Part 1 of 2015 Charity Goals!

Now I know I have mentioned that I have been in a blogging rut- the cold doesn't inspire me to click away but I will say that I have been sewing some. It has been wonderful. I know that my 2015 goals have been lofty (see here for my resolutions) and I had some time to just clear my head and think over the holidays. Last year I sewed a lot of clothing for myself, between the 99 refashions and sewing in general. It put a strain on my creativity sometimes b/c I was solely focused on numbers. And I didn't work on many other projects, some of which have just been sitting here. I thought, let me change this up. Last year it was all about me and increasing my wardrobe, how about I start this year out by sewing for others and other projects. I hypothesized that this would increase my probably of finishing projects that I need to finish. It would also give me a nudge to make a leap into something I may not be comfortable doing. Also, maybe this would help me move some of my lumps, I mean fabric stash.

Resolution #4 is to sew through some of my scraps and make things for charity. My goal is 300.
First project was bibs. I love bibs, they are easy to make and I can use a lot of fabric. I had planned (sigh yup last year was too ambitious) to make more for charity, as I have done in the past, and brought an entire bolt of fusible fleece on sale.  So I had everything on hand. I just started grabbing scraps of fabric and sorted to sizes that would work for my bib pattern. I also found pre-cut bibs that I never sewed so I had a good start. I cut and cut and cut and cut. OMG fabric was everywhere. I killed a rotary cutter blade. I usually cut multiple layers of fabric at once to maximize my time.

Then I attached to the fusible fleece. I worked out how I could maximize my usage of fusible fleece, I really didn't waste much! I did it in batches. I cut my heart out. Then fused and fused and fused. My poor iron looked rough afterward. Then I cut out the bib individually. Then I paired front and backs. Sew. Sew. Sew.

Fact, I timed myself and my average time to sew a bib is 1:30. Yeah I know this pattern so well that I could do it with my eyes closed, I promise you!! Then excess fabric was removed and corners and round seams were clipped. I then turned them all right side out (great and easy to do while watching a movie!). Iron again (after cleaning my iron!!) and seal with a piece of stitch witchery. Add snaps. The snaps my boyfriend and I did on Saturday. We just hammered away and banged on fingers. Our poor thumbs!

So drumroll please..... The final count is 120!!! Yes 120! I am super excited!

I have quite a variety of fabrics. Some are refashions, that if you follow my blog you may recognize. Same with fabrics-some you will probably recognize.

These made me laugh- they were clearance iron-ons. Also the refashions, which were a total of 19.

One of my favorite set of bibs were these Indian paisley fabric. You may recognize the fabric from this refashion (and yes I know I ironed on the middle fabric to the fleece on backwards so the colors are dull but the pattern is there).

I loved this skirt to dress refashion, I had leftover fabric and I really like those bibs!!

The bibs have a home they are traveling to and are given to a charity. The box I got was the perfect size. I love many of these were upcycled from other projects and the fabric isn't getting tossed into the dumpster. Also, a great way to start the year with my goals! 120 is awesome! I had no idea it was going to be this big! It is not quite half but almost!!!

Now since I knocked out this project relatively "fast", my next question is what next? I have actually sewn something for myself for MGAM and that will post soon (haven't had any darn light for pictures!). My options are my t-shirt quilt that I already started and didn't finish, my latch hook, or another charity sew. Currently I am leaning toward the quilt. Then do the latch hook as I might need a sewing and cutting fabric break. As for my next charity sewing project it won't be bibs again, it will be something else. My ideas are stuffed animals- teddy bears (because I got a free pattern) and maybe smaller animals; then I also realized I have everything for dolls- like rag dolls, this would be a great stash buster as I would use the flesh colored fabric and fabric scraps for dresses, and an added bonus would be the yarn I could use up for hair. My other ideas (the previous ones are a higher priority) based on the fabric I have would be knit hats with some of the knit fabric I have-I just need to use it first- it would work for both babies and adults; fun quilts with other scraps, walker caddies, really the sky is the limit. Let's see. Baby steps.

So expect to see a little less "me" stuff and more posts on things for others. Yes I will continue to MGAM (make a garment a month for myself) and refashion. I just don't want the pressure of hitting numbers. Actually, it is a bit refreshing not having that looming number above my head.

Cheers,
Lauren