2017 Sewing Year in Review

Each year I seem to start out with a grand list of projects, more than I know I'll actually complete. Though I guess there's nothing wrong with feeling ambitious. It's fun to plan new projects but feels even better to get them completed. However, 2017 was not my year for getting things done. I need to learn to be more realistic in my goals and except that it's perfectly OK to take time for myself.

The winter months can be hard for many of us, and I admit I was struggling at this same time last year to find the motivation to work on things. I was just starting to find my sewing groove when in March, I learned that my best friend from childhood last his battle with cancer. Then in August my brother passed away unexpectedly. It's still a struggle but I'm finding ways to move forward. Anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one will undoubtedly know how important that is to do. For me it means making more time for visits with family and friends, spending time working with the horses and yes, evening working on some sewing. (Thank you again to everyone who reached out with your thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement!)

So, given the crap year I had in 2017, I'm rather surprised by what I was able to accomplish. And to be fair, not all of 2017 was bad. There were many good things that happened.

Completed Sewing Projects for 2017

1940s blue linen pants and matching bolero for my friend Beth

Red linen 1930s pants
1940s white cotton blouse

1930s denim pj pants for day wear

1940s Gold corduroy jerkin

Early 1940s wool plaid skirt

1920s ivory velvet dress

Projects Started in 2017 But Not Completed (Yet!)

1940s green linen pants and matching bolero

1940s wool plaid dress

1940s pinafore with rickrack trim

Mock up for 1770s "fashionable gown" 

1920s green silk dress

So, what else did I do in 2017 you ask? I went to a bunch of events....

Events

GBVS's White Lightning Ball

Reading Air Show

Forth of July American Timeline at Strawberry Banke Museum

WAVES Display at the Living History Association Timeline

GBVS's 1920s Lawn Party at the Crane Estate

260th Anniversary of Siege of Ft William Henry

Collings Foundation Battle annual Battle for the Airfield  

GBVS's Winter Formal

Other Projects and Cool Stuff from 2017
I actually posted a few videos for my YouTube channel! Go me!! And at the end of 2017 I had almost 1000 followers on Instagram which is pretty cool. I'm just over that number now. :)

At the Reading Air Show I got to meet Emileigh Rogers of the blog Flashback Summer in person. She camped with my group for the whole weekend and we had a blast!

I set up my very first WAVES display this summer at a small timeline event. Visitors seemed to really enjoy it so now I'm supper motivated to continue my research and document my growing collection of WAVES-related items.

With all the stress and heartache that 2017 brought, one of the things that has really helped is working with my sister and her horses. Pony therapy is the best!!! Animals really do understand. A few days after my brother passed, my sister, sister in law and I all went riding. It was exactly what we needed. Just to prove to ourselves that it was possible, even in the worst of times, to get back in the saddle. Physically as well as metaphorically speaking.

I made some really good progress this summer and I'm hoping to continue riding when the weather gets better. I rode a couple days each week and when the time a weather allowed sometimes I rode all three horses.

Looking Ahead to 2018
Other than the normal, eat better, be more organized and work from the fabric stash kind of plans for 2018, I hope to do a few more videos for my YouTube channel as well as some more live videos on Facebook and/or Instagram. I think this is a really fun feature and I know several bloggers and small businesses have had great success with it. If you have an idea for a video, let me know! I have plans for revamping my Etsy shop so right now listings are kind of slim. As I finish the reproduction items that have been languishing in the UFO pile, and get good photos of them, I will be listing a bunch of new stuff! If you are in the New England area look for me at the Northeast Reenactors Fair next month!!

Other exciting things in the works for 2018 include working with my friend Sara on a series of blog posts about the WAVES during WWII. We are both collectors of all things WAVES and we want to be able to share our research with others. I'm hoping to have the first post up sometime early next month.

I look forward to working more with A Timeless Collection this year too. If you are not already following them on Facebook or Instagram, you need to! We have a special group photo shoot planned for this weekend and I can't wait to share more about it.

So yeah, I guess that pretty much wraps up my last year. What are you plans and goals this year?