New Year Retrospective--Projects Completed in 2009

Since it's January 1, 2010, I clearly won't be completing any additional projects in 2009. But it's a good time to look at what I did finish, and think about projects to add to my list for this year.

These are the items I finished in 2009.  Possibly for the first time ever for me, all the work on all of the completed items (except for the Viking sewing box) was done by hand.

• Apron dress with front cloth
• linen savanion
• Manazan shirt
• Viking sewing box
• wool Byzantine mantion
• wool Hedeby apron dress

The items from 2009 that I still intend to work on appear at the sidebar.  I've added the Deshahsheh tunic to the list.  Other than that, and learning how to spin (now that I finally own a spindle!) and to do sprang (I still need to improvise a frame, or buy one), I can't think of anything to add to the list right now.  I'm sure that will change, though--it always does.

My Sewing Projects for 2009

Since I don't expect to have time to advance any of my other projects before Easter weekend, I figured I'd post my list of projects I've planned to take on in 2009.

Those of you who follow e-mail lists on costuming and costume blogs will know that one typical theme that crops up at the end of a year is "projects I intend to complete" in the new year. Formerly, I would post my list of projects on MedCos. I'll probably still do that, but there's certainly no reason why I can't have my list on my costume blog, too. After all, this blog is mine! (Bwahaha!)

So here's my 2009 list. Items I have completed so far I have put in boldface type. Items that I ended up adding to the list after the fact are in italics.

--Modify a Roman tunic I once made to be more historically correct, and make a stola to wear with it. (This one's been on my list for at least three years.)
--Finish the pair of nalbinded mittens I started. (Prerequisite; find the nalbinding needle I misplaced with the project still attached to it.)
--Sew a caftan and pleated shift based on the Birka finds, and a wool herringbone apron dress based on the Hedeby finds. The caftan and the rest of the 10th c Viking Birka/Hedeby outfit items (the pleated shift, wool dress trimmed with silk, and herringbone twill apron dress);
--Make a new pair of leather cross-garters to go with a Migration Period Costume;
--Make my own re-creation of based on the Pskov find;
--Finish the Lithuanian VA period shawl I started (how many years ago? I'm no longer sure. Six, maybe)
--Make myself a copper needlecase.
--Make a replica of the Manazan shirt (Okay, I'm still finishing the seams and hem, but it's *mostly* done).
-- Make a two-piece apron dress with a separate bib covering the gap in front.
--Start a new apron dress based on Peter and Christobel Beatson's suggested pattern.
--Make a complete Middle Byzantine outfit to wear with the Manazan shirt.
--Get my planned costume web site on line (Arguably this site completes this item, but it's not what I intended. I intended, and still intend, to put up a blog of dress diaries and articles I will write about costume and lots of pictures. I started this blog instead. However, it is already giving me a means of displaying my apron dress experiments, which was one of the intended functions of the permanent site I've planned but have not yet bothered to put up on a host machine.)
--Write a web article based on my re-creation of the Pskov find.

Some costumers claim that they live as though they believe "the one who dies with the most fabric wins." I disagree; it's the one with the most finished projects who wins. :-)