2019 Sewing Plans

I'm not really one for making new year's resolutions, but I do enjoy looking back at the year, everything I did and everything I made. 2018 is especially interesting, because I started a new job in January and shifted from part-time to full-time hours, which obviously had an effect on the time and energy I could devote to sewing. Work habits are super interesting to me, so I was genuinely excited to compare tallies at the end of the year.

In 2017  I made 41 garments (33 for myself); last year I made 26 (22 for myself).

Now, some of those makes were intense, like four pairs of jeans and four button-ups (including a men's shirt), and I counted five pairs of underwear as one make. I also didn't include all the baby quilts, bags, bibs and teethers I made as gifts because I was counting just clothing, for some arbitrary reason.

Still, that's a significant difference considering I worked only a day and half more than I did when I was part-time. But more than the actual time lost, I think it was the energy level that affected me the most. The new job had a steep learning curve and required a lot more brain power than my previous position, so I was usually too tapped-out in the evenings, and when summer came, I was much more interested in relaxing outside on my weekends. You will likely have noticed that my blog suffered as well. If I had the time and energy to do something, I didn't want to spend it back on my computer — I wanted to sew! You understand.

The best part is that I can use this information to plan for the year ahead. Knowing I can only manage about two garments a month will help me keep the ambitious sewing lists shorter. That's the hope, anyways. Haha! I'm also hoping that a couple of sewing "challenges" will help in the same way.

I was pretty sure I wasn't going to participate in the Make 9 challenge again this year. I was moderately successful last year, completing five and starting three.

Honestly, I pretty much forgot about it for half the year. I think I learned that I am a much more seasonal sewist, motivated by making fresh lists a few times a year. This is why when I heard about the Seasonal Sew 3 challenge (created by the Sew Altered Style ladies), I knew it would be perfect for me. I divided up my notebook into four boxes and started filling them in... and it felt so right. I felt organized, calm and overwhelmed-free. 

Then a funny thing happened. I realized I already had nine garments picked out for the year. Haha! I can do two challenges at once, right? It actually makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. Macro and micro. One big picture goal and a bunch of bite-sized lists to keep me checking in and adjusting if necessary. I'm into it.

1. True Bias Roscoe Blouse

2. True Bias Lander Pant

3. True Bias Nikko Top *

4. Wiksten Haori *

5. Deer and Doe Magnolia Dress (or similar)

6. Papercut Patterns Palisade Pants

7. Seamwork Dani

8. Helen's Closet Winslow Cullotes (shorts)

9. Alina Sewing + Design Co. Fulton Sweater Blazer *

* Seasonal Sew 3 picks for rest of the Winter.

Fall/Winter Sewing Plans

Considering I just came in from shoveling snow, I think it's time to bring this blog into the present and discuss fall/winter sewing. Well, just winter at this point, I suppose. If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty passionate about sewing clothing this year and with that comes an equally as passionate search for patterns and apparel fabric. It can get rather overwhelming (and expensive) and I've realized that a little planning can go a long way towards maintaining some peace of mind and getting shit done!

Choosing what I want to sew is a pretty organic process. I keep ongoing lists and Pinterest boards of styles and patterns I like. The mood board above is an example of things I've been pinning lately. At the beginning of each season, I mentally take note of what is missing from my wardrobe, return to my lists, and start to make connections between wants and needs, patterns and fabrics. At that point, I usually assess my stash and see what I can use that I already own before heading to the fabric store. However, it is usually a trip to the fabric store that really gets my sewing mojo going. I love me some freshly cut fabric, especially if you know exactly what you are going to make with it. So exciting!

Once I've gathered all my materials and pre-washed all my fabric, it's time to prioritize. I have two long Ikea shelves in my sewing room and I lay my fabric out on top of those in piles according to garment and put either the pattern or a little index card with a pattern idea on top. I love seeing everything laid out in front of me. It gives me such a clear picture of what I want to make and whether it's a realistic goal. If I can't fit any more piles on the shelves, for example, it's pretty obvious that I'm trying to sew too much.

My method is nowhere near as intricate as Anna's spreadsheets. I hesitate to even call it a method, it's so basic, but it's been working for me so far. It helps me to sew pieces that I actually need and will wear, to rein in my spending on both fabric and patterns, and to physically see my timeline and progress.

Anyway, would you like to see what my sewing piles look like at the moment? 

Me Made May 2016

Happy Me Made May! That time of year when your crafty friends flood your feed with selfies. Hopefully that pleases and inspires you. If not, you may want to find something else to do for the next 31 days.

If you'll recall, last year I participated for the first time and it was so successful in motivating me to sew more wearable garments that I doubled the size of my handmade wardrobe! I'm excited to join again this year and, although I still don't have enough pieces to wear handmade every day, I have some lofty goals.

I'm always been really intimidated by knits, even though I love to wear them, so I've decided to face that fear head-on and only sew with knits this month. I'm hoping to make a couple t-shirts, leggings and a maxi dress.

I'm also promising to kick-start the blog again and post all the makes I haven't written about since I fell out of the blogosphere last year. Better find that tripod.

Finally, I pledge to wear handmade as often as I can and to supplement with vintage or repurposed the rest of the time. Let's hope that the weather warms up soon, so I can break out my sundresses.

You can follow along with my progress on Instagram and all the other people participating by checking out the hashtag #mmmay16.

Let's do this!

Me Made May Recap

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed a sudden influx of selfies over the last month, as well as strange terms like "me made" and #mmmay15. You may have wondered what this was all about.

From the words of founder Zoe Edwards, Me Made May

"is a challenge designed to encourage people who sew/knit/crochet/refashion/upcycle garments for themselves to actually wear and love them... The participants decide the specifics of their own challenge pledge, so that the month is appropriate and challenging for them." 

After intentionally building my handmade wardrobe for the last year, I was excited to be able to participate for the first time. I still don't have enough items to do an everyday pledge, but I could still play along. I vowed to wear three me-made items a week and sew three new pieces. 

Challenge accepted. Challenge complete.

You can check out my Instagram to see the 12 outfits I wore. As for the new things that I made, keeping reading.

With the exception of my Wiksten tank that no longer fits and some pajama pants that I never wear, my entire handmade wardrobe consists of dresses. This is a problem. So I was determined to use Me Made May to sew some separates.

First up was a boxy tee. I've been really into loose-fitting tops lately and they seem like something fairly simple to whip up once you have a good pattern. So, I proceeded to draft my own pattern. Haha!

I'd been saving my special polka-dot double gauze for a top just like this, and there was no way I was screwing up that fabric for a self-drafted pattern, so I made a tester out of some thrifted red chambray curtains that I have heaps of. And miracle of miracles, it fit right off the bat. Yes!

I ran into some issues with the double gauze, though. Sewing bloggers rave about this stuff and how it's so easy to work with, but I would disagree. It's delicate but bulky at the same time somehow, it's stretchy, it frays like crazy and it doesn't crease well when pressed. Sewing the bias binding on the neck was a challenge, to say the least, and the hem wasn't pleasant to sew either.

That being said, it's so delicate and soft, it's a dream to wear. In fact, I wore it three days in a row after I made it. So maybe I just need to get used to this double gauze business.

Next was a pleated button-down midi skirt.

I found this beautiful feather fabric at Needlework and immediately pictured this skirt. Isn't it funny how fabric can communicate like that? It's probably my favourite part of the sewing/design process.

Anyhow, I followed the pleated skirt tutorial on Sew DIY, which was pretty straighforward. But you do have to make some tweaks depending on the fabric you choose. Since this is a weightier cotton, I played around with the pleats for ages, trying to achieve the most flattering volume.

I also decided to keep the selvedge in there, and it makes me so happy whenever I see it that I think I should purposely include it in more garments.

I absolutely love the skirt and can see myself making many more versions!

Finally, there was the Alice Top.

Poor Alice. I tried my best to squeeze this third garment in by the end of the month, but unfortunately I can't wear it... ever. The neck was too tight; so tight that it wiped my makeup off my face! I also couldn't get the arm bands to ease in no matter how hard I tried. 

I know now that I chose the wrong fabric for this style; it needs to be much much lighter. Something like voile or, ahem, double gauze. I may also need to cut a size bigger. But, other than that, I'm at a loss as to what went wrong and at an even greater loss as to how to fix it. 

So, I hung it on a hanger, took a photo, and called it a fail. It's OK. We all have them. It's part of the game.

Despite the disappointing finale, I think I can conclude that Me Made May was a resounding success! Not only did I meet my challenge goals, but the inspiration and motivation I gained from the steady stream of handmade in my feed all month long was immeasurable. I found some great patterns to try, fabrics to search out and blogs to follow. It'll be a busy summer.

Maybe by this time next year I'll have 30 outfits to share! All I can do is try.

My 2015 Goals & Action Plans

Photo via smallglow

This time last year, instead of a list of resolutions, I set a single word to guide me through: calm. And for the most part, I think it worked. Maybe too well.

The first half of the year was completely focused on our wedding. Planning, celebrating, and then riding the newlywed high the rest of the summer. I managed to stay relatively stress-free throughout, but in order to keep it that way, many things were put on the back burner for half the year, including Dear Edna. Let's just say, it was a slippery slope from calm to lazy. And although I kicked butt from September through December, I was left feeling like I dropped the ball.

At the same time, I certainly wasn't happy when I was Super Ambitious Girl and working 15-hour days either. I guess my ideal lies somewhere in between.

I've spent the last couple weeks over-analyzing and have come up with some definite goals and action plans for the year to help me reach that middle ground.

1. Self-care: When life gets busy, taking care of myself is the first thing to go. Which is a terrible habit to get into, not to mention completely illogical. So I'm setting some self-care goals this year: predictable things like exercising more, waking up earlier (or at least on time), and eating out less, and luxurious things like more manicures, smelly candles and hot baths. Because these are the things that make us happy and we should do more of the things that make us happy!

2. Calendar Girl: There are always more things on my to-do list than I can possibly get done and I end up spending way too much time deciding which tasks to tackle each day. As much as I hate to admit it, I need structure. So, I'm experimenting with scheduling everything in a calendar. Nothing too specific, but routine blocks of time for common tasks like email, blogging, and sewing. Not only will it help me stay on task, it also gives me a clearer picture of whether or not it's actually possible to accomplish what I want... and what the repercussions would be if I decide to lay on the couch all day watching The Good Wife.

3. Sewing Sunday: A common battle many creatives face is that when we're working on our businesses 24/7, we're bitter that we never have time to work on fun personal projects, and when we're working on personal things, we feel guilty that you're not working on your business. What if we set aside a block of time, or an entire day, when we're "allowed" to work on fun projects? No work allowed. My list of things I'd like to sew for myself is as long as my arm, so I'm prepared to devote every Sunday to testing this theory . #SewingSunday. Let's make it a thing.

Do you have any big plans or intentions for 2015? Please share in the comments below. We can cheer each other on!

My Creative Resolutions for 2012

Photo via HappyDeliveries

February. Huh. I wonder how many people have defaulted on their new year's resolutions already. One way to avoid that? Don't make any until the first week of February! Ha! Another way is to not make any at all. But, I actually quite enjoy the process. I tend to overwhelm myself with all the things I want to do and setting goals really helps me focus that bit of crazy in me. This year, I'm going to push that focus just a little further by sticking to only creative goals that can realistically be accomplished in the span of one year. For example, fitness and nutrition are off limits. Sound good? Well, let's get started then.

Photos via Sew4Home and Freshly Pieced.

Patchwork
Last year I made a vow to make more for me rather than just my business and learned how to crochet and cross-stitch as a result. I am so proud of the things I made and my stubbornness to make time for them and hope to keep that crafty momentum rolling this year. However, I'd also like to learn a new skill.... quilting. My grandmother was a talented quilter, so I've wanted to learn for many years, if not my entire lifetime. Mike bought me a great sewing book for Christmas that illustrates all the steps really well and I have some patterns on their way from my sweet Aunt. It's time.

Scrappy
One of the biggest things holding me back from starting a quilt is my overwhelmingly large and unorganized scrap pile. Actually, it could probably be more accurately described as a scrap heap. The basket above is only half of it. Sounds like an intern job to me. Wait, I don't have one. Hmph.

Sergio
While I'm introducing embarrassing parts of my sewing room, meet my serger. We are not friends. Yet. Conquering this machine is a carryover from last year's resolutions. But I'm determined to learn this year, or else! Technically this guy is only on loan and if I don't learn soon, I'm afraid the owner will snatch it back. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is.

Screen Time
My doily tote was the first Dear Edna item to get attention and it continues to be my best seller through the wedding season, but after two years, it's due time I try out some new designs. My ultimate dream is to print my own textiles and there's no way I'm going to get there without getting my hands deep in emulsion. That sounds kind of dirty. It is... but not in the way you're thinking.

Photos via BlueMoonLights, Tuuni, Tonic Living

Office Space
This was on my list last year and I'm proud to say it was the first I crossed off; however, after the initial set up, I dragged my feet on the details and never finished the job. I still need better overhead lighting, curtains, and storage for my paint supplies. It seems so simple, and yet it's not done. Speaking of renovations, Mikey J and I are also planning to gut our entire kitchen this Spring. I may as well set up a tent at Ikea now.

Showtime
For all the stress and nervousness, I really did enjoy participating in my first craft show this year, the Beehive Summer Craft Fair. I was hoping I'd get to be a part of a Christmas show too, but ended up getting far too busy filling online orders. I'd like to make it a goal to participate in at least two craft fairs in 2012. That doesn't seem like too much to ask. We'll see if that opinion changes when July rolls around.

Dot Com
There's nothing wrong with getting started with an Etsy shop and a blogger account, but after two years, I found myself fantasizing about seeing DearEdna.com on my business cards. I don't know if you noticed, but thanks to my live-in IT guy, that dream was realized this week! This blog can now be found at http://www.dearedna.com/! Boom. This is phase one of a three-phase grand master plan that will take over the world. ... Haha! Just checking if you're still listening.  Really, it will hopefully eventually result in a professional, polished website, complete with an online shop all my own.



I have a few more really exciting things up my sleeves for this year, but because I'm pretty superstitious about jinxes, I'm going to have to stay tight-lipped about those for now. All I can say is 2012 is going to be big —a game-changer — I can feel it. I hope you'll come along for the ride and cheer me on! Woo!