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Make Nine, 2022

 Well.  What a season. Christmas has come and gone, the New Year is well underway, and I'm only just now settling in to cleaning up and cleaning out and declaring the intentions for the new year. Make no mistake, I'm working on the intentions already....just taking my time to really clarify what, exactly, it is that I'm trying to work towards this year. 

In the project realm, that includes updating my "Make-Nine" list -- nine projects to focus on for the year. In 2021, I accomplished 7 of the 9, which included the extremely large project of reupholstering a love seat that we inherited from my Grandmother.  Please enjoy the before (yellow) and after (teal). 


It was a big project, it is not perfect, but it is DONE.  Will it survive another 50 years of constant use?  Probably not.  But is sure looks nicer in my living room now than it did before!

Over the past several years, I've worked hard to finish up long abandoned projects. In 2021, I carted around a pink and yellow and white baby blanket until I finally finished crocheting it.  I think I gifted it to a baby girl from my church?  But it is also possible that it is still tucked away in the mess that is the project room, waiting for the perfect recipient.  

I learned to use the serger that I received for Christmas 2020.  I sewed workout gear -- leggings and sports bras.  I made another scrap quilt without purchasing anything specifically for it. And I learned some embroidery stitches and completed my first sampler. 




I made a lot of other things, too, that weren't on my original list...picture dresses and outfits for me and my girls, a new rash-guard for swimming, bunny loveys for precious babies, new cushion covers for chairs at the beach house, t-shirts and underwear for the kids. I am an inconsistent maker -- I work in spurts, where I am very focused for a short amount of time, and then take long breaks....but when I look back over the course of the year, I often surprise myself by how much I have created. 


In 2022, my Make Nine list includes a few roll-over projects from 2021: 1. Pants/Trousers with a zipper; 2. Re-upholster dining room chairs; 3. Scrap Quilt and a slew of other items intended to meet specific occasions or needs in my wardrobe: 4. Church dress(es) for me; 5. 2 flower girl dresses; 6. a ring bear outfit; 7. Something for my husband (can you believe I've NEVER sewn him anything?); 8. a new bathing suit for me; 9. New underwear for the kids in the next size up. 

We're ten days into January, and I've been working already on item number 1.  I've completed what I'll call my "practice pair" of pants -- Rust corduroy ginger jeans.  I'm debating whether to size down for the "real" pair, which will be black denim. 

I intend to slow down my fabric purchasing, and hopefully will be able to sew the majority of these items from the stash that I've been accumulating over the past several years. 

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