Projects I Want to Make in 2012

My husband and I just went over our New Year's Resolutions, which include normal things like working out more, eating less meat to lessen our carbon footprint, and learning to cook new fabulous meals. We also had some less normal ones, mostly related to our hobbies. For example, my husband wants to have a better kill-death ratio in MW3. Um. Right. I have sewing ones, and while I posted a list at the beginning of the school year, a second semester/new actual year list is called for. I've made some progress in both my Check the Technique list and actual projects list, but I thought I'd add some. I considered not writing about them here, but if I don't post it for the world to see, I may never get to them.

• I want to make a qipao for Chinese New Year. This may be the scariest resolution of all, considering that I have no fabric, no pattern, no idea of how to make one, and CNY is coming up quickly: January 23! Actually, let me rephrase. I want to make something vaguely resembling a qipao, that may or may not actually open at the top, and is probably not brocade. But it will have a collar and frog buttons and side slits!
• I want to make a corset. A real one, not like this leather pretender. I want to use coutil and a busk and steel boning and everything. Richard the Thread is only ten minutes away from me, and we would like to leave LA in 2013, so it's this year or never. 
• I need to tackle pants. At first I was going to say jeans, but I'll settle for pants. And none of this elastic waist jersey knit business either; these need to be real pants with a zipper and a woven fabric. I won't go so far as to say a front fly or lining, but yeah. 
• Make a 1930's style bias cut dress. I'm scared to death of those slinky fabrics and ripply bias seams, but it's time to follow my own advice and just do it.  
• I want to make a historical costume. I have a king sized sheet with a chintz pattern that I think would work nicely for a colonial-era dress, but no pattern. Dare I hack one?
• I'm going to make a coat. I already have the wool, the lining, and the pattern, but I just need to summon the courage.
• Use up my fabric and pattern stash, within reason. I have some fabrics that I don't feel up to working with yet, skill-wise, and some patterns that will probably never be used because of the style. I need to stop buying patterns at Joann's just because they're on sale, and limit it to only getting unique styles that I can't hack from my existing patterns. I just looked at my pattern stash and realized I have at least five fitted bodices with the two side darts and two front darts. If I want a different neckline, I can figure it out on my own. Also, I'm going to learn from Sarah at Musings of a Seamstress and save all my sewing-related receipts this year as a record. Gaaah, how scary. Maybe that'll teach me to be better about it!
• I'm pledging to not buy retail clothing this year unless it is underwear or maaaaybe jeans. Or an emergency. Okay, fine, I'm limiting myself to five non-underwear RTW pieces, and I better try dang hard to find it in a thrift store first.  

Those are pretty scary, all written out like that. Let's not think about it too hard yet. Have a picture of Walnut on my latest project instead.

On second thought, he looks pretty scary here.