2017 – Resolution time!

Here comes the ever so late new year’s resolution post for 2017! By a twist of fate, this post was published automatically while it was still a draft, so now I feel like it would be flat-out cowardice to delete my very first, most intimidating resolution, so here it comes:

1. Start my own business.

I think whoever learns how to create (anything at all) and really enjoys doing it, gets to a point where the idea of turning the hobby into a dream job pops up. Ever since I have discovered the joys of sewing, I hoped that one day making clothes, and listening to music while doing that, would be how I spend all day, everyday.

I don’t want to give away too much just yet, as I’ve had an eureka moment recently, and realized that I need to sit down and talk the idea through with somebody with actual experience, but I promise you’ll be the first to know if I ever manage to turn this into reality.

2. Learn a new skill: Embroidery.

More specifically, learn the beautiful technique that is on the verge of being forgotten and what technically is appliqué, not embroidery. It’s coming from the small village where my mum grew up, called Buzsak, and where my grandmother was often commissioned to make table clothes and pillows for special occasions.

I love this resolution, as it hopefully will give me a chance to learn from my mum, who might end up enjoying it so much that she takes it up again herself.

image source: kezdi.info

3. Learn to play 3 songs on the guitar.

The guitar case is great, but I guess the reason I got the guitar in the first place was not so that I can sew a case for it. Or was it?!

4. Finish the Wardrobe Architect project.

Now, more than ever, I feel like I need a total wardrobe rehab. Not because I am bored with my clothes, but because after doing 3 Me-Made-Mays I have a very clear idea of what clothes I am actually wearing, and I can’t stand looking at those I don’t wear. So the first step forward will be to get rid of the unused clothes (aka donate to charity shops), and to get rid of all the fabric I’ve had in my stash for years without having a clue about what to do with them.

Question 1: Should I donate my me-made clothes as well (I am worried that they won’t fit anyone else and will be discarded), or should I try to reuse the fabric (we all know what this means though: more stash!)

Question 2: What’s the best place to sell/give away pre-cut fabric pieces, especially when one is unsure about the fabric content?

5. Travel to one of the top places on my bucket list.

I am dying to go to a lot of places, but Bali, a cycling holiday in Puglia (Italy), and a road trip to LA-The Yosemite National Park-Vegas-San Francisco-The Big Sur have all been on top of my list for years now. I decided not to go a couple of times because I didn’t want to travel on my own, or because I can’t drive, or because of some other excuse, but really I just didn’t want to leave my comfort zone. This year should be different! 😉

Image sources: Bali, Puglia, San Francisco

6. Reach level 52 on Memrise.

Just get there already. 🙂

7. Post on Instagram once a week.

I have been a very passive Instagram user for years now. I found it a bit overwhelming to look at it daily (in addition to my Pinterest addiction) and didn’t feel inspired enough to contribute much either.

Then came the #sewphotohop organized by Rachel from House of Pinheiro. It was really inspiring to think about ways to answer the prompts with a picture every single day, but what really made a difference was discovering the massive sewing community on Instagram. I am now following so many people with very different styles and skills, that slowly but surely checking what everyone is making has become another addiction. According to my 2016 #bestnine, my most popular posts were the pictures taken for MeMadeMay2016 and posted during the #sewphotohop… 🙂

8. Get a tattoo for your 30th!

Oh yes. I am turning 30 this year and I am planning to mark the occasion with an actual mark. Whenever I imagined getting a tattoo, I was looking for some wise words, but never managed to find anything with a timeless meaning… And then I stumbled on a very minimalistic tattoo, which may not be the most original, but it’s fun, interesting and symbolizes the one activity I can’t imagine my life without: sewing.

9.#2017makenine

I decided to join all the crafters who will #makenine projects this year, and come up with a list of 9 things I will focus on. Half of these are already planned out/toilled and they should also fit in with my wardrobe plans. Here is a little breakdown of what is on my sewing/knitting list in 2017:

For the image sources click on the links below.

1. Embroidered summer dress/top – with the above mentioned Buzsaki appliqué.
2. Bra – I am already working on a muslin for this.
3. Little French jacket
4. Little black dress – I actually have 4 little black dresses, but none of them are comfortable, elegant, and a wee bit sultry all at the same time.
5. Slip dress – I have been slightly obsessed with making camisoles cut on the bias lately, now I want to go a little further…
6. Knitted turban – I love turbans and this should be a quick knit. Win-win!
7. Culottes – My favourite kind of trousers, I definitely could do with another pair.
8. Military jacket – I’m planning on making a short version of my beloved military jacket, with this lace up detail.
9. Napkins – They are pretty and simple and make dinners feel extra special. 😉

10. Stop being late. Aim to be late as rarely and as little as possible. 🙂

So long 2016…

Since the first week of 2017 is coming to an end, I thought it was high time I took a look at how I did resolution-wise last year.  I decided to cut myself some slack and instead of ticking things off the list, or not, I gave myself a score judging how far I’ve gotten on the path of completion. 😉

1. Make a Little French Jacket – 10%

In 2015 I managed to get to the stage where I ordered my first 20 samples from Linton Tweed. In 2016 I got another 40 of them, got super confused and decided to just chill out and make a guitar case (pictured unfinished below) from all those samples.

I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out whether I should go with a goes-with-everything-little-black-jacket or something fun and colorful. I then ended up buying 3 meters of some really interesting looking, white-blue fabric from Linton for less than half the original price.

Now, of course, I can’t see the logic behind this move and I’m thinking that on the long run it would be worth buying the black fabric that I really want, if I’m gonna spend 80 hours making it. I have already spent about 4 hours on the toile alone and I haven’t even started the fitting, so that number does seem to be realistic!

2. Try lingerie making – 100%

I really wanted to try making my own lingerie for a while, but I didn’t think I needed to take classes to learn how to. However, when I found out that the pattern cutting class at Morley that I was about to sign up for wasn’t going to go ahead, I sort of panicked and enrolled for a bra making class instead.

Best. Decision. Ever. Carol, our teacher, used to work for brands like Coco de Mer and Agent Provocateur, so I knew I was going to learn from someone with a similar taste, but I had no idea how fun she was! And so were my class mates.

Long story short, I have almost finished a wearable muslin and I finished a bra made of some vintage lace. I think it turned out great (I’ll show you soon), it’s my best fitting bra ever, and I’m already working on the next one! 🙂

3. Continue learning French – 61%

Resolution: Reach level 52 on Memrise by the end of the year.

Result: Reached level 32. Way to go, but the real achievement here is not giving up on it! 😉

4. Watch a play once a month – 100%

This brought me so much joy last year! I bought a “passport” to one of my favourite Off West End theatres, so I watched half of the plays there on my own, and caught the rest in theatres all around London, sometimes with friends joining me.

The best show was definitely Yerma at the Young Vic (probably one of the best plays I have ever seen tbh), and apart from 2, I have enjoyed all of them. 8 out of the 12 plays had the same theme, which says a lot about the whole year I think: terrorism and the refugee crisis. (You can read a brief description of the plays by clicking on the images below if you’re interested.)

NINE LIVES – ARCOLA THEATRE ‘Some of us wanted to belong.’ Ishmael has fled from his home in Zimbabwe, where a fresh wave of homophobia threatens his life. In Leeds is the prospect of sanctuary, and of a new life among strangers. But will those strangers accept him? The clock is ticking, and his fate is being decided… can Ishmael find a place to call home again? Following an acclaimed debut at West Yorkshire Playhouse and a national tour, Nine Livesreceives its London premiere at Arcola. This gripping new play from Zodwa Nyoni (Channel 4 Writer in Residence 2014) threads together humour and humanity to tell the real personal story behind asylum headlines. Former West Yorkshire Playhouse Associate Director Alex Chisholm directs Lladel Bryant, UK Young Citizen of the Year in 2006 and the co-founder of Chicken Shop Shakespeare.http://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/nine-lives/2016-01-06/

A Steady Rain – ARCOLA THEATRE Joey and Denny have been best friends since kindergarten. Joey helps out with Denny’s wife and kids; Denny keeps Joey away from the bottle. Now they’re cops in downtown Chicago, crime is a fact of life. But when a domestic disturbance call takes a turn for the worse, it brings about a change in the weather… A Steady Rain, from House of Cards and Mad Men writer Keith Huff, is a heart-stopping drama about a lifelong bond on the line. Since its 2009 Broadway debut, starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, the play has won major plaudits and has been earmarked by Stephen Spielberg for a film adaptation. Don’t miss the London premiere at Arcola, starring Vincent Regan (300, Troy, Clash of the Titans) and David Schaal (The Office, The Inbetweeners). http://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/a-steady-rain/2016-02-09/

If I were Me – SOHO THEATRE It’s spring. The world is in bloom. Phillip tends to his dying potted daffodil. A copywriter at an advertising agency, fading into the background of a pale office wall, he rearranges words until they work. But life isn’t so easily edited. Phillip doesn’t want to be Phillip. But what if he never really has been? What if Phillip is yet to become Phillip? And then there’s Person, who isn’t anybody…yet Previous IdeasTap Underbelly Award winners ANTLER present If I Were Me, a playfully surreal portrayal of the performance of identity. Winner of the Pulse Suitcase Prize 2014 Running Time: 75 mins http://www.sohotheatre.com/whats-on/if-i-were-me

Another World: Losing Our Children to Islamic State – NATIONAL THEATRE https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/another-world-losing-our-children-to-islamic-state

Last Resort – SOUTHBANK CENTRE Terror suspects, a tropical paradise and Guantanamo Bay… This show questions what remains after the waterboarding has stopped. http://www.huckmagazine.com/art-and-culture/theatre-company-turned-guantanamo-bay-torture-techniques-play/

Love, Bombs and Apples – ARCOLA THEATRE Love, Bombs & Apples is the hilarious and poignant new play from award-winning playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak (Baghdad Wedding, The Prophet) – a tale of four men, each from different parts of the globe, all experiencing a moment of revelation. A Palestinian actor learns there is more to English girls than pure sex appeal. A Pakistani-born terror suspect figures out what is wrong with his first novel. A British youth suspects all is not what it seems with his object of desire. A New Yorker asks his girlfriend for a sexual favour at the worst possible time. Following a sold-out first run at Arcola last year, Asif Khan returns to play all four roles. http://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/love-bombs-apples/

Cargo – ARCOLA THEATRE “Goods get damaged all the time. Wouldn’t want to spoil the cargo, now, would we?” This timely world premiere is a tense and provocative thriller that reveals how much people are willing to risk in search of a better life. In the dark of a container ship, a group sits huddled. Waves lap against the walls. The metal creaks softly. Then, all of a sudden, somebody whispers… For the cargo on this vessel, home is a long-distant memory – and a new land still many miles away. Will they survive the perilous journey to find a better future? Or could the greatest threat to their safety be locked amongst them? Cargo is the enthralling new play from author and playwright Tess Berry-Hart (Someone to Blame, Sochi 2014). Directed by Evening Standard Award nominee David Mercatali (Little Light, Radiant Vermin, Johnny Got His Gun). https://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/cargo/

Body. Dance. Nation. City – SOUTHBANK CENTRE https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2016/body-dance-nation-city-review-at-royal-festival-hall-london/

Yerma – YOUNG VIC Billie Piper plays Yerma, a woman driven to the unthinkable by her desperate desire to have a child. Simon Stone creates a radical new production of Lorca’s achingly powerful masterpiece. The enfant terrible of young Australian theatre, this is Stone’s first original work in the UK. His hugely successful The Wild Duck was at the Barbican in 2014. http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/yerma

A Man of Good Hope – YOUNG VIC The true story of one refugee’s epic quest across Africa, brought to life with music from the world-renowned Isango Ensemble. Asad is a young Somali refugee with a painful past, miraculously good luck and a brilliant head for business. After years in a refugee camp and then learning to hustle in the streets of Ethiopia, he sets off for the promised land of South Africa. But when he arrives, he discovers the violent reality of life in the townships – and his adventures really begin. The critically-acclaimed South African Isango Ensemble return to the Young Vic after the Olivier Award-winning The Magic Flute. This adaptation of Jonny Steinberg’s riveting book is told through roof-lifting songs and dance accompanied on the marimba. A collaboration with the Royal Opera House. http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/a-man-of-good-hope?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MKT2016-AMOGHpre-show&utm_content=version_A&sourceNumber=2579

I Call My Brothers – GATE THEATRE A car has exploded. A city is now crippled by fear. Amor walks the streets, doing his best to blend in. For twenty-four, intense hours we walk with him, as the lines between criminal and victim, fantasy and reality become blurred. What do you do, walking around your own city the day after a terrorist attack, when everyone thinks you look like a terrorist? I Call My Brothers is a funny, frenzied look at our prejudices toward other people. Directed by Tinuke Craig (dirty butterfly, Young Vic) in her Gate Theatre de http://www.gatetheatre.co.uk/events/all-productions/i_call_my_brothers

Art – OLD VIC Apocalypse because of a white square…’ A global phenomenon celebrating its twentieth anniversary, ‘Art’ returns to London for a limited run. http://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2016/art/

Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

 5. Knit a jumper! – 100%

I’ve done it!!! 3 years after learning how to knit I have finally finished something I could actually wear! I will take some photos of it soon, but in the meantime I might try to improve it a little (boring neckline + bulky arms).

6. Make a quilt. – 99%

Done. 99% means that some threads need to be tied and the binding needs to be finished by hand on 2 sides. It was a Christmas gift to the wonderful guy who makes me not want to spend all my waking hours sewing, because he really needed one.

7. Finish the UFOs. 0%

Did not even touch them, just created more…

8. Drink more water! 50%?

Since I did not come up with a tracking system I have no clue, but to be super honest I don’t think I did very well.

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I have now compiled a list of resolutions for 2017 too, as I really like having a plan for the year ahead, but there are a number of factors that could change how my year pans out, so I’ll hang onto them for a little while…

Like it?

I impulse-bought these in the charity shop for £4 each today. I have very vague ideas of what to make of them, but the thick cotton looks like it wants to be a kimono jacket kind of thing, the bright blue jersey would make a great dress, and the bottom one might become a pencil skirt and a jacket. It might.