Tuesday 1 January 2013

New Year's Sewing Resolutions....

Meg over at Meg the Grand got me thinking. She bravely posted her New Year's resolutions and many relate to sewing. And I can also relate to her resolutions.

Meg your post gave me that kick in the pants that I desperately needed inspired me to also "make do or do without."

I'll confess, I too have an obscene fabric stash. I was trying to take baby steps in 2012 to get it under control but it didn't work. I have documented my lack of will power in the presence of beautiful fabric. What can I say, I'm flawed.

I did, however, manage to reach the end of 2012 without renewing my Fabricland membership! It might seem like a baby step but that is huge for me. It was in part to see if I could stop adding to my fabric stash. Not renewing the membership was the easy part, the hard part is to fight the temptation to drop into the store.

I failed on Saturday (still in 2012 so it doesn't count, right?) when I walked in and picked up two metres of animal print so that I could play along during Jungle January over at Pretty Grievances. What can I say, I like to play.

Despite my playful nature :) I'm determined to succeed this year. No more fabric shopping not even notions. I also have an obscene amount of notions.

But I'm also going to go a bit further. No more ready-to-wear (RTW) items either.

Carolyn over at Handmade by Carolyn also inspired me in 2012, that gal has talent. Not only does she make her own clothes and clothing for her family, she even made her own undergarments. And she hasn't bought RTW in years!

I have cotton knit in my obscene fabric stash that would would work well in undergarments. So no more ready-to-wear undies or RTW anything. I'm going to copy one of my own and start stitching. I can't guarantee that it will be as perfect as Carolyn's work but hey, it's not like it is an outer garment. And this will challenge my sewing-with-knits skills.

Damn it! I'm going to do it.  Sew here it is, my 2013 New Year's Resolutions:

  1. "Make do or do without" or no more fabric/notion, yes and even pattern shopping.  
  2. Stop buying RTW, all RTW including undergarments. I'm sure I can make those. Or I'll at least give it a whirl.   
  3. Oh and that includes footwear. Now where is that DIY post from Of Dreams and Seams? Okay, maybe I won't go that far but I really don't need anymore shoes either.  
  4. Finish that quilt!
  5. Challenge my skill level (read: make a tailored jacket) and 
  6. Keep sewing fun! I think it will be fun to see if I can do this challenge. Well, that is what I'm going to tell myself for the rest of the year.      
What about you, do you have any sewing related New Year's resolutions?

Happy New Year and Happy Sewing!  

8 comments:

  1. Great plans! I didn't buy anything I could make in 2012 and it was very satisfying! I've been watching my stash grow with mounting horror, must get it under control!
    Jungle January... I am so in!

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    1. Congrats on not buying anything you could make. I'm hoping for that kind of success this year. I really do need to get my fabric stash under control too.

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  2. Replies
    1. I just hit my first snag in my plans tonight. I had to dump out my thread drawer to find brown thread. I guess I could have used black but luckily I found some brown. That was close.

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  3. Whoa!!! You are flooring me. I can and almost have cut out RTW- except for the scanties- I'm not at that sewing level and jeans, can't do it. But give up shoes? Shoes are my friends! Shoes never make me look fat! Shoes comfort me and tell me I'm pretty! Oh, you go too far brave woman! Maybe in 2014...or 15....Happy New Year!

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    Replies
    1. Jeans, yeah... Jeans are going to be tough. I have a difficult time finding a good fit for pants never mind jeans. Shoes won't be too hard since I have a hard size foot to fit. It's a wide 5 1/2. I often leave shoe stores empty handed and blue.

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  4. Hi Graca,

    I'm doing a no-buy fast for this year as well and I'm thrilled to see you and Meg are doing a similar fast as well. It ill be fun to read your journeys!

    http://gentlydowntheseam.blogspot.ca/2013/01/no-more-buying-fast-in-year-of-2013.html

    Goodluck!

    Kay

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  5. HOORAY!! SO SO GLAD you are joining me in this adventure! We're going to have our own little support group, I think :)

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