Hi. It's February. I was debating if I should post about New Years goals for 2017 when it comes to sewing, knitting, and my personal life. Normally I don't get too personal on this blog, but since I don't have another writing outlet I will post about it all here. Because it's my blog and I do what I want 💁

Sewing and knitting goals: continue learning and have fun doing it.

That's it. I'm not going to promise that I'm going to learn specific techniques or make certain patterns. This year will be about going with the flow, making what I want when I want, and learning as I go. Short and sweet.

Personal life goals: be kind.

Recently I spent several hours with someone who is famous and she blew my mind. I could not get over how kind and engaged she was with my family and I. She was genuinely interested in talking to me and everyone else in the room and went above and beyond what I would expect of someone meeting total strangers for the first time. After she left the house I flipped through her autobiography and read about her start. When she first met new people many would freeze her out and be unfriendly on purpose because they viewed her as competition. She vowed to never do that to anyone and to treat others with kindness. It was really inspiring to meet someone who genuinely practices what she preaches. I want that. I definitely try to treat others how I want to be treated and that is something I have focused on for years, but I need to step it up and go out of my way for others. The little things can make a big difference.

My hero, Marc Ching, posted this on his website and it really spoke to me:

The greatest gift in life is giving.
My heart is dedicated to those around me. And if I learned anything from my journey back into that dark night – it is to try to be the best human being I can possibly be. We should all breathe into those around us, because that’s all it takes to change things. One breath. And giving.

When sewing and personal life collide
I'm going to work on some projects to raise money for my favorite animal rescue group, The Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation and knit some small things for others. Giving back is so important and I need to do more. Stay tuned.

Happy New Years, friends! I hope I didn't bore you to death, thanks for reading and being awesome all the time.

It's hard to write about the new projects I am working on when I never really wrapped up what I made in 2015. When it came to blogging in 2015, let's be real, I was pretty terrible. So many "life" things came up (buying a home, moving, the busiest year I have ever had at work, knee surgery for my husband, etc.) and updating my blog was definitely low on the priority list. Sewing and knitting still happened, just not as frequently, and when I had free time I spent it spoiling my niece, traveling to Stanford 327846923423 times for my husband's doctors appointments, reading, and hanging out with my buddies. Taking a mini break from my blog felt great, but I'm ready to get back to it and start posting!


So, let's talk about 2015, the year where my goal was to challenge myself each month. It started out strong with a scrap quilt, learning to knit socks, knitting two at a time, and thennnn nothing haha. Well, learning a new way of assembling a log cabin quilt from Luke Haynes and figuring out how to install grommets was pretty cool, but I did not reach my goals :( :( :(

In 2016 I would still like to (unofficially?) challenge myself, but I'm not going to have a meltdown if I don't reach a certain predetermined number. This year I would like to knit more socks because I am obsessed with knitting socks and it makes me happy, make more active wear because it makes working out way more fun, fit a pair or two of pants (Ginger and Thurlows I'm coming for you, watch your back), and be fearless when it comes to projects that require ordering extra parts. This sounds lame, but when patterns require a lot of things I don't have in store access to (fancy twill tape, rivets, snaps, whatever) it is almost a turn off for me because I don't enjoy hunting down extra parts. Am I lazy? Probably. But I'm being honest and I want to change.


A positive that came from 2015 was that everything I made gets worn. Because I wasn't sewing as much I was more thoughtful when it came to choosing projects and only made things I was 100% stoked on. Sewing less wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it actually helped me realize that I really enjoy sewing with knits, don't wear dresses or skirts all that often, and need to make more separates.

So cheers to the new year and let's make some awesome stuff in 2016, ok?!?!

Since learning how to knit almost two years ago I have been slowly building up a stash of yarn to use for socks. Problem is, I don't know how to knit socks and now I have a bunch of yarn. In comes Craftsy to save the day!

For the month of February my goal is to knit my first pair and I'm learning how by taking the My First Socks Craftsy class. To be honest, I'm kind of waffling between liking the class and not liking it so far. Once I finish the lessons I'll let you know what I think.

The yarn for the first pattern is worsted weight and typically thicker than yarn used for most socks. It has been nice to use because I'm figuring out how everything comes together and it's really easy to see the stitches. I'm almost at the toe of the first sock and am excited to start the second. I know that's not a common feeling, but there are SO many mistakes on the first one that I can't wait to try and improve my skills on the second.

Do any of you have sock knitting tips for me?

I know, I know, I know that you guys are sick of reading about what everyone is planning to do in 2015.... and this post is all about what I'm going to be doing in 2015. SORRYYYYY.

But before we jump into 2015 let's backtrack to one hot summer day in 2014. I was bored at a Hank 3 concert (technically it was before Hank 3 played) and I definitely wasn't entertained by the drunks wandering around getting wild, so I decided to be productive with my time. I whipped out my notebook and made a list of things I wanted to accomplish in my "sewing life" and probably got a bunch of strange looks from the drunks, but whatevs. Looking at the long list was kind of daunting, life is too short and there is so much to learn, right? Then I thought about past goals and what worked and didn't. The times I was most successful were when I was specific about what needed to be done and when a time frame was clearly noted. I decided to use the list and apply it to my 2015 plans.

This year I would like to create a sewing, knitting, or quilting challenge for myself each month. It might be something "easy" like sewing a lapped zipper (I've never sewn one!), more complicated like fitting pants, or anything else that will get me out of my comfort zone. Some of you are probably rolling your eyes and thinking, "fuckin duhhhhh, that's what you should be doing anyways," but sometimes I need motivation and a deadline to stay on track. Knowing that my to do list will be broken down into manageable chunks, and the fact that you guys will be holding me accountable, is definitely going to help my productivity.

Shortly, there will be a blog post up on the January challenge, but I have no hard plans for the rest of the year, just ideas from the list. I'd love to hear any suggestions from you guys though, if you have any! Comment here, e-mail me, or contact me on Twitter or Instagram. And if any of you want to join in with my twelve challenges or make your own twelve challenges please let me know :)

This is going to be a fun year. Cheers to 2015!

Yes, this post is more than a few days behind schedule, but better late than never, right? Below I have listed some goals that I would like to work towards in 2014. I'm sure this is the millionth post about resolutions that you have read and it's probably more boring than a baseball game (sorry baseball fans, I'm just not into it), but I like to blog about my goals and then look at them throughout the year to stay on track.


1. Photography
I bought a new camera and need to put it to use. Maybe Melissa and I can get together more often and take photos of our finished sewing projects. I should also get outside and photograph the beautiful areas around my house.

2. Have fun and slow down
Hobbies should be fun and I don't want to stress myself out. My goal is to have fun making things that I will wear and not focus on a list of things that I "need" to learn. I have my whole life to sew and I don't need to get anxiety over deadlines and make sewing feel like homework.

3. Read 
I'm not sure how to go about this, but I would love to have an online book club with you guys. Something casual every two or three months or so. Is anyone interested?

4. Make things for Luke
My husband is great and if anyone deserves something handmade it's him. I ordered all three Thread Theory patterns and plan to make them for him. I am not looking forward to making adjustments for his muscles, so maybe I should hide his protein shakes and discourage him from going to the gym in the meantime? hahah! Just kidding!

5. Blog more, but only if I want to
There is so much pressure to blog and sometimes I force myself to put up a post even though I'm not 100% feelin' it. I doubt that any of you are lying awake at night wondering why I haven't posted as much, so I shouldn't stress about blogging when I'm not in the mood. And if you are lying awake at night thinking about that then I am kinda creeped out right now.

6. Make more everyday pieces
I used to sew a lot of dresses, but they don't get worn as often as they should. If you follow me on Instagram then you have seen the many tops I have made, but not blogged. I haven't posted them online because I have this fear that you guys won't think it's "exciting," but I need to get over it because that's what I wear. I don't wear fancy clothes all the time and who cares?!?!?

7. Knitting
Continue to learn and make things that I will use and wear.

In conclusion, this year I want to have fun making things that are functional!

I find that having goals to focus on throughout the year really makes me push myself and work harder, so I am all for New Years Goals. 2011 was the year of reading and I read 25 books. 2012 was the year of sewing at least one Colette garment a month. If you look at the list of garments I sewed here, it's safe to say that I surpassed that number.

2013 is going to be the year that I focus on quality instead of quantity. Last year I felt so rushed to complete garments and didn't take the time to learn new techniques. Well, I did learn some new techniques, but not as many as I could have learned. This year I will probably make fewer garments and blog less, but will hopefully end up with beautiful clothes, inside and out :)

While I may not complete all the items on the list below, I would like to put a good dent into it. Some techniques I would like to learn and some items I would like to sew are:

• Bound button holes.
• "Tricky" fabrics.
• Pants, specifically Juniper.
• The Anise jacket (I have never made a jacket).
• Jeans.
• Sew more separates.
• The Bombshell dress.
• Lapped zippers.
• Matching stripes, checks, and patterns.
• Altering existing patterns (changing the neckline, adding a collar, mixing different pieces from different patterns, etc.)
• Trying new pattern designers and companies.
• Drafting a couple of simple patterns for myself.

Last year I wanted to read twenty four books and I am very happy to say that I accomplished that! I think the reason I was successful was because I had a clear goal, planned to make it happen (two books a month which means one book every two weeks), and stayed on schedule. I decided to do something similar this year with my sewing plans.

My plan this year is to sew at least one item of clothing a month, which means twelve different pieces. I am doing this because I am so inspired by the new Colette Sewing Handbook from Colette Patterns. When it comes to garment sewing I am completely self taught and easily intimidated. After reading through the book so many previously confusing things make much more sense and I want to put my new knowledge to use.

My first five garments are going to be from the included patterns in the book pictured above. The next seven patterns will be purchased from their website. Twelve articles of clothing made from Colette Patterns = 2012: The Year of Colette.

Now, I know that to some twelve pieces is not that many, I mean Veronica and Debi make something every week, but to me twelve is a lot! I don't have a ton of sewing experience, but I feel like I can reach my goal! I hope you enjoy watching my progress.