2022 was another productive sewing and crafting year. It's funny; it never feels that way in the moment because the idea list keeps growing exponentially, but these annual reviews assure me that I am keeping busy. I've got 16 projects pictured here, but only 12 of them made it to blog posts. Oh well. At this point I'd like to keep moving forward, so it looks like they may only exist on this blog as mere mentions in this post.
So what did I make this past year?
Gifting: Well, 3 of these were gifts/intended for other people. Squid, mini-book, and brown pouch. 3/16 doesn't seem like enough. That's something to work on in the coming year.
Garments and Time Periods: I can also look at these projects by what I made: 8 garments, 4 wearable accessories, and 4 other (I'll call them home-goods for now).
Digging further I can see that of the garments and accessories 8 were historic, and 4 were modern pieces.
Of the historic pieces, 4 were medieval (red Viking apron dress, blue tunic dress, turquoise pouch, and brown pouch), 2 were inspired by the Bronze Age (the 2 heanos garments), 1 was 1950s (the poinsettia blouse), and 1 was fantasy/renaissance festival wear (mint green chemise).
Pattern Sources: These projects came through a variety of sources. 5 of them were self-drafted (pillowcases, heanos 1 and 2, the book, and the octopus necklace), 5 were found online (dresser refab, squid, black necklace, blue tunic, and red apron dress), 4 came from "Big 4" pattern companies (purple gown, white dress, mint chemise, and poinsettia blouse), the other 2 came from independent designer Margo Anderson (the 2 pouches).
Material Sources: I did not succeed on the stashbusting/UFO front - only 3 of my projects came from existing materials (the black necklace, the turquoise pouch, and the squid). However, 12 of these projects came from materials that were purchased during 2022 - many of them in the weeks following their initial purchase. At least they aren't adding to the general stash. The holdout was the minibook, which was produced using materials already existing, but in someone else's stash. That being said, I did manage to pull in a few notions that count towards stash-busting, even if the whole project didn't qualify (ribbon flowers and lace for the chemise, a spare button for the poinsettia blouse, the chain for the octopus, and the the jeweled trim for the purple gown). Additionally, for the materials that were purchased new this year, the majority of them came from a local fabric recycler (6/16), 4 came from big box retailers like Joanns and Michaels, 1 from Walmart, 2 from other sources, and again the 3 that were from my stash. So there's still some sustainability in this year's crafting.
Observations: One thing that really stuck out with me while reviewing this list was how many of these projects were done quickly. Of the 16 projects, 8 were completed within a week, and 4 were done the same day that I started working on them. I don't think that I'm getting any faster at sewing, but I do think that I'm picking projects that will be finished quickly. Interesting.
Goals: Last year I said that I wanted to continue sewing things that made me happy, and increase my stash-busting. I succeeded in making things that bring me joy, but the use of existing materials is still hovering around the same 25% as last year. I wouldn't mind this so much if I weren't still actively adding to my stash, but that's the life of a crafter. Going forward I want to continue the joy projects, make some more crafts for other people, start using my stash at least at the rate I acquire it (if not using some of it up entirely), and make a few pieces that I can wear to work. With the white dress turning out too sheer, and the poinsettia top too small, I didn't make a single pieces last year to tad to my work wardrobe, and that did make me a little sad.