Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Looks like one of my resolutions should be something about keeping up over here a bit more, huh? (My husband thinks so too. Thanks honey.) I agree. Last year was a whirlwind of sewing and pattern testing - and my first four contributor posts/tutorials for the Peekaboo Patterns blog. I tested nearly 50 patterns in the second half of the year alone (!) and began sewing for myself for the first time, too. I took thousands of photos of my kids (and thousands of fruit snacks were likely consumed by said kids as payment), and worked to improve my photography skills both indoors and out.

It was a lot, and I really, really enjoyed all of it. Here are a few frames from the highlight reel (and holy moly, my kids grew a lot this past year!):

The Trendy Tunic from Love Notions Patterns - the first test I did for Tami, and have completed 14 more since then!

The Peekaboo Patterns Audrey Dress - Miss P and I both loved this one, and I loved how fancy she felt every time she wore it. <3

The Schoolboy Vest from Sew Much Ado - the first pattern test that really encouraged me to sew more for this character. We had fun with this one!

The Aloha Surf Suit from Peekaboo - the first swim suit (of many!) I sewed, and this test was done on a snowy February day!

I modified this Rio Racerback dress for the PAB sewalong this summer - and it led to my first tutorial for the Peekaboo blog :)

I made a LOT of dresses for that tutorial, and then took a break from gathering for awhile.

This was one of my favorite outfits - the Aster cardigan that I tested for Willow & Co., and the peplum I adapted from the Kitschy Coo Skater Dress pattern (also a favorite as written). I love the colors, the style, the fit, everything about this - and wish it came in my size. :)

Halloween was fun this year - the kids wanted to be Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, and my nephew spent his first Halloween as a cute little garden gnome. My sister crocheted his hat and beard, and I sewed the jacket. 

I made birthday gear for both kids - this guy turned 2 in May, is obsessed with cars and other vehicles, and got a LOT of car shirts this past year.

This little lady turned 5 in November, and was so excited about these dresses. I used the Charlie Mackadoodle dress from Burlap Button for the "five" dress, and the Town Square dress from Terra's Treasures for the "birthday girl" upcycle - both tees came from Old Navy. Both of these patterns are among my most-used and most-loved patterns. 

This was my second tutorial for Peekaboo, and I made a huge dent in A's wardrobe while writing it up. I sewed a lot of functional, everyday play clothes last year and had fun doing it. It was great to make clothes that the kids got lots of wear out of and were comfy in.

And sometimes it's fun to make things that aren't so everyday. :) This is the Blissful Blazer from Love Notions, was one of my final pattern tests of 2014, and one of my all-time favorite sews. 

What's in store for 2015? I just got a new sewing machine after the untimely demise of my last one and am going to spend some time getting to know it, since it's a bit more feature-rich than my original machine. I'd like to work on my photos some more, especially taking pics of both kids together (and actually getting them both in focus for a change), and begin to use Lightroom, which my husband bought for me as a Chanukah gift. I'm planning to make more of the kids' faves, of course - upcycled t-shirt dresses and lots of knit tunics for my girly girl, and more shirts with cars and trucks for my little guy. And, in perhaps what will be my biggest challenge, I'm really working to keep my office space a bit more....organized. We shall see....