#2017MakeNine

Well then - we've made it through 2016 (well... just a few more hours to go here)!  It was one heck of a year with lots of ups and downs... and lots of sewing!  I haven't really sewn much over the past couple months due to our big move, but I do have lots of sewing plans for the upcoming year!

Over on her blog, Rochelle New has a wonderful way of looking ahead to sewing projects planned for the new year with her #2017MakeNine series.  She started it last year, inspired by the instagram "best nine" posts that everyone was posting.  I don't know why I missed out on participating last year... so I'm jumping on it this year!  Click on through for my list of to-sew projects for 2017.

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Top 5 Projects of 2016!

Holy crap - how on earth have we already made it to mid-December?  Someone on Monday mentioned that we're less than two weeks from Christmas and I almost peed my pants.  It just completely snuck up on me!  I feel like this happens every year... but this year especially as there has been so much going on lately!  First we bought a house, then I got my Professional Engineers License and all that comes along with that, and then we moved in this past weekend!  Wee!

Anyways!!  Gillian over at Crafting a Rainbow (holy crap if you're not following her get thee to her blog!  She's absolutely delightful!) has a wonderful series summarizing her best (and not-best) projects of the past year.  I think it is a fantastic way to look over the things we've all made and be proud of what we've learned and accomplished with each new project.

So, without further ado, hop on past the jump to see my #sewingtop5 for 2016!

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Life Update - Professional Level-Up!!

Just a quick departure from the usual sewing updates!  In addition to recently buying a house (and moving in this past weekend!) I've had some pretty exciting things happen!  I recently received my Professional Engineering License!  If you're not familiar with the whole thing, to be able to practice as a Professional Engineer, and legally call oneself a Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario, one must be licensed by the Professional Engineers of Ontario.  Here's a blurb from their website:

Ontario professional engineers are part of a community of more than 80,000 PEO licence and certificate holders committed to enhancing the quality of life, safety and well-being in the province. The P.Eng. designation represents high standards of engineering knowledge, experience and professionalism. To become a professional engineer in Ontario, you must be licensed by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO).

[...] PEO has governed its licence and certificate holders and regulated professional engineering practice to serve and protect the public of the province.  [...] PEO also raises public awareness of its role and of engineering as a licensed profession. Only a PEO licence holder can take responsibility for professional engineering work in Ontario; only a PEO Certificate of Authorization holder can offer or provide engineering services to the public. 

So, to become licensed, I have had to work in my field (water resources/ stormwater management) for 4 years after graduating and prove through a Professional Practice Exam and through my experience as and Engineering Intern that I am qualified to be licensed as a Professional Engineer.  So, not to toot my own horn (totally tooting my own horn) but I'm pretty dang proud of this accomplishment.  And what's a blog for if you're not going to brag about something cool you accomplished every once in a while?  So there you have it!  Just a bit more about me, and what I'm up to when I'm not busy sewing ;)  I sadly didn't wear any me-made items to the certificate ceremony this past Thursday as all my clothes were packed up for our move the following day!

Grey Herringbone Elmira Wrap Cardigan

Well hey there!  I'm finally back to it with some sewing!  I actually have 4 or 5 other makes that I've been to lazy to blog about, and will hopefully get those posted once we're all moved in to the new house.

I made this Elmira Wrap Cardigan (from Seamwork) a couple months ago, mostly to go with my Cat-Lady Emery Dress and other sleeveless dresses so I could wear them in the colder months.  I used a grey herringbone knit I bought from imagine gnats (amazing shop - you should check it out!)

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Ahh! We Bought a House!!

AHHHH!! Seriously, I am SO dang EXCITED!  We bought a house in October, and we'll be moving in this week.  The best part?!?  I GET MY OWN SEWING ROOM!!  (second best part being we don't have to put up with a shitty neighbour across the hall!)  Ohhhmygoodness I am so excited to have my own little space to keep all my sewing stuff and ongoing projects.

The new house is a late 1950's bungalow that was for sale by the original owner.  It's in an up-and-coming neighbourhood, so we were happy to get in before the house prices sky-rocket (it's no Toronto, but houses ain't cheap in Ottawa!)  The place is in really great condition, but needs some updating and a new coat of paint.  The yard is a blank slate with lots of room for gardening, and I'll have a great backyard to take blog photos in!  It even has a nice big window over the kitchen sink - one thing I always loved about the house I grew up in!  We're just so darn excited to settle in and make this place our own.  We really do love our current apartment (it's served us well for nearly 3 years) but it was time to branch out and have a home of our own.

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Blog Updates

Well hey there!  Long time no see!  I've obviously taken a break from blogging (and sewing a bit) over the past couple months.

While I've been away from the blog, my husband and I bought a house!!  Ahhh!! I'm going to have my very own sewing room and I'm just so dang excited.  At the time of posting, we have only 10 more days to go until we move in.  

I've been collecting ideas and figuring out how I want to decorate my new room once we've moved in - but most of all I'm just looking forward to getting back to some sewing.  All of my sewing-stuff has been packed up for the past couple weeks, and I'm just itching to dig it out and get back to making things.

Also, you may have noticed that my blog is looking a little wonky... I'm currently trying to re-vamp it and move away from the "year of sewing" theme to just a regular sewing blog, and the HTML stuff is a bit slow-going.  I tried an esty-bought blog template, but I really didn't like the lack of customization, so I'm going to try to figure the stuff out on my own.

Anyways!  Figured I would just pop in with a quick update (I'm home sick from work today with the cold that has been making the rounds) and let you know that I'm still here and I still plan on blogging about my sewing!

I DID IT!!!!!!!

YIPPEEEEE!!!  I made it a whole damn year sewing almost all of my own clothing!!  Holy crap you guys I'm pretty damn proud of myself.  I did cheat a few times (whoops!) and didn't quite get everything I was hoping to get done, done.... but I managed to sew myself a fairly substantial wardrobe!  If you're new to the blog and wondering what the heck I'm talking about, head on over to this page and see my original goal.

Here's a quick breakdown of what I made (for a full list, hop on over to this page!)

• 8 tops
• 9 dresses
• 7 skirts
• 5 pairs of leggings/ sweats
• 1 trench coat
• 1 duffle bag
• 1 set of PJ's and one pair of PJ shorts
• 3 bathing suits
• 1 robe
• 3 bras

That's 40 items total!  HOLY CRAP!!  On top of these, there are also a few items I just haven't gotten around to blogging, or totally forgot to blog about in the first place... so I'm thinking the grand total is actually closer to 45 or 50.  That's nearly one item a week!  There were definitely times where I wouldn't sew for a week or two, and then blitz things in one weekend (I think the record is 4 completed items in one weekend), but for the most part, I was fairly busy with sewing non-stop.

Now... the cheats!  I bought a total of 7 t-shirts.  Mostly roller-derby related, and one the other day because I really wanted it (ha! terrible impulse control, much?)  I also had to buy "golf clothing" to wear for my company's annual golf tournament, as I decided to attend somewhat last-minute and didn't have time to source fabric or patterns for something appropriate.  Underwear and bras don't count, and I did restock on those throughout the year.

There were a few items I had been meaning to sew before the end of this project, but just didn't end up getting to.  I had hoped to have a pair of jeans done (I seriously need to get on that soon...) and I was going to attempt some underwear.  I had thought about sewing a few cardigans, but I don't have a button-hole function on my machine, and the right sweater-knit is really hard to find.  I never got around to sewing some camisoles... but I imagine that would actually be a huge pain in the ass.  And of course, there are all the other dresses, skirts, pants, and tops I have swimming around in my head that I just didn't have enough time for!

As for the blog... I learned something important about myself.  I really don't enjoy it as much as I thought I might :/  In starting this project I was really excited to put myself out there and share some stuff on the internet!  I had no idea how much work it can be to regularly pump out blog posts.  Good gravy!  Mad praise for those of you who keep regular blogs... OOf!  I think the hardest part is just getting nice photos of my makes done.  I never built up the confidence to got take photos of myself outside, and getting the right lighting in my apartment can be tricky at times.  Also, usually when I have time and the lighting is right, I'm spending the weekend in my sweats and don't feel like changing into outfits and making myself look nice!  I much prefer sharing my makes on instagram where it can be a quick on-the-hanger shot.  Heck, maybe I'll just switch to that for sharing photos here on the blog.  I will from time-to-time keep updating here (after a bit of "re-branding" perhaps?) but don't be surprised or upset if posts really start to slow... Or who knows!

Anyways!!  I'm calling this project a total success!  I've developed a totally new love of sewing, learned a TON of new skills and techniques, and I've really enjoyed following along with the online sewing community - you're all absolutely delightful!  Thanks to all of you who followed along with my little project  😍

Mermaid Sophie Swimsuit

Capping off what turned out to be a bit of a swimsuit week here on the blog with my Mermaid suit!  I had about a metre of this fabric leftover from my Mermaid Leggings, and I knew it needed to be turned into a swimsuit this summer.  Thank goodness for the Sophie Swimsuit pattern!  

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Geometric Print Reno & Dakota Bikini

Well well, it's bathing suit week here on the blog!  The second suit I finished up is the Reno & Dakota Bikini from Seamwork.  They released the patterns as two separate pieces (personally I think this is stupid but that's fine) and with two names.  Reno is the top, Dakota the bottom.

Both pieces have a bit of a retro look to them, but since I used a fun, modern print, I don't think the retro-ness really shows through.


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(Less Than) One Month To Go!!

HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS!!  I can hardly believe it is already September, let alone the last month of my year-of-sewing challenge!  I really didn't think a year would go by so quickly and I figured this challenge would be a lot harder than is has been.

I'll be sure to do a year-end wrap-up post at the end of the month, but I just wanted to acknowledge how far along I am in this "challenge".  I have had SO much fun and have learned lots, and I'm excited for a new season starting up and an already too-long list of fall and winter sewing to get started with.

I still have a few pieces that I haven't blogged about yet, and a pile of failures that I've been meaning to do a post on.  I had also intended on sewing myself a pair of jeans by the end of this year, but the way September is shaping up (so so busy!) I don't think I'll be able to find the time.  I've also been meaning to do another wardrobe cull, since there are definitely some pieces that didn't get as much wear as I though, as well as some RTW items that have been pushed out by me-made items.

I think I'm still going to continue with the blog after the year, but I might make some title-changes and I've been thinking of cleaning things up and giving a different platform a try (anyone have a good experience with wordpress or squarespace?)  We shall see.  Anywhoo... I best get back to some sewing!