Sewing Year in Review

I already did a post on what I considered to be the best and worst Burda patterns of the year, but I thought I should also give a look at what were the best and worst of my personal sewing adventures in 2011.  Although I had hoped to finish a few more projects (which are stalled while I wait for my replacements for a broken serger blade - yes I broke it already!  The stupid pin was hiding from me...), I actually did a lot more sewing this year than I thought!  I completed 35 sewn objects, which is quite a lot!  Breakdown by type, I made:

8 Tops
4 Dresses
5 Pants
1 Skirts
5 Coats/Capes/Jackets
5 Skating Costumes
7 Other (crafty items, aprons, etc.)

Overall I would say most of my projects were successes, but there were a few disasters.  One was a disaster of construction, the second a disaster of style, and the final was a very poorly drafted pattern.  In my opinion, my worst pieces from the year:

Burda 8292 - my awful poly shantung coat

 The Burda coat is not a bad pattern.  In fact, it is a really great pattern.  The problem is I rushed the making of it and used crappy materials.  I assumed going into it that it was like a Big4 envelope pattern and made too many pattern adjustments that simply didn't need to happen.  Seeing as how it is a Burda, what I should do is go back to the original pattern, trace of a size 40, make a muslin, and fix the problems, which, honestly, is probably only a swayback adjustment and raising the pockets.  I actually really want to make the short version of this coat too, but in my priority que it isn't that high, so I don't know when I will get around to it again.  But there will be redemption with this pattern because it is just too good to waste.  In terms of finished projects though, this is by far the worst - poor fitting, bad materials, bad construction.  It should be a dumpster diving wadder, but I have been keeping it around to salvage the buttons.

Simplicity 4014 - horrible dress pattern

As for the Simplicity pattern - it is probably the worst that I have used in terms of choosing the wrong style.  The location of the seams are just not flattering at all - they would make anyone look wide from the front, and the location of the bust darts doesn't help.  I originally bought the pattern because I liked the shape of the skirt, but in the end the dress was pretty much un-wearable.  Definitely worst pattern of the year.

BSDL-A-Plus-A-Line

This is a case of a project turning out well, in spite of a crappy pattern.  The pattern doesn't line up well after being printed, and the pattern pieces are not symmetric.  If they were printed to be cut on the fold, this pattern would save a lot of paper and frustration.  However, I would say the finished project turned out super cute in spite of the wonky pattern and my less than perfect plaid matching.  The only reason this is in the "bad" category is because the pattern is not good, though people tend to be able to get good results regardless.

Overall I would say I had a lot more success stories than epic failures.  Looking back I would have to say some of my favorite pieces were:

My lace skating dress - passed my Gold Medal in it, so it is a sentimental favorite.

V8727 for my sister.  Looks so great on her!

BS-04-2011-109.  Love the fit!

My dance dress for competition.

My figure dress for competition.

V1051 - I still need to make a good version from nice fabric.

V8626 - my sister's wool coat.

BWOF-01-2001-120/121 - my wool coat

BS-07-2011-103 - easy knit top - easily the most worn item

BWOF-09-2003-104 - not my fav style, but these pants are comfortable.

BS-06-2011-114 - I practically live in these PJs.

BWOF-01-2006-101B - I like the details a lot.

Difficult to pick a favorite, but I would have to say the favorite thing I made in 2011 was:

My BurdaStyle Dress!

I think it is the combination of the fabric, the color and the style, plus the unexpectedly good results that make me love this dress.  After wasting a lot of time on the tragic fail that was Simplicity 4014, I was so happy to end up with a great dress from Burda.  The fact that I pretty much made this by desperate last-minute stash-busting doesn't hurt either.  This is the type of dress I could never buy in a store, and would have never considered wearing before I started to sew.  I hope I have another occasion to wear this dress in the future - I love it so much!

So that is what I accomplished this past year, sewing-wise.  I really think this year I improved my techniques, and pushed myself to learn as much through reading books and sewing blogs.  Been thinking a lot about what sorts of sewing things I want to try to work on in the coming year.  Tomorrow I will post details about the basis of my sewing plans for 2012 - the current state of my stash!

Newsflash - Burda on Simplicity Website

Burda's pattern envelopes are now available on the Simplicity website!  Other than the Russian Burda website (which doesn't remove the OOP patterns as I found out at a recent Joann's sale), there isn't anywhere online that has a consistent view of the Burda envelope patterns, so this is sort of exciting.  Maybe this means there will be Burda sales more often now?

Newsflash - February Burda Early Preview Posted

The German Burda website has posted the early preview of the February issue here.  February looks like it will have an interesting mix of styles...

Casual "winter" beachy styles...

Asian influence (I am sort of excited for this section)...

Bright colors...

Modern styles...

Maternity clothes...

And pretty dresses for the plus sizes...

So far I haven't seen anything super exciting, but I am still looking forward to the full preview, so I will reserve judgement until then.

A Year in Review: Skating Accomplishments

Overall I would have to say that this really was a great year for me and skating.  My main goal has been to pass proficiency tests, and this year I completed:

#1-6 International Solo Dance
#10-12 Circle Figures

Which included passing the Gold Medal for figures!  This has been a long time goal of mine, so it was great for it to finally have happened.

In terms of competition, I qualified in all of my events to the National Championships, which is the first time that has ever happened for me.  Although I did not have the best skate at nationals, I was really excited to be able to skate all of my events there.

I also upgraded my judges level for competitions, so I can now be asked to judge at higher level meets.  Hopefully I will be able to put that to good use in the coming year, but I am not exactly sure how the selection process for that works.

Finally, I got my new Roll Line plates, which I feel have been really helping me in terms of my skating for dance, figure, and (finally) loops.

I am hoping the good times keep rolling in 2012!  I have a few goals for the next skating year:

*Pass more tests!  I don't know if I will be ready for another gold medal level test this year, but I want to try and pass all of the tests leading up to the gold medal for American dance and loops by the end of the next calendar year.  I also want to work my way up through the international dance tests, although I am not as interested in passing those as I am in working on the gold medal level in the other disciplines.

*Increase my RSA judge commissions!  I need to increase my levels in Freestyle and International Dance - I am hoping to be at least at level two if not three for both of these by the end of the coming year.

*Skate in more competitions!  I am hoping to maybe be able to go to some extra invitationals this year, or the state games.

*Do more skating blog posts!  Not necessarily about me and my skating, but more about skating in general; thoughts on costumes, rhinestones, etc.  I will be posting more videos with skate dances for the new season and hopefully some other fun stuff.

Overall I think that skating-wise this really has been a great year for me, and I can't wait to see what happens in 2012!

BurdaStyle Magazine: A Year in Review

As followers of my blog know, one of my favorite things to ramble on about is my analysis of the BurdaStyle Magazine early previews.  How my obsession with Burda all started was detailed in this post quite a while ago.  I have posted my analysis of every magazine since the May issue:

May Preview
June Preview
July Preview
August Preview
September Preview
October Preview
November Preview
December Preview

I thought I would do an end of the year recap and choose the Best of BS and BWTF awards for both individual patterns and for magazines as a whole for the 2011 year.  Individual patterns must have been chosen as the Best of BS/BWTF for their respective month, but any of the magazines can win or lose as a whole, regardless of if they have the best or worst pattern contained within that magazine.  My choices won't depend so much on weather I have made the patterns from these magazines, as it would give the later months a disadvantage, but more on how many total patterns I want to make up, and how many good/bad/average patterns are contained in each issue.

Firstly, however, to even the odds a bit, I need to announce choices for the Best of BS/BWTF awards for the months of January through April.  I own the February and April magazines, and have looked through the patterns for January and March.  These magazines came out before I had started my blog, and hence don't have review posts.  However, it seems unfair to ignore them, so I will post the nominees here.  In general, I try to use the line drawing to determine best/worst, although the photograph can influence the decision if Burda's example is exceptionally good or bad.  Also, though I fall in the Burda general size range, I consider all patterns from an issue including petite, tall, and plus sizes.  Just because a particular pattern isn't made exactly to fit me doesn't mean it can't be brilliant.

Nominees for the Best of BS Individual Pattern Award for 2011 are:

BS-01-2011-109

BS-02-2011-126 (jacket)

BS-03-2011-110

BS-04-2011-131 (Pants)

BS-05-2011-106

BS-06-2011-110 (pants)

BS-07-2011-135

BS-08-2011-102

BS-09-2011-142 (jacket)

BS-10-2011-106

BS-11-2011-126

BS-12-2011-106B

And the nominees for the BWTF Individual Pattern Award for 2011 are:

BS-01-2011-124 (pants)

BS-02-2011-129 (top - nominated because visible nipples are never good, especially in February)

BS-03-2011-132

BS-04-2011-112 (top)

BS-05-2011-123

BS-06-2011-108

BS-07-2011-102

BS-08-2011-115

BS-09-2011-130

BS-10-2011-130 (vest, though, really, whole outfit)

BS-11-2011-102

BS-12-2011-119

Ironically, I am having problems picking my favorites because none of my Best of BS are patterns I am obsessing over making at the moment.  I mean, well, I still want to make them.  But not immediately.  Partly, I blame my acquisition of earlier BWOF magazines (especially from 2006), which contain patterns I really really want to make up right away.  And partly I think it is because the longer I have a Burda magazine, the more I notice other patterns that would work great with fabric in my stash.  And most of the "Best of" patterns I have chosen don't work with my stash fabric.  In either case, a choice must be made, so without further ado...

The Second Runner Up for Best of BS 2011 Individual Pattern goes to:

November!

Love this gown, though I don't really have occasion to make or wear it.  I think it is modern and elegant though, and I love the one shoulder and the shape of the skirt.

The First Runner Up for Best of BS 2011 Individual Pattern is Awarded to:

October!

I love that coat pattern - classic, elegant, simple.  But the photographed version is stunning.  I am still obsessing over the pattern in the fabric that makes it look like tooled leather; just gorgeous.  This is the one pattern I obsess over, but haven't made because I simply can't find fabric to do it justice.


And, finally, the award for Best of BS Individual Pattern 2011 goes to:

December!

I love the details on this dress!  I love the overall shape, the sleeves, the bodice, the skirt.  I want to make it as a dress, as a blouse, and as the dress with the other style of sleeves.  Burda made it three ways, and I want to as well.


Now, as for the BWTF awards, I had a bit of the opposite problem - they are all just so hideous!  How could I narrow down the fugly?  This was quite the difficult decision....

Second runner up for BWTF Individual Pattern 2011 goes to:

August!

Crazy pants!  Honestly, who would wear these?  They are just crazy looking, and I don't care if they are a knock off of some big designer.  No.  Just no.

First Runner Up for BWTF Individual Pattern 2011 is Awarded to:

June!

World's most useless bikini.  Looks like it is made of quilting cotton, it really can't be useful for the beach, and it looks saggy, old, and ugly besides.  Don't even get me started on the matchy-matchy bag.  Just awful.

And the BWTF Award for Individual Pattern 2011 goes to:

November!

I was debating between September and November, but those pants just make the November jumpsuit that much worse.  Although the color from September is really detrimental there.  I considered awarding spots to both of them, but I thought having two jumpsuits in the bottom 3 was overkill.

At this point, I would like to award the BWTF Monthly Issue awards.  These are the worst issues of Burda for the year, either because they had too many similar patterns or all of the patterns contained therein were not good.

Second Runner Up for BWTF Award goes to:

March!

Filled with boring wedding gowns, blah separates, and whatever styling, I would have to say this is not one of the best issues of the year.  Although there is a pretty dress, an interesting jacket, and one pair of great looking pants, overall this issue doesn't really have much going for it.

First Runner Up for BWTF Issue 2011 goes to:

June!

While I understand the desire for easy beachy summer clothes, this issue just didn't have much in terms of interest.  Too many of the dresses were boxy sacks, and not many of the other pieces had any distinctive or interesting details.  While some of the pieces are ok, there was nothing fabulous or stand out in this issue, which keeps it in the bottom for me.

And, finally, the BWTF Issue 2011 Award goes to:

September!

As if there was any doubt.  Ugly 80s colors, crazy jumpsuits, dirndl skirts, and avocado goiter pockets are just the start of the problems with this issue.  If it had just been a styling thing, I probably could have found some redeeming qualities, but not even the line drawings of the patterns are inspiring.  No doubt in my mind that this has to be the worst issue of the year.

And now, finally, time to award the Best of BS Magazines for the year.

Second Runner Up:

November!

This issue had FAB-U-LOUS gowns, and while they may not be practical, they are stunning.  This issue had quite a few other interesting pieces (the jacket-cape), and the photography and styling were for the most part quite good.  However, the lackluster plus section knocked it from second down to third position.

The First Runner Up:

December!

I loved the mix of gowns, party dresses, tops, skirts, and jackets in this issue.  Lots of holiday appropriate clothes that could be used year round.  I thought both the regular and plus sizes had a good mix of patterns to choose from, and I liked the styling choices for most of the sections.  I am still obsessing over the trench pattern as well.  Although there were a few miss-steps with the bow blouse and square shirt patterns, overall this was a quite good magazine and full of some lovely additions to any home-sewer's wardrobe.

And, finally, the Award for Best of BS 2011 goes to:

October!

Don't let the crazy cover fool you - this was by far the best magazine of the year!  Along with trendy items (capes and yeti vests) this issue included some fabulous classics - great blouses, pants, coats, and dresses all in the same magazine.  Although I have yet to make anything from this issue, I predict it will be one of my most used magazines in the future.

So, how did I do?  Did I miss one of the great patterns?  Am I off base in my picks for best and worst?  Which issue was your favorite?  Least favorite?  Please feel free to start a discussion in the comments section - which Burda patterns are you going to be making in the coming year?