2012 started out well -- I was sewing (although I have to admit that my first few garments have not seen a lot of rotation), working away, and volunteering with the local low-income taxpayer clinic. In April, my father had open-heart surgery and then in May, he lived with me for a few weeks while he was recovering. In June, I decided to leave my old job and found a new one, which I started October 1. Through all of this, I sewed a little, but inconsistently. I appreciated the suggestions on how to style the polka-dot dress to wear to a good friend's wedding.
We've also been taking my mom's beach place from this:
(sadly, I don't have any "before" pictures that showed the mushrooms growing out of the carpet because of the huge leaks in the ceiling -- the Oregon coast is rarely temperate).
to this:
(Believe it or not, that's the same corner -- the new door is where the window was in the first picture.)
It's been a huge project and we worked with a really great contractor. But, more-or-less weekly trips out to the coast to do fiddly little details and work with the contractor took an awful lot of time.
Also, it's always exhausting to start a new job -- I adore the folks I work with though, so it doesn't usually feel like work. But, it has left me with very little energy for sewing. I did manage to sew my nephew's cute panda costume and a couple of winter-weight dresses, sadly, unblogged about.
But, here it is, December 30, 2012 and I have been thinking about the things we survived and the things we've yet to do. To the extent that I make resolutions, they tend to be modest and more self-improvement focused than goal-oriented (which is a self-improvement goal, in and of itself!). Which all brings me to my (rather modest) resolutions for 2013 sewing:
1. Spend more time blogging -- even when I was exhausted, I was reading what other folks are up to. I needed to know that other folks out there were dealing with similar issues and still finding time to be creative. I've got several ideas for 2013 including every-other-month give-ways. (I've got to do something with all my extra patterns!). I am probably also going to share books and recipes I like as well as the progress of my yard here, so apologies in advance. I'll try to find a sewing nexus...
2. Learn to make a pair of pants. Every single pair that I've tried so far has been a disaster -- something about the fit and my weird curves. I'm still resisting signing up for the week-long intensive class at Palmer/Pletch, but I think I should be able to figure this out with sufficient dedication.
3. Figure out if there are separates that I actually look good in and like. Recently, I have discovered that dresses are much much easier to wear/style than separates. I used to wear a lot of separates though, so I'm wondering if it's just that I have yet to make a top, skirt, or pant that I like. Colette patterns will be very helpful in this project I think.
4. Forgive myself for wadders. I'm afraid that the hand-tailored jacket that I've spent at least a hundred hours on this fall is destined for this category. Much like when I was first gardening, I am trying to resign myself to the "if you don't kill any plants, you're not stretching yourself as a gardener" approach to sewing. Being rather type-A, it's not easy to forgive myself for anything other than perfection (which I wouldn't need to forgive myself for!). So, this folds into my bigger spiritual journey.
5. Continue to practice gratitude. Although not specifically a sewing goal, I wake up pretty much every day and think how lucky I am that I have the time, disposable income, and health to do the things that are important to me/interest me. There may always be things that I wish were different about my life, I think that's true of everyone. However, mostly I recognize how incredibly fortunate I am and need to continue to make that recognition part of my daily life.
Do you have any sewing resolutions? Do you object to resolutions in general?
Happy New Year! Best wishes for a peaceful-prosperous 2013 to you and your family.
I hear you on the crappy year, I'm so glad it's nearly over! You did an amazing job on your mum's house!!
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