2020 Makes

      11 Comments on 2020 Makes

Continuing with looking back on 2020 I am rounding up some of the things that I made during the year. I have to admit that this year I havent really worked hard at taking good photos of things that I made so appologies in advance for the dusty mirror selfies and the hastly snapped camera photos of finished items.

Pre Lock-down Making

Pre lockdown I had a relatively successful making stint, I finally put the buttons on my very bright tartan shirt dress that I made last year by modifying the Rachel Shirt. I sewed a Peppermint Mag/In the Folds Button Up Dress, unfortunately, I wasn’t paying attention to the stretch in this fabric and it goes up and down the dress rather than across, but I still wear it and am planning at least one more! I then made two pairs of Pietra Pants, first in a cornflower blue pinstripe then in a grey wool blend fabric, I found I had to take these in a lot at the waist but I am planning more.
I used this lovely viscose to make an Emmie Top which is a pattern that I think suits my aesthetic quite well so I’m sure there will be more of these as well… The other basic top I made was a Stellan Tee, I did have to redo the neckline as the fabric doesn’t have that much stretch but I have more of these planned in 2021.
I modified the Qunice robe to make a layering jacket from this fantastic Ikea duvet cover, but it did take quite a bit of fiddling to make it into something I felt like wearing. And finally, I finished the Riddari that I was knitting for my cousin for Christmas, I have to admit I was more than a bit sad to give this one away, especially since I also gave my initial one away to my mother after it shrunk a little… Oh well, I will just have to knit myself another one…

I also managed some other crafting, starting right at the beginning of the year turning a candlestick on the lathe with Arthur, under my mothers tuition. Continued doing some Watercolour paintings, trying to improve some of my technique as well as produce finished pieces. And I refurbished the inside of my airing cupboard *so rock and roll!

Lockdown

So before lockdown started my mother came over to help with Nan and we ended up modifying a lot of a the garden, and then came the heatwave and I realised that despite living most of my life working outside I didnt have much in the way of really hot weather clothes. Normally when working on the water the temperature is significantly lower than it is on the land, and the added movement of the yacht adds to the cooling effect of the wind so I often wear extra layers even on the hottest of days. That was never going to cut it in the garden this year so I started a hot weather clothing mission…

There were a number of repeats here too, I sewed both the long and short-sleeved version of the Cielo Top and also adapted the pattern to make a cover-up, gathering the bottom of the sleeves on both long-sleeved versions. I then sewed up the Belemnite dress in a lovely floaty viscose and made two tops, one in gold polycotton and one in a gorgeous printed linen, they make wonderful hot weather clothes. I will remake the gold one at some point in a nicer fabric but its good to have one that I don’t mind about getting damaged.

I also sewed myself a much-needed sunhat using the Set Sail hat pattern, it does need a bit more stiffening but it got a lot of use, I think I need to sort a visor pattern for next year as well. I also made a slightly out of season set of shorts using the Pietra pattern and some lovely woven herringbone fabric with gold thread running through it, these did get some wear during the summer but they are destined to be worn more in the colder weather with leggings underneath.

I also added some loose trousers to the rotation with two made pairs using my heavily modified Moji Trousers pattern in a border print viscose and some green polycotton. I also muslined the Elizabeth Suzan Clyde pants in rust polycotton, whilst I love these trousers there are a number of changes that need to be made if I am to make them again in linen, like I was originally planning. I also finally finished sewing the lining into my Amelia Jacket that I wore to Matt and Lottie’s wedding last summer with pins holding the lining in!

This year I have actually been able to tick somethings off my 35 before 35 list, the main one being keeping a veg garden going for 12 months ok so I need to keep it up till March and then I will have completed this one but that is pretty much certain to happen. This year we hacked back all the overgrown brambles etc that had taken over some of the beds in the garden and added some raised edging and added a hugel bed to try and overcome just how dry the summers can be in this garden. I have access to the greenhouse in my grandmother garden and there was a veritable nursery going on in there at some points in the year. The harvest on the bottom right was one of the last large harvests of the year when I took most of the remaining tomatoes off of the vines, although we are still eating a few fresh tomatoes from the garden even now! I have been preserving more of the harvest this year making things like tomato ketchup, plum sauce, apple puree and freezing greens. I have also taken to making yoghurt and sourdough bread as well as ginger beer, cider and wine with fruit harvested from the gardens.

Other things I have been working on this year includes a serious amount of mending, mostly socks but also a few wool jumpers that I inherited. I WILL finish the white one at some point soon, I really want to wear it but it is SOO fine! As you can see I am a little hard on my socks! so a number of them needed some repairs. I also made some masks because what would 2020 be without a bit of mask making, but not that many as I wasn’t really going out at all. I also attempted some natural dyeing with plants from my garden, there is an amazing range of versions of yellow that can be produced. lol.

I also created a crocheted sculpture resembling an underwater coral garden (ish) with freeform crochet, mostly just to give my hands something to do before sock mending took over… I also refurbished the Woodburner than used to be in the kitchen in Southampton and made myself a lovely wreath. I think I might try making some more wreaths as the seasons change.

I actually got quite a bit of knitting done in the latter half of the year, numerous socks, the ones shown here are all souvenir yarn from the van holidays this year (admittedly not all bought whilst on holiday), and the hexagons are the start of a memento blanket using all the precious sock wool that I have.

I knit the Moving Foward Wrap in some truly luxurious wools, this was started with the Llama Una wools that mummy bought me for my birthday a few years ago and supplemented by other scrummy wools to produce the squishiest scarf/wrap I have ever knit! I also knit a second Wave of Change jacket in cotton, before going back to reknit my original wool one with a tighter fit.

I tested the Mixage sweater pattern (link to Ravelry page) and managed to knit it out of wools from my grandmothers stash and some 2ply from a charity shop (which also made an appearance in the WOC jacket). I reknit the slippers that Nikki got for Chrismas last year that were really quite large in the foot, and started on Arthurs Christmas present. He specifically asked me to knit a Gansey Pullover for him which is a bit of a mission and might have got put off slightly so is still on the needles…

I also did a bit more on my EPP hexies quilt but that seems to have gone missing from the collages, thats what happens when the program keeps crashing on me! I also did some more Watercolours and a fair bit of sewing for the van but they can have their own round ups in due course as this has turned into a bit of a marathon.

Well done for reaching this far. Have you looked back at the stuff you actually did during 2020? Has the amount surprised you as much as it surprised me?

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11 thoughts on “2020 Makes

  1. tinaor

    Wow – very prolific! Yes, I had a similar phase early during the pandemic – it lasted several weeks and I blogged a lot with photos (agreably wonky photos and not good quality!). In recent weeks it’s been just knitting, but that’s fine with me. I love your Cielo top, in particular the short sleeved one – lovely fabric. Look forward to seeing 2021 makes now!

    Reply
    1. Pippa Post author

      Thank you, yes recently there has been lots of knitting and no sewing, but fingers crossed I will get the motivation to unearth my sewing machines soon.
      Yeah the Cielo tops are wonderful, that short sleeved one is made from some left over Ikea fabric that I used to make a dress previously, it is seriously such a bright material. 🙂

      Reply
  2. CurlsnSkirls

    WOW! Your year was sooo prolific and makes me feel a total ! Have stayed indoors except for taking in groceries & taking out trash, so didn’t feel much need for more clothes. However, the urge to create isn’t dead yet, and winter’s found wardrobe shortages, so let’s hope things get made no matter what else is going on. I really miss being able to get yarn & occasionally fabric from ol’ Blighty as the quality is so much nicer. Let’s hope things improve for all of us! Meanwhile, keep on keeping on! xx

    Reply
    1. Pippa Post author

      It feels so weird to have someone say this, as I feel like I haven’t really achieved anything in 2020. But then again I don’t have a job at the moment and no kids or anything like that to take up my time so I do have a lot more “free time” than some people.
      Yeah I have found a few wardrobe holes that I need to fill, so hopefully my motivation to sew returns soon too…

      Reply
    1. Pippa Post author

      Lol I seem to be pretty good at taking photos of things, but not doing anything with the photos! I suppose becuase I have been sharing these things digitally with friends/family means that taking photos is second nature atm.
      I am just about to sit down and do some planning for the garden for 2021 now, whilst I try and deal with a pulled muscle in my neck (or something) that is forcing me to not move too much. That plus a grey day = a prefect day for planning…

      Reply
  3. tialys

    A very impressive round up.
    I’ve wound down a lot with the dressmaking projects due to having too many clothes already and nowhere to wear them ☹☹
    I wouldn’t have been able to give away the Ridari and your wrap is really beautiful – to name just two of your impressive line-up.

    Reply
    1. Pippa Post author

      Thanks, the wrap gets quite a bit of wear, but I am always worried about the velcro on my jacket!
      lol so I have just realised that I missed my replacement for the Riddari off of the list of things I made this year. I designed myself another Lopi jumper which I wear all the time, but looking back on these photos I think I need to knit myself a Riddari again as well…

      Reply

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