January 2019 Round Up

Being true to my 2019 goals, this is the first end of month recap for the year. This month's recap will not only track my fabric in & out progress, garments sewn, where I'm going with my sewing next month, but also a discussion of some of the issues going on in the sewing community.

Let's start with garments made first ~
My sewing mojo did go missing during my Christmas holiday break which also encompassed the beginning of this month. When it came roaring back, I did get quite a bit accomplished but that's mostly due to a three-day holiday weekend.

I made three Cashmerette Pembrooke Tunics ~

A Dover Jacket ~

...and I cut out two more versions of the Dover Jacket, one version of my TNT shirt pattern with a tie top and a Simplicity 8265 vest. I'm working on these pieces over the next couple of weeks. Of course they will make an appearance on the blog during the month of February.

Fabric In & Out Totals ~
I'm adding some more details to my fabric in and out totals this year. This is so I can assess how much of my fabric collection I'm actually using. Last year I noticed, I tended to sew the new fabric - rarely venturing onto the walls. I know some of this was due to the fact that there's so much fabric and I have to move things around to get to the walls. I've changed some of that so the walls are more accessible.  Also, I'm making a greater effort to open the curtains on the walls more often.

One other note before I launch into in and out totals. This year I have a niece and grandson graduating from high school, so a good part of my sewing (especially this spring) will be about garments for those events. Some fabric purchases this month were made because the special event fabrics were inexpensive and I need a lot of yardage for myself and the granddaughters. My last 17 yards from Fabric Mart fits into this category.

Okay totals ~
Fabric In:  39 yards in 
These are purchases from EOS, Fabric Mart, Hobby Lobby & Workroom Social. This is high for the month of January. I'm usually much better at NOT purchasing fabric in January - so I will need to watch these numbers going forward.

Fabric Out: 28 yards out
This equals six finished garments (2 of which have yet to be blogged) and four garments cut out and waiting to be sewn. 

This is how I will be tagging fabric out from now on:
#deepstash - been in the collection more than 8 years
new - been in the stash less than 6 months 
collection - 1 to 7 years in the collection

Of the yardage out this month, 1 garment is from deep stash, 5 garments are from the collection (2-5 yards old), 3 garments are from brand new fabric (less than 6 months old), and the final garment is from scrap fabric that was previously used in another piece.

While both these totals are high, I've already put more into the collection than taken out - 11 yards more to be exact. I will need to work on this in the coming months!

Goings on in the Sewing Community ~
I touched on this in my post "Why Support a Pattern Designer Who Doesn't Support You?" which was based upon the conversation about indie designers including larger sizes in their patterns. Since those conversations started, there's been a lot of movement by indie designers to be more size inclusive. Follow the discussion on The Curvy Sewing Collective and several of the bloggers mentioned in that post.

From those conversations some new hashtags evolved to follow on Instagram:  #sewmysize #normalizeyoursize #sewinclusive and quite a few of my fellow sewists posted their measurements to IG. We did it to show that we're all normal sized human beings and that our measurements are just tools to get a great fit in our garments.  

Here's the picture I posted to IG with my measurements:

There was some conversation about taking your measurements standing vs. seated. I noted the measurements listed on my photo are my seated measurements. I lose 1-2" in my abdomen and hips when I stand up. Oh and its important to note that I've gained back 25 of the 35 pounds I lost 4 years ago.

I will also admit that in the summer under my dresses and skirts I wear thigh length spanx. Some for tummy control but most for the suppression of my thighs and to cover them so they don't rub together when I walk. Several of my jeans have tummy support/control and I also wear spanx leggings at times.

These are my personal preferences and I'm being transparent about them though I do get the feeling people are amazed at my hip size. Ummmm that's styling choices and knowing where to put what designs to accent my body's features...and as my sister says I know how to pose! *LOL*

Finally, if you're a plus size sewist looking to support other indie pattern makers who design for your size, Megan has listed them all in this blog post. I encourage you to buy from them...I know I will!

Eulogy ~
Lastly another sewing great has passed away. Cynthia Guffey died last week of throat cancer. I wrote a blog post on the effect she had on my sewing back in 2006. She has continued to influence it to this day. For her admonishment to slow down and enjoy the process, to how I measure my body, even to the amount of piping I use and how I apply it. 

I took every class she had at sewing expos back when I went as often as I could. She, like Nancy Zieman, greatly influenced the sewist I am today. She will be missed. May she rest in peace!

Wow! That was a lot happening in January! 

...as always more later!