Well, here we are at the end of another year that I feel like has barely even begun. Confession time, I coasted through 2018 like a bad case of senioritis. It wasn’t a bad year for me per say, I just didn’t really achieve much sewing wise/financially/personally/professionally. I just let the year happen. I rolled with what came at me instead of planning and goal setting. In truth, it feels like I wasted a lot of time and resources that could have gone to bigger dreams. Well, I don’t really want to do that again in 2019, so I am getting organized. I have been thinking about this upcoming year for the last couple of months and what I want to accomplish. I have some financial and personal goals that I will be working on, but that is not why you are here. You are here because you and I both have a love of sewing. So let’s chat a bit about what I accomplished in 2018 and my sewing goals for 2019.
I did sew up 46 projects totaling 121.5 yards of fabric this year, which does seam like a lot even though I said I didn’t accomplish much. Maybe I accomplished more than I thought. It just feels like I didn’t do much because I didn’t photograph or blog about most of those projects. There were a lot of pattern tests and muslins in that bunch. One of my stand out projects was the Cascade duffle coat that I last blogged about. Another surprise to me was just how many pieces I made using indie patterns this year. Nineteen garments came from Big 4 patterns, five came from self drafted patterns, and an astounding 20 came from Indie designers. This past year really was the year I embraced the PDF pattern. Look at me, all branching out and growing in my sewing.
After making my 4th of July quilt I also donated the leftover fabric, 23.75 yards, to a local chapter of Quilts of Valor. I knew that fabric would just sit in my stash for years if I didn’t do something. Someone on Facebook introduced me to Quilts of Valor and what they do. They make quilts for Veterans as a way to say ‘Thank you for your service’. As soon as I checked out their page I knew I had to donate my fabrics. I got in contact with my local chapter and donated my fabrics. Maybe once I become a more proficient quilter I can actually make a quilt for them. For the time being I encourage you all to check out what they do, find a local chapter, and help out in anyway you can.
Now the not so hot. I did purchase 102.5 yards of fabric and 64 patterns this year. Of that 121.5 yards I sewed, 42 yards was newly purchased fabrics. While more yardage went out of my stash I am still disappointed that I still managed to purchase so much. This was the year I discovered the whole wide world of custom print knit fabrics. Technically, I found them in 2017, but it was only one group. In 2018 though, I joined several FB groups and purchased from a few different companies to satisfy all my geek fabric desires. For real, 32 yards came from custom knit groups, 32!! I now have Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, nerdy science prints, Doctor Who, Deadpool, and all the Star Wars under the sun! Bring on the geeky clothing for 2019!
Goals
Getting Organized: I am traditionally a paper and pen kind of planner. To help me get and stay organized this year, I knew I needed a different type planner than what I have used in the past. I considered a bullet journal because I loved the idea of customizing layouts to work for me. I also love the creativity that goes into making it so personal. Practically thinking though, I know I won’t keep this up. I do not need another creative outlet to find time for. What I found is a hybrid of sorts from Write It Down Books, on Etsy. It has all the monthly and weekly spreads pre-done, but it also features a monthly page for goals, to-do, and some reflections. These are things I was searching for! I have already started filling it with goals for the year. My 2018 planner is just bill due dates, alterations appointments, grocery lists, and a list of meals to make. Boring! For 2019, I also want to try and do a bit of daily journaling with it. Just a sentence or two a day about what I did.
Top Nine: I already posted on IG about my top nine plans for 2019, but I thought I would share a bit on here too. I couldn’t settle on just nine projects for the year. Considering I made 46 things this year, I see why that was hard. Instead I broke it down into three catagories; garments for me, garments for Eric, and non-garment projects. The garments for me is a lot of finishing the Smells Like Fall Spirit collection I started this year. A whole lot of indie patterns are going to happen again this year. I have most everything in my stash to complete these projects. The only things I need are will be fabric for my holiday dress and the quilts along with a few patterns. I would like to keep my new fabric purchasing limited to the things on this list though. The only other new fabrics I know I will get will be for Cali blog posts and strike off sewing, which won’t be too bad either.
Blogging: I have barely blogged in 2018 and I miss it! So do a lot of other people too. The Blogger Tribe group I am a part of is reviving itself and bringing back the Sunday Lately series. Basically, there are three general prompts that we all blog about every Sunday and every week those three prompts change to keep us going. I hope this will be a way to get me back into blogging regularly. I also want to change up my garment posting style a bit. I want to focus more on writing pattern reviews on the PR site and use my blog to post more how-to’s. I am still working out the details, but I have started a topic list.
Mae Scott Designs: So here it is, that is the name of my pattern company. This has been on my dream list for far too long. I have talked about it before, but really have not done anything to make it happen other than draft a few patterns for myself. I am setting some hard deadline goals this year in my new planner. They are inked in, so I have to do something now. No more thinking about it. It is time to actually write it out and break it down into actionable steps this year. I am going to serve the plus size niche because that is what I know and sew but also because it is under served. Anyone have a PDF pattern maker and illustrator they can introduce me too? I can draft all day, but I do not have Adobe Illustrator skills to convert those patterns to PDF’s.
Let’s chat, how did your 2018 go? What are you goals for 2019?
So excited to see what comes of your drafting and designing!! I know there has been a lot of discussion lately about the plus size market and people will be all over your work!
That’s exciting that you have a name for your company now! And that sounds like a lot of sewing to me, lol. It sounds like you have some great plans for the upcoming year, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens here! Happy new year!