2012 – A Year In Review

I knowww I said I wouldn’t be back until 2013, but I just realized I haven’t made a proper yearly review! This is important!

First up, let’s talk about how many pieces of clothing I made. I thought I was slacking, but I started clicking through the months and saving pictures and holy shit:










(psst- click on the picture to see the patterns I used for each piece! Sorry these aren’t in better order; it was hard enough just getting them all in the collages)

Assuming I got them all, that’s 52 things I made this year (I know, you see 50 pictures – but two pictures have two garments in them, so booyah!). Oh, and that doesn’t count the handful of Renfrews I made that never appeared on the blog. That’s basically a garment a week? How the hell did that happen haha.

I know a lot of people think I’m some kind of madwoman sewing machine who never eats or sleeps, but I assure you – I have a full-time day job, and I spend just as much time sewing as I do having fun life experiences with friends. I just really, really enjoy sewing!

Just glancing over those pictures, here’s a list of my top favorite/most worn things I made this year:
- Gingham Peony – This is forreal the perfect little biking dress.
- Cheetah Mock Wrap Dress – This dress is surprisingly versatile – it works just as well in summer as it does winter. And it’s leopard, which is always a plus in my book.
- Disaster Dress – I love this dress! The lining and lace were gifts from two different blog franz, and I think of both those lovely ladies every time I put it on (is that creepy?). Not to mention, I just feel so pretty and elegant when I wear this dress.
- Thurlows! Specifically – the old man Thurlows (which may or may not have had a brush with death over the weekend… Landon put them in the wash :X They fit, but they’re a little short HELP) and the gingham Thurlows, which I seriously wore several times a week in the summer. I wish I could give my Thurlow jeans the same nod of appreciation, but unfortunately the fabric isn’t quite cutting it for me – over the course of the day, they stretch out and get super baggy. I love the way they look when they are fresh out of the dryer, though. I may need to revisit denim next year and see how I can make these better.
- Last, but not least – the mustard Agatha. I am going to wear this sweater until it falls apart in glories wooly ribbons. Watch me.

Some really awesome things happened in 2012, and not just clothing! Let’s see a recap:
- I bought a Featherweight sewing machine. Longtime sewing dream: accomplished!
- I learned how to knit in 2011, so by 2012 I was ready to tackle my first sweater! It took 3 months and it was super difficult at times, but I powered through and now I have a new favorite wool sweater that goes with practically everything I own Here is an agonizingly long list of posts that cover the process
- After the first sweater, I got pretty fearless and went on to knit 4 more sweaters. That’s 5 sweaters in one year haha! YAY SWEATERS.
- I participated in my first Me-Made-May and not only did I manage to wear handmade for 31 days straight… I didn’t repeat an outfit, either.
- I had one major sewing fail, and it came in the form of an Amy Butler handbag.
- Vogue released a new line of patterns that had the most ridiculous styling and posing ever and we all lol’d for days.
- I painted this chicken and it is cool as fuck.
- I moved to the other side of town (yay! BYE EAST NASHVILLE) and got a fancy pantsy new sewing room, and eventually a real sexi couch.
- Landon & I went to Chicago, where I had my first ever blogger meet-up and met some of the COOLEST ladies:

♥ !!!
- I made a bear costume and wore it for the internets.
- I finally paid off my credit card! BIG HUGE DEAL!
- I found my ~*~TNT~*~ pattern, the Sewaholic Thurlows. I think I beat that dead horse well into the ground – I made 5 pairs of the same pattern, plus hosted a sewalong! AND I HAVE MORE THURLOWS PLANNED HEH HEH HEH.

As far as the goals I had for 2012:
- I wanted to make another coat – done!
- Perfecting pants fitting – I hesitate to call anything perfect, but these are mighty close
- Make men’s clothing – done and done!
- Knitting: Learn colorwork and knit a sweater – Well, the sweater is done… and then some! I haven’t dipped my toes into colorwork quite yet, but that’s coming

And a few goals for 2013:
- More men’s sewing – I want to make a proper men’s shirt for Landon, with the collar stand and button placket and everything!
- Sewing with “difficult” fabrics – slippery little shits like chiffon and silk, I’m lookin’ at you.
- Knitting socks – why haven’t gotten around to making these yet? Also, COLORWORK: your time has come.

I know a lot of my friends have been complaining that 2012 was a rough year, but it was good to me. 2013, can’t wait to see what you have in store!

2011: a year in retrospect

yeesh, has it already been a year?! soooo much has happened in the past 12 months, i hardly know where to begin!

the very first sewing-related thing i did this year? immortalize my love for sewing by branding it onto my body – forever (an evil cackle seems appropriate right now):

ISN’T SHE DARLING? this was taken immediately after it was finished.
done by jonny lashley at kustom thrills in nashville.

here’s a collage recap of every garment i made for myself this year:







(click on the photo to see the pattern i used!)
did you count them? that’s 27, plus a scarf! damn gina – that’s like sewing a garment every other week! and here i was thinking i barely made anything this year :B

i also made two small collections to sell locally – spring 2011 and summer 2011. the rest of the seasons don’t exist because i’m burnt out on making a bunch of clothes for other people. also i’m selfish and i want to keep everything i make. so there you go.

some non-sewing related points of mention:
- do you see all the changes i made to my hair over the course of the year? lol! i went from red, to orange, to bright red, to faded red, to dark brown, to black brown. bangs, no bangs, long, short, curly, straight. clearly i love playing with my hair, like, a lot.
- my very best friend (like, reaching life-partner status best friend) joined the peace corps & moved to macedonia! i miss her SO much
- best friend was also my roommate, so i had to pack up & move! double bummer! but i like my new house & it gave me a new sewing room to paint & decorate, so all was not lost.
- i met the most amazing guy and he turned my world upside-down. seriously, even my cat likes him – and she hates everyone (except me, obviously. bitch, i buy your food!). we actually just celebrated 6 months last week! blog world, this is my boyfriend, landon:

GAWD he’s such a babe.
- my beloved s10 pickup bit the dust, and forced me to learn how to navigate the public transportation options here in nashville. it wasn’t too bad! i also rode my bike a LOT. i eventually bought a new-to-me red ford ranger (what can i say? i’m a truck girl ), which is awesome but the process of paying it off has definitely put a screeching hold on buying a plane ticket to macedonia at least for now.

and now for the sewing-related mentions:
- i made my first pair of pants! and then another and then another! i am still having some fitting issues, but i think i’m heading in the right direction as far as fitting the lower half of my body. i have discovered i have a short crotch & a protruding butt. well, okay then!
- speaking of pattern fitting, i have made leaps & bounds as far as my fit is concerned. i now almost always make a muslin before cutting (or at the very least, a quick tissue-fit) and i have learned little tweaks to make the pattern work best for my body.
- this year, i forced myself to slow down & enjoy the actual experience of sewing. to me, sewing is like riding a bicycle – what is the point of rushing through it to finish as fast as you can? if you’re in a hurry, buy something ready-to-wear (or drive!). slow the eff down & enjoy the experience! as a result, i have garments that are as lovely on the outside as they are on the inside. and they wash & wear soo much better!
- i participated in my first pattern testing experience & ended up with a sweet biking jacket. this was my first experience with sewaholic patterns, and i was definitely impressed with the ending result.
- a couple (small)blog changes – i added a new page of my handmade clothes if you just want to lurk the finished projects. i signed up for a pro flickr account so now you can see ALL my photos – including old ones like the apartment i lived in for 4 years (it’s really cute!). i finally changed my banner, since the original was, er, part of a picture from the threads website :X ahem. and i have a lot of new followers! yay! hi everyone!
- not sewing, but i learned how to knit! and then i finished my first scarf! YAY! knitting is something i’ve wanted to learn for yeeears, so i’m thrilled to actually be learning this new skill

now for 2012… i have a few goals!
- i want to make another coat! i already have my pattern & fabric chosen (still debating on a lining). this baby will be fully tailored, wooly, beautiful, etc. can’t wait to start it!
- i want to perfect my pants fitting! pants are sooo easy to sew up, it’s really the fit that causes so much hair-pulling. once i get that down, i can churn those babies out one after the other.
- this is a pretty lofty ambition (and likely not something that can be completed by the end of 2012 – it might take a couple years. well, that is, if the world doesn’t end on 12/21/12, y’know), but i want to start phasing out my shitty rtw clothes & replacing them with handmade or vintage clothes. i have a LOT of clothes, and a giant chunk of them are stuff i have just to “have” – like the suit pants that don’t look very good on me, but i keep because it’s nice to have suit pants. or the tshirts that get increasingly ratty, but they are allowed to stick around because it’s good to have tshirts on hand. i don’t even buy new clothes anymore – everything i accumulated this year was handmade, thrifted, or vintage. i no longer fill gaps in my wardrobe with junky stuff from the mall, so now it’s time to start replacing the junky stuff i already own.
- i want to make some men’s clothes! men’s button-ups & ties are at the top of my list.
- knitting: i only have two knitting goals this year. i want to learn colorwork and make a pair of meow mitts. and i want to knit a cardigan – the agatha is EXACTLY what i want. it’s pretty ambitious, but i want to at least start it in 2012

as far as specific garments i want to sew up for 2012, all i can think about is spring right now! i have lots of pretty warm-weather fabrics hoarded up, visions of shirtdresses & cotton circle skirts & pedal pushers dancing around in my head

so there you go! that’s my year in review – it’s been a crazy one! i can’t wait to see what 2012 will bring!
what about y’all? anything happen in 2011 that totally rocked your world? did you accomplish something (sewing-related or otherwise!) that you are especially proud of? have any burning goals you want to reach in 2012? let’s hear them!