 Hi, you guys, it's Lindsay here and believe it or not We are kicking off a whole new calendar year 2017 It's going to start in just a few hours depending on when you watch this and I kind of can't believe it If you you may not know this but 17 is my lucky number. I Just I don't really know how it came about I just started seeing 17s and a lot of random places like I would open a book and it would open up to page 217 or I would pause the Pause the movie and it would stop at 17 minutes with 17 seconds or something like that Or I'm always glancing at the clock and it's 217 or 1117 I see it when I'm driving around random places I'll be behind like a bus and the serial number will have 17 in it So I don't know why or what that means or what it is but 17 is my lucky number So I'm kind of taking that all in and taking that as you know 2017 is going to be a really great year and maybe even a lucky year I think all of us could use a little luck in our lives especially as we start to think about these resolutions and these goals Striving towards something working towards something. It's great, but a little luck is also great I think so I have made some sewing resolutions. I've actually made more sewing resolutions than I have Regular personal resolutions in my personal life. I don't know. I kind of feel like it's an ongoing thing It's hard for me to sit down and say okay for this whole year This is what I'm going to try and do I kind of try and do all those things that one wants to do You know be nicer take better care of yourself You know show your loved ones how much you love them more often all those things I try and do all the time Anyways, so maybe that's why it's harder for me to come up with personal resolutions But I felt like coming up with sewing resolutions was pretty easy. Oh, I didn't have a hard time with it at all I feel like I'm going into my Is this guy my fifth year am I gonna I think I've got to reach my Four-year sewing anniversary, which means I will start my fifth year of sewing This spring so I know that I've come a really long way But I also know that I have a long way to go and I appreciate that That's what I love about sewing so much is that it's like you're just trying to reach nirvana Like you're never gonna get to nirvana like you can never reach nirvana But you're always striving for that and just when you think you get close you discover something that makes you realize How far nirvana is away? Okay, so for my 2017 resolutions I came up with five of them because I didn't want their to anyone to be too Overwhelming and I didn't want them to be too obscure. I really wanted to try and make them as specific as possible I think the the anagram is for smart specific measurable attainable Something for the R and maybe T is timely I can't remember all of them, but the first three I think always make a great goal You know, you can't just say learn more about sewing like that's not specific enough You need to say specifically what you want to learn about or specific ways You're gonna go about doing it and that's how to set a goal that you can achieve so my very first one is really about the finishing techniques and Also in with that is tailoring techniques. So you may remember I guess back in October I had talked about how I wanted to make a tailored jacket like I wanted to to do a Peacote or something like that with all the bells and whistles on the inside things that you can't see from the outside at all But what are what make the structure for a garment that's gonna last longer? That's gonna wear well and look very nice and professional and all of that kind of stuff So that's really what I'm going to strive toward Not just with one project. Yes, the the tailored coat is a project that I want to complete this year But I also want to start incorporating little finishing techniques in my garments as well Like I want to do more Hong Kong seams I want to incorporate those into some some more of my garments I want to you know do different things with facings and different things with pocket linings and You know really just take I mean my garments on the inside. They look professional a lot of them are surged which is kind of like a shortcut way of finishing off raw edges and stuff and I Dabbled with French seams a little bit whenever I was doing the like some of my rayon shali projects And I just want to do more of that. I want to find those applications that are That when applied to the right kind of fabric or the right garment really just take it to another level like I Want to look inside my garments and have them be just as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside And so like I said that comes with you know, Hong Kong finishing that comes with figuring out new finishing techniques for facings Even like casings and elastic waistbands like I'm down with all of those things But I just want them to look really beautiful on the inside too. So that's my first resolution my second one is to perfect a pants sloper, so I As you know my story with pants and pants patterns goes way back I probably started I probably made my first pair of pants the second year I was sewing and that was a huge mistake because I had no idea about a full seat adjustment I had no idea that about my body none of those things Now I have the knowledge like I know what I need to do I just need to put it to work and actually draft up a pants sloper You know make all the muslins and then make it in a in a gar in a fashion fabric that I can actually wear So I just want to make one perfect pair of pants that I feel like fits me really well and You know pants that I don't feel like I can get in the stores. I know that there are Most of the stores I can't even it's not even worth it for me to try on pants because no matter if it's marketed as Curvy or any of that it just it's not curvy enough So the closest I've got is the Anne Taylor has pant called the Kate And that's the closest I've ever gotten they have a very generous seat in there But it's still not perfect that I don't feel like the crotch length is long enough, especially in the back So I feel like it's very very close and it's gotten me by for the past year But I want to make my own pants that fit really really well So that's number two on my list number three is just to get the stash under control like I Guess what it comes down to is I'm an impulse buyer It's not really in my regular life. Like I'll do all the research and Things like that for regular things. I don't even go out and buy clothes Impulsively but when it comes to fabric and patterns like I see something and I just have to have it and it just goes on my cart and it shows up here and then goes into my fabric pantry and There it sits what I really want to do is utilize my colette sewing planner more and really plan out projects and then only buy what I need for that project and then Actually make the projects that I plan on making do any of y'all do that do y'all think okay? I've got this fabric for this pattern you've done deal that I bought them for each other And then it all shows up here, and then you're like, I don't know Maybe that would be good for something else or maybe I can make that pattern out of something else And then they both just end up sitting there unmade. I do that all the time so so the sewing resolution what it really comes down to is Only buying things that I am actually going to make something with and then making the things that I buy I think that if I were to have stuck to the plans that I had in my head Maybe 25% of what is in there would be in my closet and not in the pantry so so yeah, you got to get the stash under control and Along with that is to get the work in progress Stash under control as well. I Have this habit of finishing a project like 90% Almost to where I can try it on and then after I try it on like the allure of making it has worn off Is that strange and then it goes into like a work in progress Like I have so many things in there that just need to him or just need to zipper or something like that Oh great There are some things in there that are a disaster that I think that I can salvage somehow And maybe I just need to get real with myself that I'm never going To be able to salvage that I need to just donate it if it can be donated or just toss it But the work in progress pile. I want it to have zero Projects in there. I want to get it all down to zero and then on top of that I don't ever want to have a work in progress pile ever again. I want to finish everything that I start Which is a big task for me. I don't know why that's so hard It seems like common sense. You start making something and you just finish it so you can wear it But but yeah, I don't know it. I don't do that So I need to I need to work on that Work on getting the work in progress pile Gone and then focus on not adding anything to it ever again That seems like it's gonna be the hardest one out of all of them. I think I Don't know that one should be interesting. We'll check check back with me in 12 months We'll see how things go and then the last one is to kind of learn more and broaden my horizons I feel like in 2016 I did a really good job of Trying new fabrics trying fabrics. I've never heard of before Trying applications. I've never heard of before I did my first full I did my first pattern adjustment at all in 2016 my first full seed adjustment. I think I did a small bust adjustment at one point if you remember when I did the shorts the Chi-town Chino shorts that was really the first full seed adjustment I had ever done So I want to explore those techniques more and just learn more about Just all aspects of sewing sewing different kinds of garments like lingerie or Like the tailored coat that I've been talking about Taking crafty classes and checking out more books from the library that I really do enjoy doing that So just doing a little bit more of that and just just kind of like expanding my knowledge base Even if I don't apply it to anything even if it doesn't like become a project At least I can learn what there is to learn about different aspects of sewing or different fabrics or different Applications and things like that. So that's my fifth one there. So there you have it now that I kind of Set it all out loud. It kind of does seem like a lot even though it's only five things I feel like it's kind of five big things Five things that I know is going to take a lot of time So we'll see I am excited about it. I'm excited about 2017 I'm excited about continuing to sew for another year You know adding another notch to my belt, I guess so I mean, yeah, let me know what you guys are Looking forward to in 2017 when it comes to your sewing if it's not a resolution Is it a certain project or or are you making a list of resolutions too? I would love to hear some of what you guys have going on out there And we can all support each other and trying to better ourselves for this little hobby that that we all love so much So here's to just a really great prosperous wonderful 2017 with a little bit of luck if that's okay to ask for that and Until next time. I'll see you guys. Bye