Second Blogiversary!

Today, August 25th, 2011 is my second blogiversary! WOOT! (Details of first blogiversary.)

Table of Contents

• Statistics
• Year in Summary
• What Have I Sewn?
• The Coming Year
• Celebratory Giveaway

Statistics

I have made it to year #2 of blogging and a simultaneous return to sewing. And I still love both. First up, some statistics, 'cause it's fun:

End of Year	Number of Posts	Number of Followers	Number of Subscribers (via Google Reader)
1	125	130	Was Google Reader in use?
2	107 (232 total)	341	482

Hmm.... fewer posts than last year. I suspect that was due to a dip in mojo (with some family/work distractions) in the late spring. Also, some of my garments this year have been more involved.

I am happy to see new followers – I truly appreciate all of you and you know I love your feedback!

Year in Summary

I scanned through my posts of the last year to see what I was up to. Good thing I can refer to that, because I don't think I'd remember much, otherwise.

• I participated in Self-Stitched-September 2010 (wrap up here). That was a great learning experience. I then participated in Me-Made-March 2011 (wrap up here). I had to push myself to complete it. Finally, I participated in Me-Made-June 2011 (no wrap up). I petered out on the photographs and on challenging myself, though I did wear me-made every day. Until I have a motivating reason to do this again, I'll be taking a break from the me-mades. But to do it at least once is very educational and I highly recommend it.
• I am participating in the Year of 12 Jackets and Coats (blog posts here), which ends in December. I am a bit behind schedule, with only six of the twelve completed and here we are at the end of August, but there is still time. I have several in progress, so just finishing those would get me back on track. Adding jackets to my wardrobe has filled a real need and I may do this again next year.
• I am participating in the Autumn 6-pack on Stitcher's Guild. In the past I have not been successful at Sewing With a Plan, but it seems to be working out better this time, so maybe I have learned a thing or two. ;)
• I figured out my "new way" to do an FBA so that it doesn't create too much volume at my hips. This has had a huge impact on the fit of my clothing. I have no dedicated post on this, but I've described the technique in several blog entries.
• I took a fabulous fabric acquisition trip back east where I met several wonderful bloggers. In fact, this was my year of meeting bloggers both local and distant. I met Peggy, Carolyn, Noile, Rose, Georgene, Robin, Beth, Jean, JillyBe, Joan, and Ann Smith. (I apologize if I've missed anyone!) What a rewarding experience it has been to meet all of you! I hope to meet even more internet folks in the coming year.
• Besides fabric (which we won't talk about), I also acquired a few great tools this year:
  
  • My Janome 725 felting machine.
  • My Reliable Digital Velocity v100 iron, which.I.LOVE.
  • A hand made pressing ham which was smaller than I expected, but has become a beloved tool.
  • Just last month I got an iPhone. I wouldn't mention it, except that I have been playing with some of the fashion/sewing apps that are available. Nothing to rave about at this point, except I do like to play Boggle. ;)
• I found a new pattern company which I have been loving: Style Arc. Last year was my year of Au Bonheur des Petites Mains, but this has been the year of Style Arc. (Though I also made some Au Bonheur patterns this year.) This is aside from Vogue and Burda, of course. I also made my first KnipMode garment this year (which wasn't particularly successful).
• My local ASG group leader asked me to give a talk on Sewing, Blogging, and the Internet. I gave the talk last Friday and it was a lot of fun. I doubt I created any new bloggers, but I know I inspired several folks to start using Pinterest!

What Have I Sewn?

Good question.

Well, I don't actually keep count and I don't really want to start, just as I don't want to count how many yards are in my stash. ;)

I have continued to play with techniques. Most particularly, felting:

I have made some great patterns this year. Some of my favorites (besides the aforementioned felted pieces):

The Coming Year

I have a few goals for the coming year ('cause you know I set my goals now, rather than in January when I'm too busy sewing to stop and take stock):

• Complete the Year of 12 Jackets and Coats.
• Make even more jackets and coats.
• Complete the Autumn 6-pack, which I have well underway, with 3 of the 6 garments finished. (I actually plan to do more than 6.)
• Push myself further creatively. I feel that I haven't done enough this year, except for the felting. And I do want to do more felting.
• Continue to have fun, which means I often just follow my muse and do what I feel like. I don't like to over plan because it then starts to feel stressful. I keep very loose lists of ideas and plans. Like most sewists, I have more ideas than I could ever make.

Celebratory Giveaway

I have planned a giveaway to celebrate my second blogiversary. Look for another post with details very soon. :)