Are you itching to do some holiday sewing? This advent calendar is a quick-ish sew if you want to whip up a fun Christmas item now! Get some stash busting done too.

Tools needed:

• rotary cutter or scissors
• ruler
• 1/4 yard of a few different fabrics or scraps
• 1/2-3/4 yard of sturdy solid fabric for the front and back. (duckcloth, canvas, denim, etc.)
• Matching thread
• Iron on numbers, cutting machine with HTV vinyl, or template for sewing them on, if you don't embroider them. 
• All the sewing notions and a machine
• A piece of 1/2" wooden dowling and twine for hanging. 

I chose Christmas fabrics similar in color, grabbed them and started cutting. I liked the size of my phone, so I used it as a pattern. Find something around the house that is the size you want, and use that as a pattern template.

​My phone measures 6.5" by 3". I added 1 inch to the width and length for seam allowances to make rectangles. Fold them in half RTT (right sides together) and stitch with a 1/2" seam. Sew the sides only. Leave the bottom open, clip corners, turn out, and press flat. 

**If you decide to sew or embroider the numbers on, do this before sewing the pocket together. If you use vinyl or iron-on numbers, you can add the numbers after the pockets are sewn and turned.

After you have your pockets made, lay them out and switch around until you decide which assortment you love the best or go crazy. I liked the taller version better.

I did this part backward, sorta. After laying the pockets out, I cut my fabric for them to be sewn on to. I measured the size of all the pockets equaled and added 2" on each side. 5" to the top and 2" to the bottom. This allowed for seams and the top to get turned down and stitched to create the large loop for the wooden doweling.
I worked from the bottom up, sewing the bottom row of pockets first. You do what works best for you. :)

Who's ready for the new year? Not me. Not yet, anyway. I still need to eat turkey and put up the tree. But, I'm enjoying the calm before the holiday storm right now.
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I subscribe to a sewing magazine, Sew News and at the end of December's issue, they included a sewing goal chart to fill out. It gave me an idea to ask you if your sewing dreams were fulfilled for 2019. Did you complete projects, use up some stash fabric, or maybe you learned something new? Did you have a sewing fail or two? 

Let's break down the year, together. This way, we can set new goals for 2020! It's gonna be a great year, can't you just feel it?

1. How many apparel items did you make? Simple items such as a headscarf count. ;)
2. How many new patterns did you sew? Did you sew any for a second or third time? A.k.a. the TNT (tried and true pattern).
3. What new fabrics or patterns did your purchase? Maybe you even discovered a new notion?

So now that your wheels are turning, let us dive a little deeper.

What type of projects do you enjoy making? Easy, 1 hour and done projects or do you love a three-day sewing bender? Drafting your own pattern for a special occasion, fully lined, fancy fabric dress? Or, maybe you're like me and fall in between, and love to sew both types.

A few more points the sewing chart asks you to fill out:

• Favorite make(s)
• Most proud moment
• Fail moments
• A new skill
• Classes you took
• Challenges (good and ugly)
• A make that most feels like you
• You planned on sewing this______ but, it didn't happen

So, I encourage you to write down these prompts in a list or doodle them on something.
What do you want to add to your dream list for 2020? Maybe you needed to add more things to sew up, or less. Heck, maybe you didn't sew anything this whole year because..... life. 

I can't wait to fill out the chart and post it on my sewing wall. 

Share your results in the comment section below. I'm really curious where everyone's at in their own sewing journey. 
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As always, thanks for hanging out with me and keep that seam ripper handy!

Annette

I have a silly question for you. Do you ever buy fabric without knowing what you'll make with it? 

Quietly raises a hand, I'm uber guilty of this. #fabrichoarder

Well, boredom set in on a Friday night and I didn't have to taxi kids around.
So, I opted for the ole "cereal for dinner" mantra. 
And I took a whole afternoon-turned to night, for me. And did some selfish sewing.

I looked in my stash and had Halloween fabric I bought years...and years ago. I also had some fun Jetson's fabric. I'm a  child of the 80's after all. It was a stash busting selfish sewing kind of night.

I always buy at least 2 yards of fabric, especially If I'm unsure what it'll get used for. You can usually get a skirt, a top, or a blanket and matching items for a baby gift, etc. out of 2 yards.

All I needed was 2 yards of fabric, an invisible zipper, and coffee. 

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I decided to make three gathered skirts for my wild and crazy Friday night. 
Super simple self drafted pattern and cut them out assembly style. Then, sewed them up them up. I used an invisible zipper on each and opted out of adding pockets. Although, I regret that decision now. When making your own skirts, always add pockets! Pockets are life!

If you've never made a gathered skirt, do a quick google search and draft a pattern. They are super easy and fun. Perfect for quilting cotton fabrics too. Yay! We all have those fun novelty prints in our stash. Just make sure you pre-wash that fabric. And... bonus, different fabrics will change the look of the skirt. Velvet and taffeta make great holiday party skirts, as where gingham will create a casual Sunday skirt. 

That's it. This was a short and simple post and I hope you enjoyed it.
​Now go do some selfish stash busting sewing! 

Yours truly, waiting for turkey day,
​Annette