What Do You Call A Sewing Blogger Who Doesn't Sew Anything And Posts About Books Instead?

AKA My 2016 review post!

So 2016 was a mixed bag of a year, it didn't start off so brilliantly, but really picked up as it went along and on the whole it was generally a pretty good one, bucking the general trend there!

I didn't really sew much, but I have been up to the usual variety of crafty bits and bobs, terrible photos courtesy of Instagram!

So from left to right on the top row - I made a super romantic valentines cross stitch of our little family, it is pretty small but still took ages, cross stitch is a real marathon! I also started a temperature blanket, it is bigger than the shown picture, but I have about 8 months left to do...which I will probably take the whole of 2017 to do. I also made a little felt badge with the most incredibly rudimentary stumpwork(ish) bee on, this was for a climate change awareness project done through the WI, with the idea to make a green heart with something written/illustrated/created on it that would be at risk from climate change.

Middle row is a hungry caterpillar headband made for a friend for World Book Day, some banana split truffles made as a gift, and some crochet roses I turned into a headband for a camping weekend I went on.

Bottom row is some beeswax candles made at a workshop at the above mentioned camping weekend, my first attempt at the good ol' granny square, and one of the birthday cards made throughout the year.

On the sewing front I made barely anything for myself, I didn't take any good photos either! Not pictured are my Sophie swimsuit and Morgan jeans tester garments (they were not beautiful, and neither one got made into a final personal garment so no photos there either), and also a black linen dress that was a bit of a disaster and I don't want to talk about the waste of my hoarded nice fabric...

So from the top - a summery blousey thing made from my sundress pattern which was sewn up in some fabric which had serious static issues. It actually frayed apart after washing in a small spot and I decided that rather than fix it, I would be better off without it! Next to that we have a chiffon peasant top - Simplicity 1162 worn with my skull pocket Ginger jeans cut in 2015, sewn 2016. S1162 looks a bit fug in some of the variations they decided to put on the envelope, but I was after something that would make a casualish top and use up the various lengths of chiffon I seem to purchase periodically which I have little call for. It's a nice top once you get going, although it is a bit shapeless round the middle, hence the belted look.

I also finally made up the sunhat I carefully drafted a pattern for following the instructions over at Weekend Designer and it is everything I need to re-enact my AHS Coven style dreams. I think there is room for improvement, but certainly a very good first attempt!
The best project of the year was my giant pants, two pairs made from the Rosy Lady Shorts pattern with the waist extended to hit the waistline.

I also made a questionable gingham sundress, Frank likes it, but I'm not so convinced.

Finally I made a steampunk costume to wear to the annual steampunk festival held in Lincoln each year, and at which my WI holds a fundraising bake sale. I have wanted to join in the fun ever since we moved here 7 years ago, and I dipped my toe in with a steampunk inspired costume rather than a full on affair. It took ages, I wasn't overly pleased with how it turned out, and the proper photos I took make it look more ugly than it really is. But the day was a lot of fun, and I got compliments on my attire so it clearly wasn't too awful.

The top photo here was taken at the camping trip mentioned - Tea and Tents. It is a WI member only camping weekend that I attended once before in 2014. My scarf has cats on it. It is hiding the nasty sunburn I got...
The bottom photo was taken at the Steampunk festival where I also got sunburned...not a good year for my skin, I got burned in April too.
I really love being a part of the WI, and I hope that these pictures dispel a few common misconceptions about it being full of middle class ladies in twin sets and pearls  (not that there is anything wrong if you do fall into this category!)

So as well as the crafty business, and the book reading, it was also a good year for other things - I did a talk about craftivism at my WI (very nerve-wracking) which is something I would never have considered doing in a million years before I joined. After the talk I arranged for us to make our own craftivism piece - all members were tasked to make a piece embroidered with their food waste pledge which will be joined together to make one large display.
I also volunteered throughout Oct/Nov for Cards For Good Causes, they set up across the country selling cards for charities (national and local), and a whopping 80% of the price of a pack goes to the charity they are for which is so much more than the charity cards sold in supermarkets etc. I met many lovely people, and also got to volunteer twice with my friend Jo who introduced me to the CFGC charity as she ad volunteered previously.
I organised a Christmas carol concert for a group of local WIs including Lincoln, and was completely bummed out to find I couldn't attend due to panto commitments. It went well though so I was pleased.
Like the madman I am, I signed up with Weight Watchers in the last week of October, and have been doing pretty well at it, although I did find it hard missing out on all the Christmas treats. I'm almost two stone lighter now, and it brings up a lot of thoughts and feelings for the sewist with an almost entirely hand made wardrobe which I am going to post about separately.

Well there was a very long brief round up of my 2016, and I will have a separate panto post because it is sewing related, but to add more to this post was going to make things rather silly!



I know this blog isn't very well read, but for those that do, I hope that you had a good 2016, and have a better 2017!