Top 5 Highlights 2017

Wow, It’s been an amazing sewing year!  Gillian at Crafting A Rainbow has hosted Top 5 for a few years and I just saw it on Instagram.  I thought, what a fun way to highlight my top 5 sewing makes.  I did the #bestnine on Instagram as that’s based on likes, but for my top 5, I’ll based that on blog post views.  As I reflect on 2017 looking forward to 2018 I know there are a few things I want to learn, and some things I want to do so, let’s jump right in!

Hits:

Everyone loves a pattern remake.  I think this is how things become tried and true (TNT) patterns, you just keep making them!  I enjoyed this feature on the blog and I plan to do more of it.  October was full of sewing, a good way to get a lot of sewing done is to make patterns that you’ve already made and worked the kinks out of.  October was very a good sewing month for me.

Yes, the Cashmerette Upton dress!  You can’t go wrong with this dress, it can be dressed up or down, bust adjustments, sloping shoulders and sway backs are added, and it has pockets!

This dress, Vogue 9253 took the sewing community by storm and it is a really great pattern.  I can’t wait to remake it or a version of it.  I had a lot of help adjusting this and it’s great to see all the different versions of it.

My first coat and my first time participating in a coat drive.  I sew for charity and I’m excited to use my gift to help others.  This was an easy coat and I was tempted to say it’s not that big of a deal, but it’s a coat none the less and with the help of social media, it received a lot of attention.

Last but not least, The Cashmerette Springfield Top.  These tops get a lot of wear and I have plans to make more!

So, toward the end of 2017, I became more selective in what fabrics I use, patterns, blog photos and sharing on social media.  I can tell the quality of the garments have gotten better and the presentation of the garments got better too!   I thought a few times about not blogging and just posting on Instagram, I’m happy I didn’t.

I blogged once before and stopped around this time because I got lazy and uninspired, I focused on not getting likes and shares and I should have focused on content!  I should have just taken a break, rebranded and refreshed instead of quitting, but I’m happy I stuck it out this year, hind sight is 20/20.   I receive a lot of messages and comments about how I’ve inspired sewist and what they’ve learned, it’s nice to know that someone other than my mom sees value in what i’m doing.  I’ve also met someone in the small town that I live in and that was amazing.  She’s an accomplished sewer and so sweet she recognized me from pattern review, how cool is that! 

On the flip side of this, social media is a blessing and curse for me and one thing I can tell you is in 2018 I’ll spend less time on social media, and more time creating.  I want to improve the content of my blog and the quality of my garments so they will be worn and last.  I want to improve my writing skills and offer more to those who follow and read, and I want to share and engage.  However, I spent a lot of time on social media that could have been used creating and this was beyond seeking inspiration and engaging, this was a time waster.  My goal is to find a healthy balance with health, family, work, social media and my hobbies. 

I’m excited about what’s to come in 2018, and I can’t wait to share what I want to accomplish!  Thanks for following along, reading, commenting and sharing my content, I really appreciate you!  Until next time!