With only seven posts in a whole year, you’d think I wouldn’t dare coming back here for a yearly review, wouldn’t you? Well, you would be wrong! 😀
The fact that I haven’t blogged a lot doesn’t mean that I haven’t been sewing and knitting, and because I have documented most of what I’ve made on Instagram, I even had most of the pictures ready for my little annual collage:
I’ve made 35 things total this year, which is awesome since I haven’t been forcing myself to do anything, so 35 entirely fun sewing and knitting projects! But I do feel obligated to point out that a lot of these were quick sewing projects such as tees, panties and other easy jersey garments! And yes, I do count each pair of panties as a finished object, just because.
Let’s bring back the pie charts (made here) and have a look at the techniques used in the 2017 projects:
I’ve clearly been more into knits this year than last year! And a bit more productive knitting-wise, too. But no more millinery (the only hat I’ve made was knit), and still no shoes.
What kind of garments have I been making then?
Dresses and tops are once again the winners, closely followed by a new category, dancewear, and then another new category, underwear! I’ve also finally delved into the world of sock knitting and sewing loungewear. I was surprised to see that I’ve only sewn one skirt though (against five last year).
As for the brands:
How did I only sew one Deer&Doe pattern in a year?! Other than that, nothing surprising: a lot of Andi Satterlund and a little bit of everything else! And the beginning of a new love story with Ohhh Lulu apparently. Oh, and please don’t be fooled by the 3 “no pattern” projects: a pair of curtains, a knitted scarf and a sewn one; all three literal rectangles!
Looking back at the collage, I can see that I haven’t made a lot of technically difficult items, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been challenging myself into trying new things: before 2017 I had never knit a sock, nor sewn dancewear. Also, I had sewn a pair of panties in 2015, but never a bra.
One thing that makes me really happy is that I’ve FINALLY finished three of my UFOs! The curtains had been started years ago, as had this hoodie and this knitted top, so it feels really good to cross them off my list.
Another positive is that only one thing I’ve made has been a fail: this Dunbar sports bra, too loose to be wearable for its intended purpose. But all the rest has been loved and worn, a new record for me. It’s become a reflex for me to think about how I’ll wear something and whether I’d buy it in a shop, but also to prioritise projects I know I need (or really really want!), which seems to be working quite well.
The big negative is clearly… the blog! Seven posts in a year, how did that happen? I mean, this wouldn’t be a problem if I didn’t have an interest or find any pleasure in it anymore, but I do, and so I find it quite sad to have neglected it so much this past year, watching the list of unblogged projects get longer and longer (in case you’re wondering, yes, I do have a list). There are of course things I don’t intend on blogging about, such as the boring bathroom curtains and even more boring bandana scarf, for which the blog post would be “I hemmed a piece of fabric. That’s it.”, but I feel like all the rest does have its place here. I know I wrote a few years back that I wouldn’t take New Year’s resolutions anymore, but desperate times call for desperate measures, so here’s my one and only resolution for 2018: I will blog on the regular again. By “on the regular”, I mean weekly(ish): unless I have a real reason not to (true lack of time, illness…), I will publish one blog post a week until I have caught up on my backlog. So watch this space!
Rue des Renards 