enough is as good as a feast

in which our plucky heroine is thinking about wardrobe planning...

I don't need to participate in SWAP, since I certainly do not need eleven or more new garments. This is, however, the time of year when I cogitate about clothing. My long ago desire to have enough clothing so that laundry could be done less frequently has finally come to pass, and now my personal sewing is mostly focused on replacing what is too worn to mend, or filling holes in my wardrobe (hello raincoat, I hear you).

It was interesting to fill out a grid of what I mostly have, with one axes being my three primary colorways, and the other axes being types of garments...

~{ 3 season wardrobe }~

#	BLACK/GREY	TEAL/INDIGO	BROWN
pinafores	grey linen black linen black corduroy black rib	dk denim denim jacquard turquoise essex	brown cavehorse brown corduroy
blouses	black/grey flannel	horses ditsy rickrack MCM floral prize floral	black/brown flannel mushrooms brown oxford
tops	many t-necks wintertime blk/grey stripe indigo/black plaid AC crow 30 Year	tie dye vine lt mushroom dk mushroom t-neck AC dot stripe	t-neck
outerwear	chopshop classic blackhorse akita patchwork stripey vest	galaxy lopi solbein classic vest	AC roses
dresses	lt grey stripe multi stripe	batik pinstripe
leggings	5 pair		1 pair
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This sort of planning chart helps me think clearly about what I might want to make next, although some of what appear to be gaps are not, actually, when I stand in front of the closet choosing what to wear, since almost all of my clothing coordinates well enough to please my artist eye. I don't plan on making any more knit tops, since the drawer that holds them is chock full. Over the course of the next year, I plan on making one new pinafore, from the dk teal linen, and an AC jacket featuring the teal jersey,  because more than once I've wished for just those particular garments. Some of the knit fabric on the resource shelves is going to become more leggings, in the teal/indigo group, and maybe some with brown accent trim on the bottoms (since I don't have enough brown knit for a whole pair) Once I get a decent toile for a raincoat, I will probably make up the brown Goretex fabric, as I rather desperately need a replacement for the ancient 20+ year old very ratty looking outdoor jacket.

So looking at this and thinking... Since I have the niches in my everyday wardrobe filled with enough garments, the most useful use of my personal sewing time would be to get started on a coat toile for a raincoat. Now to work on shifting my brain to where it might enjoy making (probably multiple) toiles. There is a reason that I do most of my personal sewing with TNT patterns. I find fitting a new pattern to be challenging, with all the faffing about with mirrors and using my camera and tripod, and so on. But it would be lovely to just be able to have a new, well fitting raincoat. The only way around it is through...

Between the larger garments, what I really want to be sewing are smaller things... a new hat or two, some bedsocks, a winter kerchief in grey/black (now that I have finished the two AC ones I started earlier this month, they are in almost constant rotation, being warmer than the printed cotton lawn lawn ones I wear all summer). I'm also going to dig out the wonderful yarn I bought last winter, and start on a new cardigan... with audiobooks to keep me company.

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beauty in the time of isolation:

I never get tired of moss worlds. They always remind me of this song...

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After several years of not doing one, I have begun planning for a 2022 calendar. Returning to one of my early themes, it will be another alphasketch, with plants and animals and lettering.

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November SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	roses kerchief	leather thimble	recycle bin
2	6 jars persimmon ketchup	teal popover dress	yard waste bin
3	6 jars pickled beets	jelly cloth	recycle bin
4	5 jars pear chunks	30 persimmons dried	-
5	8 jars quince jelly syrup	many persimmons dried	-
6	sparkle horse kerchief	x	-
7	-	x	x
8	-	x	x
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - I have enough. Enough food, enough shelter, enough people who care about me. Enough that I am cogitating on how I can find ways to make a difference in a world that needs all of us doing what we can to help heal what is broken and care for what needs cared for