Planning for the New Year    

         

Day one of the new year 2019!  This is the day to reflect on how the last year went and how the new year will go.  We can all wish for a better year.  But in order to get a better one, we need to put forth some effort and really work to make the changes needed to reach our goals.  If you want a better year financially, you will want to examine your income and try to increase it and/or maybe you need to save more of your income to prepare for the future.  If you want your new year to be healthier, you may need to change your lifestyle and include exercise and healthier eating.  Perhaps you want a year with better family relationships.  Then you need to decide which relationships need improvement and if you have any way to facilitate a change.

Pick one or a few things to pursue in your new year and work on a plan to make changes that will help you reach your goals.  Don’t be discouraged if you don’t reach all your goals.  If you at least make progress on your goals, that is a positive result.  You can continue to make changes necessary to reach your goals.  Also, if your goals include actions from other people, remember you can control your actions and efforts, but you may not be successful in getting others to change with you. 

If you like to sew and you want to improve your sewing or accomplish more finished projects, you have total control over that change!  I suggest taking a few moments to think about what projects you want to sew this next year.  Write down all those that come to mind and then number them in the order you plan to sew.  Don’t worry if you don’t think you have the skills to do all of them.  You can always research the techniques and learn them before you begin a project or even as you sew the project.  You can probably find a video on the internet that covers almost any sewing technique you want to learn.  If not, try to find a book that describes the technique or ask a sewing friend to help you. 

I looked back on my blog to see what changes or resolutions I had for 2018.  In my post of January 1, 2018, I said I would sew a summer 12-piece wardrobe.  I was able to complete that one.  I started on the first of January and finished the project Oct 4, 2018.  I was able to make 72 outfits from the 12 pieces.

I also planned to review and organize my fabric stash.   I started by organizing the fabric I kept in my sewing room.  I have two shelves under the eight-foot cutting table in the room.  I filled see-through containers on those shelves with fabric for current projects or ones that I anticipated sewing in the future.  I moved fabric from two bedrooms and added that to fabric held in storage containers in the basement.  This was an enormous task, but it did make sewing easier.  I was able to place all the fabric for the 12-piece wardrobe in the bins under the cutting table, so the fabric was easily accessible when I needed it.  Although, I did not complete this task, at least I made progress on it.  

The third change I wanted to do in 2018 was to consider fabric in my stash before buying new fabric for my projects.  That one I also accomplished.  Most of the 12-piece wardrobe was made with stash fabric.  I also made a winter coat in 2018 and that, too, was made from stash fabric.

I have been thinking about what I will sew in this new year and I am not certain.  I am currently working on a raincoat which will be finished soon.  After that, I am not sure what I will pursue.  I may make jeans and blog about each step in the process and any techniques I use.  I need to give some more thought to which projects I will sew.  This year has just begun, so maybe before I finish the raincoat, I will get some inspiration for my 2019 sewing projects. 

What are you planning to sew in 2019?  Please share your plans with me.  Maybe I will get inspired by your projects!

Happy sewing,

Judy