Spring Cleaning My Mental Sewing Space

It's time for me to admit it: I have too many projects going on at the moment.

This tends to happen when I travel and don't have time for sewing; my brain doesn't stop fantasy sewing and so the projects in my mental queue multiply. And I keep telling myself that as soon as things settle, I'll be able to plow through them. But it's really reached critical mass this time. So, in an effort to Spring Clean my brain and form a plan of attack, here is what I have in the various stages of not-done-ness:

• Two linen pants, which are my top priority at the moment. The red ones should be done this weekend, and hopefully the blue ones too since it's a long weekend. (done 5/23 and done 6/30)

•  Wax Cloth - It's nearly summer, and I now have a plan and patterns in hand for gifts for my sisters (all 4 of them) made from the wax cloth that my pop brought from Ghana. I think this may be next up.  Scratch that. I'm going to make a wax cloth project for myself next. Then gifts for others. (done 7/7)

Wax cloth

• Wax Cloth for me - I decided on a more complicated project for myself: a bombshell dress, which will be fun and summery. I love strapless garments. And what better time to wear them then summer?!?! Plus, last night I took Kenneth King's Building a Bustier class at Mood, and am feeling all jazzed about working with boning and waist stays. I was going to use the Burda Bombshell dress pattern, but I'm not crazy about the bodice part and will do a frankenpattern instead. More on this to follow. (finished/revamped 9/6)

Bombshell Dress - Burda 5-2011 #122

• Couture cami, which I have a good working muslin for. This is going to be a slow sew with lots of hand work. I am giving myself as many evenings on the couch with this project as necessary since I won't be wearing it until the fall, most likely.

Vogue 8888 View C modified

• One half drafted pencil skirt. Um, yeah. I kinda stalled on this. BUT I think I will shift this to the late summer so I can make myself some skirts as the weather starts to cool. (finished 9/6)
  

• This top that I am still fantasizing about. I have a raglan tee pattern ready to tinker with. But I think I will partner this up with my pencil skirt project since I would wear this in cooler weather with a pencil skirt.  (finished 1/2014)

BCBG Max Azria top

• Shirts for Phin. Yeah. Um. Patterns bought. Stop. Part of the problem is that he has not identified fabric that he likes, despite my nagging encouragement. I think that if he wants shirts, in the end I am going to have to just pick some fabric and hope he likes it. Not sure where this leaves us. 

•  Diaper Bag for my excellent friend Magenta. Despite knowing each other for nearly 2/3 of our lives, I am having a sewist's block on fabric. Magenta has a clear aesthetic and strong opinion. Right now I have a pile of swatches, a major case of indecision and a deadline. The baby has arrived right on time and I will meet him on June 13. So, this needs immediate attention. So, maybe I will have to bump this ahead of wax cloth projects. Sigh. (Done 6/13)

Yikes! That's eight projects, not to mention that the linen pants are actually 2 and the one for my sisters is a multi-part project. And this is without even considering that I am likely to get distracted by any flashy thing that crops up.

So, here's the strategy:
May-June: Finish my linen pants, while I choose fabric and get to work on the diaper bag. Then work on the diaper bag while I assemble parts and muslin the bombshell dress. Then move on to the Bombshell dress and wax cloth project for my sisters. 

July - August: Anything not finished in June (high probability of leftovers!), shirts for Phin and cami for me. Since I've got vacation planned, I don't know how productive I'll be.

September: Draft Pencil skirt and work on BCBG knock off top. Then go bananas with pencil skirts galore.

Does this seem like a sound strategy? Or am I kidding myself. Sewing with a plan has never worked well for me. I get distracted. What about you?

Oh, and if you would like to monkey with my brain, feel free to tell me which projects you think I should bump up, down or off the list! The power of suggestion really does a number on me. LOL