Thanks to the heads up from Mizz Kalkatroonaa, I'm giving Thinglink a test drive for the Analog Me Clothes I Made 2011 Year in Review. (If you hover over the individual images, you can link back to all the original posts.)
So, looking back to last winter I see that I was mostly tweaking my very own designs (the skirts) or adaptions of the free Lydia pattern.
The cream colored tops and the gathered front skirt have become staples. The plaid skirt is very pretty but reminds me of sad times so I have never worn it again. The cowls require a sort of sartorial commitment that I rarely feel up to. Plus, I am really sick of brown clothes. Looking at this, I remember I want to get back to designing more of my own patterns. I really need to make a PDF of the skirt pattern, if I can figure out how to do that with some free software. Any ideas? I really love it when people take off with my ideas and make something even better than what I could ever envision (like this too.)
When I started sewing again a few years ago I was mostly refashioning. That was a much smaller focus in 2011, partly because I wasn't so happy with a lot of the results, and partly because I want to have more control over my sewing projects from start to finish. Here are last year's refashions.
The Pillow Case Sorbetto became a summer staple, and I wore the blue dress several times and felt great in it. The pillow sham skirt is so silly I only wore it 1-2 times, but how can I part with that print ? Am I going to have to cycle it back into a sewing machine cover ? The grey sweater is dowdy and depressing and the green thing never fit well, but they are both cashmere, so they are doomed to be chopped up again for re-refashioning. I already turned the grey sweater into a good hat.
Colette Patterns inspired my favorite garments of the year. The Orangey Ginger might be my favorite creation of the year and the black and white batiste top was my most worn summer shirt. The blue wool flannel skirt is warm, drapey, comfortable and looks great—a winter instant classic that is already covered with cat hair. By the way, these were all made with really great quality fabrics I thrifted. I probably spent about 10.00 on all the fabric. They also all owe a lot to quality notions, like ribbon, trims, good lining fabrics, hem lace and good thread so I probably spent an equal amount on notions. The Sorbetto patern was free and the skirt pattern a bargain at 16.00.
Some Surprisingly Sucessfull Things. I thought I would only wear the Chicken Dress to the State Fair, but I actually wore it several times--most memorably to a Imelda Mae show. (Oh, that woman can sing AND dress!) The plaid skirt is great fun to wear on a fall day and the blue pants are actually pretty good looking considering they have an elastic waist (they were the most expensive garment of the year— I probably spent as much on that linen as on all the other fabric combined.)
From the Land of the Unblogged, and something I should have left unblogged.
I had such big ideas for styling the Difficult Top and Crazy Skirt, so they were doomed to be left in the Land of the Unblogged. I love them both, but they are not easy to wear-- perhaps a bit too dress-up for me. The printed skirt was a success and needed a better photo venue than the alley but it got cold and life went on. . . I couldn't blog those scarves I made from about 20 different sweaters because I sold the design to Interweave Stitch. That was my first foray into selling a design! Lastly, I sorta wish I hadn't blogged my jamies.
I am knitting less. I used to always try to have a knitting project in progress so I could work on it in the car or while I am waiting for something else to happen. But I am just not that great at multitasking. Over time, I found that I was either ignoring people or making weird knits due to knitting while distracted. This is about all I made this year.
Hmm, Quite a mish-mash, but there are definitely some trends. My style seems to be out there mixed with conservative. The color palette is brightening up, which makes me very happy to see. The Colette patterns made the most sucessful clothes, but I am really glad that I pushed myself to draft so many clothes that were wearable. A vintage theme is evident, but my favorite era appears to be the 1970's.
It's been a long year and I'm glad it's over. Thanks for hanging out with me Y'alls!
