Yes, I know I’m a day late; maybe even two days late by the time I get this published! but well… I’m a bit busy right now. All will become clear in my next post 🙂
So it’s the end of the year, and I’m looking back on my year of sewing and blogging. First up, I’m posting some of my favourite pictures for the year, one per month…
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
So. It’s been a strange year; I dare say a BIG year for everyone. One of the happier big things in my own year was of course Cassie’s wedding in March, the preparations for which brought us much happiness and excitement, although the last week was tinged with growing uncertainty as we didn’t know whether the gradually impending threat of covid would cause problems… it was such a weird time and no one knew what to expect! With incredible good fortune, everything went ahead and only one week later lockdown restrictions were imposed that would have made the wedding impossible. So, MAJOR stress at the time, but ultimately a very happy and extremely lucky outcome! I wrote more details addressing this subject and how we handled it at the time in this post here…
I want to say too that I was very pleased for our government’s swift action that has definitely saved us from the virus all this year, and was more than happy for Perth to have a strict lockdown just to make sure. We were in lockdown for basically all of April and extended well into May, and I have to say my sewing output reflected the general level of anxiety that I had at the time. In fact I think that like everyone, my anxiety kept me from being productive in just about every aspect of my life! but honestly I have no complaints. I’m just grateful to be here, to live in a place that took the virus seriously and a government that had our safety and truly our best interests at heart, and acted accordingly. I truly feel like I live in the absolute best place in the world right now. I’m so very grateful.
The other huge thing I’m grateful for is the arrival of our darling first grandchild, Arthur. He is an absolute joy and delight. and we are all totally in love with this precious human being. And Cassie is expecting! I can hardy wait to meet her little bunny!
But ok, now on with my sewing! I might have had a crisis of confidence and motivation, but I did manage to keep making things! I kept up with my planned “make 12” and saw it through, even if once or twice that thing for the month was my only thing for the month! My picture for May above was a kind of lockdown game in which you gathered all the things in your house you could find in your favourite colour. It’s downright embarrassing how many red things I’ve accumulated!
What did I make?? well, I managed 91 things this year… 91! I’m shocked because honestly could have sworn I made hardly anything apart from a wedding dress! Anyway, the breakdown is: for me; 15 dresses, 2 coats, 6 skirts, 8 tops, 3 sets of lingerie, 1 pr of shoes, 7 sockettes, 1 knitted jumper, 2 hats, 1 pr trousers, 1 hoodie and 1 raincoat. For Cassie; the aforementioned wedding dress! including 3 separate petticoats, 2 tops, 1 skirt, 1 pr shorts, 3 maternity dresses; for my nieces, 3 bridesmaids dress, and 1 dress for Mum. For babies; 6 onesies, 6 blankies, 1 huge “texture” quilt, 1 knitted beanie and 1 baby swing. For Craig’s Mum; 7 masks and 1 bag. Oh and I also made 27 kangaroo pouches, that I’m not including in the total of 91 things. Aaaad.. I also made another sewing pattern?! It hasn’t been released yet but will be very very soon. Maybe even… tomorrow?! Ooh, did I just spill the beans in a big way! I’ve wanted to make more patterns for ages but sewing wedding dresses took precedent in the last two years.
Favourite makes of the year? hehe, obviously Cassie’s wedding dress! and I also really loved the girls’ bridesmaids’ dresses and my own mother of the bride dress too.
My most worn items for this year…?
I love most of these things pictured, but not all of them, strangely. I think during lockdown and the subsequent many many days of not going out by my own choice, I took up the habit of wearing daggy things that weren’t my favourites, simply because I wasn’t going out and didn’t need to “dress up”. I’ve decided this is very very silly and I’m going to only wear things I absolutely love from now on. yolo!
In other stuff, I fulfilled a long-held fantasy and took up learning a language! I chose Japanese because I love Japan, would love to visit again some day – although that might be a pipe dream! and I love the visual appearance of the language and kanji. I also felt in the need of a mental challenge. And boy, has it been a challenge! But I’m pretty thrilled I made it into the top 1% on the duo lingo app. Who me, competitive? Oooh, I never #TOTALLYcompetitive I also managed to top the platinum league, one crazy intensive week in which I did virtually nothing but study Japanese. Hmmm, did I mention… competitive?? #dirtyword
It says I studied French but i actually only did a few days dabbling in that, and the one other language was Celtic, which I eventually decided was just too hard to extend my brain to that AND Japanese. I’d still like to learn Celtic one day because it is my heritage after all, but I think that can wait until I’ve got a bit further in Japanese.
So what does 2021 bring for us all… much better times, I hope! and a world that can come together again and regain trust and health as soon as possible. I know this takes time, and maybe the world will never go back to the way things were. Every now and then I wonder if this is the start of a completely different world and what if something else unexpected is lurking just out of sight around the next corner? But really, we can’t dwell on the uncertainty too much, just keep on keeping on, chin up and continue doing the best for the important people in our lives. I just hope the worst is behind us. And that good times are ahead. And mostly that the vaccine WORKS!
Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to read this silly blog, and even to leave a kind comment or two. I really really appreciate everyone who does. I hope the year brings you all much happiness and joy, good health, peaceful thoughts, appreciation of our home towns, and making many delightful memories with the important people in your life. Cheers!!
Happy New Year! Thank you for sharing and letting me catch up on what I have missed this year.
Carolyn you are a true inspiration!
Happy New Year and despite the challenges you had some great events. It seems an age ago that you were here in Calif.
You are totally amazing. Cassie’s dress alone counts for about one thousand projects! Your photographs are beautiful and I especially love May because of that incredibly rich colour. Glorious. Happy New Year.
Thank you so much for sharing your retrospective thoughts and makes, Carolyn! You have made a lot of delightful things with Cassie’s wedding dress on top of all, of course.
May this New Year be full of happiness!
Happy new year! A very productive year under the circumstances. Best wishes for 2021.
Your blog is not silly. It brings together like minded people to enjoy your sewing, your family, and your humanity. As someone in the States who lives alone these sewing blogs have brought me many a smile, this year in particular. So please, continue to bring us your blog as long as you enjoy doing it. You are amazing.
Jean
Hi Carolyn
Happy New Year to you and your family.
What an amazingly productive year you had in 2020! And the wedding dress is just gorgeous- thanks so much for sharing all the details.
I would like to thank you, too, for your blog and posts during 2020. They sure brightened some pretty gloomy days in Melbourne for me during our second lockdown.
And, well done on the Japanese.
Best wishes
Anne
Despite your (completely understandable) period of anxiety you still managed to achieve so much in an unpredictable year. I love your blog and I look forward to reading more about your sewing, knitting, pets, house move and new baby in the family. Happy New Year!
Thanks for all you share on your blog. It is such a joy to read and such an inspiration. I echo your sentiments on how your government has looked after its people as I have family who live in Perth…..one of whom is winging his way back to Perth as I type, another family who hopefully will be on their way back in a couple of days. Retrospectively changing the rules is confusing even though I understand the why.
Let’s hope we all learn from the experience of 2020 and that 2021 will be a good one.
Thank you again for all you write.
Thank you, Carolyn, for sharing your making journey with me! You inspire me and make me feel upbeat each time I read your blog. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Carolyn, and to all your many readers! Your makes are always inspirational, but perhaps more so in a year when it was so hard to put my creative foot forward. Thanks so much for the boost!
Speaking as someone who’s ‘gonna’ set up a travel blog for about 20 years now (and still hasn’t), I don’t underestimate the effort it takes to write, let alone sew and write, let alone sew so beautifully, write so well and take great photos! And inspire lots of other people into the bargain – quite an achievement and about as unsilly as it gets, in my book.
Thank you for all your efforts this year, especially sharing all you’re going through. I’m so glad that as shambolic as this year has been, that you’ve had some very bright spots in it and kept sewing all the way – may 2021 be everything you hope for.
Not a silly blog, in fact my favourite sewing blog. You have done so much this year. I have lost the will to sew. Between mask sewing and having nowhere to go that needs a new outfit I have made nothing for 3 months. We also got a new puppy after losing our lovely girl of 24 years. Puppies are much more work than I remember! Looking forward to your new pattern!
14 years not 24! That would have been remarkable.
Always a joy to see your sewing prowess but I especially love seeing them in a medley like this. Jo x
Happiest of happy new year’s wishes to you and your dear family, from the other side of the planet.
Would that our own government (U.S.A.) had exhibited any sense of responsibility at all toward the health and well-being of its citizens (heavy sigh).
Not a silly blog at all, as quite a few other have already said. I always enjoy reading about your makes, your family and any other thoughts.
I also took up learning another language a few years back. I chose Polish due to some connections to Poland, and though I always enjoyed learning languages, I did not choose an easy one to learn. But it is good to exercise your brain cells. Japanese would also be interesting to learn, as I also enjoyed my visit there a few years ago and hope to go back.
All the best for 2021, may you all your family stay healthy. Greetings from a very grey and gloomy Basel Anita
Happy New Year. I don’t know if I can adequately convey how uplifting and inspiring it has been to read your posts about all the ambitious endeavours in your handcrafts career. I like how you keep your private life private, but sprinkle in just enough discreet notes to let us know what’s on your mind, like births and weddings. Your loved ones are clearly are the energy that keeps you going. It’s heartwarming to feel that through cyberspace.
If you can find the energy to make projects and post about them, I’d love to keep reading them forever.
Once again it gives me a boost to see how you puzzled out a problem and turned setbacks into victory. The broderie anglaise, spot-on-trend in 2020 as a fabric theme, but challenging in terms of drape, pattern matching and translucency. A simple Inari cut and edge treatment used the fabric to its full advantage, while looking fresh and young. That’s always tricky, because lace and ruffles so easily veer into old-ladyish. (I happen to love old ladies. but even my 90-year-old friends would rather not dress like 90-year-olds.) You were able to use the underlying slip, which is opaque, for a cool tone-on-tone effect and to convey body silhouette in a cool way. It’s just such a clever use of fabric.
Thank you for all you do, and continued luck to you in Perth. You’re miles ahead of the rest of the world, figuratively as well as in time zones.
Happy new year! I live your blog so much – for so many years now. Best to you and yours.
Thank you, for your wonderful blog : )
Bonjour Carolyn,
We don’t know each other but I’ve been following your blog for years now… From France ! So you want to learn French ? Nous pouvons nous écrire en français si tu le souhaites.
En tout cas, bravo pour tes réalisations, et bravo pour la tenue de ce blog !
Bonne et heureuse année !
Barbara, from Paris
I love your style. Dress inspiration for my plans to make a few more dresses for work this year. Such a productive seeing year!