2023 November Recap

The year is almost over! Somehow, I found the energy and mental focus to complete some projects this month. Being able to sew and create was the positive emotional boost I needed after the last few months. I haven’t blogged or posted everything to Instagram, so now is my chance to talk about some of the things I did this month.

I have completed a total of 50 projects this year, 8 in the last month:

1. Two silk pillowcases for Ryan (Bedding)
2. Zippered pouches for Ryan (Gear)
3. Pair of socks for myself (Socks)
4. Three Union St. Tees for myself (Tops)
5. Jeans for myself (Trousers)

Although I made 5 pouches, I counted them as a single item in my monthly tally. They were super easy to make!

I also organized my sewing drawers with some Kaizen/shadow foam boxes. That was separate from crafting but still really fun. The foam I bought was cheap and awful. It wouldn’t delaminate, so the cutouts are rough-looking. However, I still love the organization.

Anyways, back to my monthly recap and data review.

Of the 8 projects, I knitted one and sewed seven. Three items were for Ryan, and five were for me.

The pillowcases and socks were self-drafted. For the zippered pouch, I used the online pattern generator from Zipworks (https://zipworks.shinyapps.io/generator/). I did manage to blog about the Hey June Union St. Tees a while ago. Go check out that blog if you want to compare the three necklines. Finally, I used the Square pant pattern from Stokx Patterns for my jeans. This pattern is part of a larger ongoing project, so I won’t discuss alterations or anything for now. I’ll just say that it is a lovely, unique pattern, and I’m obsessed with my jeans.

Here’s where I purchased all my fabrics and yarn: silk from YT fabrics, cotton jersey knit from PicoTextiles, denim from Blackbird Fabrics, sock yarn from KnitPicks, and scraps from Ripstop by the Roll.

I’ve already started tinkering with my year-in-review post, and I think it’s hilarious that my two favorite colors, yellow and orange, hardly show up in my projects. I’m definitely going to embrace those colors in 2024. I specifically made myself a mustard yellow shirt this month based on my 2023 data!

I always feel bad when polyester shows up in my substrates list. Just know that plastic fabrics like that are ALWAYS for gear. I also love how balanced I am when it comes to working with knitted versus woven fabric.

This month, my expenses were about average for the year. I spent $247.30 this month on fabric, a new knitting pattern, some notions like zippers for the pouches, and knitting equipment. I’ve spent $2,970.67 for the year, with a monthly average of $270.

The amount of fabric purchased versus used is shown in the left graph. I can say that I’m thankful my fabric fits into two small IKEA bins and no more. Moving my sewing room wasn’t bad at all this time! I’m still working through all the sock yarn I purchased in June. My skein usage is shown in the right graph. I’m also saving on yarn by frogging old sweaters that don’t fit anymore and knitting new sweaters that do.

Among the graphs I’ve created, “Days in Stash” stands out as my proudest achievement. It shows that I utilize my fabric or yarn within a week for 52% of the time. Extending the timeframe to three weeks, I manage an impressive 72% utilization rate. Remarkably, within three months, I use my fabric or yarn 90% of the time. The lack of clutter and stuff makes me immensely happy.

This month, time spent crafting was significant. I managed to dedicate 39 hours and 40 minutes to knitting, sewing, testing patterns, etc. That’s 12.3% out of the 323 hours and 45 minutes total this year.

The following figures display the hours required to complete each project (left graph) across days (right graph). For example, it took me 7 hours and 15 minutes (6 hours and 30 minutes of sewing and 45 minutes to cut fabric) across 6 days to make my Square pants. Again, because the pants were part of a larger project, I didn’t measure my time testing or taping together the PDF.

The silk pillowcases were quick, and I was able to sew them both up within a day. The pouches were also a fairly quick sew. I made several in 2 hours. For the Union St. Tee, I had to reprint the pattern and test fit since I was changing sizes. You can see that I’m comfortable making the crew neck version (Union St. Tee 1) because I was able to cut and sew the shirt together in about an hour. However, I’ve never made a V neckline, which took me extra time to figure out (Union St. Tee 3).

Summary

For December, I plan on making myself a few Merino wool turtlenecks. I’m also working on the Vika Quilted Jacket pattern from Herzenswelt. My minor in German is coming in handy! My old Arc’teryx Thorium AR Jacket no longer fits, and it’s my go-to jacket for snowshoeing and hiking in the winter. Back in 2014, I purchased a size L for $130. If I want to buy that jacket again today in a size XL, it’ll cost me $500. My Arc’teryx Atom jacket, which is even older, also barely fits, and that jacket now costs $300. Let’s just say I’m highly motivated to learn how to make my own insulated jackets, and I’m hoping I can make a jacket for less than what it would cost to buy them from Arc’teryx. Conveniently, I also won’t have to compromise on fit when I make them myself. Bonus! Let’s just hope my handmade jackets will last 10+ years like my old Arc’teryx jackets.

My next recap will be my year in review. I’ve already changed a few of the graphs, and I have some exciting new plans for data collection in 2024. Stay tuned for those updates in January!