Ma Moose: New sews for the new year

Here I am writing a post about how I will be more organized this year... only I'm writing it in the 11th hour* long after I should have written it.

*More like 13th hour

Oh well, this is life.

Today is my turn on the "New Sews for the New Year" hosted by Sewing by Ti. I do want to be more intentional about my sewing and blogging this year, so this is a good opportunity for me to reflect on that.

The only problem is that this time of year, I often do not have much motivation. It's cold outside, the days are shorter, the kids are more restless... I think I was meant to hibernate in the winter, but my kids won't allow that to happen. Every time I sew, I feel my spirits being lifted as I create something new. The issue is just starting the project in the first place.

So my first sewing goal this year is to plan my projects. Writing down what I want to do will help me focus. I have hundreds of projects planned in my head, but actually sitting down to plan it out will help me actually execute my projects instead of simply dreaming of them. I will probably stick to just a regular notebook for now, but if anyone has any planners or templates, they love to use for sewing purposes, I would love to hear about them.

My second goal is to get organized. I am someone who can operate in chaos, but there comes a point where I need to make my space more efficient. Right now I keep my fabric in tubs, but it is difficult to find what I am looking for. I also do not have a good system for storing my patterns once they are cut out. This means that I reprint patterns more than I should which not only wastes paper, ink, and tape but also valuable time.

After doing some online window shopping, I have finally decided to order the following two products to help me organize my sewing area:

Modular storage cubes, I like that I should be able to organize these how I want to fit my sewing space. I sew in a finished attic and I do not have much vertical wall space due the angled attic walls. Once I organize my space better, I will take pictures. 😃

Picture from Amazon. Product can be found here.

For organizing my patterns, I decided to try hanging them on these hanger clip hooks:

Picture from Amazon. Product can be found here.

I do have a closet in my sewing room and it will be handy to be able to hang up my cut out patterns so that I can find them easily. The only problem is that the closet is full of clothes that no longer fit me and I just need to get rid of them. That will be a project in itself because I'll need to sort through them and decide what to donate and what to keep to upcycle. I'm leaning towards getting rid of almost all of them, I need to simplify and declutter.

I have a few more things I want to do in my sewing room and once I complete the project, I will share pictures. I know that it will never be the most Pinterest worthy or gorgeous sewing room out there, I just need it to be more functional and for me to like the space.

Another goal this year is to be more intentional about the projects I want to take on. I have four kids who all need clothes, I need to keep the projects practical, not incredibly time consuming, and something they will wear on a regular basis. One of my favorite projects was the coat I made for Emmett a few years ago. It was a little time consuming, but he wore this coat every day during Winter, so it was worth it. But I don't want to take on projects that take a lot of time and supplies if they will rarely be worn.

Coat and snowpants blogged about here.

While I do want to use the patterns I already have and use them often to maximize my prep time, I do want to try new designers this year. I do have my favorite designers that I will still use because I trust their patterns, but I want to try a few new ones this year as well.

I have been wanting a hoodie dress since I first started sewing, but just haven't found the right pattern to inspire me. However, I came across the Jasper Sweater/Dress by Paprika Patterns recently and it's exactly what I have been looking for! This is a new to me designer, and I'm excited to try it out. Hopefully posting about it here will keep me accountable. I have waited too long for a hoodie dress!

What are your sewing goals this year?

For more sewing inspiration, be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour!

Monday, January 1st: Introduction- Sewing by Ti

2nd With Love In Every Stitch

3rd FABulous Home Sewn

4th Kathys Kwilts and More

5th The Fairy Dust Bin

6th The Bear and Pea Atelier

Sunday, January 7th: Minn's Things

8th Lilla Gumma

9th Threadistry

10th Very Blissful