January 2020

January was a busy month. I can't believe that Christmas was just a few weeks ago - it seems like months and months have passed since January 7 (Orthodox Christmas).

Then we had a health scare that put my husband in the hospital for 48 hours for testing. Everything is under control now, but that was a super-stressful weekend, and is the reason that I bought fabric this month. It was total stress shopping (but I've used up more than half the fabric I bought so I guess that's good?).

I also started doing some more freelance writing and editing work in the last few weeks, which has left less time for sewing. You might know that I'm the Oliver + S/Liesl + Co. blog editor. I've been trying to ditch my other contract government job, because it's not easy for me to balance that and homeschooling when we're in the United States. So I have started trying to get more writing and editing work that I can do entirely from home, and my first six weeks of that have been very encouraging. It's been fun exercising my editing muscles again - I haven't done that since my time in an Associated Press newsroom some 17 years ago.

Anyway, you're here for the sewing. And here it is.

December 2019

We spent the first week in December recovering from illness that hit the house over Thanksgiving (I swear this happens to us every single year!). I felt really awful for a long time and still haven't totally recovered. I'm always so tired in Bogota, and I suspect it's the altitude (8700 feet).

Anyway, fatigue notwithstanding, I did manage to sew a few things. I also did a fair chunk of fabric shopping, but I've already used up three of the five cuts I bought.

I used 1 yard striped purple rayon bought in April to make a Liesl + Co. Metro Tee hacked into a turtleneck.

Another Liesl + Co. Metro Tee using up all 43" of a remnant I bought this month.

A stretch velvet dress for my daughter using up all 42" of a remnant that I bought this month.

Four pairs of Playtime Leggings for my girls - size 7 plus 5 1/8" in length for N, and size 8 with the length of the 12 for Z. I used up 60" of the sparkle ponte I bought last month, 1 yard of the leopard ponte I bought recently, and a yard of the navy blue C/L I bought recently.

One velvet dress from the Building Block Dress Book for N using fabric I bought this month.  I had to narrow the included skirt pattern at the hem considerably to fit the pattern pieces on my fabric. I used up all 66" of fabric I had.

Fabric Purchases

Four yards Telio rayon twill to make a dress for me.
Polka dot velvet - 42"- used this up already.
Wine red velvet - two remnants of 32" and 34" to make a Christmas dress for my daughter - used up already.
Green striped rib 43" for a top for me - used up already.
Blue and gray striped French terry 45" for a top for me.

Fabric In/Out

December Fabric In: 9.44 yards

December Fabric Out: 8.86 yards

YTD Fabric In: 99.98 yards

YTD Fabric Out: 112.18 yards

November 2019

I did a lot of traveling in November (see my travel wardrobe capsule posts here), which didn't leave much time for sewing. But I also managed to refrain from buying fabric, so that was good at least.

Projects Completed:

One of my flights was a red-eye, so the morning of the trip, I quickly made a velvet sleep mask from the Tilly and the Buttons free pattern. I can't really claim any fabric used since the project is so small though.

October 2019

October was nuts. We had a birthday, a trip to the Amazon and our 12th anniversary. I had been in a bit of sewing rut, but this month pulled me out of it.  I made a few things for myself and sewed a lot for my kids, which was one of my goals for this year.

September 2019

September was spent readjusting to life in Bogota, getting our homeschool year started, and catching up on work that had piled up a bit.  I knew that it would be easy for me not to get near the sewing machine unless I made a concerted effort to do so, so I applied for a pattern test the first weekend I was home to get the motor running. That worked, and I did a good bit amount of sewing this month.

July and August 2019

There was no sewing this month.  Instead, I bought 23 patterns and nearly 22 yards of fabric.

June 2019

This month was a little bit insane.  Fueled both by the need for clothes that fit AND the knowledge that I was going to be away from my machines for all of July and August, I sewed 15 16 17 garments (19 20 21 if you count both pieces of the four two-piece sets that I made). I completed another item off my Make Nine list- the Liana Jeans - twice.

May 2019

May was a super-productive month for me! I sewed mostly simple projects with the exception of one button-up shirt, and made three summer pieces for each of my girls. They wore them on our recent trip to Cartagena on Colombia's Caribbean coast, and will wear them for the two months we are home this summer.

April 2019 and my Me-Made May Pledge

I don't have a focused Me-Made May Pledge this year.  I've gone from nearly everything in my closet being made by me, to not having much that fits, and even less that is me-made. I'm hoping to continue losing weight, so trying to sew a new wardrobe quickly doesn't make too much sense either.  So I will document my outfits on the days that I wear me-made, try to repeat outfits as rarely as possible, see if I can alter anything else to fit, and sew a few new things that I really need - like a pair of jeans and long-sleeved tops.

March 2019

I made some good progress on my Make Nine goals this month.  I don't know that I'll make it all the way through my Make Nine, as my priorities are already starting to shift, but I'm happy with the things I've made so far.

I'm not sure I will get to that Yuzu Coat after all, and I'm less interested in the Cynthia Rowley dress than I was when I made this list.  I do still definitely want to make the Extra-Sharp Pencil Skirt and the Classic Shirt, as well as a new Traveler shirt dress.

February 2019

This month we hit the half-year mark of our stay in Bogota.  We're a quarter of the way through and it still feels like we just got here.  And although I was thrilled at the thought of no winter when we moved, I'm finding the constant temperatures to be a little bit monotonous. Don't get me wrong; I prefer this to what's going on in much of the United States at the moment, weather-wise, but there's something weird about trying to teach my kindergartener about seasons through pictures instead of through experience!

I only completed two projects this month, but they were both pretty involved.

PROJECTS COMPLETED:

January 2019

January saw a return of the sew-jo, fueled both by an island vacation and the fact that I got to meet another IG sewist in person.  Actually, I had met her in person, and had a few good conversations, well before discovering that she was a fellow sewist - our daughters are in the same Girl Scout troop.  So funny that we never discussed sewing, but I guess that's not something I tend to talk about with people unless I know they are interested.  Anyway, after making the IG sewing connection, we got coffee and had a real sewing chat and I found myself invigorated and scrapping to carve out some sewing time for myself both before and after our trip.

December 2018

December began without much hope of sewing. As I keep saying, I've had trouble carving out that time for myself.  I think that part of it, to be honest, was feeling a bit blah on living in this huge, crowded, polluted city. The weather was particularly awful in November and the first half of December - overcast and smoggy with very little sun.

I attempted to  jumpstart my sew-jo with a tiny project.  We had a Girl Scout campout in mid-December, and bandanas were on the packing list.  I used to have a drawer full of bandanas, but it turns out that only one survived my ruthless pre-move purge - I forgot about the fact that maybe my kids would need bandanas at some point too.  Hoping that it would jumpstart my sew-jo, I decided to make a couple the day before the campout.

November 2018

Just a wee bit of sewing happened in November this year.

PROJECTS

I sewed a black velvet shrug using this Lekala pattern (my first, thanks to a gift voucher from lovely generous Nicole). I needed the shrug to wear with my Marine Ball gown. I was nervous submitting my measurements, thinking, what if it is too small, but it fit quite well. I would have liked a little more coverage on the sides and upper chest, but based on the line drawings, I think this fits as it is intended to.  It used about 3/4 of a yard of some stretch velvet that I purchased locally for this purpose.

July and October 2018

Oooh, this move has really kicked me in the behind a little bit. I have found it difficult to find time for sewing, much less time for blogging. I really miss both, but just haven't been able to figure out how to get the time in.

In any case, I've determined to finish up what I started with my monthly roundups and yearlong tally of fabric in and out, so there will be a few posts forthcoming even though I haven't sewed much of anything lately. There was no sewing or fabric-buying activity at all in August and September, but here are the stats for July and October.

JULY PROJECTS COMPLETED:

A Blackwood cardigan using 2 yards of cotton windowpane knit I bought from Cali Fabrics in June. Due to fabric shortage the windowpanes on the neckband don't line up with the ones on the body, and the neckband pulls the body a little too tightly.  I haven't worked out how to salvage it yet, but I do wear it around the house because it's cozy.

JULY FABRIC PURCHASES: 

4 yards of olive green cotton/lycra bottom weight for a pair of Ginger Jeans and maybe another pinafore.

OCTOBER PROJECTS COMPLETED:

2.5 yards of the olive green bottomweight I bought in July for another pair of jeans.  Blogged here.

June 2018

I'm late with June's update, primarily because I'm in a packing frenzy.  The movers come in a week and a half and I'm just a wee bit stressed out.  I'm closing up the sewing shop today so there won't be any more sewing for at least a couple months - that hasn't stopped me from buying a bit of fabric in July though.  

Without further ado, here's what I got up to last month:

PROJECTS COMPLETED

May 2018

It was a busy month, in which I spent a lot of time testing a pattern, bought a good amount of fabric than I probably should have, and also completed two pairs of jeans and a cardigan that will be very useful in Bogota.

PROJECTS COMPLETED:

April 2018 and my MMM pledge

Are you participating in Me-Made May?  This will be my third year, and I've been looking forward to it for months.  I feel very prepared for it this year.  Like last year, I'm pledging to wear at least one me-made item every day.  Additionally, I am going to try not to repeat any outfits during the month (repeating garments is ok, and necessary).  I'm looking forward to the challenge, and am planning to post on IG, but probably not every day.  I will post a few round-ups here.  As for sewing, I'm currently redrafting my Ginger Jeans pattern to address my back leg wrinkles, and am hoping to sew up a pair or two during May.

But enough about May (at least, until tomorrow).  This post is about April.  It was a busy month with Easter, two weekend trips and my older daughter's spring ballet show, but I still managed to knock out a few things, including a shirt for my husband, which has been on my sewing list since we bought the fabric for it in October.

PROJECTS COMPLETED

1) Art Museum Trousers for G to replace a pair he had recently outgrown.  I sewed a size 4 lengthened by 1" with enclosed welt pockets and no belt loops.  I used 33" of pinstriped denim plus scraps of airplane quilting cotton. Sewed everything in 3 hours, including time to interface my welt pieces. Ended up using a hem allowance of 3/4", so I should have lengthened by 1.75" instead of 1".  Width is perfect.  Completed 4/4

2) Bow tie for G using this tutorial and scraps. Completed 4/4.

3) Another OOP Lisette Portfolio/Simplicity 2245 for me, using 1.89 yards of 50" wide fabric bought last July.  This dress is evidence that sometimes it's good to stash fabric without a purpose. I had actually envisioned this dress in a vivid emerald green linen and kept putting it in my cart, when I remembered this cut of designer fabric that I had bought without purpose.  The linen/viscose blend fabric is cool and breezy with a gorgeous drape that was better for this dress than the linen I had originally chosen. Stash win! Completed 4/10.  Blog post coming soon.

4) Fairfield Button-Up as a birthday gift for J. I used 2.5 yards cotton shirting purchased in October to make this shirt. Completed 4/22. Will be blogged soon.

5) Four bodice muslins for a pattern test I'm doing.  88" used of an old sheet.  Completed 4/23.

I also took in the waist and hips of my houndstooth Alberta Street skirt, which has been bothering me all year because it was just too big in those areas.  It took me less than an hour and I feel like I have a whole new item of clothing in my closet.

FABRIC PURCHASES

4/21: I bought 5.33 yards of fabric to make elf costumes for my girls and my niece.  I'm not sure whether they will be helping me with the sewing or not.  All of it was bought at Joann's - one cut of sale yardage, and the rest from the remnant bin.

FABRIC IN/OUT

Fabric in: 5.33 yards
Fabric out: 7.75 yards

Fabric in YTD: 60.58 yards
Fabric out YTD: 48.23 yards

March 2018

March was a very satisfying month for sewing!  I finished two not-for-me projects that, to be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to sewing.  I used up a cut of fabric that had been hanging out in the stash for some five years.  I also sewed two woven dresses for myself, both of which I love.  And I only bought three yards of fabric!  I'm going ahead and calling this month a win.

February 2018

February was a busy month, and though I sewed quite a few individual garments, most of them were underwear and other things that don't take much time to assemble.  I still have to blog a couple of these projects, and others will only be recorded here.

PROJECTS COMPLETED:

1) Simplicity 1563A pj pants.  These used up 3 yards of flannel bought from FabricMart in January for this precise purpose.  Completed 2/2.  These will be on the blog soon.