Nope, we can’t ignore it any longer. The new year—2019!—is definitely here. That makes that I can look back again and reflect. What kind of sewing year was 2018?
Like the previous years, I collected all my sewing data in an infographic and here below you see the result of my 2018 sewing!

What do these numbers say?

I sew mostly for women, using a pdf pattern from an Indie Pattern Designer.  Although, compared to previous years, it isn’t that pronounced anymore. There is a shift in who I sew for. In 2018 I sewed more for babies. How else could it be with the birth of our first grandson! This joyful event is, of course, THE highlight of 2018!

54 sewing projects

I was a bit surprised by this number when I did the counting.  I didn’t have the feeling that I sewed approximately 1 item per week! Say what? The previous years this was somewhat of a (hidden) goal that I could not reach and this year it came to fruition without special effort. Of course, with the 13 Bombazine Mitts, which I sewed in January,  I took already a big jumpstart.
And yes, these 54 projects are ALL finished projects! Alas, I also have 7 (seven!!) WIP’s! But I am going to catch up on them!
Another thing that helped to get this high number of finished projects is that I didn’t lose my sewing-mojo this year. Last year, I didn’t sew every day and certainly not 300 times like I set out to at the start of the year, but there wasn’t a significant period of non-sewing!
A new item that I checked for this year is for how many projects I used fabric from my stash. It’s about 47%. This figure could be higher but I’m already pleased with it. Even more so, because it came naturally. It was not a specific goal of me to sew as much as possible from my stash.

Top 5 of 2018

Gillian form ‘Crafting a rainbow’ has this nice challenge for your #sewingtop5. I enjoyed following this last year so I will do it again this year.

Top 5 Hits

The first thing I want to share with you is my sewing hits! My hits are sewing projects that give me the most joy! And this joy can be caused by several things: from the pleasure of wearing it, the challenge of sewing, the first time tackling a particular technique, or the gratitude you receive from the person you sewed for…

Here is my selection of joy for 2018.

#1. My Jumpsuit

The Vogue V9075 Jumpsuit is without a doubt #myproudestmake. Why? I made a muslin for it so I would not have any fitting issues. This paid off. The fit is perfect!
This is also my best fabric-pattern combination of the year: a cotton and silk blend that I bought at Goldhawk Road in 2017. This counts for sewing from my stash! And I wore it a lot and with pleasure!

#2. The Statement dress

When you make a summer dress in a red/black plaid then you make a statement dress!! This dress gives me so much joy. Why? I had severe grading to do and it worked! The pattern matching is impeccable! And last but not least, my daughter loves it and that makes me happy!

#3. The Jill Coat

It was such a good decision to put a lining in the Seamwork Jill Coatigan. Even more, to put two buttons with a loop closure on it so this coat is totally suitable for Belgian winters.
I particularly enjoyed all the hand stitching I did because of the furry character of the fabric.

#4. All the baby clothes

I started sewing baby clothes in November 2017 when the first grandson of my brother was born. Then in 2018, there was the first granddaughter of my other brother and then in August our little treasure was born. Sewing all these cute baby clothes is great fun and these projects are great stash busters too!

#5. The Kingfisher Top for my daughter-in-law L.

I was over the moon that I could cut out the Kingfisher top out of one panel of Lotte Martens handprinted fabric. This panel was 60cm by 150cm. I had some serious pattern tetris to do but it worked. I was even more over the moon when L. loved this top I made for her birthday! It makes me happy when my family loves and wears the garments I sewed for them!

Next up in the top 5 of 2018 are Misses & Highlights, and Reflections & Goals.