New Year - Sew Many Goals

Happy New Year! It is crazy to think that it's another year gone by already. It seems the older I get, the faster time moves. But, as my husband pointed out, time doesn't actually move faster -- time is constant. Maybe I just get busier each year...LOL

Before sharing my goals for 2014, here's a quick reflection of last year. 2013 was a busy year for me! I started dabbling in sewing in the Fall of 2012 and immediately fell in love. I found it so neat (and still do!)to see simple fabric transformed into something beautiful. I'm not sure that feeling will ever get old. This past year marks my first full calendar year of sewing and with it, came lots of growth. I started the year sewing a simple applique shirt for my daughter's 2nd birthday. By the time the year ended, I was creating entire outfits out of knit fabric, testing lots of patterns for designers, altering patterns to satisfy my creative ideas, sewing dresses for myself(!), selling, and guest blogging for some large blogs. I started the year with just one simple sewing machine and ended the year with the addition of an embroidery machine and also a serger!

I love my progress I have made so I want 2014 to be another important year for me!


The designer I assist asked an important question earlier in the week:  What are your goals/resolutions for the new year??  Well, I'm setting some goals and resolutions for myself and hopefully I can accomplish many of them.

1. While I want to accomplish more, I want to spend less time during the day doing it.  I've got 2 little girls at home and as last year progressed, I spent more of "their" time doing "my" sewing stuff.  When I started sewing, I only sewed after they went to bed.  Once I started testing, guest blogging, selling, etc.  I had deadlines and often, I would work during the day.   I am trying to make it a point to focus my time and energy on them during the day.  I don't want to look back in several years and wish I could get this time back when I could sit and build Lego towers or color with them.   They need and deserve 100% of my attention.  After all, isn't that why I became a stay-at-home-mom? 

   

   Love these two little girls!

2. When I do sew, I want to sew what I already have!  I own so many PDF patterns that I just had to have, yet I've never sewn them!   I even have the fabrics picked for some patterns already.   I am going to try to pull back a bit on testing patterns and try to sew more of what I own.  This one will be hard for me.  I love the testing process (most of the time!!), but it's definitely more time-consuming than just sewing up a garment.   I've already got my eye on several tests this month, though, so we'll see...LOL
3. I added two new machines last year, yet I have limited knowledge on both.  Last Spring, I bought an embroidery machine and only used it a handful of times and really it was just to embroider a simple name.   This year, I really want to tackle appliques on it as well as piecing fonts together.  In the Fall, my mom surprised me with a serger!!!  I finally got the courage to change the thread color (although I don't know how to thread from scratch), but my machine has extra functions such as coverstitch that I need to learn.  So, my goal is to learn my machines inside and out!
4. I want to blog more.  I started this blog last March so I could enter my first dress in a sewing competition.  And to do so, I needed a blog.  But, then, I only blogged 10 times ... the entire year.  I think I guest-blogged nearly as many times.   I think, in my mind, my blog entry has to be some grandiose idea.   And if you can't tell, I am rather wordy so I always think it's going to take forever to blog.   So my goal is to have at least one blog entry a week :)
5. I want to improve my photography.  One of the requirements of pattern testing (and well, blogging) is seeing the finished garments on your child.   While it's not required to have professional-quality photography, I do like to do my best.   I still remember the pictures from my first test.   They were not good.... even a little bit.   BUT, then I figured out how to best photograph my children.  I currently have one of the better point-and-shoots by Sony, but half of my pics are immediately discarded because my camera is just too slow to capture the moment.   My girls DO. NOT. POSE. so the moments are fleeting.   I am currently saving up for my first DSLR (which is going to take awhile!) and then I am going to make sure I learn it.  

So, there you have it... my goals/resolutions for 2014.