31 December 2011

In 2012, I Intend to Sew.

            

                 

           

I’m really enjoying reading other sewing bloggers’ round up posts reflecting on 2011 and things they’ve made over the year. Cor blimey, some of you ladies are productive! And inspiring with it.

Take Debi from My Happy Sewing Place, for example. I used to consider myself a counterpart to Debi - we both started blogging around the same time, she was the first sewing blogger I met in the flesh (and yes, she is as lovely as she seems), and we were pretty much sewing at the same pace for a while. Then all of a sudden she signed up as a weekly contributor to The Sew Weekly - and she was off! This year I made 11 garments (see above). Debi made 58. FIFTY-EIGHT. Not even one a week was enough for Debi, she had to make an extra six. Talk about super woman! (In case you missed it first time, Debi wrote a guest post for my blog sharing her sewing productivity tips.)

Then there’s Patty the Snug Bug. 79 gorgeous makes. SEVENTY-NINE. That’s all I’m going to say. (Seventy-nine!) At the time of writing Jessica Stitchy Witch hasn’t posted a round up of her 2011 makes, but that’s probably because the number of photos is too big for Wordpress to handle. That lady sews. And of course there are the other The Sew Weekly ladies who have been whipping up sartorial delights at a mind blowing rate.

I really want to sew more.

I’ve just come back from a week in Chicago where I spent the holidays with my brother and his gorgeous babies. There’s nothing like a change of scene to give you some perspective, and as I was pondering my new year’s resolutions, I realised that the simpler the better. My general life resolution for 2012 is to have more guilt-free pleasure (the other day someone asked me if I am secretly Catholic - I’m Atheist-Jewish, so I'm not sure where this guilt issue comes from).

Related to that, I have one simple sewing resolution (re-sew-lution, if you will). In 2012, I intend to sew. I’m not going to go down my usual route and create an intricate strategy to increase my sewing productivity with pie charts, lists and ten point plans. Nor do I plan to procrastinate by writing loads of blog posts about productivity (but if anyone fancies writing a guest post for me on their own productivity tips, let me know!). I'm gathering a few inspirational images and patterns I like on Pinterest, but I'm not going to compile any "to make" lists which can add a sense of pressure. I'm just going to sew. For pleasure, recognising the importance that sewing has in my life, enjoying the creative process. And sewing. And making sewing patterns. And sewing them up.

Eeeeeeep! I’m so excited!

Have you made any new year’s resolutions – sewing-related or general life ones? (I’m nosey.) And do you have any productivity tips to spur me on? I’d love to hear them!

[Soundtrack: ‘This Train’ by Sister Rosetta Tharpe]