My 2018 Re-sew-lutions
Do resolutions help you? Have you ever kept up with them? Do you review what you've accomplished at the end of the year? Are yours made through-out the year? Who holds you accountable?
It wasn't until fairly recently I actually cared at all about resolutions, whether it be personal, work, or sewing. I don't have a real reason for not setting them, it just wasn't a tradition for me. I laughed with everyone else about not keeping my goals, or noticed the severe rise and fall of gym goers at the start of the year, but I never thought they were exactly for me.
As I grow my business, I've taken a little bit of a turn-around (read: I kinda went off the deep end). Instead of writing down one or two great goals, I wrote a whole slew about ALL the things I want, and didn't think about any time management. I'm usually an all-in kinda gal, so it's really hard for me to dial back. I want to do it all!
Because sewing is a huge outlet for me, I think I will do better with a re-sew-lution (my boyfriend thinks I'm hilarious), so I had a brain storming session of my goals. My initial list consisted of everything I could possibly think I wanted to make or do this year - sewing and business wise. Could I accomplish all of these in a year? Perhaps. Were they pushing me? A few. Were these short or long term goals? Both, I wasn't sure I would have enough time. I decided I would take the few that were pushing me past my comfort zone and tackle those for real resolutions. That's all people really want for the next year, right? They want to accomplish something, they want to feel successful. At least I do. I want to know I didn't create a super easy goal that was totally comfortable.
Here are my official 2018 Re-sew-lutions:
Sew something off my "Never Tried" list. This time it's a coat
I've been sewing for over 2 decades. Why are coats hard for me? I've never attempted them, but always look longingly at the well tailored wool coats I just can't spend $400 on. Because I'm not comfortable with coats, I want to make myself overcome this and check it off my "never tried"/"I-can't-do-that" list.
Create 3 new costumes for Etsy
I love making Pocahontas, but I want to show you what else I can do! I won't tell you which characters I'm planning to create, but you'll see them through-out this year. I'm really excited to offer new designs and hope you'll all like them!
Throw Out/Donate/Mend/Complete 5 items per month from "PHD" pile
I have a TON of "Projects Half Done" and articles to mend (sorry, sisters). If it isn't a client order, all those projects get pushed to the back burner, and frankly, they're taking up some much wanted space.
For my sewing friends looking for a challenge, here are a few interesting ones I've seen!
Basically, you'll work through some of your patterns this year, instead of constantly accumulating. This challenge doesn't work so well for me because I've stopped using the big 4 companies years ago, and have only found a few independent designers with good quality work that suits my body. The majority of the time I draft my own.
From the same blog, this is one I see fairly often recently. This challenge isn't super strict, and can be tailored easily to your needs. The purpose of the challenge is to encourage you to focus and work toward just a few goals.
I love this challenge, and unknowingly already completed it last year (I think)! I did receive two shirts from other people within maybe a year and a half, but don't remember purchasing any new garments. I might have bought two pairs of leggings, but that could have been more than a year ago. I'll continue on my path for this one, and might sign up since I've been able to do it for so long already!
Here is a round up of sponsored and unsponsored challenges for 2018.
My Challenges
I've decided to go ahead with three challenges that can be combined into one, with a caveat.
I'm participating in the #2018MakeNine, #2018UseNine and #StashShrinker challenges.
The Use Nine challenge is much like the Make Nine, you just use 9 pieces of fabric from your stash and aren't limited to what you'll make. I'm going to combine the two because there are a few fabrics I just want to use, but am not sure what they should be. My goal for Stash Shrinker will be the same as SewJourners, to use twice as much as I buy. I like the Stash Shrinker because I created my own spreadsheet just like this 2 years ago after I bought a mortifying amount of fabric in one month. I know I can't just go into the fabric room (seriously, it's a whole room) and de-stash on the spot (I've tried), so making me use more than I buy will still make me diminish my supply AND get extra clothing!
Here's the caveat: I'm not applying this to client orders. I love my clients, and make sure they get exactly what they want, so I can't limit them to my stash.
I'll post here on my progress every once in a while, and more often on Instagram. Follow me @Modafique!
What are your resolutions? Sewing friends, what do you want to sew up, will you pledge to any of these challenges? Is there anything you're afraid of tackling but really want to do? Talk to me! I'd love to help out.
Cheers,
Jenny
