The Getting Things Sewn 2019 Calendar

Readers,

On New Year’s Day 2018 I wrote about the wonderful calendar my sister Cynthia, a professional photographer, had created for our sister Donna.  It was filled with gorgeous pictures of glass, jewelry, and beautifully designed everyday objects Donna stocks in her Etsy store, Timmees.  When I saw that calendar I immediately wanted a calendar of my own for 2019.

And I got it!

Here it is:

January:  Some of my vintage buttons, set off by colorful Fiestaware plates, spelling out the initials of Getting Things Sewn.

February: From a post from 2013, featuring a handcrafted scarf that looked wonderful in the store but not so great on me. I never got the hang of wearing it.

March: Some of my vintage buttons, many of which I bought at vintage fashion fairs or the Portobello Road market in London.

April: Fun with thought balloons: “Paula with her thinking cap on…’I wonder what I’ll do today…Maybe I’ll go through my stash…or maybe I’ll finish that jacket I’ve been putting off…!”

May: Vintage buttons and my favorite freebies–paint store samples.

June: Two jackets I sewed from McCall 4065: the “Misses’ Mannish Jacket” from 1941.  I used this same pattern to teach myself Kenneth King’s tailoring techniques in a big project in 2015.

July: More fun with vintage buttons.

August: Making the case that the shirts I sewed for Jack and me were not the same.

September: My field trip to The Alley Vintage and Costume in 2015.

October: The prop in the shoot of the mint-colored flannel pajamas I made in 2016 sports my favorite dog breed.

November: Posing in my sewing room with my mannequin, Ginger, who is wearing the jacket you see on my homepage.

And December: I’m wearing the wearable test of a swing coat pattern from, I think, 1950.  Either I was waiting for Cynthia to finish testing her lighting setup or she had given me a prompt and I was wondering what to do. Professional models, your jobs are safe!

This calendar was a wonderful gift and a great compliment to me that took a lot of time and thought to produce.  Cynthia dipped into her photo archive but also set up new shots.  I got to see not only my work in print but also Cynthia’s work. That made this calendar even more special.

The 2019 Getting Things Sewn calendar has reminded me where I’ve been and how far I’ve come.

• Those two jackets, sewn about fifteen years ago, represent a watershed moment in my tailoring skills–but 27″ is much too long for my 5″ 1 1/2″ height. Sadly, these jackets are wardrobe orphans.
• That swing coat is too full and long for me and the patch pockets are too big and placed too low.  A couple of years after that photo was taken, I brought the coat to a patternmaking teacher who took the excess fullness out of the pattern while retaining the swingy feel, scaled to my proportions.  The revised pattern awaits testing.
• My striped linen blouse is nicely sewn, but now I see how cool and light colors should not be the basis for my wardrobe. Warm, deep colors are better on me.

As I look ahead to a 2020 calendar I’m thinking about what would be very satisfying to see represented. Beautiful outfits? Rooms graced by home dec sewing successes?  An improved sewing room with a project in progress?  All sound good.

A calendar can be a good way to reflect on past accomplishments and also provide inspiration for the coming year.