Tag: Introspection

Posted on

2019: Another Year in Review

It’s that time of the year, the time for review and the time for goals!

Okay, let’s start with the review. I posted 20 times in 2019, and ranged from sharing my history of mandalas (as well as how I make them by hand and digitally), to some knitting projects, my absolute new favorite pair of Flint trousers, and then a long hiatus.

kick

There’s many things that happened this year to cause that hiatus, and for a short description of that I’ll direct you to my previous post. But if you’re missing me on a more regular basis, feel free to follow me on Instagram where I post marginally more. Marginally.

Okay, now onto the goals from last year. Did I make it, did I not?

This time I got four out of five!

  1. Make another pair of Flint trousers. They’re the most comfortable things I’ve worn in awhile. Oh yeah I did! And they’re just as comfy!
  2. Determine what to actually sell on Etsy. As in, what I make that can sell. I’m still working on producing them, but I’m working on a few beginner sewing patterns!
  3. Finally dye, make, and embroider the fabric I bought to make more Onyx tees. Maybe change up patterns if I feel like it; after all I have 10 yards to work with… (Yep, still working on this. Two yards were used for the green Flints, and I think I’m making the SOI Teadress and Onyx’s with the rest. Just need to do it.)
  4. Share more of my art on the blog. I’ve been sharing a lot on Instagram, but I’d like to post about it here too. Here’s my three mandala posts, a fabric design post, and my watercolor set in blue.
  5. Loosen up and breathe. I’m looking for a job right now, so I’m super anxious, which is no way to start off a new chapter in my life. Taking this time to breathe and open up to new experiences is what I hope will help bridge the gap. I alternated between breathing and being anxious, but in the end I was successful.

So I’m calling that a total win!

20191031_115347(1)

My top 5 hits:

  1. Green Flints. Best Thing Ever.
  2.  My two Jasika blazers! They’re purdy.
  3. Miss Frizzle! I’m excited to show you the costume, and Liz!
  4. Hawkeye and my Nano Gauntlet. While I have much to redo, I’m proud of what I created.
  5. My recent knits. I’ve made a sweater, a shawl, a pair of gloves, and a hat in the past two and a half months. I’ll be warm this winter!

Top 3 misses, since I only have three it seems!

  1. Jean jackets aren’t my thing. I tried it though, and I’m proud of that.
  2. I made an Ogden cami dress and the straps broke because they were delicate and it is heavy… Once I fix that, I doubt it’ll be a miss at that point. But it’s been a few months and I haven’t followed through.
  3. I made a warm hat that doesn’t fit on my head… I should tink the ribbing and redo it. Maybe that’ll be a January thing.

Next up, goals for 2020:

  1. Get the blog current, and choose what that means. Do I need to feel bad if I don’t post stuff, or is it alright to skip some things?
  2. Make one or two new costumes. I really want to make the Iron Man couture gown by ToughTink on Instagram, and I have a few other ideas bouncing around. Plus I’d like to redo/update Hawkeye.
  3. Revisit the trousers I’ve made. My most worn jeans (both pairs from this post) were made in October 2016 (gasp!) and they are dying after three years of heavy use. They’ve got holes in the thighs that I’ve been badly mending for the past five months or so, so there’s a great need for a new pair of jeans or two, and I’d like to make yet another pair of Flints. Still super comfortable!
  4. Write at least 200 words a day. I’ve been working on a novel, am about to start on a fictional online journal project, and I am so bad at keeping up with the blog. That’s three different things that require putting virtual pen to paper, so I’m hoping to make it a daily habit (finally) this year.
  5. Finish and debut the sewing patterns I’ve been drafting and workshopping in 2019.

I’m hoping to post at least once a month this year, not including this one, and will see how these goals go!

This is also the best time to thank you for following me through my adventures through the last decade (college, since I started this blog in the last year and a half of that adventure, grad school, post grad employment woes, and the personal growth in sewing and crafting that I’ve been working on throughout!) and here’s to another ten years!

Happy New Year to all!

Posted on

Hello there!

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?

I can’t say I’m surprised, and those of you who have been around for some time know that I’m always popping in for a few months, and then out for the same time or longer. Some times with warning, and sometimes it’ll just pop out without realizing it.

But oh boy have the past few months been crazy for me.

I rarely talk about my personal life on the blog. Maybe I’ll mention it in passing, or I’ll make an offhand comment. And I’m going to keep it that way, but while I don’t want it to sound like an excuse, I think updating you on some of my life things will help set the stage for my next couple months of posts.

I always run a few months (and sometimes years) behind on posting my makes, but that also assumes that I’m doing a lot of making. And I have, but it’s been a bit more sporadic. Long stretches of rest, and then short frenzies of progress.

When I last posted, in June, I was still frantically applying to jobs, doing interviews, and working on side hustle ventures. (Embroidery patterns, flower photography, sewing pattern development, new journals, oh my!)

Then I had a whirlwind late summer.

I took a job at Spoonflower, which is a print on demand fabric company that is headquartered (in the States) in Durham, NC. I loved the experience, and the job was unique and enlightening, and the creativity that passed through my hands was endless. I also now have a lot more fabric. A lot. So a post soon should talk about what I’ve made/want to make with quite a bit of it.

During August, I frantically (and I do mean frantically) worked to make two and a half new costumes for DragonCon. I worked with foam. I stunk up my townhouse with contact cement. It was a whole thing. These posts will be upcoming and hopefully detailed. While looking back I wish I had done X, Y, and Z, I’ll try to post about it as it happened.

My time at Spoonflower was brief because just before Labor Day Weekend I got an offer from a college in New England, and accepted it, and moved up to New Hampshire a few weeks later, then started the job the Monday after the week I moved.

Since the move, I’ve been focused on making warmer clothing. Because of the long distance move I almost completely missed that “early fall” period that I love temperature-wise and am trying to make suitable long sleeved gear for the winter that I’m currently living in. After I reach a good stock, maybe I’ll redo some costume pieces from DragonCon or another costume. We’ll have to see how the next year goes!

My job up here is very rewarding, but it is all about digital media, so I’ve been trying to take the opportunity to focus on the not-digital stuff when I’m not at work. I don’t know how much of a difference it’ll show on the blog, but it’s a welcome change for me and I’m enjoying it so far.

I’m going to wrap it up with saying that I’m going to try to post once a month at minimum, more when I have the time, but if I disappear again, you can follow me on Instagram, where I post a bit more regularly than I do here on the blogosphere!

Posted on

Welcome to my new home!

And welcome to my first post on the new blog!

birthday2018-5

As the name suggests, I’m Jessica, though I go by Jess to my friends (and we’re friends here, right?), and I create things.

If you were around with me a few years ago, you might remember “Design Donnerstag” which was partly my attempt to post more and partly the beginning of my tshirt design phase.

Well, I’ve been expanding my design skills and changed (at least a little) my style, and I’ve been making mandalas and doodle designs of late, and decided to try building an Etsy shop with digital downloads based on this idea. It’s a newborn at the moment but I’m hoping to grow it into a thriving adult… I need a better metaphor for this. Right now I’m trying coloring pages, printable art, and planning pages; maybe I’ll branch out from that when I get my feet on the ground further.

I’m also going to try posting here once a week. I’ve said variations of this before, but I’m hoping it’ll stick this time. The old blog had mostly become a sewing log, and I’m hoping to branch out to posting more variety, from the different crafts I do to different kinds of posts. I’ll be experimenting a bit.

There are also some updates to make on old pages, as well as making some costume breakdowns and maybe tutorials (?!?) or walkthroughs on some things I’ve made to help my fellow makers.

Hope to see you all on the ride!