lets make this official

okay. i've been meaning to do this for awhile but i've had trouble getting my butt in gear. i found it pretty helpful to make a plan when i started sewing for fall - even though, in the end, i didn't really stick to that plan too well (ahem.) but regardless of my fickleness and the fact that i grossly overestimated my sewing productivity (ahem!) i still think its helpful to make a plan, make it public, and try and stick by it as much as possible. having a plan helps me buy fabric and budget my time. and this time i majorly scaled back what i want to sew so i don't overwhelm myself and feel like a failure because i didn't reach my goals (who me?!).

so here you have it - my official "to sew" list for spring 2012:

i'm pretty proud to say that i've already made some good headway on this one. i decided to draft the pattern myself because i couldn't find one exactly like what i had in mind. fast forward 5 muslins and countless sleeve drafts later and i now have something i'm pretty happy with! i think i'm ready to cut into my leather (might even take that fun little task on tonight) and do some practice sewing on some leather scraps just to get a feel for it. i also wrote myself out some sewing instructions. does anyone else do this? i find it supremely helpful when i decide to "wing" a garment - writing it out makes my brain think through the construction and i'm able to catch mistakes before i make them! (most of the time).

march is my birthday month! woohoo! this year i'll actually be attending the wedding of some dear, beautiful people my birthday weekend so i wanted something that i could wear to the wedding, and also something a little special as a present to myself! we have a few weddings coming up, so i'm hoping this dress will be my "go-to" spring/summer special occasion dress. it'll be nice to give my bombshell dress a break, which was my fall/winter special occasion "go-to". i bought this rachel comey for vogue pattern back in the fall and i was waiting to make it until i found the perfect fabric. i always envisioned it in a floral print, but none really tickled my fancy - that is until i came across this silk print on tessuti and had to wipe the drool off my keyboard! it'll be a bit loud, but i think the dress can handle it. one of my goals this spring is to incorporate more prints so... here we go!

p.s. did ya'll see this lady's version of this dress? she said she had a hard time with it, but hot damn! girl looks good...

another rachel comey pattern! i wasn't lying when i said i practically bought them all! these patterns have been languishing in my drawer for too long (a whole 6 months!?!? told you i'm not much of a hoarder...) and they're far too pretty to just look at. i think for this pattern, and the dress pattern above, a muslin will be key. they seem like the sort of garments that could turn ugly real fast if they don't fit you just so. i plan to make this one out of another pretty tessuti silk print. the print is abstract and washy and the colors are just soo summery! it'll be a pretty sheer top, but that doesn't really bother me (give me a nude bra and i'm good to go - modesty was never my forte!)

and thats it!! is that too stingy of a sewing list?? lets just say these are my priorities. i've also been knocking a couple other ideas around in the back of my mind as well...

we'll call these the icing on the cake! i've wanted a white silk blouse for... about ever! haha! i've waffled back and forth between "buy it/make it" so many times i've lost count. so here it is - it officially made a "to make" list! a think a bright punchy pink chiffon midi skirt would be the most wonderful garment to sail into summer with! plus, i plan on making a simple gathered drindl skirt which will be my project for when i've burnt myself out on all this pattern drafting. and the pale pink jeans? what can i say... i've got an itch to jump on the colored-jeans-trend-bandwagon! unfortunately i seem to be obnoxiously picky about the color and can't seem to find a fabric that satisfies me so i'm thinking maybe i have to dye some white denim? blech. that doesn't sound fun. lets just say this one is a bit low on the priorities!!

well, my lovelies, there you have it! written in stone! in playdough stone. in extremely malleable stone... i feel like i can handle this list. although to be honest, i plan on doing the bulk of this sewing this month...gah! march 8th?!?! better get to it!

xx