Wednesday 24 January 2018

2017 - year in review and planning til mid 2018

Last year was a mixed year personally. It started with me having just being diagnosed the hard way (unplanned trip to hospital emergency) that I have a new chronic health condition. Not curable but manageable and so so far I've managed it pretty well.  I had also recently moved home after 19.5 years in the previous place and although I love where I live now and it's so much better in many ways (more space, close to where my friends now live) it was enormously stressful.  About half way through the year I realised that I had low level depression. That's a sneaky sucker and recognising it has helped me structure things so that it doesn't get worse. It's slowly lifting but not completely gone.

I'd decided earlyish in the year that I wouldn't make any new costumes but concentrate on sewing real life clothing. That's not been entirely productive, but I'll get there.

I finished my lobster print dress - though I don't like the fit of it - and the skeleton cat+fishbowl dress which I love wearing. Both these dresses get compliments whenever I wear them, although the lobster gets a little side-eye as well.

I'm not beating myself up for what I haven't achieved - that would only enable the depression.

I do have grander plans for 2018, which are mostly costume based.  Mainly because I'm going to the Jane Austen Festival in Kentucky and Costume College in LA, both in July.

The reaction when I say I'm going to Kentucky, Cincinatti and Detroit before Los Angeles has most people confused.  Unless they're a costumer or understand how much I love making and wearing historical costumes. Then JAFK makes perfect sense as does CoCo.

I'm trying to set up new habits for sewing, so that I'm productive. If I wake up early, I'm going to do half an hour sewing before heading into work. I'm planning to do 30 minutes of something/anything sewing as soon as I've eaten after getting home.   I'm going to focus on underpinnings first. The less exciting side of things being a corded petticoat for 1830s wear. I have the cotton organdy, and piping cord and pattern/instructions. First I need to find the organdy.

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