Organising My Sewing - 2017

I'm trying to sew consistantly throughout the year and have a managable list of makes that I complete rather than my usual pattern of listing everything at once and then getting overwhelmed or loosing my focus and randomly sewing anything or nothing at all.

Sewing Programmes

Firstly, I've set myself a Make 9 list and I'm following along in the #SewMyStyle project so they are what I'll be sewing throughout the year with a few other things thrown in as and when I have the time.

There are a few things that I'm using to keep myself organised and on track:

Sew DIY Calendar

I'm using the free printable calendar that Beth from Sew DIY created. This has been great for keeping a bullet list of the monthly #SewMyStyle projects and has allowed me to spread my Make9 makes somewhat evenly throughout the year. I like it being a calendar as it helps me keep track of the days in the month (I'm a stay at home mum so a day or a week can disappear without me even knowing it!). If I find I only have a week left in the month I will pick up the pace to limit the carry over to the next month.

Sew The Year

Kimberly of Straight Stitch Designs has started the "Sew The Year" project and released monthly worksheets. I didn't use the worksheets in January but I will fill one out for February onwards. I like that these worksheets have a bit more detail on each project such as material and notions required etc.

I intend to go through all my planned makes and note down all the zips, buttons etc that I'll need and buy them all at once at the haberdashery/order online to save multiple trips to the store. I also want to limit the number of times I go to the store as it will increase the risk of me breaking my material and pattern buying bans. I'm doing good on my promises to myself so far. Every completed project has used stash material and I even resisted buying material the other day when I went in for elastic for my Hudson Pants. I'll admit that I picked up two bolts. One for my daughter a skirt but I quickly put that back as I already have two lots of material at home for skirts for her. Once they are sewn up I'll assess her wardrobe to see if she needs a third. The second bolt was for a top for me. It was the loveliest shade of bottle green and I did actually take this to the counter and if there had been a salesperson behind the counter I'm not sure I would have resisted but there wasn't and it gave me the extra few minutes to contemplate what pattern I would use and nothing came to mind so I put it back. I can't believe I went to my local Fabworks and literally came out of the place with just elastic.

So for January I listed the following on the Sew DIY calendar:

* Prepare the first 3 PDF patterns for #SewMyStyle (Toaster, Saunio and Virginia)

* Toaster 1 top

* Toaster 2 top for #SewMyStyle

* Hudson Pants x 2 - leopard print for Jungle January and plain black pair

* Some pillows for the girls room

* Saunio cardigan (to get ahead on #SewMyStyle)

* A Linden sweater for my mum - a last minute birthday gift

I didn't get around to sewing up the Saunio cardigan as I substituted the time to make that to make a Linden sweater for my mum's birthday. I did cut the pattern out for the Saunio so it'll be the first thing I sew in February.

I only completed half of the pillows for the girls room. We recently got bunkbeds in preparation for my youngest moving in with her sister (not happened yet as she's still waking during the night with her teething). So far I've sewn a cloud and a star and I've prepared the patterns (basically hand drawn) for a unicorn for my eldest and some Russian Dolls for my youngest. Once I've done these I'll stick the patterns in my free patterns section.

My sewing plans for February are as follows:

* Finish off the pillows for the girls room

* Make some pillows from my Nan's jumpers. This is a job that I've been putting off for just over a year now. I offered to do this for my girl cousins and I want to make one for each of my girls. I've gotten the jumpers out a few times but have just found it too upsetting but I finally feel able to tackle them.

* Valentines bobbles / headbands for the girls. I was planning on making a heart top but as it falls on a Tuesday this year it'll be a school day for my eldest so she'll have to wear her uniform. So I've decided to make a bobble and headband for her as she can wear decorations in her hair. I'll just do these in felt and use a plain red or pink bobble we already have.

* Saunio cargigan for #SewMyStyle.

* Complete two Sydney Rompers that I've had cut out for around 3 months otherwise they won't fit my youngest for long. I'l be lucky if she gets a month's wear out of them before she's outgrown them. But I have two friends that are expecting so I'll be able to pass them on if one has a girl.

* Fabric Printing and labels. I've got some plain pink jersey that I'm going to use for some PJ's for the girls but I'm unhappy with how plain it is so I'm planning on printing little hearts on it (keeping with the Valentines theme). I think I'll let my eldest do the stamping as she'll have fun doing it and will enjoy wearing them more if she's had a part in making them. I've also bought some cream twill tape and am planning on just using those tiny alphabet stamps to put the size onto a little label.

* PJ's for the girls - I'll then use the Mini Virginia Leggings and Briar Tee patterns for these.

* PJ's for me - I'm planning on using the Virginia Leggings (#SewMyStyle pattern 3) and Briar Tee (#SewMyStyle pattern 6) for me as well. I won't be using the same material as the girls as I don't have enough but I'll find something else in my stash.

* Dungaree dress using the Turia pattern from Pauline Alice.

It does seem a long list for February but I've already completed the Saunio cardigan, the felt Valentines bobbles/headhand and one of the Sydney Rompers. It is the half term holidays this week so I'm not sure how much time I'll have to sew but I'm going to get my eldest to print the jersey material this week. I'm not really putting too much pressure on myself - if I don't complete everything I'll either just carry it over to next month or I'll drop it depending on the project.

I do intend to do a review of my completed projects each month and also note my sewing list for the month ahead. So far the calendar and worksheets have kept me super organised and if it continues throughout the year it will be something I'll want to maintain on a permanant basis.