Reflections on 2015 and Goals for 2016

I lost my job in February of this year. I was home for three months prior to starting a new job on June 1st. My old job was in a very corporate financial firm. I now work for a more casual firm in a different sector.  This was a huge change and the biggest sewing challenge for me this year.

Reflections regarding 2015 ~
1. I use to work 50-60 hours a week before adding in the commuting time of 4 hours every day. It meant I was constantly tired ~ especially at the end ~ and spent a lot of my commuting time reading blogs, perusing fabric sites and looking at style.com (which is now Vogue Runway). By the time I got to my sewing machine on Saturday afternoons, I'd pretty much worked out the sewing plan for a garment and only needed to cut and sew.

2. This affected my ability to sew greatly when I was home for three months. Besides not knowing where I was going next, I lost my planning time and I had to adjust to that. It had been over a decade since I'd planned and sewed at the same time...can we just say too much pressure! So I sewed for my granddaughters instead.

3. Then I got a new job and thought that it was business casual.  Spent the week prior to starting the job sewing business casual only to get there and realize that only the Lissette top and maxiskirt worked in my new job's environment.

4. This caused much hand-wringing. Honestly I paused wondering if I'd still be able to sew at all or as much as I previously had because I no longer knew who I was.  I had a closet full of clothing that no longer fit due to my weight loss and was no longer relevant in my day-to-day since I'd changed industries. I was adrift sewing-wise for awhile this year.

5. While determining who I wanted to be & what I wanted to wear and whining about it constantly, I also had to re-evaluate what sewing meant to me. I'd been walking my previous path so long that I no longer knew who I was creatively and that was a huge thing.

6.  I slowly pulled myself out the fog. I knew that I loved maxidresses (lived in them on the weekends in prior summers) and now I could wear them daily so that's where I started sewing...and moved on from there.

7.  At various points, I felt like I knew where I was creatively and sewing wise then a little bit of time would go by and I would be floundering again. So it's been a year of growth and a lot of changes related to both my weight loss and my job change.

So I'm now wearing more RTW than me-made. The most RTW I've worn in almost two decades. I wear more pants now than dresses and my pants of choice are leggings. I know, I know that there is an entire discussion that leggings aren't pants, but I have a much lived in body so there's only longer cardigans and tunics going over my leggings.

My conservative look has been kicked to the curb along with my stockings, heels and pearl jewelry - I'm still trying to work the pearls back into my everyday life! I've also found that I'm still not a jeans girl! It's the one change I can't adjust too. I'm not on autopilot when getting dressed in the mornings - that's going to take a minute but what I wear is totally tied to how I feel that day - rather than what event is taking place at work.

My sewing is a work in progress...

Goals for 2016 ~
1. Develop a new pants pattern with a slim leg that can be made up in pontes and blends.

2. Work more designer interpretations into my sewing. I need the challenge.

3. Use more of the patterns I have on hand. To that effect I've missed the last 3 Club BMV pattern sales because I honestly believe I have so much in the cave that I can use that it will have to be a really special pattern to make me purchase it.

4. I'm going to continue to primarily sew from the fabric collection. There is so much there than can be interpreted in different ways from the original ideas I had when I purchased it. This will help me grow creatively and add some spice to my sewing.  Some much needed spice.

5. Look for opportunities to manipulate, decorate and dye fabric - adding more creative challenges for me.

6.  Figure out how to use my dress patterns creatively as tunics.

7.  Relax, relate, release - I can still sew the majority of my wardrobe - I'm just on a different path now.

Finally my sewing is going to look totally different than in previous years. Since almost all patterns are new adventures, there will be more pattern alterations made and documented. My pattern choices won't just be limited to the new, I'm going to use some of my older unused patterns too.  Their time has come.

I'm looking forward to not only my Christmas Break - some serious sewing will be going on but I'm also looking forward to what I will sew in 2016.  Thanks to everyone for continuing to follow along on my sewing journeys.  This will be my last post before Christmas and I have no idea if I will post before the New Year since I really just want to sew!

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope that you and your families experience the love and joy of the season and that everyone gets wonderful presents or what their hearts desired! 

...as always more later!