Inspiration

Happy 2011!

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My favourites of 2010:

Standout moments in sewing land:

  • 2010 will forever be the year that Burda magazine went crap and KnipMode went amazing (my high count of Burda magazine garments sewn are mostly down to pre-2010 archive patterns!)

  • After years of buying every single issue of KnipMode individually, I finally subscribed and am VERY happy I did!

  • I made my first three Manequim patterns, caught the bug, and eventually subscribed

  • Sewing my wedding gown made me appreciate silk thread, not completely dread hand sewing, and finally really understand underlining.

  • I produced my very first (and free!) pattern

  • I finally won a PR contest

  • I met loads of wonderful sewists on two different continents

  • I spent way too much in Ditto, Goldhawk Road, Paris, and the Garment District, but had a great time doing so!

  • I fell in love (and then out of love) with La Mia Boutique

Number of each pattern company sewn:

  • 7 KnipMode

  • 6 Burda (magazine)

  • 5 BurdaStyle (downloadable)

  • 5 self-drafted

  • 3 Patrones

  • 3 Manequim

  • 3 La Mia Boutique

  • …and 1 each of: Burda (envelope), Vogue, Colette Patterns, Simplicity, Kwik Sew, and Hot Patterns

Number of each garment type sewn:

  • 9 Dresses

  • 8 Tops

  • 8 Pieces of Lingerie

  • 4 Skirts

  • 3 Trousers (which is probably why I need so many right now!)

  • 2 Jackets

  • 6 Accessories (including bags, mats, and pillows)

Fabric of the year:
This was definitely the Year of Silk – from the vintage silk of my wedding gown to the three (!) silk jersey dresses, to the silk satin (charmeuse) honeymoon lingerie set (which I just realised I never photoshooted properly, oops!), this was definitely a year of luscious silk. With the amount of leather I bought in NYC, silk may have some competition for 2011, however!

Pattern magazine of the year
Based on your nominations, I can jointly award the 2010 Pattern Magazine of the Year Award to…. Burda September and Patrones 292! Congratulations!

By the look of things, I don’t seem to have as many finished garments as some years, but considering all of April, May, August, and September (that’s a full 1/3rd of the year!!) were consumed with sewing my wedding gown and the two bridesmaids gowns, I don’t think I’ve done too badly!

And looking ahead to 2011, I’ve got my winter coat that I’m working on right now, Pip’s leather handbag (which I’ve finished and is in the montage, but you’ll not see properly until the end of January when I give it to her), the cover dress from the award-winning Burda September issue, and a whole heap of trousers and jeans, because somehow all three pairs of jeans are now wearing out at once, and I’ve got a stockpile of denim from four difference shops to work through. So there’s lots to do and keep me occupied in the new year!!

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