Projects for the New School Year

As someone who's always been involved in school in some way or other, it's always seemed a little odd to me to make New Year's Resolutions in January. After all, as a student or as a teacher, my time for new beginnings and fresh starts is the beginning of the school year; therefore I've historically (ha! as if I have that much history under my belt) written resolutions in late August. When I was in middle school and more academically-minded, my resolutions were to make all A's, or place in the city-wide Mathcounts competitions. In my boy-crazy high school days, my resolutions usually had to do with becoming so poised and amazing that I would attract the attention of my crushes. Yeah, I'm embarrassed by high school me. As a teacher, my yearly resolutions were about making sure not to let any students slip through the cracks, or getting some curriculum project done, or effecting certain changes in how the school was run (that one usually didn't happen).

Having just picked up sewing last spring, last August was the first time that I made sewing-related resolutions. I apparently wasn't very optimistic about my skills, because all I had on my list was:

1. Learn to insert actually invisible zippers -- check, several times!!
2. Make a pleated skirt -- check!
3. Make a circle skirt -- check!
4. Make a fitted skirt or dress -- check!
5. Make a full-skirted dress -- check!
6. Learn to shir -- uhhh, no.
7. Make something wearable without a pattern -- check, several times!
8. Refashion something -- check, many times over!
9. Dress up for Comic-Con -- check!
10. Deplete my fabric stash --ha! hahahaha! That's funny, last year me!

All in all, a pretty good year.

Since I already have a list of techniques to tackle, here's my list of actual projects to make, not all of which are sewing-related. I want to go back and retry my earlier artistic endeavors and see if I still love them. If not, time to give away the accessories associated with those hobbies. The process of packing has reminded me I have way too many art supplies.

1. Make steampunk costumes for myself and my husband for next year's Comic-Con check, but only for myself, and I didn't end up going to Comic-Con
2. Paint my old chem lab goggles and Nerf guns to match the steampunk costumes check and check!
3. Get the patterns for, and make, the Pendrell Blouse, Lonsdale Dress, and Crepe Dress
4. Make a twirly dress from some gorgeous lace-looking and sea-foam jersey I have in my stash
5. Make a better nautical-inspired dress than my first attempt kind of
6. Sew up at least three vintage patterns (I though about making this five, or even ten, but then decided to be realistic) definitely check!
7. Use my woodburning tool for something, anything! check!
8. Draw a set of Dixit cards for my friend Sam before she leaves for Bulgaria
9. Make something that wouldn't look entirely out of place at a Gatsby Afternoon, even if I'm not going
10. Finally do something about all my shirts from college retreats and CCS and CHS and make a t-shirt quilt
11. Attempt to use up some of my fabric scraps and make a bookshelf quilt
12. Make a white dress and then draw all over it with my new fabric Sharpies more or less
13. Dye something check!
14. Finally carve the rest of my linoleum blocks and print either a dress or tote or something check!
15. Make a cool dorky necklace that holds my miniature set of gaming dice check!
16. Make a vague knock-off of the Cirque A Line Anthro dress with my IKEA hippo fabric check!
17. Make a halter dress
18. Make a strapless dress check!
19. Finally scrapbook my honeymoon...
20. Make a Regency-era dress so as to be able to attend a Miss Haseltine's Drum, a dance event actually in Culver City!
21. And just for kicks, I'll say deplete my fabric stash again O_o

I'm sure I'll think of other things to add to this list, but at least this gives me some focus.