…DIVE into September…

September around here is always full of so much real life, it can feel hard to squeeze in my creative time. I also know, though, it’s the busy times when I feel most in need of even just 5 minutes of stolen time to work on something. Creating is my grounding. a busy month also means it’s more important than ever to keep on top of my monthly goal breakdown to give me a framework to just DIVE in and make something without overthinking it.

SPRING SEWING: A new season means a new capsule wardrobe and a new capsule wardrobe means it’s time to dive into sewing up some new goodies! This week in particular, I want to make a start on a tshirt (I’m planning an oversized version of my fave Plantain Tee), and some shorts. I want to sew myself some denim shorts, and last summer I attempted a chambray wrap dress that was a total bust, thanks to troubles getting it to fit in, well, the bust! I just don’t think I’m built for cute wrap dresses! The fabric is lovely though, so I’m going to epicycle it into a wearable toile for the denim shorts I want. I also hope to make a start on some 3/4 length Avery leggings. Yep, when I find a pattern I love that works for my shape, I stick with it!

NEW/OLD COLLABORATIONS: In my last post, I referred to my crafty offsider as The Minister For Shenanigans, and after we stopped laughing at the reference to one of our favourite shows to watch together, it has inspired possibly our most epic shenanigans yet. We spent the best part of yesterday brainstorming and swapping notes and ideas. This project is so epic we have a whole google drive folder to keep ourselves organised and on task. I am so excited by this project, the fresh start energy is off the charts. I can wait to share more about it as we progress through the prep stages.

FINISHING A WIP: The last couple of weeks, I’ve picked up my waffle blanket again, and in three days I’ve added nearly a full repeat. As always, making begets making, and now I’m keen to get it finished this month. I’m about 2/3rds of the way through the body of the blanket, and then will have a border to add. All I need to do is break my Yahtzee for Buddies habit, and remember to pick up my crochet instead, and I should easily be able to manage it.

AUGUST RECAP: My august goals went quite well, which was encouraging! My first goal was to use up a fabric kit. I managed to sew up the whole kit as planned, plus another couple of items, so I’m calling that one a raging success. You can see the full result in the post about it here. I also knocked out the four books I wanted to read – two were rereads of fluffy romances that I knocked over in a couple of nights, but reading is reading, and reading is not doom scrolling, so I will call that a win! I will share my reviews on a couple of the August books later in the month. The third goal was to play around with sticker making. I had fun designing and playing with the idea, but my printer is not a “photo quality” printer, and they ended up streaky. We have an eco tank, because homeschool life has me burning through the prints, and while it is great for churning out school resources, it’s not so great for those picture perfect graphics. I’ve been doing some research on what printers are good for stickers, but tiny house life, you know? So that will have to wait until our new house is built and I have the space for a spare, stickers only, printer.

I am loving setting these monthly mini-goals! I feel like I’ve really been able to hold firm to my desire to DIVE deep this year. With three more birthdays in the next four weeks, at least another week of lockdown, and school running down to the end of the year reviews, this month more than ever, these mini goals are key to keeping me focused on the big picture as I DIVE into the craziness that is our life in September!