April Goals

Wow - time is just blowing by.  It's been a busy, busy couple of weeks.  I have a brand new granddaughter and took a week of holidays plus a couple of other days here and there to help out, plus two work trips, one to Hilton Head Island and the other to the Philly area.  It doesn't look like things will be slowing down any in the next few months for travel or work, but I really like keeping track of my goals and accomplishments, so I'll try to keep up with these posts for the time being.

Here's what I had hoped to accomplish in March (and the first week of April) and how I fared:

Sewing & Quilting

Before I get into the list, I will state it right off the bat - I haven't accomplished any of these items.  I *have* been sewing, just not on the things I chose at the time I wrote the last post. 

1. Start working on athletic wardrobe plan. 
2. Sew SOI Pussy Bow blouse out of cream lightweight crepe.
3. Finish Hounds and Howl quilt (piece border, finish flimsy, piece back, sandwich, quilt & bind).
4. Finish piecing the flimsy for the Garden quilt (and come up with a better name for it!!).
5. Make a pillowcase for Deklan.
6. Make a sleepsack for Baby Girl.

Despite the fact that I didn't accomplish anything on this list, I sewed three knit dresses for myself for one of my recent trips, two flannel change table covers and three flannel crib sheets for the new grandbaby.  I'm also in the midst of a quilt that I'm picking away at a bit at a time.  I really would like to get some of my athletic wardrobe sewn for a trip in the middle of May, but I'm not stressed about not accomplishing it if I don't get there - I have a lot of other options already made that I can take with me on my trip.  More of that below in my April goals.

Knitting & Spinning

1. Finish the orange baby sweater. I'm done the knitting,  I just have to seam up the underarms and sew on some buttons!
2. Finish Kettle Valley handspun shawl. Done!  It turned out amazing and prompted a lot of spinning so I can have more handspun to knit with!
3. Finish Noro No. 9 cowl. Also done!
4. Finish Deklan's Maple Leaf Cardigan. The knitting is done on this one too!  I've even sewed up the sleeves, but have to find and sew on the buttons.
5. Continue spinning daily for 15 minutes.YASSS!!!  I've been really enjoying spinning every morning as a meditative practice.  Plus, I end up with some gorgeous yarn!

Reading

1. Finish reading Kindred by Octavia Butler. Done!  It was easy to read due to the vocabulary and writing style, but the subject matter was very difficult for me to read.  Reading to me invokes images like HD movies or television in my head and this story brought horrifying images.
2. Choose the next fiction read. Done - I'm reading Raven Black, which is the first in the Shetland series by Ann Cleeves.  I have watched the entire series, but I can't for the life of me remember who the murderer was so reading it is quite the mystery!
3. Finish 9 Minutes on Monday by James Robbins.  I haven't finished this one yet, I blame the fact that it's a physical book rather than an e-book.  With all the travelling I've been doing I've been reading e-books over the physical books.  It's also living on my desk in my office and between all the travelling or vacation time I've taken in March, I just haven't read it.
4. Start The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins.  (Interesting - I just realized the two authors' last names were the same!) Finished!  I liked the message Mel Robbins wrote in this book, but the format was a bit "hit you over the head with the same message over and over again" which I got a bit tired of part way through. Regardless, this has book has made me re-evaluate my productivity level and how I'm working towards accomplishing certain goals.  I think I'm more productive as a result.

Health & Fitness

1. Continue with the cycling training program, get back on track and be on the bike 3-4 times per week. I've been biking when I've been home, but I was hardly home in March, again between the work trips, the holidays spent helping out my daughter after her baby was born, and ski days, I haven't been on the bike much.
2. Continue with the goal of being in bed by 10, lights out at 10:30. Well...see the excuses I gave in #1.  
3. Include stretching into my fitness program with yoga and classical stretch, 3x/week I haven't done this.  At.  All.  I miss stretching and yoga and these are more portable and absolutely feasible while I'm travelling, so I really have no excuses.  They also help keep me grounded and not so overwhelmed when things just get crazy with my schedule.
4. Journal and meditate daily for 10 minutes.  I've been meditating while spinning in the mornings when I've been at home.  I haven't been journalling and need to get some of the excess stuff out of my head.  I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed and journalling really does help.

So...what do I hope to accomplish for the remainder of April?

Sewing & Quilting

1. Pillowcase for my grandson Deklan
2. Two or three more change table covers for my granddaughter Everleigh's nursery
3. SOI Pussy Bow blouse in cream crepe
4. Continue working on Hounds and Howls quilt
5. Start athletic wardrobe

Knitting & Spinning 

1. Sew buttons on Everleigh's and Deklan's cardigan sweaters
2. Continue working on Plain Vanilla Turtleneck sweater
3. Spin 15 minutes daily when I'm at home
4. Research and start the next project using my own handspun yarn

Reading

1. Finish 9 Minutes on Monday
2. Finish Raven Black by Ann Cleeves
3. Finish Money, Master the Game by Tony Robbins
4. Choose the next fiction book

Health & Fitness

1. Continue with the cycling training program 
2. Be in bed by 10 pm, lights out at 10:30
3. Aim for 8000 steps daily
4. Classical Stretch or Yoga 3x/week
5. Schedule journalling sessions for myself 3x/week

Considering I'm out on another work trip for a couple of days again coming up, I'll be super surprised if I can tackle all of these, but it's good to aim high!

February Goal Review & March Goals

Wow - it's essentially halfway through March already!  I had a great February, albeit a busy, busy month with a trip to Utah for work, but I managed to get two ski days in the mountains in, followed by a three day vacation in Quebec with friends for more skiing, and then I wrapped up last week with a couple of days of skiing with my mom!  The weather was atrocious for most of February when I was at home, but the skiing days managed to be absolutely glorious!!  In between all of this, I've been ski patrolling as well on the weekends.

With all this busy-ness, I am currently feeling a bit overwhelmed with things, both at home and at work.  When I get stressed, I find that cleaning and decluttering helps me reframe myself.  I start this by writing a list of things I need to tackle - it makes me feel much more organized and better about things.  So in that frame of mind, here's my March goals update!

February's goals were:

Sewing & Quilting

1. Finish Warm Winter Sudoku wardrobe - this is almost finished.  I have one more blouse  I want to make (the Sew Over It Pussy Bow blouse), and possibly one more jacket, though I can sub this out for an existing cardigan.  I have been wearing the completed items and absolutely love them!
2. Plan the next capsule wardrobe - this one will be an athletic wear wardrobe I have done this, but need to review and finalize it.  I'd love to post my plans on this and hopefully, I'll have some time to do this soon!
3. Finish Baby Girl F's (my granddaughter!) Mermaid Quilt and crib sheets Done!  Baby Girl is going to be born tomorrow via c-section, so I'm really pleased that I got these items done before she arrived!

Knitting & Spinning

1. Finish M'Agatha sweater - this would be perfect to coordinate as an extra with my Warm Winter Sudoku Wardrobe! Nope, not yet.
2. Finish the orange baby sweater for Baby Girl F  I've picked this up again today so this will be carried over to March's goals.
3. Finish the last pair of 2018 socks Done!
4. Start Monkey Socks - nope, I haven't done this at all.  I totally got sidetracked by some other projects, both long languishing WIPs and new projects.
5. Knit a pair of socks for my grandson, Deklan nope.
6. Finish Deklan's Toronto Maple Leafs sweater nope.
7. Sew together Augusta cardigan and finish!  This would also coordinate really well with my Warm Winter Sudoku Wardrobe! nope.
8. Spin 15 minutes a day (when I'm not travelling) I wouldn't say I accomplished this goal, but I have made more time for spinning this past month.  I find it very meditative and am in the midst of a very enjoyable sweater spin.  I've also realized how lovely it is to knit with your own handspun and would love to knit with my current spin!

Reading

1. Finish current Bruno, Chief of Police, Book #2 by Martin Walker - I am absolutely loving these easy to read novels about Bruno, a former solider turned police chief in St. Denis, France.  
2. Start & finish Bruno, Chief of Police, Book #3 by Martin Walker
3. Start Bruno, Chief of Police, Book #4 by Martin Walker Done!  These were so easy to read and absolutely lovely with lots of descriptions of French daily life.  I've turned my mom onto this series as well and she's enjoying reading these books as much as I am!
4. Finish 9 Minutes on Monday by James Robbins I'm still reading this one.  I don't want to zoom through it but rather would like to read it and absorb the lessons to be learned.
5. Choose the next business/self-help book to read I've chosen The 5 Minute Rule by Mel Robbins.

Health

1. Continue cycling training program.  This includes cycling four-five days per week (I'm currently using a pretty plain-Jane stationary bike I bought in mid-December).  I'm finding the biking really boring, but try to make it more exciting by using the time to catch up on video podcasts.  I'm loving how strong I'm already starting to feel. I've fallen a bit off the bandwagon with this.  But, it's for no other reason than I've been skiing an incredible amount which is also working my leg muscles.
2. Aim to be in bed by 10 pm, lights out by 10:30 pm I'm pleased to report that I have pretty consistently been paying attention to my body and giving it the sleep it deserves.

Wow, I feel like I did get a lot accomplished in February, despite all my travel!  March is half over, and also a pretty busy month, but if I don't write them down, my goals won't happen, so here they are!

Sewing & Quilting

1. Start working on athletic wardrobe plan. 
2. Sew SOI Pussy Bow blouse out of cream lightweight crepe.
3. Finish Hounds and Howl quilt (piece border, finish flimsy, piece back, sandwich, quilt & bind).
4. Finish piecing the flimsy for the Garden quilt (and come up with a better name for it!!).
5. Make a pillowcase for Deklan.
6. Make a sleepsack for Baby Girl.

Knitting & Spinning

1. Finish the orange baby sweater.
2. Finish Kettle Valley handspun shawl.
3. Finish Noro No. 9 cowl.
4. Finish Deklan's Maple Leaf Cardigan.
5. Continue spinning daily for 15 minutes.

Reading

1. Finish reading Kindred by Octavia Butler.
2. Choose the next fiction read.
3. Finish 9 Minutes on Monday by James Robbins.
4. Start The 5 Minute Rule by Mel Robbins.  (Interesting - I just realized the two authors' last names were the same!)

Health & Fitness

1. Continue with the cycling training program, get back on track and be on the bike 3-4 times per week.
2. Continue with the goal of being in bed by 10, lights out at 10:30.
3. Include stretching into my fitness program with yoga and classical stretch, 3x/week
4. Journal and meditate daily for 10 minutes.

Whew, that seems like a lot, but I'm confident I can crush them!

February Goals

I'm not sure how enticing my goals posts are to the general public, but I really find them helpful for me to be accountable to anyone who reads my posts.  So, I'm going to continue on with them.  I'm not going to go back to my last goals post since it was so long ago, nor will I do a recap of my 2018 goals for the year.  I'll just jump in and outline my goals for February 2019.

Sewing & Quilting

1. Finish Warm Winter Sudoku wardrobe
2. Plan the next capsule wardrobe - this one will be an athletic wear wardrobe
3. Finish Baby Girl F's (my granddaughter!) Mermaid Quilt and crib sheets

Knitting & Spinning

1. Finish M'Agatha sweater - this would be perfect to coordinate as an extra with my Warm Winter Sudoku Wardrobe!
2. Finish the orange baby sweater for Baby Girl F
3. Finish last pair of 2018 socks
4. Start Monkey Socks
5. Knit a pair of socks for my grandson, Deklan
6. Finish Deklan's Toronto Maple Leafs sweater
7. Sew together Augusta cardigan and finish!  This would also coordinate really well with my Warm Winter Sudoku Wardrobe!
8. Spin 15 minutes a day (when I'm not travelling)

Reading

1. Finish current Bruno, Chief of Police, Book #2 by Martin Walker - I am absolutely loving these easy to read novels about Bruno, a former solider turned police chief in St. Denis, France.  
2. Start & finish Bruno, Chief of Police, Book #3 by Martin Walker
3. Start Bruno, Chief of Police, Book #4 by Martin Walker
4. Finish 9 Minutes on Monday by James Robbins
5. Choose next business book to read

Health

1. Continue cycling training program.  This includes cycling four-five days per week (I'm currently using a pretty plain-Jane stationary bike I bought in mid-December).  I'm finding the biking really boring, but try to make it more exciting by using the time to catch up on video podcasts.  I'm loving how strong I'm already starting to feel.
2. Aim to be in bed by 10 pm, lights out by 10:30 pm 

There you have it, February goals.  Let's see how hard I can crush these!

Happy New Year!

Yes, I know it's February.  Today, however, is the Lunar New Year.  I had a friend over on the weekend for a Sewing Day and we got to talking about how we didn't really live up to our expectations for ourselves for this year (aka we totally sucked at some of our plans only one month in).  We decided to use the Lunar New Year as a turning point to reassess and make some adjustments in our plans for the coming year.  We also decided we're going to be accountable to each other for some of our plans.

The past six months or so for me have been somewhat of a blur.  An amazing blur, but a blur nonetheless.  Work has been crazy busy, with a change in positions. It's been an adjustment but it's working out very well.  I enjoyed a vacation that saw my entire family together celebrating the wedding of my brother to my favourite sister-in-law.   My daughter and her spouse announced that they are expecting their second child, and my first grandchild has grown in leaps and bounds (literally and figuratively).  I travelled A LOT. I spent one weekend in September at Disney for a very close friend's birthday.  I spent the following weekend in New Orleans for work. I also travelled a lot for work in my home province, essentially I only spent at most two nights in a row at home through the entire month.   As a result, I was sick as a dog in November with sinusitis, bronchitis and an ear infection that took a lot out of me.  As soon as I recovered, December was in the full Christmas spirit swing, seeing the usual round of social activities, parties and family get-togethers.  I rang in January with what is now happily becoming my traditional Sewing Retreat.  In all honesty, I'm not really sure where January went, but it's been cold and snowy.  And here we are, February and all caught up.

I've been sharing some of my makes on Instagram (I have a private account, but if you've got sewing or knitting or something related in your profile, I will approve your request to follow me), but am very aware of how little I've shared on this blog.  I'm not going to apologize, but I really do miss the accountability factor that sharing my goals and planning blog posts bring to me.  I can't promise how much I'll actually be posting, but I really do enjoy interacting with my sewing friends online.  So...let's get on with the most recent post!

I have been sewing like someone obsessed, because...well...I am! Ringing in the (calendar) New Year with a sewing retreat reset my creativity and made me really want to spend some more dedicated time in my Atelier.  I'm currently working through some planning that I did a few weeks ago and have almost finished the capsule that I planned. 

There are a lot of options for planning a capsule wardrobe.  For this one, I chose the Sewing Sudoku method as the basis for this wardrobe.  You can find a free printable here:  Melly Sews Wardrobe Sudoku Planner. I have a work trip at the mid-to-end of February and thought this would make the perfect opportunity to work a few new things into my wardrobe.  The Sudoku method sees four tops and four bottoms coordinated with four pairs of footwear/shoes and four accessories.  For this plan, I am including all layering pieces rather than accessories as it is COLD in Canada in the winter and I need the extra pieces in my wardrobe to stay warm. I LOVE my accessories and will be adding them in, but not in a formalized plan.

My plan is this:

WARM WINTER SUDOKU WARDROBE

Tops
Top #1 - Butterick 3124, Sandra Betzina Today's Fit with cowl neck (view A), in olive green stretch lace


Top #2 - McCalls 5536 Twist Top (view C & E), in espresso brown rayon/lycra jersey


Top #3 - Butterick 3124, Sandra Betzina Today's Fit shell (view B), in cream stretch lace


Top #4 - Sew Over It Pussy Bow Blouse, in cream lightweight polyester textured crepe


Bottoms
Bottom #1 - Vogue7607 asymmetrical skirt, in olive green textured faux leatherette


Bottom #2 - Vogue 8202 wide-legged jeans, in espresso brown fine wale corduroy


Bottom #3 - Simplicity 4596 pleated skirt (View A), in greige textured faux leatherette


Bottom #4 - Closet Case Ginger Jeans,  in rust orange lightweight stretch denim


Layering Pieces
Layering Piece #1 - Vogue 7764 military style jacket, in olive green cotton velveteen


Layering Piece #2 - New Look 6013 vest, in a heavyweight sueded olive green knit


Layering Piece #3 - Vogue 1517 jacket, in brown wool blend suiting

Layering Piece #4 - McCalls 7257 cardigan jacket in loosely woven fabric in cream, rust orange, khaki, and burgundy


Shoes
Shoes #1 - Brown faux alligator heeled pumps
Shoes #2 - Khaki boots, similar in styling to faux Doc Martin
Shoes #3 - Cognac low heeled riding boots
Shoes #4 - Cognac suede booties

I'll have to buy a few notions but this plan uses mostly items from my stash - even some vintage stash! 

I love planning wardrobe capsules.  I love new clothes and I love being able to have a highly wearable wardrobe when they're completed. 

June Catch-Up and July Goals

Well, its a new month and I simply cannot believe how fast this year seems to be flying by.  I guess the adage about time moving faster as you get older is true!  In reviewing my June goals, it would appear that I set some pretty big ones for myself that may now in retrospect have been unattainable.  BUT... the great thing about crafting goals is that you can simply review, assess and make new goals for yourself.  I'm a super achiever, but crafting is supposed to be fun and a stress reliever for me, so beating myself up about not reaching my goals is not ok.  So I won't beat myself up, but just move on!

Here were my goals for June:

Knitting

1.  Finish Cupcakes in Vienna socks - these are my current mindless knit which are awesome for my jet lagged mind, and I'm loving The Yarn Jar's base and colourway.  You can find her shop here.  Also the memory of knitting on them on the rooftop terrace in Vienna, overlooking the spires of the Mexican Cathedral is inspiring me to finish. Done!
2.  Continue working on the second sleeve for the Custom Comfy Fade Cardigan.  It's currently too bloody hot to wear this (or even knit on it) but I will need (and want) it at some point this summer, and just can't wait to wear it when it's cool enough. I haven't touched this yet - it's been just too hot to work on this.
3.  Continue working on my April Switcheroo Socks - I need to recover from jet lag first as I do need to think a little while working on this pattern, but maybe I can get them done before July rolls around. Done!  These were actually easier than I remembered and I was able to finish them quickly!
4.  Start my May PSC socks - the yarn was wound before I left...Done!  Not only did I start these, I also finished them!

What wasn't on my list but what I did was to pick up one of my long languishing projects and work on it.  I'm feeling rather overwhelmed with all of the projects I've got on the go and would like to clear off some of the needles before starting anything new.  I've picked up the Traveller project (link to my Revelry works in progress is in the sidebar) and am working on this instead of a plain vanilla sock.

Sewing

1. Sew a pair of cropped Sew Over It Ultimate Trousers - these would make the perfect summer pants in a medium weight cotton, IMHO.  They would go very nicely with the new ballet flats I've purchased.  Plus I've got these on my #makenine2018. Nope.  My sewing mojo was limited in June because of the shirt dress project I chose.  
2.  Sew a Sew Over It Ella Blouse to coordinate with the aforementioned SOI Ultimate Trousers.  I have the perfect fabric picked out already, I just need to find some coordinating fabric for the pants.  Also on my #makenine2018. Also nope - see excuse in #1.
3.  The Beverly Bikini by Named Clothing.  While packing for my recent trip, I discovered I was woefully short on bathing suits I want to be seen in public in.  This would be perfect for a beach trip (yet to be scheduled, but now I've got an incentive for both!) I pulled the pattern and it's sitting on my  cutting table with fabric, so it's a start!  I needed a boost with a TNT project after my shirt dress disaster, and chose a bikini out of a modified Orange Boylston bra and Ohhh Lulu Sophia panty.  The bottoms are done and the top just needs the back closure.
4.  McCalls 7387 shirt dress.  While in Europe, I noticed SO. MANY. DRESSES.  I've wanted one of these shirtdresses forevahhh, and even have fabric already pulled. This is the fated projected that sucked my sewjo and ended up in the bin.  I'm crossing it off, despite not really finishing it.

Reading

1.  Finish the third book in the first Gail Bowen trilogy (Joanne Kilbourn mysteries).  I've got the next anthology on hold from the library, but who knows when I'll get it...Finished!  I've even downloaded the next anthology and have started reading it.
2.  Finish Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.  Anthony, I'll miss you.  You've got an amazing point of view on life, food and travel that I discovered only a few years ago.  I devoured your TV shows and now I'm working my way through your books.  Thank you for all you've shared.  I'm so very sad you struggled and couldn't carry on. I'm still working my way through this book.  I often read at bedtime, but going to bed late has made it difficult to do much reading.  That being said,  he writes so similarly to how he narrated his many TV shows, and this book is very enjoyable to read.
3.  Start another book by Anthony Bourdain (I purchased a few upon hearing about this death) I'll carry this over to my goals for July.
4.  Read Sisi by Allison Pataki.  Sisi was a beloved yet eccentric Austrian-Hungarian Habsburg Empress whose apartments I toured when in Vienna recently.  I read the first book about Sisi by Allison Pataki, called Accidental Empress and couldn't wait for the next book, Sisi, to be released.  Seeing her apartments reminded me of the release of the book, which I also subsequently purchased. I haven't started this one yet since the next Gail Bowen anthology came up for borrowing from the library and I started that one instead.  If this book was anything like the first one, it will be a quick and easy read that I'll start when I'm done the Gail Bowen books.

Health/Fitness

1. Continue yoga 3x/week. Accomplished!
2.  Start kickboxing and kettlebells workouts.  Dragonboat season is upon us and I really need to kick up the core workouts (see what I did there?! Kick...kickboxing...haha) Nope.  Didn't do any of either...
3.  Focus on incorporating more vegetables into my diet.  I am typically woefully short on them in my daily diet, and summer is the perfect time to enjoy them. I did well when I had time.  Then work got crazy and I relied too much on fast food/Skip the Dishes for eating and my veggie intake suffered.

Miscellaneous

I'm going to quit saying "Purge L'atelier."  It's starting to become one of those "Shoulds."  I want to enjoy the time in my sewing room, and sewing because I "hafta" isn't a reason to continue on with this hobby.  Yes, I have A. LOT. of stash.  Do I love it?  Mostly.  Will I use all of it?  Maybe.  So, I've decided that if I come across something I no longer love, I'll use it for a toile, or get rid of it without any guilt.  Mostly, I just want to sew when I'm down there. Ironic given the troubles I had with my sewjo this past month!  No worries, I'm gearing up for a great month!

Okie dokie.  Here are my July goals!

Knitting

1.  Finish Traveller project.

2.  Start and finish June PSC club socks.

3.  Start July PSC club socks.

Sewing

1.  Finish Boylston bathing suit top.

2.  Sew Beverly twist bikini set.

3.  Plan and start sewing Bonjour Ete Sudoku capsule wardrobe.

4.  Choose pattern and fabric from stash for my brother's wedding in August, and sew mockup/toile.

5.  Sew Deklan a beach coverup.

Reading

1.  Finish Gail Bowen's second anthology.

2.  Finish Kitchen Confidential.

3.  Start Sisi.

Health/Fitness

I'm going to stop listing yoga on this as a goal.  It would seem that I've managed to make this a habit.

1.  Some type of core training 3x/week, whether this be kickboxing, ab workouts, or plank challenges.

2.  Weight training 2x/week

That about sums it up.  Not sure if these are realistic or not, but that will remain to be seen!  What about you?  How are your summer goals coming along?