2009 Sewing Recap

2009 marked my venture back into sewing garments after about a 30 year layoff.  I had been a quiltin' fool for the past 18 years or so and just totally burned out on it.  Really you can only make so many quilts.

I had no goals or expectations this year so I wasn't too disappointed with my final garment total of 19 pieces for me.  This breaks down as follows:

4 - dresses
6 - blouses/knit tops
3 - jackets/vest
2 - pants/capris
4 - skirts

I also made the following items for other people:

1 - dress (for my grandniece)
4 - aprons (1 child, 3 adult)
2 - purses
1 - UFO quilt (a UFO is an unfinished object, this was a quilt top that I finally finished for one of my brothers)

Of course I would have liked to have completed more items but all in all looking back I am pleased. Some of the garments I made for myself worked and others didn't.  I actually tossed 1 blouse and 1 dress.

Here are a few items I finished toward the end of the year that I never showed pictures of (sorry the pictures aren't better......now that is a GOAL for 2010, better pictures!)

B4659

Although you can not tell from this awful picture this blouse turned out very nice.  The collar construction was a little fiddly but I learned from my muslin the best method for me. I also learned from the muslin how large this pattern runs. I normally cut a 12 add a little at the side seams but this one I had to actually cut a size 10 on the final garment.  I love the way this blouse fit except for the sleeves, which is what drew me to this pattern.  The cuff portion is just overwhelming (as was the collar which I took in a bit) . But it looks great on and the blue/green print looks great with jeans. I have gotten a lot of nice comments when I wore this.

NL6830

This top was my second attempt at sewing with a knit. It turned out much better than my first attempt perhaps because the fabric had a little texture to it and wasn't so darn slippery.  I really like this top except the neckline is WAY too low.  I will definitely make it again but redraft the neckline.

NL6919

I LOVE this vest. It is made from a stretch embroidered pinwale corduroy from Denver Fabrics.  It is fast and easy. I am having trouble with the buttonholes on this so it is not completely finish.  I managed to get 1 buttonhole complete then the thread started shredding.  I practiced on the same fabric before hand and had no trouble so I am not sure what the issue is, and it is almost impossible to pull out the half completed buttonhole. I've washed it again to see it is softens up a little and will try again. I just love it and hate to ruin it.

When I was cruising Denver Fabrics one day I came across some fabric I absolutely fell in love with, but it was a little pricey for my meager budget and somewhat of a fancier fabric that I would not wear much to justify a purchase.  When I started my new job one of the first things they told me about was their Christmas party....well I would need something nice for this little shindig and my thought made a beeline for the fabric at DF and how nice it would look in this simple vest pattern without the collar.

The fabric is embroidered silk brocade, but since I haven't solved the buttonhole problem on the corduroy version I didn't dare try to make them on this version. I really wanted to wear it to the party with a simple black silk turtleneck and a wide-legged black pants. Maybe next year ........(sigh).

Here is a close-up of the fabric:

I love dragonflies! I have a small dragonfly tattoo!  I love this fabric!

My favorite pieces that I have made this year are the above vests, blouse B4659 and B5331 which is kind of a short-sleeved jacket vest.

I never got to my winter coat, which is a pity because for the next 4 days our nightime temperatures will be in the 20's ( I know, not very cold for some of you but this is FLORIDA). It would have come in very handy this year. Oh, well maybe next year.

On my sewing table now is a muslin dress pant  from a 70's pattern.  I have two nice poly suiting fabrics, one black with a cerulean  pinstripe and a heather grey with a double pinstripe of pale pink and fushia. I really need a few nice pairs of pants so I'm hoping to get the fit issues worked out on the muslin this weekend and pop these puppies out pronto (try saying that 3 times really fast).

So that's my 2009 wrap-up! This year again, I make no promises to myself except to enjoy my sewing. I am going to make a concerted effort to finish up 1 or 2 UFO quilt projects if for no other reason than to just get them out of the house and out of my sight!