Sewing stats

Tomorrow I'll be posting another month's sewing statistics and I realized that I didn't do a mid-point summary. I have to say looking at my sewing statistics has been interesting. Sew, for this post I'm looking at the first half of 2012, January to June.

In the first half of the year, I've made 7  skirts, 7 dresses, 4 tops and 1 jacket. A total of 19 garments. And one set of curtains.

I still have a ton of alteration and mending projects that I did not complete. But as you can see I busy. Besides, I don't like doing alterations and mending. There, I said it. That feels better. Moving along:

• The average cost per garment came to $32.56 (excluding the cost of sewing machines, sewing machine  maintenance and the cost of various sewing tools used).  

• The most expensive garment made during the months of January to June was the graduation dress for my niece. It cost $111.91 in Canadian dollars and countless sleepless nights because I wanted it to be perfect and everything she hoped for.  

• I made three mistake garments that I'm admitting to, kidding. I believe that is it). The red mess dress, the green silk tunic, and wavy t-shirt. All that were rich in valuable sewing and fitting lessons. 

• The least expensive garment made during this period was the Burda Style 7517 dress. It came in at $11.58 and it was the least stressful item, I lost no sleep during the sewing process.  

I discovered quite a bit during this six month sewing process:   

I discovered that Vogue 1247 has the most amazing fit for a skirt and with my new body shape high waisted skirts are not the way to go. Although I do love the look of a high waisted skirts, I'll have to stop sewing them, Burda 7283, until I can locate my lost waist.   

I discovered a love for vintage patterns. Vintage Vogue 9229 taught me that it is okay to omit interfacing and the dress will turn out just fine and other wonderful techniques.

The perforated pattern makes transferring markings a breeze. I wish modern patterns were perforated.  

I discovered that sometimes you need to walk away from a project, Vogue 8748, and take some time to appreciate it. And when you come back to it with a new perspective you can end up with something that is truly appreciated.  

Vogue 1263 was the most satisfying project of the first half of the year. I was sewing it in very small chunks of time with very large breaks in between as I recovered from three cracked ribs after a car accident. Armed with a huge desire to do something, anything, a bottle of Tylenol 3 and taking things slow I ended up with some beautiful flat felled seams. I'm sure my stitching would have been much straighter if I eliminated the Tylenol 3's.  

Butterick 55679 taught me that I have a lot to learn about sewing with knits. And that not all knit stitches on your sewing machine work for all types of knits. Plus, it is always good to have an extra painting t-shirt.

Simplicity 2398 taught me that no matter how much my niece argues that she is a "jeans and t-shirt" gal and that she "doesn't care about fashion" (I know, teenagers are so cruel). I discover that she was lying by the smile she wore with her graduation dress.

That smile healed the old wounds and next time she tries to argue such nonsense, I know better.

And my most rewarding projects have been the ones that I made for others. I may not like to sew for others based on some past experiences but Mama R and my niece do not fall in this category. They were very appreciative of the items they received earlier this year. It is amazing the power that a simple "thank you" holds and the joy it can bring. Equal to the joy I typically get from sewing.