Half-year wrap up

I thought I'd do a quick half-year wrap-up post, because how hard can it be to do one when you've spent most of the past six months sewing from just two patterns?  Butterick 6149 and Sewaholic Crescent.  At least they are different types of garments, or at least they were until my last post when they managed to grow themselves together.

Anyhow -- in total I sewed five dresses (four involved incarnations of Butterick 6149) and eight skirts (six of which involved variations of the Crescent, though at least all six weren't for me.  Not that I probably won't end up with several more eventually).  The other dress was made from Simplicity 4294 from 1942, and the other two skirts evolved from Burda 7741.

I wear all the skirts I made, and love and will eventually wear all the Butterick 6149 variants.  But I'm not sure that Simplicity 4294 is gonna get any use.  I like the way it looks in pictures, but it's just not "me" somehow.   I think it's the shape of the sleeves.  Plus, the fitted waistband bugs me.  I think I'll hold onto it for a while longer before I decide its fate.

I am surprised that I sewed so many repeats, especially all those skirts in solid colors.  Boring, huh?  I rarely take a practical approach to sewing!  I think my next project really needs to be an over-the-top ball gown in wildly patterned quilting cotton, just to balance things out.

I reckon repeat-sewing did show me a few things, first and foremost that even after four versions you won't necessarily have the fit perfect!   I did enjoy adding some practical stuff to my wardrobe, but I doubt I'll ever be a slave to clothing "needs".  For me, sewing is all about the fun.   Knowing that, I should push myself to experiment more.

Speaking of which ... look what came in the mail today!

51 yards of fabric.

http://fabric.com had (and maybe still has -- I daren't look!) a bunch of fabric on sale for $1.97 a yard, so I stocked up on cheap stuff that I won't feel too bad about ruining, yet also wouldn't mind wearing should things go well.  I got a few special pieces too.   But not too special:  I didn't even think about getting any of that gorgeous Liberty fabric, because the five pieces I have from our Europe trip last summer have proven to be too scary to cut into!   A couple of my cheapy fabric treasures have somewhat unexpected textures (the navy voile is stiff, like netting!) but we'll see how things look after a trip through the washer.

Excuse me, but I have to go roll in my 51 yards of new fabric now.  And then figure out where the heck I'm going to put it all.