Tag: sewingtop5-2018

For me, a post about goals starts with a review of the previous set… But last year I didn’t make any, so I’ll just review some stats and facts!

I posted 34 times in 2018, and ran two series: a Gift Guide series in late November, and a series about my Alanna the Lioness costume.

In August I purchased my own domain, and moved my previous blog here, and built up the website as you see it! I imagine it’ll be under constant revision, but I like where I’ve ended up.

For 2019, my goals are going to be a little more specific than in years past.

1. Make another pair of Flint trousers. They’re the most comfortable things I’ve worn in awhile.
2. Determine what to actually sell on Etsy. As in, what I make that can sell.
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…
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.
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.

And that’s where I’m at!

Hope you all had a great New Year’s and I’ll see you later tomorrow for regularly scheduled programming!

Hi there!

I hope you all had a lovely week, and happy holidays if you were celebrating! It’s almost the new year, and the perfect time for my non-sewing highlights of 2018.

1. Started my Etsy Shop

August was a crazy month for me, as I prepped for DragonCon, the fall semester, and created my new website! But during this time I also decided to open up an Etsy shop to sell some of my designs in coloring page form. I’m still trying to work out what I’m going to sell, but I’m proud of what’s up there already!

2. Working (pretty much) full time at a makerspace

This year I was employed by my makerspace for six months full time, and it was an amazing experience, and solidified my goals for my future (at least in the near term).

3. Visited Austin TX in January

I got the opportunity to visit Austin, and I loved it! Also, I got yarn and made this awesome shawl!

4. Dedicated craft room

This might not happen again in the near future, so I documented it for me and you!

5. Got all excited over art again!

Sketching and drawing casually has been a thing I’ve done since I could hold a pencil, but just the past couple months I picked up watercolors and alcohol markers, and it’s been invigorating having some more ways to express my artistic side! Right now the best place to see this work is my instagram!

It’s the end of the year, and that means it’s reflection time!

Thanks again to Gillian for hosting, even with recovering from a concussion!

Alright, let’s get started!

1. Diving Deep Shawl

I picked up this yarn in January, and my May I had made this shawl and started wearing it non-stop. According to my tracking, when I wear a shawl, over half the time it’s this one! By a large margin too…

2. Cinderella Costume

Two apartments ago I started this monstrosity, collecting the fabric and making the hoopskirt. Then in April I made the skirt and petticoats in a long weekend. Finally in October I made myself the promise that I’d finish the garments, and I came so close to making it. But it is finished, it’s huge, and now it’s hanging in garment bags in a closet, awaiting spring so I can get some awesome pictures of it (instead of remote pictures in my living room, barely fitting between my couch and my plant stand)!

Someday I’ll write up blog posts about the whole thing… But I think I need to get over the shock of it first.

Seriously, this thing is huge.

3. Alanna Costume

This was a quick turnaround passion project. Tamora Pierce’s books have shaped my life so much, and I still regularly listen to the audiobooks for Beka Cooper’s tales and Alanna. So when I was thinking over what to wear for Dragon Con this year, Alanna popped up and stuck around. I made a plywood sword and shield, along with a tunic, shirt, and trousers, as well as retrofitting a cat plushie to stand in as Faithful!  I love how it came out, and it definitely won as an incredibly comfy costume!

4. My Craft Room

This year I was lucky enough to afford an apartment with an extra bedroom so I could have a dedicated craft room, which has been a dream of mine. I’m quite pleased with my organization of it so far, and I’ll be procrastinating on packing up next month when I have to leave for a new place… and hopefully a new job too!

5. Etsy Shop

If you were around since the beginning of my blogging, you may remember that I had an Etsy shop for my handbeaded jewelry. I closed up that shop to focus on my Master’s program, since I was feeling a lot of stress that year… And each year of that degree. This year, however, I decided to open up a new shop to showcase my newest works. Right now it has coloring pages, planners, lunchbags, and a few other things, but we’ll see what the future holds!

So that wraps up my Top 5 Hits! Tune in next week to see some of the misses I had this year…