Hello 2016!

Happy new year! It's been a bit quiet over here since the summer ended! I wish that I could say that I've been busy sewing... but that's definitely not true! By the time my new sewing machines arrived and were ready to be set up, I was in the middle of midterms and just never seemed to find an afternoon to set them up. It also doesn't help that I don't (yet) have a desk or table for them!

I'm going to try to keep this pretty short and get back to knitting the last of my (late) Christmas gifts, but it's nice to look over some highlights from the year! I'll mostly let the pictures do the talking.

These were my 'Best 9' on Instagram - unsurprisingly, 3 of them are from the Super Online Sewing Match! The rest were mostly photos of older/unfinished/potential projects as part of Rachel's Sew Photo Hop, including my grad dress, my maroon Moneta dress, my duvet Cambie dress, a 40's dress UFO, and one of my favourite vintage patterns.

Sewing Highlights:

1. The Super Online Sewing Match

Obviously, the Super Online Sewing Match was my main sewing highlight this year - everything else seems a little pale in comparison! I'm still so grateful to Beth and Kristin at Sew Mama Sew for organizing the competition. There were definitely stressful parts (like when my iron died halfway through the fourth challenge), but most of the time, it was so much fun and such a great challenge to receive all the patterns and try to make them my own.

I learned quite a bit (through lots of improvisation and trial and error!) about pattern modification, when I'd never really done at all before. During the challenges, I did some of the neatest (and most challenging!) sewing I've ever done - I was always looking for ways that I could make my projects even more special. I tried so many new techniques - adding trim to French seams and making my own bias binding on my Sutton blouse, reverse applique on my Marianne dress, adding removable backpack straps to my Caravan tote bag, flatlining and making piping for my Carolyn Pajamas, and more new techniques than I can list for my Cascade duffle coat.

I'd never made a bag or a coat before, and they were both things that I had been hoping to make for ages! I never imagined making them with the tight deadlines that I had during the contest. Looking back, I'm not sure how I managed the deadlines! I just remember sewing like mad on my days off work.

Best of all, I've worn everything that I made quite a bit! My Sutton blouse is my go-to top for wearing with jeans or tucked into a skirt - it looks great dressed up or dressed down! And my Cascade duffle coat was perfect for the cool fall and mild winter weather in Montreal this semester.

Obviously I'm so happy to have won the contest, but I'm so proud of all my projects and everything that I would have been happy no matter how the contest ended. 

2. Indie Pattern Month at the Monthly Stitch

Before being chosen as a SOSM contestant, I won a prize over at the Monthly Stitch in their 'Separates' contest for Indie Pattern Month! I entered my Miz Mozelle 2-piece dress, and won an amazing pair of Merchant and Mills shears that got some good use during the sewing match!

3. 'Dress Up Party' at Sew Sweetness

I also wrote my first guest post, a review of the Smooth Sailing Trousers on Sew Sweetness as part of her 'Dress Up Party'. Although the pants are super stretched and possibly beyond repair, I love the pattern so much that I made another pair! 

Knitting Highlights

1. My first cardigan!

As far as knitting goes, I was really happy to have finished my first cardigan this year! It was a major learning curve and I made a lot of mistakes, but I love the finished cardigan and wear it all the time.

I do have a few other smaller projects finished, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to blogging about them. I am, however, almost finished another sweater, that I hope to have on the blog this semester!

Sewing and Knitting Goals

Looking back at last year's sewing goals, I definitely achieved two out of three of them! I wanted to find more challenging projects, and focus more on fit - both of which I did through the sewing match. I also wanted to finish that UFO in my first photo in this post (the green floral dress), but obviously that didn't happen! I was just far too busy with the sewing contest this summer.

I'm so busy with school these days that I'm trying not to set any unachievable sewing goals for myself. Instead, I have a few very simple, realistic goals:

1. Set up my sewing space (in other words, buy a desk to put my machine on...)

2. Finish my Ginger jeans 

3. Enjoy it and relax!

I know that if I try to set too many unrealistic expectations of how much time I'll be able to dedicate to sewing and knitting, I'll just be disappointed and frustrated. Instead, I'm going to remember to enjoy it and appreciate it as a break from studying!

Other Highlights

1. Working in Canmore over the summer

I still can't quite believe how beautiful Canmore is, and it's so nice to look back at photos. I loved my job and biking to work every day, and I still managed to get lots of sewing done on my days off! Those who follow me on Instagram might recognize this photo as one of many photos that I posted of my bike ride to work. It was such an incredible way to spend a summer!

2. Moving into my own apartment in Montreal

I moved out of residence at McGill in April, and now I'm renting an apartment in the Plateau of Montreal, with a roommate. I love the apartment and the area, and I'm especially enjoying cooking for myself!

3. Starting the Microbiology and Immunology Program at McGill

When I was choosing my major, I was so torn and undecided, but I settled on the Microbiology and Immunology (MIMM) program, which sounded really interesting although I wasn't so sure if I would do well in it. I took a variety of courses this semester to keep my options open in case I wanted to change my mind, but so far I'm loving the program! My introductory course on microbiology this was so interesting, and the lab course my favourite course last semester by far. I've started volunteering in an immunology lab to learn some more lab skills and dip my toes into some research, and I'm really enjoying that as well!

Overall, it's been a really great year! School is definitely getting more challenging, but I'm enjoying it and I feels like I'm in the right place (even if I really have no idea where I'll be in a few years!).

Thanks for reading, and happy new year!

Me-Made-May 2015: Days 23-31 and Some Final Thoughts

Are you all as sick of seeing selfies as I am of taking them? Me-Made-May went by really quickly until the last few days, and then I was ready to not take any more mirror selfies for another year!

One of the reasons I enjoy participating, though, is that May always seems to be a month where I have lots going on, and weekly outfit posts are a way of documenting that. At the end of the month, it's fun to look back! Last year, I was finishing high school right around this time. This year, I finished my first year of university, moved into my first apartment, flew back to see my parents, drove to Canmore, moved into my uncle's condo for the summer, and got a job here! Whew - it's been quite the month! 

Here's the final round of photos:

Saturday, May 23

Dress: Me-made (Muse Natalie dress)

I just finished this dress Friday night, then wore it to work the next day! Saturday was my second training shift, which went quite well.

I also biked to work this day, so I got to test how bike-proof this dress it. The verdict? It's not bad, but the skirt could be a little roomier, because it tends to ride up. Next time, I'll make it a little more flared!

Sunday, May 24

Dress: Me-made (Colette Moneta dress)
Cardigan: Consignment (Jackpot)

I decided that the skirt on the Moneta is a lot more bike-friendly than the Natalie when I biked to work on this day! It's still not quite wind-proof though, so I did some googling, and found this tip for making skirts and dresses more bike-friendly. I'll have to try it out!

Today was my first full (8 hour) shift at the cafe where I'm working - until now, I'd just been working half shifts. I was tired afterwards, but I'm really enjoying it there!

Monday, May 25

Top: Me-made (Jennifer Lauren Bronte top)
Skirt: Me-made (Deer and Doe Chardon skirt)

Ahh, another outfit of unblogged me-mades! If nothing else, MMM has made me realize how behind I am on blogging...

This was my first day off since beginning work, and I spent the day cleaning, doing some little errands, sewing, and working on my blog a bit! It actually cooled off enough that I changed and put on pants later, but for running around inside, this was perfect.

Tuesday, May 26

Skirt: Me-made (Tilly and the Buttons Picnic Blanket Skirt)
Top: Consignment (Tristan)

And yet another unblogged make... I had another day off, and it was cloudy and a little rainy most of the day, so I spent most of it inside sewing. When I finally left in the evening, I realized that what I was wearing was way too cold and had to change again.

In the evening, I went to a knitting class at the local yarn store here! It was for knitting socks, and I found it quite helpful. We knit mini-socks so that we could cover all the techniques in one class (although we didn't quite finish so we're going to meet again), and now we're doing a knit-along and meeting sometime in June to show off our (hopefully) finished socks.

Wednesday, May 27

Blouse: Me-made (Sewaholic Alma)
Skirt: Me-made (Sewaholic Hollyburn)

I had another day off, and it warmed up quite a bit. I originally wore jeans, but after biking into town to sort some errands out, I realized it was way too hot for that, and changed into a skirt. I just find this blouse a little too stiff to wear tucked in, so I don't usually wear it like this.

(Is it just me, or are these posts turning into weather reports? My bad.)

Thursday, May 28

Dress: Me-made (Colette Moneta)
Cardigan: Thrifted (Nicole Bridger)

I think I've proabably worn this dress more than anything else this May! It's definitely my favourite of all the Monetas I've made. I was back at work today, and I'm come to realize that pretty much anything goes in terms of clothing at the cafe that I'm working at. I was a little worried about having to make a bunch of "work clothes", but my current wardrobe is fine. I always take off my sweater as soon as I get there, but I need it for biking there in the morning.

Friday, May 29

Top: Me-made (self-drafted)

Jeans: RTW (Guess)

Cardigan: Consignment (Jackpot)

I can tell that it's the home stretch of Me-Made-May because of how lazy I'm getting with my outfits! I've worn every me-made garment that I brought from Montreal with me, so I'll fulfilled that part of my pledge. Just a couple more days to go!

Saturday, May 30

Top: Me-made (Sewaholic Pendrell, modified for a knit)
Jeans: RTW (Guess)
Belt: Thrifted

Again, not all that much to say about this outfit! I actually wore this top quite a bit this year, despite almost never wearing it in high school. It was in my give-away bag for a while before Me-Made-May last year, but I'm glad I rescued it!

Sunday, May 31

Dress: Me-made (Muse Natalie)

Ah, nothing like an exhausted post-work selfie to finish off Me-Made-May. I usually take my photos before leaving for work in the morning, but forgot today (I was busy making granola! Mmm...). So, there you have it. I have a giant oil stain on my new dress, and my hair is a mess after being tied back all day...

And with that last mirror selfie, Me-Made-May 2015 is done! As a round-up, I put together a "calendar" of all this month's outfits:

It was interesting looking back while putting this together. I've covered a lot of ground this month, both literally and figuratively! The first two pictures were taken in my new apartment in Montreal, then for next week and a bit, they were taken in my parent's backyard in Vancouver, except for the one taken at Ballet BC (the 9th). There are a couple photos from while I was driving to Canmore (the 15th and 16th), then a few photos from while my mom was here with me to take photos, then the rest are mirror shots because I was on my own!

Me-Made-May was far, far easier for me this year. I feel like I've really filled in some gaps in my wardrobe, and learned what I really wear. I'm always reaching for my knit dresses (especially my fourth Cambie), my Pendrell blouse that I made from a muumuu, my knit Pendrell, and my self-drafted top that desperately needs to be replaced (the seams are falling apart and it's horribly pilled).

What's funny is that although my favourite dress I've ever made is probably my second Cambie dress, I only wore it once this month! I've realized that I have two kinds of "favourite" pieces - pieces that I love to wear, and pieces that I love for other reasons, but don't really get worn that often, either because they aren't practical, or because I just don't feel right while wearing them! Other examples are my second Moneta dress (I think I might shorten it to make it less dressy) and my Alma blouse (it's hard to layer over or tuck in!).

Then there are also the pieces that I never really reach for, but realize that I really like when I do wear them! Me-Made-May is great for rediscovering those pieces, like the Pendrell blouse that I wore on May 13, my linen culottes, or the gathered skirt that I wore on May 26.

Lastly, there are those garments that I forced myself to wear only because of my pledge to wear every me-made garment I brought from Montreal. My denim Hollyburn skirt is the perfect example - the denim is so terrible that it stretched out of shape and is pulling at the seams. At the end of the day, I don't even like it that much! For whatever reason, it feels very juvenile to me (and that's coming from someone who will wear a polka dot and bird print top without question).

There are also a few pieces that I left in Montreal for various reasons - some of them because they don't work that well for summer or aren't really that versatile, such as my Natalie top and my first Jenna cardigan (which really only goes with one dress), and others because I know I don't wear them as-is and plan to alter them in the fall, such as my wearable muslin for my grad dress.

Last year, I realized by participating in Me-Made-May that I needed to make more simple, wearable and comfortable pieces, since those are the pieces that I didn't have very many of, but I wore the most. That was when I really learned to sew with knits, and made myself some knit dresses and knit tops.

This year, the RTW garment that I wore the most, by far, was jeans! Which means that very soon, I'll be starting on my Ginger jeans (as soon as I buy some tape to tape together the PDF! My uncle's place only has duct tape.)

The one garment that I never did wear were my Smooth Sailing Trousers, but that's because they've been sitting with the hems unpicked for a couple weeks now. I really need to get around to re-hemming them! I've also just chucked them in the dryer to see if they shrink back into shape, so we'll see how that goes. As per my pledge, anything me-made that I didn't wear will either be altered or given away (except for some pieces that I know I do wear, but had to leave behind because I didn't have room in my suitcase, like the top and cardigan above). These pants will definitely be altered, because I love the style!

I also haven't been documenting this, but a lot of my underwear is now me-made as well! I've used the free panties pattern from So, Zo to make lots of my jersey scraps into underwear. I also wore my handmade bra a few times, but I wear my RTW ones far more often. I'd really like to try bra-making again, and see if I can make some bras that fit a little better and are a little more wearable!

So, I suppose that's it for Me-Made-May! Even though I got a little sick of taking pictures by the end, I enjoyed participating, and as always, found it to be a great way to figure out where the gaps are in my handmade wardrobe.

Thanks for reading, and for putting up with some rather terrible selfies near the end of the month! If you participated, how did it go?

Happy New Year!

I'm back! It's been... 5 months since my last post, so I thought I would give you all a quick update before jumping in and blogging about everything I've been busy sewing over winter break. I’m sure you’re all sick of seeing year-end round-up posts by now, so I’ll make this quick! 

Although I’ve never really been one to make a big deal out of New Year’s, it was interesting to look back and think about 2014, since it was a pretty exciting year for me, in terms of sewing and life in general.

I was pretty surprised when I added up these numbers! I didn't realize how much I had finished in 2014. Tops and dresses are my favourite to make, but I branched out and tried a swimsuit, a pair of pants, and underwear. (And yes, I will eventually blog about those 11 unblogged projects). Here are some of my highlights from the year, and goals for 2015:

Sewing Highlights

1.      I made my grad dress

This was, by far, the most major sewing project I’ve ever taken on, and I’m so proud of it! Although the construction was far from perfect, it was exactly what I wanted and I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time I had it on. I also had another chance to wear it recently – read on for more about that!

2.      I learned to sew with knits

My first Moneta dress

I can’t believe it took me so long to give knits another try! I absolutely love knits now, and I was amazed by how many of my projects have been from knits this year. They are so comfortable, and most of the pieces I wear most often are knits. Although I had sewn a little with knits before, I chose horrible knit fabrics and didn’t know how to deal with them, so I would always end up frustrated and never wanting to sew with knits again. Now, I’m always excited to sew with knits!

My second Moneta dress

3.      I made a bra

Again, something I should have tried sooner, because it’s really not that difficult! The fabric takes a little getting used to, but it’s true what they say – if you can set in a sleeve, you can sew a bra. Many of my RTW bras don’t fit me very well anymore, so I’d love to make some more, but I just didn’t have time this winter break. Over the summer, I will work on the perfect bra!

4.      I sewed with a vintage pattern, and learned a great way to size them down

As much as I love vintage, it took me this long to sew with a vintage pattern! I also experimented with sizing them down using a photocopier, which has worked well every time I’ve tried it. Next time I do it I’ll take some photos and put together a tutorial for the blog!

5.      I made pants

Despite wearing mostly skirts and dresses, I’ve wanted to make pants for so long. These were my last project before leaving for Montreal in the summer, and I absolutely love them. They are swingy, 40’s-style pants, which I will blog about soon!

Sewing Goals

1.      Finish last year’s Sew for Victory project

I really love this dress, but I gave it up in lieu of faster, more practical projects when the weather got warmer last spring. I will finish it, though, I promise! I just need to wait until I have a sewing machine to use again…

2.      Look for more challenging projects

In the summer and during my winter break, I got very caught up in fast and easy projects. I was trying to finish a project every day or two, which was great when I had limited time to sew lots of wearable pieces. However, in all that, I think I forgot about one of the major reasons I sew – I want to get away from the whole “fast fashion” craze these days. I know that quick and easy sewing projects are very different from cheap clothing made in Bangladesh, but after sewing nothing but quick knit projects all winter break, I’m almost starting to crave some more challenging projects. Last year’s challenging project was my grad dress, and I’ll keep an eye out for more challenging patterns that I can take on and learn some new techniques. I’m thinking of trying the Ginger jeans, or maybe even a wool coat!

3.      Be willing to spend time on fit

One of the things I love about knits is that they require so little fitting, and you can usually fit them as you go along. Fitting is the part I dread about sewing with wovens, and it’s the reason I make the same patterns over and over again. However, there are so many patterns out there that I would love to try, and I know that I will need to spend some time on fitting all of them.

Knitting Goals

I’m leaving out knitting highlights because I didn’t finish very many projects, and none of them are blogged yet! Instead, I’m keeping it simple with this one goal:

1.      Make time for knitting

There are so many wonderful things about knitting – it’s relaxing, yet productive, and it even seems to help my tendinitis when done in moderation. This semester, I got so caught up in everything that I had to do that I never really took the time to sit down and knit. My original goal was to knit a little bit every day, even if it’s just a row, but I know that life happens and that’s not always realistic. Instead, I’m going to appreciate any time that I can spend knitting, and make the most of it.

Other Highlights

1.      I graduated high school

Woohoo!

2.      I began university

I successfully completed my first semester studying science at McGill University in Montreal! I’m really enjoying it there, and everything is going pretty smoothly.

3.      I’m living in Montreal in residence

My residence on move-in day in August

I didn’t think this would be a highlight for me, but I really love living in residence! I’m in a great residence in a beautiful old building, shown above. It’s a smaller residence with a great sense of community, and I love it there. I’ve made so many great new friends, and it definitely feels like a home away from home. I also really love Montreal, and it hasn’t even been that cold yet! (Although I’ll be eating my words next week, when it goes down to  -25 degrees Celsius).

The view from my window the morning I left for winter break

4.      I’m part of a dance company

I auditioned for a McGill dance company at the beginning of the year, and I love it! We do mostly contemporary ballet, but being part of a group like this one is quite different that dance I’ve done before. Rather than having one teacher, we all take turns teaching classes as doing choreography. I’ve had a chance to do some of my own, which has been great! I really enjoy teaching, so I love that aspect of belonging to a small company.

5.      I wore my grad dress again and the “Yule Ball”

Not a great photo, but you get the idea

My residence has a dining hall that looks like the Hogwarts Great Hall, and it’s also split up into houses, so we also have an annual Yule Ball, just like in Harry Potter! It’s a formal dinner and dance, and we even had waltzing lessons beforehand. I had my mom mail me my grad dress, and it was great to have another chance to wear it!

I think that’s about it! This ended up being a longer post than I expected, so thanks for bearing with me if you’re still reading. 2014 was really a great year, and I’m looking forward to my second semester at McGill, which starts tomorrow! I wrote this post on the flight back here, and I have the day today to get unpacked and ready for classes.

Thanks for reading! What are your goals for 2015?

Happy New Year! (Plus 2013 In Review)

Happy New Year! I won't lie and say that I'm a big fan of New Year's or New Year's resolutions, but I think it's good to reflect on and review the past year. It's been an exciting one!

It's been a while (over a month) since I last posted, so I'll quickly sum up the past month (or so) before moving on to summing up the past year.

I haven't been posting or sewing at all much because I've had tendinitis from my right hand up to my elbow. Being right handed, it makes it pretty difficult to do pretty much everything that I do a lot: writing, typing, sewing, playing the saxophone, dancing, yoga... you get the idea.

Unfortunately, the only way for it to really get better is rest. Honestly, though, how am I supposed to not use my right arm for a few weeks? Um, not going to happen.

Anyways, the project that I was working on got pushed aside for a while, and my plans for Knit for Victory were thrown out the window, which was a bummer because I have a 1940's knitting magazine and I was really looking forward to it.

On the bright side, since I couldn't sew, I reverted to planning for my grad dress (or prom dress, for my American readers). I'll post about that soon!

Oh, my computer also had a meltdown. It froze all of a sudden, which is pretty normal, so I shut it off. When I turned it back on, it told me it didn't have a hard drive. I'll skip the details, but none of my files could be recovered, and now it's sitting in the corner of my room, dead and useless. I really have no idea what to do with it. I also lost pretty much all the photos I've taken since starting this blog, since I last backed up around the end of August.

This also explains why this is a little late... I meant to get it out in 2013. I'm using my dad's old laptop, which is about nine years old, but is surprisingly still faster than mine that just crashed. Its only weakness, I discovered yesterday, is photo editing. I don't know if it just doesn't have the RAM or what, but the Gimp kept crashing whenever I would try to do very basic things... like moving a toolbar to better see the picture I was editing. Anyways, I didn't get the photos ready on time so here's the post now.

It's been a pretty busy year - I turned 17, started grade 12, and got my driver's license (a big highlight)! I'm in the process of applying for universities and scholarships, and it's really starting to sink in that I'll have a lot more independence after June. It's a bit scary, thinking that I'll be on my own pretty soon, but it's exciting too!

Anyways, enough about my personal life. Here's a list I've compiled of some of my sewing/crafty/thrifty highlights of 2013:

Sewing/Crafty Projects:

This doesn't include all of them, just the most notable ones, including some that were never blogged. You can see all of my blogged projects on my Sewn page.

Most-worn: Sewaholic Alma blouse

I practically lived in this blouse all summer because I burn like crazy, so shirts with a little more coverage than the average tank top are great (note to self: make more cotton blouses with sleeves for next summer). It's flattering, comfortable, and overall a great blouse. I'll definitely make another!

Least-worn: Simplicity 7148 Culottes

I really love these culottes, but I still have yet to wear them since I finished them right at the end of the summer. There were some days in the fall when it was hot enough that I could have worn them, but since they're linen, I wanted to save them for days when I would be standing more than sitting to avoid too much wrinkling. Lesson learned: next year, I won't wait until the end of summer to make shorts.

Most challenging: Bombshell swimsuit

Yes, you read that right - I finished a bombshell swimsuit! Here's a sneak peak - the full post will be out soon.

Biggest mistake: My second Pendrell blouse (pre-blog)

Ignore the bright blue tape on my arm. It was the only colour my physiotherapist had in stock when I needed some.

I like how this blouse, the Sewaholic Pendrell, turned out, but I seriously regret the fabric choice. It's 100% polyester and feels plastic-y and awful to wear. Since I was only just getting back into sewing when I made this, I didn't really know much about different fabrics and picked it because I liked the print. Looking back, it's amazing how much I've learned in a few months about sewing and fabric. Overall though, I don't regret making this blouse. We all make mistakes, and I learned from this one. Hey, if I hadn't learned to dislike polyester with this blouse, I might be planning to make my grad dress out of polyester! *shudder*.

Most likely to make again: Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt (pre-blog)

You may recognize this from my post about my knit Pendrell blouse (and from above). It's the Hollyburn Skirt from Sewaholic, made in a cheap rayon-poly-nylon blend. I wear it quite a bit, so I kind of regret not buying something a little nicer (again, this was before I knew all that much about fabric). I was stupid and didn't pay any attention to the finished measurements, thinking "I'm short, so if it says it hits just above the knee then it probably hits somewhere below the knee on me", and made view C, the shortest one (but with the button tabs from view B). It ended up too short even before hemming, so I added some wide lace hem binding so that I could turn up as little of the fabric as possible. I also put in an invisible zipper (my first ever) which broke after two wearings, so I replaced it with my first ever hand-picked zipper. I keep meaning to redo it because it wasn't actually very well done, but haven't bothered.

Anyways, there's my mini-post about that particular skirt. I seriously love the pattern, though, and really want to make more in cute quilting cottons in the spring (I love it when a pattern will work with quilting fabric). It's fast and easy to make, and it doesn't require any fitting, yet it's really flattering. I only wish mine were a little longer!

Took the longest: Pseudo Shibori Scarf

I worked on this for over a year... which is insane. My next knitting project will be more manageable (once my hand is better). Still, I love this scarf and I've worn it a lot! It's really cozy but still very delicate-looking, and it goes really well with my new favourite hat that I bought at the Circle Craft Fair (a huge craft fair in Vancouver) this fall.

Farthest out of my comfort zone: Nuno felted scarf

I have a post half-finished about this scarf that I will post someday, so I won't post too many details here - just a sneak peak!

Best thrift store find: My cashmere cardigan

I think I need to come up with a new pose...

I bought this 100% cashmere cardigan at a thrift store for $6.99, can you believe it? It had a strange fake leather buckle on the front but I unpicked it and then blocked where it had been because it had stretched a little, and it was as good as new! This cardigan is so soft and so warm that I practically live in it. Although you can't really see it in the pictures, it has a subtle diamond lace design. I used to wear it open, but more recently I've been pinning it shut with a cute pin that used to be my mom's, or tucking it in like in the photo.

Second place would probably go to the I'm wearing above. They're vintage pumps and made of red suede with black trim. I bought them at a thrift store for $7 or $8.

Favourite overall: The duvet dress (my second Sewaholic Cambie dress)

Hands-down, this is my favourite piece I've ever made. True, the fit isn't perfect but nothing I sew ever fits perfectly. Still, I absolutely love this dress and can't wait for the spring so that I can wear it again. (This was also the post with the most hits on my blog.)

A Few Highlights:

1. I started my blog!

I know, duh. But this was really exciting for me, and I'm so very thankful to everyone who reads it. I wanted to be able to share my passion with people who would appreciate all the work I put into it. At the moment, I have 6375 pageviews - I know, that's barely anything on the scale of the internet, but it's definitely a start. The fact that people care about what I have to say enough to visit 6375 times is wonderful! 

2. I won a prize

I entered in the Super Online Sewing Match Community Match just for fun, but actually won something! I entered my duvet dress and won a $50 gift card to Pink Castle Fabrics. I had been blogging for less than a month when I won, so this was really exciting for me!

3. I joined The Monthly Stitch

For those of you that don't know, The Monthly Stich is a community blog that began in August this year and has a different challenge every month. So far, I've only participated in one - the Frocktober challenge - but I really like the idea and the sense of community. January's challenge is New Year = New Skill which I'll try to contribute to (even if I don't have a finished product yet) because I'm starting on my grad dress soon, and there's lots of new skills I'll be learning with it.

4. I participated in "Concours d'art oratoire" talking about sweatshops and cheap clothing

This is an annual competition run by CPF, the Canadian Parents for French, where kids and teens (grades 6 to 12) prepare their own short speech in French and perform it in front of judges. They can really be about anything, but many students write them about something about which they hold a strong opinion. I wrote mine about sweatshops, the environmental cost of cheap clothing, and alternatives to fast fashion. I only made it to the district level, but it was a really great opportunity to learn more about something that I was interested in, and re-kindled my interest in sewing - it was right around then that I picked it up again.

5. I became much more independent while sewing

I used to be so unsure of myself with everything I was doing when I was sewing, and relied entirely on my mom's help. Since starting to blog, and reading other people's blogs, I've become much more independent and able to problem-solve while sewing. For instance, I did the fitting on my Ceylon dress entirely on my own, whereas with my Cambie dresses (here and here), I made the muslin, but my mom did all the fitting for me.

Overall, this has been a great year for me in terms of sewing, thrifting, and other crafty pursuits. I don't really do New Year's resolutions, so I won't formally make any to do with sewing. My most important project this year will be my grad dress, and I think that's enough of a goal for me.

Happy New Year!