It’s been a truly jam packed year with so many new projects and adventures that I just had to gather them all in one place to look back on! I sewed more than I ever have before and was lucky enough to have gone to some incredible events and places in the past year.
- Jamie cardigan in black wool (collaboration with Blanche x Blanche)
- Papercut Guise pants in Fabworks cotton
- Made by Toya Graphite trousers
- Justine skirt in yellow linen (free pattern)
- Deer and Doe Opium coat
- Jamie cardigan in See you at Six French Terry
- Megan Nielsen Flint Overalls in Fabworks Teal textured cotton
- Ikatee Louise in black floral silk cotton blend
- Stoffstil ruffle wrap skirt in viscose
- Grainline T-shirt in viscose jersey (free pattern)
- Made by Toya Graphite trousers cropped culottes hack
- Gingham Madrid dress by Coffee and thread
- Elegance and Elephants Mori dress in Nani Iro gauze
- Named Solina dress (collaboration with Minerva crafts)
- Sarah Kirsten Raspberry Rucksack in Echino canvas
- Ikatee Peony top in Nani Iro double gauze
- Ikatee Peony in Cotton and steel print
- Papercut Pinnacle top in Atelier Brunette viscose (collaboration with Sew Me Sunshine)
- Friday Pattern company Wilder gown in Loom and Stars cotton jamdani
- Wilder gown in Offset Warehouse pink rayon
- Papercut Kochi in viscose and In the Folds Peppermint Wide Leg Pants in grey cotton twill
- Nina Lee Bloomsbury dress hack in Rifle paper Co Rayon
- Tilly and the Buttons Indigo dress hack in Atelier Brunette fabric
- Wiksten Shift top in Loominous cotton
- Jilly Atlanta Dress in Rifle Paper Co Canvas
- Deer and Doe Nenuphar in Indian cotton jacquard and Made by Rae Rose pants in viscose
- Made by Rae Cleo skirt hack in tencel twill
- Cocowawa Crafts Hazelnut backpack in Heather Ross Linen cotton canvas
- Loop Hygge Baby in Madelinetosh DK in Rose
- Tillagenser in Camarose Snefnug
- Stoffstil playtent
- Wild Things dress in grey cord
- Julianna Ruffle skirt in floral jersey (free pattern)
- So Faded sweater in Qing Fibre Mohair and various merino singles
- Olive’s Chunky Sweater in The Petite Wool
- as above
I admit I went a bit overboard before our summer travels and made almost an entire new holiday wardrobe! I made a dress for Noura which doesn’t appear here because it seems to have vanished abroad (it was the Cascade Maxi dress). For a couple of weeks I cut and sewed a new item every 2 days and although I became very efficient and productive, I couldn’t have kept it up for much longer. However everything I made was worn regularly and was very useful in the hot humid conditions in Bangladesh and Malaysia.
This year I still plan to sew but will slow it down a bit and do more of the other things I enjoy, including reading. I read a few books in the past year but not as much as I would have liked. My favourites were How to Stop Time by Matt Haig and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I would also like to read more non fiction this year. I have learned a lot from conversations sparked by discussions on inclusion on Instagram, and would like to study this in more depth.
It wasn’t my best year for gardening, as we were away all summer but thanks to kind friends and my sister, there was still some vegetables to pick including a very good bean harvest. These are some of the flowers I grew this year. I grew Zinderella peach, ammi majus, salvia, camellia, dahlias and cosmos. I am planning to grow more flowers and vegetables this year and will be sowing my sweetpeas soon.
I have posted about some of the places we visited already but highlights included Edinburgh (and the yarn festival), Bath, Chelsea Flower Show for the first time, an invitation to a London Eye capsule which was transformed with fresh flowers for Chelsea, an invitation to the Tate Gallery Olafur Eliasson Press preview, York, and of course Bangladesh and Malaysia (I will write about them separately soon!). I also hosted a well attended local sewing meet up with Juliet Uzor and went to a workshop with Hannah Bullivant and Workshop Ltd which I enjoyed. Finally, I hosted a wonderful giveaway along with Fabric Drop.
I’ve also been working on some home projects including getting pictures up, repainting some areas and generally tidying and decluttering. It’s a work in progress but I’ve enjoyed making the improvements. I will be continuing with this over the next year including two full room renovations.
It’s great to look back on the year and to see what I managed to achieve. I’m not sure if I’ll match this level of productivity this year, or even if I want to! I have plenty of beautiful clothes, and more patterns, yarn and fabrics than I need, so my plan is to have a bit of a no-spend year and use what I have. But I do have a few events in my diary including Unravel festival so I won’t make any promises I can’t keep!
