goals for '11

It's a fresh, shiny new year and a perfect time to think about Life Goals. I think about these alot. Must be OLD AGE. ;)

Things I will be concentrating on in 2011...

1. Pay off my credit card. That's probably too personal to share with the world, huh? But it's my goal for this year! Pay that silly thing off. It's doable; I can do it!

2. Bake more bread. And cookies/treats. I love homemade bread AND by making it I know exactly what's going into it. Ditto cookies and things. (Plus, I have a bread machine, which makes homemade bread so much easier to manage!)

3. Plant a bigger garden. Last year I started my little patch with tomatoes and lettuce and squash. I'd like to add a few things this year. Green beans? Corn?

4. Become more self-sustaining. (#2 and #3 are a big part of this.) If you've been reading very long, you know I'm struggling a bit with the throwaway mentality that has taken over our world. Ultimately, I want to be debt-free, grow my own food or purchase from local farms, and shed excess "stuff".

5. Spend with good conscience. For me, this means I want to invest in high quality, lasting products. It is also important to me to purchase Made in the USA, to support the workers here at home. If it's not made in the US, I'm going to purchase quality imported items (like my sweet, sweet car!) My neighbors to the north, (Oh Canada!) and in Europe and Australia have wonderful, quality items waiting for me to use and love. Oh jeez, I'm sure there are wonderful, amazing products indigenous to EVERY country, so I don't mean to leave one out. Basically I'm trying to eliminate mass-production from my life, and support fair labor practices.

6. Thrift more. In keeping with #5, there are so many wonderful, usable, beautiful, vintage products that are more suited to my taste and lifestyle, than what is currently being manufactured (in poor countries with even poorer labor practices!)

7. Sew one vintage pattern per month. You didn't think I was going to leave out sewing did you??

8. Buy quality fabrics. Natural fibers are my favorite; I'd like to purchase and use more wool. Wool has always frightened me, but I'm going to bite the bullet and learn some essential care techniques (dry cleaning isn't my friend). I would like to thrift for fabrics too. SO MANY quality fabrics to be had in the thrift stores! I'm excited to repurpose garments this year!

9. Fill my closet and chest of drawers with beautiful, handmade clothes. Ultimately, I would like my entire wardrobe to be handmade. I'm going to be my very own couturier. I would like to master: pants (I'm super close on this one!), button front tops in a variety of styles; pencil skirts; lingerie - slips especially.

10. Spend quality time with my kids. I do this now, but as they get older, it's easier for them to hole up in their rooms. Family movie night and family game nights have always been favorites of ours; I need to be more conscious and include these in our week.

Bonus goal...Bust the stash! I almost forgot this one. I seriously need to clear out some stash, especially quilting cottons. I might be making more quilty-type things. Which is good. I love patchwork!

Now, for those sewing goals, here are new contenders for the vintage sewalong 2011:

I don't know the number on this one but it should be here in a day or two. I LOVE the dress with matching coat!


And I had such marvelous luck with my last 40s pant (from pj's) pattern, I've just bought this one and can't wait to try it. (This will probably be my first entry in the Sewalong. BONUS...I think they qualify for my Hepburn/Hepburn sewalong too! They are very Katherine):


And in the blouse category, these are darling. I love the variations:


I'll probably be making both of those as my first entry, as an "outfit".

In parting, I'd like to share a photo of my beloved Jessie, an Appaloosa my dad bought me when I was 17. She passed away yesterday afternoon. I'm only comforted by the fact that she had a long, happy, hay-filled life and her passing was easy and quick. God go with you over the rainbow bridge, Jessie.