Hey makers! 

Every month, I like to take a little pause. A chance to look at what I’ve created, what I’ve learned, and what I want to explore next. Think of it as a mini creative review: part reflection, part celebration, and part planning.

Whether you quilt, sew, knit, or just like to dabble in creative experiments, a monthly check-in is a simple way to stay inspired and motivated without feeling pressure to “do it all.”

What I Made This Month

This month, I continued on with the February BOM from Eudaimonia Studios.

 

I participated in two mug rug swaps with Sewtopia and The Gluten Free Quilter.

I finished a zipper pouch using the receipt roll method and a little freeform embroidery.. this will be a pattern later this year!

I made a dress out of some Tommy Hilfiger sheets that have fish all over them... unfortunately it makes me look like I'm wearing a hospital gown. I also made a muslin for the Helen's Closet Ashton Top, but I still have a lot of fit issues, so back to the drawing board (or cutting mat!) with that one! I did have success with the Hollie Highneck Top from DIY Daisy's "Sew It Yourself" book. I mentioned this book in my post: My Favorite Books for Sparking Big Creative Energy. I enjoyed making a clothing pattern completely based off of my measurements, instead of pattern pieces.. It was easier than I thought it was going to be!

Some things that I worked on, but haven't finished are: crochet baby blanket, my knit scarf for practicing stitches, the AGF Walking on Sunshine quilt, and a few other small things! 

What Inspired Me

I tried some new things this month in my quilting! I did free motion quilting with my Bernina Stitch Regulator for the first time and it was AWESOME!!!! I had tried free motion (barely) on my Janome previously, and it just did not go well. The BSR made everything so easy and smooth, it was like a dream. I did loop-de-loops on the outer parts of the Sewtopia mug rug!

I also learned how to do Half Rectangle Triangles during this month's BOM! It was very intimidating.. especially when I got to the trimming stage.. but I measured and measured and measured and THEN cut. And it turned out pretty well! 

Materials or Colors I Loved

My love for ginghams overtook my neon eyes this month. I bought some tan and black, reallllly small checked gingham to make a Henrietta Skirt by Spaghetti Western Sewing! I also have some lime green gingham (hey! that mixes neon AND gingham!!) that I will either make an Ashton Top with the gathered waist hack or a Hazel Dress by Rosery Apparel with. 

New Ideas or Techniques I Want to Try

March comes with some very fun projects! I'm excited to not only FINALLY get into projector sewing, but also do several dye projects that will be featured on the blog in April! I will be using avocados to dye some canvas. I bought the powder dye I need to ice dye some rayon linen slub. I will also be doing a non-sewing project to get some wedding decor done. I found a blog post on using Mod Podge and food dye to turn jars into colored glass, so I have a lot of glass vases I will be attempting that on!

Reflections on My Creative Process

February taught me that I can do things that I previously thought were too difficult (FMQ and HRTs) and that I love having a handy craft while I'm at church or in a small group to keep my hands busy, but my mind focused (knitting and crocheting are that right now, but embroidery has been in the past!). But it has also taught me that I really need to slow down on projects. With clothing, I really need to work on my fitting. Even when I cut out my size based on measurements, there tend to be several things that end up wrong (bust darts in the wrong place, the waist measurement somehow being 4 inches too big still????, etc.) and I just need to take the time to make a muslin, fix the fit issues by figuring out if I need a Full Bust Adjustment, or whatever else I might need, and then actually sitting down and sewing it slowly, fitting DURING the process instead of after I'm all finished and can't really fix anything anymore. 

Also, speaking of slowing down... I need to slow down on my binding. That is definitely something that I can do a lot better on if I just don't rush to the finish line like I always want to. This is not a race!!

Next Month's Intention

Ok, so last month I said I would start on my wedding sewing, start writing on my book idea, and putting color into my wardrobe... I did none of those... So let's re-plan for all of those (and this time I actually have each one scheduled on my calendar), but we'll also add in some new quilt designing! I decided to take the Alderwood Studio Pattern Writing Academy to not only get some new perspectives on the design, writing, and launching process, but also to learn the Affinity Suite so I don't have to pay for Adobe anymore. I will probably go back to Adobe eventually, but right now, it's just too much out of my pocket to be worth it! I have a few designs I'll be working on, all of which I plan on releasing this year, so stay tuned!!

Your turn!

I've created a printable version of the Monthly Maker Check-In just for you! Click the button below to download it!

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