cold snap for the year when I originally wrote this goal (we weren't), so I figured that I probably wouldn't really start this until the fall, anyway.

Goal: Sew my daughter's Halloween costume
Status: Not started yet.
Summary: This is another distinctly fall-ish goal.

Goal: Sew a 12-piece capsule wardrobe
Status: In progress (slightly behind).
Summary: So far, I've sewn two of the twelve pieces that I talked about in my planning post. This means that I'm slightly off my planned pace of three pieces per quarter. I'm not too worried, though--if I sew four pieces in Q2, I'll be right back on track.

Goal: Get over my fear of fly zippers
Status: Not started yet.
Summary: I haven't tacked a fly zipper yet in 2014, but I do want to make several pairs of pants and jeans and possibly a jean skirt, so I am confident that I will accomplish this goal if I accomplish my wardrobe goals.

Goal: Execute a wearable set of welt pockets
Status: Not started yet.
Summary: Yeah, I haven't tackled these so far either in 2014.

Goal: Fabric out for the year should be 50% greater than fabric in
Status: *embarrassed look*
Summary: Right now, I'm at 47.63 yards IN for the year and 20.5 yards OUT. I'm way, way, way off pace here. I blame stress shopping and Fabric Mart sales.

Goal: Explore the functionality of my Babylock Evolve
Status: On track.
Summary: Unlike most of the rest of my non-stash-related goals, I am making nice progress on this goal. I've added comfort with a rolled hem and lettuce edging to my Evolve arsenal. I really love this machine and am very happy that I splurged on it a few months ago.

I can't say that I had really looked at these goals much since posting them, which was probably a bit of a mistake. However, the year is still fairly young, and I have plenty of time to get back on track with most of them. I'm a little disappointed with myself that the only area that I'm doing really well in is sewing down stash (although my sewing down fabric stash numbers are negated by my fabric purchasing numbers). I know that I can do better for Q2, and I intend to do so.

Finished Project: HotPatterns 1157 - Fast & Fabulous Four Seasons Kimono Jacket

I'm back! After a completely hell-tastic past week that included work (pending release), class (presentation and mid-term all due in the same week), and Grid-hawk, I am back to blogging again. Note that unlike in the past when life got too hectic, I did not give up and ignore my blog for a three year stretch this time.

My most recent sewing project was the Fast and Fabulous Four Seasons Kimono Jacket from HotPatterns:

I actually finished this project two weeks ago, but am only now getting a chance to blog about it. While I do think that the finished jacket is as fabulous as advertised, I did not find it particularly fast to construct (maybe I've just been spoiled by sewing too many t-shirts recently). Although, I'd say that as far as jackets go, this one is pretty fast to put together. Some of the details of this jacket (darts, patch pockets) also that this garment isn't going to be whipped together quite as quickly as some of the other entries in HP's Fast & Fabulous line.

For this version, I chose a somewhat boring-looking gray wool knit because I was looking to tick the "gray belted cardigan" entry on my capsule wardrobe list. Remember when fabric.com got in that huge log of Vera Wang fabrics a few years ago? This wool was one of those--it was listed as a "wool jersey" but doesn't have anywhere near the drape that I'd expect a wool jersey to have. It's a nice enough fabric, but I it's been sitting in my stash waiting for the right pattern for the past 5 or so years. Boring as this fabric might seem, I think this jacket would be fabulous in a fun print, due to the lack of seamlines. In fact, when I make it again, I'm thinking of using a houndstooth doubleknit with faux leather trim.

The finished cardigan is a nice, goes-with-anything piece:

HP Kimono Jacket in gray Vera Wang wool knit

And the back:

 

I didn't notice the wavy hem on this in person or on my dress form. Luckily, with this being wool, I suspect that I'll be able to steam it into a nicer shape, not that a wavy hem would prevent me from wearing it.  The instructions have you do a blind, hand-sewn hem, but I hate hand-sewing with a passion and instead opted to do the hem using the coverstitch mode on my Babylock Evolve.

I made a few other minor design changes, including adding belt carriers (a necessity to keep the belt in a flattering place on my figure) and did a double-row of topstitching using my Evolve's coverstitch to stitch the facings into place:

You can barely see the top-stitching in the photo, but trust me, it's there and it looks nice. Completing this cardigan puts me at 6 yards of stash fabric sewn for the year (3 different pieces) and 24.38 yards of fabric purchased so far this year. Amazingly, I've just crossed the one-month mark since my last fabric purchase. I'm quite proud of myself for that.

I've already gotten started on my next project, which will be a long-sleeved Mr. HP Quick and Easy T for my husband. Over the weekend, I adjusted the pattern based on a RTW t-shirt that he likes and got the fabric cut out. This first version will just be a wearable muslin that I figure he'll just wear around the house, but once I figure out what fit tweaks he needs, I'll make up a few more for him from my recent haul of merino wools.

In non-sewing related news, we got a couple of inches of snow over the weekend. We spent a few hours playing in it on Sunday and had both a sacked out dog and a sacked out toddler by the end of the day. I shall leave you with a video of Arya playing with a snowball:

HP Kimono Jacket progress and a fabric haul

I do more than just ogle patterns on the internet! Sometimes I actually sew!

Cardigan/Jacket progress

I did manage to grab some time to sew over the weekend and made quite a bit of progress on the HotPatterns Fast & Fabulous Four Seasons Kimono Jacket that I've been working on.

 

I am working on this jacket (really a cardigan, in my case) to tick the box on the "gray belted cardigan" from the Capsule Wardrobe that I am working on. For my version, I am using a heathered charcoal sweater knit that had been labeled as a "wool jersey" that's been sitting in my stash for several years. This fabric doesn't have the drape that I'd associate with wool jersey and is fairly stable, so I thought that it would make a reasonable choice for this pattern. 

I was able to complete a fair amount of the construction over the past few days:

• Sewed the darts
• Constructed/applied the pockets
• Stitched the facing pieces together
• Constructed the belt
• Sewed the shoulder seams

You can see the progress on my not-padded-for-my-measurements dress form:

HP Kimono Jacket in-progress

Excuse the state of my sewing room. I still haven't gotten around to completely unpacking everything and putting it in its place since our move six months ago. I have managed to unpack everything that I might need to reasonably get to in the near future, but as you can see, I still have boxes stacked on top of each other, plastic tubs in the middle of the room, etc. 

See that blue metallic linen on the floor? That's there because my toddler daughter is OBSESSED with it. No matter where I fold it up and put it away, if it's visible and in reachable distance to her, she pulls it out and drapes herself in it and walks around the house in it. At this point, I'm just letting her play with it because it seems to make her happy. And isn't that the point of fabric--to make us happy?

A few thoughts on my cardigan/jacket so far:

• The finished jacket won't be so shapeless; the darts do add nice shaping, even if you can't tell on my smaller-than-me dressform. 
• The pocket gape is entirely my fault for not stabilizing them. The instructions do call for interfacing, but I omitted it because I wanted a slouchier look for my cardigan. In hindsight, I should have used twill tape or something else because the pockets did stretch out. I'm not going to beat myself up over it, though--I won't be the first person walking around in a cardigan with pocket gape.
• I've seen various complaints online over the years over HotPatterns not including enough notches and the size lines being difficult to distinguish (they include sizes 6-26 in every pattern). I am guessing to address these complaints, they've made the size lines MUCH easier to distinguish on this pattern--labeling them every few inches or so. There's more notches/markings, too. 
• I draped the non-side-seam-sewn cardigan over my shoulders, and I think I'm going to be pretty happy with the final cardigan, barring any late screw-ups by myself. It's going to be a true four season wardrobe workhorse. The elbow-length sleeves and wrap style will make it nice for layering over a number of pieces. I am looking forward to having this project complete so that I can wear it.

Merino wool knits from FabricMart

My first (and only) major instance of falling of the fabric purchasing wagon this year happened when FabricMart had their big sale on wool knits a few weeks ago. My wools (all merinos of various knits) arrived a few days ago:

Merino wool knits - FabricMart

My haul, starting at the upper-left corner, going clockwise:

• Merino wool knit jersey in dusty teal
• Merino wool knit jersey in "royal"
• Merino wool knit jersey in plum
• Merino ponte knit jersey in (something I can't remember) olive
• Merino ribbed jersey in heathered gray
• Merino ponte in cayenne
• Merino ponte in off-white

The olive and heathered gray jerseys are slated to be long-sleeved t-shirts (probably for layering) for my husband, so this isn't all for me. As you can probably deduce, I spent way too much money on this haul and will be refraining from unplanned fabric purchases for the forseeable future. The good news is that these are all solid basics and are likely to be sewn in a reasonable timeframe.

This box put me at 24 yards purchased for the year. Counting the in-process cardigan/jacket, I'm at 6 yards sewn so far for the year.  I have a bit of catching up to do.

Sewing Goals 2104: 12-piece capsule wardrobe

I'm writing this post to expand on the capsule wardrobe goal that I original mentioned in my Sewing Goals 2014: Non-stash related post. To recap, about a week and a half ago, Trudy from HotPatterns sent out a promo email advertising 12 patterns that would temporarily be 20% off and could be used to build a capsule wardrobe for spring. She included example photos of the garments plus suggested patterns that could be used for each garment.

HotPatterns Spring 2014 capsule wardrobe

Usually, I like the idea of capsule or "mini" wardrobes far more than I think that said wardrobe would actually work with my lifestyle (casual office/mom-on-the-go), but this one differs to me for several reasons:

• This capsule pretty much nails how I typically dress and would include a number of garments to address holes in my current wardrobe.
• Many of the pieces are neutral, so I can start wearing them as soon as I sew them without having to wait to sew up a companion/coordinating piece.
• I already own all of the patterns on this list or have a reasonable substitute in my stash.
• I already own fabric in my stash that can be used to make every garment on this list.
• Of the 12 patterns (or my substitutes), 9 come from my Stash Candidates List.

I don't plan to sew exclusively for this capsule wardrobe until I'm finished; I'd burn out pretty quickly that way. Instead, I plan to use this list as a checklist. My goal is to get through this list of 12 garments by the end of 2014. Additionally, in some case I will be substituting a garment that is similar "in spirit" to the suggested garment out of my own personal preference.

Shall we take a closer look at the 12 garments in the capsule wardrobe list?

#	Garment	Suggested pattern	My interpretation
1	Shapely denim shirt	HP P&S Princess-seamed shirt	I'm not a fan of denim shirts--too many memories of friends working at Blockbuster in the 90's. I will substitute another neutral woven blouse for this, using either the P&S Superfantastic shirt or the Riviera Montserrat blouse, probably in white cotton shirting.
2	Slouchy striped t-shirt	HP Weekender Breton T	I just completed a semi-fitted striped t-shirt using the SBCC Tonic t-shirt pattern. I think this top nicely captures the spirit of the HP suggestion.
3	Fitted white t-shirt	HP P&S Fitted t-shirt redux	I'll either give the suggested pattern a try or will make the SBCC Tonic t-shirt pattern again using a white rayon t-shirt jersey.
4	Relaxed gray t-shirt	HP P&S Relaxed t-shirts	Most of my gray t-shirt fabric in my stash is already slated to become t-shirts for my husband. I may choose another color for this one. For the pattern, I'll either give the suggested pattern a try, or will go ahead and use the SBCC Tonic t-shirt pattern again.
5	White jeans	HP Classix Nouveau Dressy Jean	I won't do white jeans. They still scream 80's to me, and I'm not slim or young enough to wear them. For this item, I'm leaning towards swapping in a pair of HP Classix Nouveau Dolce Vita slim cut pants in a stone color or maybe black.
6	Fun color jeans or pants	Classix Nouveau Dolce Vita slim cut pants	I have a nice length of brick red stretch denim in my stash. It's still a fun color, but doesn't scream that you have to be under 30 to wear it. I'm thinking of going with either the HP Classix Nouveau Dressy Jean or the HP Weekender Boyfriend Jean for the pattern.
7	Boyfriend jeans	HP Weekender Boyfriend Jean	I have plenty of denim in my stash in varying blue dyes. I'll choose one of them to go with the suggested HP Weekender Boyfriend Jean pattern.
8	Slim denim skirt	HP P&S Slouchy Fly Front Skirt	Based on the line drawings, I think that the Cake Hummingbird skirt is probably better suited to my figure. I'll be making that in denim from my stash.
9	Fun print top or blouse	HP Classix Nouveau Scarf Shirt	I'll be using the suggested HP Classix Nouveau Scarf Shirt pattern for this garment. I haven't decided on which stash fabric to pair with it yet.
10	Solid t-shirt dress	HP P&S Relaxed t-shirts	I don't see a lengthened relaxed t-shirt being the best choice for my figure, but I get and like the idea of this entry. I think that the HP P&S Essential Shift Dress in a nice ponte knit from my stash will be a suitable replacement.
11	Black crop or moto jacket	HP Metropolitan Agostini Moto jacket or HP Riviera Blvd Cardigan Jacket	I made a version of the HP Riviera Blvd Cardigan jacket a while back and liked it, but I'm leaning towards the HP Metropolitan Agostini Moto jacket on this one. For either jacket, I'll be using a black ponte knit from my stash (thank you FabricMart). I've been wanting to make a moto jacket for a while, and the Agostini has the added benefit of paneled seams and not being double-breasted.
12	Belted gray cardigan/jacket	HP Fast & Fabulous Four Seasons Kimono Jacket	I've already started this one. I'm using the suggested HP Fast & Fabulous Four Seasons Kimono Jacket pattern and making it up in a firm wool sweater knit.

Finished Project: SBCC 322 - Tonic t-shirt (version 2)

I loved my first SBCC Tonic t-shirt so much that I jumped right in and made a second one:

Striped Tonic t-shirt

 Remaking a pattern used to be a rarity for me. I'd have the best of intentions, but it used to be that when I was done with a pattern the first time, I was Done with it. That pattern might sit on top of my sewing desk for the next six months with the good intention that I'd make it again, but I rarely did so unless A) it was a quick and painless sew and B) I was in love with the finished garment.  I've gotten a lot better about this over the past year or so, although I'm not sure if it's so much that I've been "better" about it, or if it's been that I've been mainly sewing easy knit tops/dresses since my daughter was born 19 months ago.

I made a few minor adjustments:

• Raised the neckline at the center front (CF) by 1".
• Added ~ 3/4" at the side seams at the hip. (Note that my current measurements correspond to a straight 2X across the board on the SBCC size chart, but I needed a little more room than that for my large rear high hip.)

The CF alteration raised the neckline to a level that I'm a bit more comfortable with at work (not that it's bad as drafted).

The addition at the hip helped a little with the pulling at the back, but I think that to get a "perfect fit", I really need a center back (CB) seam back there where I can play with a sway back/large butt alteration. You know how a lot of women's hips are larger after having a baby? My hip measurement is proportionally larger compared to my waist/bust than it used to be, but everything redistributed itself to my butt. You'd never know from looking at me straight on that my hips measure 2.5" larger than my bust, but they do...and that measurement largely comes from junk in the trunk. I don't have a problem with it--it is what it is, but I am now dealing with some fitting issues that I did not have to deal with pre-baby.

Doggy photobomb!

In any case, I'm very happy with version 2, as well. This striped top will become the first piece of the HotPatterns capsule wardrobe that I'm starting. I'm psyched about this--I will be swapping out a few patterns for non-HP patterns, but for both patterns and fabric, I will be able to complete the entire capsule wardrobe from stash.

My next entry in the capsule wardrobe will be the gray, belted cardigan. I am using the suggested pattern of the HP Fast & Fabulous Four Seasons Kimono Jacket. For fabric, I am using a firm, wool sweater knit that's been in my stash for around four years (I think). Remember a few years ago when fabric.com got in that lot of Vera Wang fabrics in that many of us ordered way too much of? This fabric was one of those fabrics. It was listed as a "wool jersey", but in reality, the hand/weight feel much more like a sweater knit, and it's been sitting in my stash since then. I am hoping that it will be a good choice for this project.

Sewing Goals 2014: Non-stash related

While my highest priority goals for 2014 revolve around stash balance and reduction, I have a mish-mash of non-stash related goals of things that I'd like to accomplish in the following year. In no particular order, here are my non-stash goals for the following year:

• Sew a water-resistant jacket with a hood.
  
  I made a rain jacket a few years ago (and still wear it), but it really bothers me that it doesn't have a hood and that I still have to use an umbrella when it's raining. I want to rectify that this year, especially since it rains so much more in Seattle than San Diego, and I know that this to-be-sewn jacket will get a ton of wear.
• Sew a winter coat.
  
  I don't have one that I like. I need one. We seem to be through the worst of our cold weather here in Seattle, so I will probably take my time with this one and/or punt it to fall sewing. I already have the pattern and fabric bought for the one that I want to make (see my Winter coat post).
• Sew my daughter's Halloween costume.
  
  I did this last year. It was fun/rewarding. I want to do it again. She's old enough now that she'll be able to pick out what she wants to be, so that will add a new angle to things. If her current interests hold through to the fall, she'll likely want to be Elmo, Muno (from Yo Gabba Gabba), a duck, or a penguin.
• Sew a capsule wardrobe.
  
  I've alluded to having a lot of holes in my wardrobe in previous posts. I am a classic example of a person with a closet full of clothes and "nothing to wear". I have four pairs of Old Navy jeans that actually fit me quite well and a few knit dress/leggings combos that I like/wear, but I am really lacking in tops that both fit and don't feel out of style and jackets/toppers to go with those. My ultimate goal here is to come up with 4-5 outfits that will get me through the work week so that A) I don't always feel like I'm wearing the same things styled the same way again and B) not go through my closet on Fridays really struggling with picking out a top to wear and picking out something that either doesn't fit all that well or isn't that flattering but is clean.
  
  I had been pondering what pieces should make up a capsule wardrobe like this, but Trudy from HotPatterns sent out her own suggestions for a 12-piece capsule wardrobe this morning:
  
  HotPatterns 12-piece capsule wardrobe for spring

This is it. THIS is how I dress for work. The only thing on this list that I wouldn't wear would be the white jeans (mental block against the 80's-ness of them and not being a size 4). I'm actually about to finish a striped t-shirt similar to the one pictured here. You might also notice a LOT of overlap between Trudy's suggested patterns for these pieces and the "candidate patterns" from my stash that I mentioned in my Pattern Stash post. The other nice thing is that I can sew this ENTIRE capsule from stash patterns and fabrics (substituting a non-HP pattern here and there).

I'll do a series of more comprehensive posts on my capsule plans as I work them out and execute them.

• Get over my fear of fly zippers.
  
  Really. I've been sewing long enough, I've sewn a few decent ones. I don't know why I still tense up at the thought of them.
• Execute a wearable set of welt pockets.
  
  I've gotten to the point where I've done test samples that look wearable. Here's another area where I need to get over my fear and actually put them in something that I'd wear.
• Fabric out for the year should be 50% greater than fabric in.
  
  I have a spreadsheet where I am tracking this. I've already fallen behind because I got bitten by the merino wool sale at FabricMart, but I know I can recover.
• Explore the functionality of my Babylock Evolve.
  
  My one splurge/semi-frivolous purchase that came out of my signing bonus for my new job last year was to upgrade my old Brother 1034D to a new-to-me Babylock Evolve serger/coverstitch combo machine. I've already been using the 3- and 4-thread overlocks and coverstitch quite a bit, but it can do so much more, and I want to learn how to do so many more things on it.

So that's it. I have 8-non stash specific goals for the year. I'll check back against these throughout the year to see how I'm progressing.