2017 Reflections

It's always interesting to review the previous year's works at the end of each year, but this year, instead of waxing and waning about each and every make as I usually do, I'll simply summarize with a few of my favorites, like the Itch to Stitch white twill shorts and NewLook 6108 sleeveless cowl top photo below, and tally everything at the end.

The most worn garment hands-down this year was the Burda Hoodie.  This, from a person who thought she hated hoodies.  Ha! Need to make another as this is worn constantly from outerwear to comfywear.... it is perfect.  Shown below, as it kicked off the first day of Me-Made-May 2017 with one, of the 4 versions, of the Itch to Stitch shorts.

The Lyocell White top, McCalls 7509, has been in strong rotation too with its not-quite-sleeveless sleeves it works well on its own with a bit of shoulder coverage, and slips under jackets and cardis easily in the cooler weather.  Am finding I love the shawl collar and should probably make another top or two from this pattern.

The Burda fur coat!!!  A show-stopper whenever I wear it!!  Love it!  So warm lined with the black fleece.  2017 was the year my husband took me back 'home' to sweet home Alabama, my home state, for our anniversary trip to include a day spent at Alabama Chanin.  Great trip!

Earlier this year my sweet Australian friend Carolyn, who blogs at Handmade by Carolyn, sent me a special package full of hand-painted fabric, Australian tea, botanical garden cup, chocolate and the Megan Nielsen Axel Skirt Pattern.  I haven't shown you the hand-painted fabric yet because I haven't had enough courage to cut into the precious piece!  But have had great fun with this cute skirt pattern making it below, as per pattern instructions......

.....and another heavily modified version eliminating all negative ease and adding pockets.  Have not blogged about this one yet.

Love the cute Simplicity 4192 coral top and wear it lots.

Haven't had a chance to blog about the Garment Bag I made.  Loved using this to carry my handmade garment entries to the South Carolina State Fair.

Speaking of the SC State Fair..... such fun!  Imagine all three entries receiving blue ribbons!!  This was my first year of entering garments in any fair/competition like this.

Interesting the Pilvi Coat has not been worn, nor enjoyed as much as I thought it would be, though I love the fabric today as much as ever.  A piece of this lovely Dandelion fabric was shared with Carolyn and she made a stunning dress!  Love her work and she is always so gracious to share her knowledge.

First year to sew a Christmas Dress in time to actually wear to Christmas festivities!  Love this!  And a big 'Thank You'!!! to all who voted for my entry during Linda's Designin' December 2017 challenge as the dress won a pattern from Jennie at Sense & Sensibility Patterns.  I chose the 1940s Swing Dress Pattern and will talk more about that in 2018.  Thank you both Linda and Jennie for this fun challenge!   Anyway, find I'm wearing this dress constantly on these cold days and want to make more fit 'n flare type dresses

This was my 4th year to participate in Me-Made-May 2017, and I took 31 out of 31 days of 'daily' photos!!!  THAT, in and of itself, was a HUGE accomplishment for me... not to mention I finally have enough handmade clothes to not have repeat upon repeat.  Again used the month of May to work on bettering my photography skills and photo-editing skills and enjoyed a couple of outings with my family that a 'need' for a MMM2017 photo created.  That's a nice 'bonus'!

2017 marks my third year on Instagram and I couldn't resist posting a collage of my own personal favorites instead of IG's customary BestNine2017 that uses an algorithm to determine which posts were most 'liked'.  Participated in a couple of different challenges there this past year and will continue to be a part of that social media platform, but do find it's easy to spend way too much time there sometimes.

Again, participated (poorly) in sweet Sarah Liz's Make a Garment a Month again this year.  This might be the 4th year with MAGAM.  I'm making garments, but not always associated with the theme.  She has made a few changes to the guidelines this year and I'll be discussing that in an upcoming post.

Began a few items toward the end of 2017 that were finished in 2018... the vest below is one.  Man alive has this simple little thing been a skillset builder!  Flat-felled seams, including 2 in-seam pockets, plaid matching, all interior seams finished..... whew!  Hopefully will blog about this soon as I'm already wearing it lots.

Also unblogged.... a pair of flannel comfy pants and Orla Dress made for my daughter.  I put together a mini-video tutorial on IG about how super easy and quick it is to machine hem using the blind-hem stitch using this dress as an example.  Will try to put that up on ye olde blog sometime soon this year too.

There was also a 2nd pair of comfy flannel pants (could not find a photo) and a pair of comfy shorts made for my daughter too.  Even though she's 25 now, she loved the Classic Pooh fabric I used for her shorts.  One's never too old for Classic Pooh, right?!  I always like to include the little tag in the back and a pretty ribbon in the front on her elastic-waist shorts and pants.  I made a pair of flannel comfy pants for me and a pair of flannel comfy pants for Tom... unblogged and no photos.  Bad blogger, I know!!

Ooooookay, so let's do a round up tally.....

• Blogged:
• Tops - 10
• Pants - 1
• Shorts - 4
• Jackets - 2
• Dresses - 3
• Skirts - 2
• Quilts/Blankets - 2
• Unblogged:  A total of 8 pieces

Total Handmade Makes for 2017 = 32

Ya' know, 32 is a good number for me!

What I've also been interested in is what pattern companies I've been using.  So let's see those numbers:

• Burda:  6
• Ottobre Design Woman:  5
• McCall Pattern:  1
• NewLook/Simplicity:  9  (most of these were elastic-waist comfy pants for me and my family)
• Itch-to-Stitch:  4
• Lotta Jansdotter:  1
• Megan Nielsen:  2
• Non-garment:  3
• Orla Dress:  1

If you might be interested in seeing each and every item I've blogged about this year, with links to each project, be sure to visit the 2017 Gallery of Work page located in the sidebar.

If you've hung in there with me so far, thank you!  But especially thank you dear readers for reading my blog and writing kind, encouraging comments.  I love being a part of our wonderful international sewing community!

I'll be back soon with plans for 2018.

Happy Sewing Everyone!  :)