Showing posts with label 2017. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2017. Show all posts

Monday, January 8, 2018

A Year In Books: 2017

It's that time again - time to look at all the books I managed to read last year. And since I love the graphics Goodreads puts up, that's what you see here (thanks, Goodreads!). Speaking of, if you are on Goodreads, drop me a line (click here for my profile).

I made it a point to diversify what I read this year. I read everything from giant classics (War and Peace, David Copperfield), to super popular (The Lovely Bones, Into the Water), from self help (You Are A Badass, The Millionaire Next Door ), to brain science (Who's In Charge?). I didn't have as many books knock me off my chair this year (as you will see in my 5 star list), but I enjoyed quite a lot and still contemplate things about their stories long after I've read them. Others were total throw aways that I couldn't wait to finish. Definitely an interesting mix!

I did pretty well with writing reviews on the books I read until about halfway through the year (as you will see - I've linked each title to blog post review if it had one). Maybe I can blame this on the hurricane as well? lol Man that this really messed up my schedule. Moving on! I also changed my posting format to have one review post for every 5 books, which I much preferred because it made each review feel less ominous to write. Did you like this set up better? Should I include more reviews in each post so you can skip them? lol Let me know what you thought. 

So here are my books from 2017:
1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
2. Joy on Demand by Chade-Meng Tan
3. You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero
4. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
5. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
6. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
7. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
8. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
9. The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter
10. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
11. Naked by David Sedaris
12. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
13. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
14. My Week With Marilyn by Colin Clark
15. Kim by Rudyard Kipling
16. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K Rowling
17. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley
18. Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer
19. The Remains of the Day by Kasuo Ishiguro
20. Tenth of December by George Saunders
21. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** by Mark Manson
22. My Ántonia by Willa Cather
23. Who's In Charge? by Michael S. Gazzaniga
24. The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
25. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
26. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
27. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
28. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
29. Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
30. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
31. Theft By Finding by David Sedaris
32. Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
33. White Oleander by Janet Fitch
34. Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss
35. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
36. To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris
37. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
38. You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
39. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
40. The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
41. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
42. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
43. MirrorMask by Neil Gaiman
44. The Lovely Bones by Alice Siebold
45. Believe Me by Eddie Izzard
46. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
47. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
48. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
49. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
50. Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown
51. Children Playing Before A Statue of Hercules by David Sedaris
52. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
53. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

I really squeaked out the 53rd book - I finished it at about 9 pm on New Year's Eve. I tried to focus on reading a balance of new fiction with books on the Books Everyone Should Read type lists. Click that link to take an epic quiz and see how many you've read. I found it last year and was at 99, now I'm up to 109 - not bad in my opinion. 
  • You are a Badass 
  • The Subtle Art
  • We Should All Be Feminists
  • The Omnivore's Dilemma
I didn't get a chance to write a review of The Omnivore's Dilemma, but seriously it's so good. I'm not sure if I just need to be more discerning of what I read to get more 5 stars or if I've read so much that it takes more to impress me on that level. Who knows?
I managed to yet again beat my goal on Goodreads :) I really love keeping track of everything there - I can look back on when I read something and what I thought of it. I can also see who I read the most (David Sedaris and Neil Gaiman this year) and other interesting statistics. I'm obviously a nerd (in case you didn't know) so I like things like this, lol. 

So that's my year in books! I've set a goal of another 50 books in 2018 (I've decided this will be the year for Crime and Punishment at last), so stay tuned for what I decide to read and my reviews if you're interested.

Friday, January 5, 2018

A Year in Thread: 2017

Now let's get back to year end round ups :) Since we already looked at my year in yarn, this is everything in thread (all my sewn items).
1. Marianne Top - This shirt was one of my top 5 hits this year. I love the fabrics and the loose fit. This became my shirt to wear to work when I would rather be wearing pjs at home - it's just as comfy but it looks more put together. I still have adjustments I plan to make on future versions, but I definitely will be making more since I love this one so much.
2. Hepburn Henley - This was a disappointment, but I do still wear it when I schlep around. I like the idea of this design, but the pattern just did not work for me and I had more problems then you would think on something that looks so simple.
3. Copycat Wild Flower Top - This shirt has never been worn out of my house. I love the idea of the design, but this fabric combined with the tiny folded hems left me with a neckline so wide it exposes my religious garments. Sad since it looks cute in the photos.
4. Khaki Sally Skirt - My first ever fly front :) This was my muslin of the Sally skirt and in spite of the not great adjustment I made to the center back seam I still wear this every now and then. The fabric should be heavier, but it's still a cute design.
5. Conny Frost Skirt - A simple hem-shortening refashion in a dreamy crepe fabric. I like this one, and it does get a bit of wear. The pockets are still fantastic.
6. Gray Linen Skirt - Another hem-shortening refashion and another fabric that I love. This is a linen/cotton blend. I wear this every so often but I have to have the right shirt with it or else I feel frumpy. I'm not a big fan of the tulip shape on my frame. But it does still work as a nice basic with the right shirt.
7. Medieval Costume - This really turned out so great and I'm super proud of the whole outfit. I wore this to sing at a Madrigal feast, and my mom wore it to our church halloween party. This is very comfy to wear because it fits so well, it's nice and light due to the silk fabric, and it feels really fancy. I still have a bunch of this green silk left so I hope to plan a nice dress I can wear more than occasionally out of it :)
8. Red Boogie Retro Top - I still lament the fabric of this shirt. This was my muslin, technically speaking, but I had very high hopes for it. Sadly it shows my religious garments, so it's not wearable for me. I find myself wishing I could wear it quite a lot, so I hope to find a similar knit fabric to make another that I can actually wear.
9. Crazy Daisy Top - Another test of the Boogie shirt pattern to experiment with the neckline width. This one went a bit too far in, making it look like a plain v neck :/ This is technically wearable, but it feels pretty frumpy so I never do wear it.
10. Red Dot Sailor Top - This was an unexpected hit - I love this shirt and wear it quite a lot! When I made this I just wanted to try out the Sailor pattern, but I love the swiss dot fabric I used and then length. This also spawned my mini capsule wardrobe, which I know contributes to this being worn so often. I can just grab the pieces I know work with it and go :) I have several more of this shirt planned, so hopefully I can make them soon.
11. Black Holyburn Skirt - My biggest hit of the year even if it is a bit boring, lol. I wear this skirt really frequently - I mean it's black, it fits well, it's comfy, and it never needs ironing :) What's not to love?
12. Tigeroga Hollyburn Skirt - I just love this fabric and I am so happy I blatantly copied Katharina of Froebelina's version :) Thanks to my multiple tops I made that coordinate, I wear this a lot more than I though I would.
13. Teal Retro Boogie Shirt - Another big hit of the year :) This pattern took some real dedication and perseverance, but this top is the result so clearly it was worth the work. I wear this with my capsule as well as other bottoms quite a lot. I mean it's a solid color that fits in my wardrobe well but has an interesting detail. These are the types of pieces I reach for again and again.
14. Navy Linen Skirt - This was a refashion that now needs to be refashioned ... again... lol.
15. Blue Pin Dot Lark Tee - This was technically another muslin, but it turned out kind of *meh* wearable. I wore it out the week I made it and it rubbed blue all over my white leather purse :/ I've washed this fabric several times and it still rubbed off. I've been weary of wearing it ever since. I'll have to experiment with ways to wash it and get the excess blue dye out before I will be ok with wearing it again.
16. Gray Melissa Skirt - The skirt that had such potential *sigh*. I still wear this on occasion, but it looks really bagged out and awful after just a few hours. I wish that wasn't the case, but the all cotton fabric is just not great for my life apparently. I'll add this to the list of "things to recreate with better fabric".
17. Black Stripe Renfrew Hack - I really like this shirt, and I wore it quite a bit when I first made it, but the hem started to unravel after a few wears and I have yet to fix that. I've still worn it with the hem like that, but I don't mentally factor it in my wardrobe when I'm getting ready since I know it needs fixing. So I guess I should fix it :)
18. Mint Twig Renfrew - Totally love this shirt! It's comfy and it's cute. My only beef is that the sleeves are slightly shorter than 3/4, but that's a very small issue. I love how the neckline turned out, so I will definitely be making more shirts like this.
19. Boot Bag - I made this for my youngest sister's birthday, and it was well received :) This was my first time making a bag like this (with foam interfacing and whatnot) and it turned out well if a little smaller than I thought it would. I still love that Yee Haw boot though.
20. Black Fly Front Skirt - Another great workhorse in this muslin of a skirt. Again the fabric is a bit too light, but I still wear it. This has a fly front that turned out nicely and I love the patch pockets :) I will certainly make this pattern again in a heavier fabric.
21. A Tangled Halloween - I LOVED this costume. It was a bit of a challenge to figure out all the components, but it turned out great. Everyone knew who I was and it was super comfortable. I had a lot of fun with this project :)
22. The 60s Dress - My first vintage pattern! This was a process to fit and make, but I loved getting to use my vintage supplies to make a vintage dress. This definitely turned me on to using my vintage patterns more.
23. Bert's Bed - It's just so cute! I love this pillow. Bert doesn't really sleep on it, but he plays with it so that counts as a win. Really I just wanted an excuse to make a pillow.
24. Mix Tape Bag - Shannon's (my sister) Christmas gift :) I made this bag to hold her cross stitching schtuff. This was a good size project, and there will be a full blog post coming soon.
25. Stripe Stricken Bag - Marisa's (another sister) Christmas gift. I used the same Craftsy class to make this bag, but it turned out to be much more involved than the first one. This will have a post very soon as well.
26. Lego Bag - My sister mentioned to me how my nephew saw one of those bags that you play legos on and then cinch it all up when you want to put them away and he thought it was awesome. Done and done! I made this version as part of his Christmas gift.
27. The QVC Shirt - Kelly's (another sister) Christmas gift. My mom bought a shirt from QVC that both she and my sister loved. The shirt was quite pricey, so they both asked me to make a pattern from it to recreate as much as they want. This was the "wearable muslin" I made for Kelly for Christmas and she says she loves it. Post to follow soon.
28. Mint Sequin Plantain - My mom loves her Plantain shirt I made her last year, so I decided to make her another. She chose this awesome sequin fabric from my stash and I combined it with a cream interlock and with a few small tweaks from the last time this is pretty close to perfect for her. I'll post about this soon.
29. Mayberry Dress - I was lucky enough to get to review this pattern for Jennifer Lauren Handmade, and I absolutely love the result :) Definitely a fun way to end the year and keep me motivated to make more stuff!
30. Running Arm Band - I actually made this back at the beginning of August, but I never got any pictures of it as it went into immediate use. So this picture kind of looks like nothing, but it holds my phone wonderfully on my arm while I run. I made this using a random remnant piece of supplex from Joann's and a free pattern from Fehr Trade.

I'm ... ok ... with the number of items I sewed this year. I honestly wish I had made the time for more, but I allowed other things to take precedence. I also stopped sewing when I started running on the thought that I would be mad if my measurements changed right after I made something. This was decent logic, but it was pretty depressing! I found myself really wanting to sew something at times, yet reminding myself I couldn't. I kind of replaced sewing with painting at first, but even that dwindled a bit as sewing came back around. I hope to find a better balance with sewing this coming year so I don't have such a long stretch without me being able to practice on of my favorite hobbies for any length of time. So, as ever, I will continue to just sew what I feel like sewing in 2018 :) Here's hoping I can stick with just that, lol.

Monday, December 11, 2017

Top 5 of 2017: Hits

I always love participating in the Top 5 of 2017 posts every year. This is hosted by Gillian of Crafting a Rainbow and all participants take a look back on what they made that year and report on their hits, misses, highlights, reflections, and goals. At the moment, I am busy making Christmas gifts, so I can't really show you what I am making yet. What better way to still blog than to show what worked best of the things I made this year? So let's dive in with my top hits!
5. Marianne Top - This was my first make of the year back in January and it has served me very well all year long. Every time I wear this shirt, I get compliments. The fabric is very pretty, and being all rayon jersey it's very soft and comfy. The shape of this is also nice and drapey and loose, so this is my go-to when I don't want anything tight on my tummy (if you know what I mean). I can be comfortable and still look put together with this shirt. I have a few changes I plan to make when I make this again (like raising the yoke line about an inch), but my little issues have not kept me from wearing this. Totally love it :)
4. Kerfuffle Ishnana Cardigan - This was my favorite knit of the year :) I love the color (and the name - kerfuffle) plus the cable patterns on this were just so enjoyable to knit. The pattern kept things interesting the whole time yet not too overwhelming. I love how regal the sables make this look. Definitely a good one.
3. Mint Twig Renfrew - I love everything about this shirt - the fit, the neckline finish, the fabric. I really love the Doodles brand cotton interlock from Joann's, and this is a great print that doesn't look too childish. I have a few fabrics and refashions earmarked to use this hacked neckline Renfrew again. The high neck is just so flattering yet still comfortable.
2. Teal Retro Boogie Shirt - This shirt took real perseverance to make happen. I sewed 2 "muslins" to get the pattern right, and this was the final version. I wear this all the time. It's comfy, it goes with a lot of my skirts, and it still has some interesting details with the ruched front and yoke seam. This is a good example of you altering the pattern to fit your needs since I couldn't wear it as drafted. Now it's one of my top hits :)
1. Black Hollyburn Skirt - How boring is this, right? lol The longer I've been sewing my own clothes, the more I realize it's the kind of boring basic pieces I reach for over and over again. This skirt was in no way thrilling, but I reach for this thing all. the. time. Who doesn't love a well fitting basic black skirt? We all need one, and now I have mine :) The fit is great, the pockets are wonderful, the fabric is satin backed so it never sticks to my legs. All around this is a fantastic make and I will surely wear this until it falls apart.

Honorable Mentions go to my costumes I made this year :) I'm kind of cheating here, but I really did love the costumes I made and I didn't want to not acknowledge them since I couldn't really wear them everyday. But here they are:
3. The 60s Dress - I still feel like I nailed it with this 60s dress. Fabric from 1963, pattern from 1969, zipper from before the mid 70s. This was my first truly vintage pattern I've ever used myself, and it turned out so well that I want to try more :) This is certainly more costumey with the big bow, but I may actually wear this in real life if I'm feeling sassy.
2. Medieval Costume - This was a huge undertaking. I lucked out with my major thrift store score of raw silk for this dress and it was so comfortable to wear. I still feel a bit self conscious about the hat, but in the context of a madrigal feats it looked good. This was just a large project with lots of little details that really brought it together in the end to look fantastic :) My mom even wore this for a Halloween party, but we are planning another feast this year, so it looks like this will be a handy costume to have around. I'm just thrilled that it came together so well with all thrift store materials.
1. Rapunzel Costume - This costume was a puzzle to put together and I'm so pleased it came together well :) I had to do a lot of pattern alteration to make this not only fit me but to look closer to the movie Tangled. This was also made with mostly thrifted materials, which just makes me happy). I rank this at #1 because of the reactions I got from kids. I seriously love dressing up as Disney characters for that reason. So much fun. Also this top is knit so it was so comfortable - a big win :)

So those are my hits this year! I feel like I didn't make a ton (I feel that way every year, lol), but I'm glad I had so many pieces that turned out so well that I love to wear them. My percentage of successes is definitely going up :) Always a good sign.

Check back soon for my top misses of the year next (yikes).