Realm of Venus Mini-Challenge and 2012 goals

[holyschist]

The Italian Renaissance costuming website Realm of Venus is running a mini-challenge in February, Over and Above, for creating "one or more items of outer-wear, such as cloaks, capes, mantles, robes, loose and fitted over-gowns, etc. Large (i.e. body-encompassing) veils, and parasols, will also be allowed."

You can sign up until January 31! Looks like a fun challenge if anyone needs a little motivation for a project.

On that note...my sewing goals for this year are to destash: whether that's going through fabric and giving away or selling stuff I'll never use (I've gotten rid of most of my ill-advised purchases, but there are still some lurking around) or, you know, actually sewing, I'm going to try to reduce my fabric collection and finish projects with materials I already own. (Possible exception to be made for trim, which I don't really stash much, but I may just go for more time-consuming embellishment techniques.)

Would anyone be interested in little stash project challenges in this comm? If so, what would you like to see?

What are your sewing goals this year?

Comments

[havocthecat]

This site is so relevant to my interests. Thank you! I could spend hours on here doing research.

Stash project challenges would be fun, but I have no idea what to suggest.

[holyschist]

I love Realm of Venus! I'm not all that into Venetian clothing--more Florentine--but the Italian Clothing Showcase is an endless source of inspiration and joyyyyyyy.

If you haven't seen it yet, Katerina's Purple Files is a great site on Florentine clothing, also very inspirational and useful.

Stash project challenges would be fun, but I have no idea what to suggest.

All my brain is coming up with right now is

1) Time period
2) Place
3) Type of garment

I think 3 would be most inclusive, since some people are very time/place-focused...I don't know. But beyond that, I'm lacking in ideas to make it fun and motivational.

[melannen]

My goals are to finish stuff and fix stuff. Not necessarily SCA stuff, but there's plenty of that on the pile too...

[holyschist]

Those sound like excellent goals!

[all_adream]

Hmm, I do pretty much nothing at all these days as far as sewing, but an outer garment might be really fun: less picky detail in some ways, since I would do it be hand, and so in theory there would not be all those side seams to do...and if I got inspired, I could do things that *did* require more detail. Hmm. Thanks for pointing this out--

[holyschist]

Yeah, I haven't been sewing at all, hence the Stash Problem which I need to deal with. :-P

That is the nice thing about outer garments--much less concern about fit, and they can be pretty simple! Or they can be super-fancy.