2023 April Recap

April flew by! I’ve included some new figures this month to help put my progress into persepective.

Summary

In the top right, my first new figure shows the total number of projects completed each month this year. I’m averaging about 8 projects per month, which is how many projects I completed this month. I finished 7 sewing projects and 1 knitting project. Most of the projects were for others, though I had a few for myself.

There are no new figures in this set. I’m just reviewing the pattern companies, type of fabric, project type, and general color. I’ve been making a lot of shorts this month and using a new fabric, Tencel, to see if it can work for summer. I don’t like how linen holds wrinkles in the crotch area after sitting for long periods. I love the feel of linen and its breathability, but the wrinkle factor puts me off. So far, the shorts made out of Tencel have been precisely what I want, lightweight, airy, and wrinkle-resistant.

In the top left, my second new figure shows the total amount spent this year and the percentage spent each month. I bought lots of fabric this month for all those backpacks and shorts.

This entire panel is new. I thought showing my fabric and yarn purchasing and usage throughout the year would be helpful. As you can see in the top two figures, I’m not ordering more than I’m using. In the bottom left, I binned projects across the year by the time the material was in my stash. Approximately 59.4% of my projects involved material that spent less than 1 week in my stash. I typically use what is in my stash within 3 months, though a handful of projects used fabric sitting in my stash for 1-2 years. In the bottom right figure, I calculated the average yards per project this year, 1.6 yards. I also calculated the average skeins per project this year, 8 skeins.

Most of the figures are new here too. For example, in the top left, this figure shows the total time spent making this year and the monthly percentage. In the top right is the old figure that shows my monthly breakdown for each task. On the bottom row, I’ve changed my averages. I am showing the average time per project, the average days per project, the minutes per day sewing, and the minutes per day knitting throughout the year. What I gather from my averages is that there’s something to be said about the trend of spending 30 minutes a day on a project. You could get a lot accomplished in just 30 minutes a day.

Completed Projects

Here’s a breakdown of my time for completed projects this month.

• The Iron Joggers were easy, but I needed to test the fit on Ryan since it was a new pattern.
• The backpacks were time-consuming because of all the little details added. I finished at the seams with a grosgrain ribbon, significantly slowing my progress.
• Don’t be fooled into thinking I knit a slipover in 32 hours and the cardigan last month in nearly the same amount of time 33 hours. Remember, I wasn’t taking time data when I first started the caridgan.
• I made myself two shorts this month, Tula and Pomona. You can see how great a fit the Pomona shorts are given how quickly I was able to test the pattern.
• I also made Ryan two shorts this month, Trigg. I’ve never posted about the pattern on my blog because I didn’t have to make any alterations. He wears a straight size F with no changes. I did post my review on PatternReview.com if you want more info.

Just as a reminder on how to read these two figures together, it took me 6 hours and 35 minutes across 17 days to finish the Iron Joggers. I had several projects this month that required me to wait for shipments:

• Iron Joggers, I forgot to order zippers when I originally ordered the fabric, so I had to wait for a second shipment with zippers.
• Marlys’ backpack, I again had to wait for several notions to arrive. I initially received the wrong item and had to go through the hassle of returning it and waiting for a new shipment.
• While waiting for zippers and other notions, I started testing shorts patterns for myself. However, I didn’t order fabric until I finished testing everything and had to wait for the shipment from Denmark. But conveniently, while I waited for the shorts fabric to arrive, my backpack supplies had arrived.

The timing worked well this month, and I kept my momentum going on projects even though I had to wait for supplies. I’m thankful to have all my large projects done in time for summer, backpacks, rain gear, and shorts.

My plans for May are to finish up another pair of shorts for myself and then work on some summer shirts. With my big projects completed, I’m winding down for summer break. Yay!