New Year's Resolutions a wee bit early

You know those blogs where people are really productive and create fabulous things on a regular basis and share them with the world? Those fabulous sewists who have wardrobes To Die For? Bloggers who experiment with upcycling or making all of their own clothes for a year just to see if they can do it and then get to reap the happy results of their efforts?

I am not one of them.

BUT, as we can all improve ourselves I would like to get started on a similar project with the whole world of interwebs holding me accountable and seeing if I'm actually making progress. Behold, self improvement!

The reason: I'm in "the biz" as a creative professional, yet my personal wardrobe has been a bit lacking lately. I've also had to accept the fact that since hitting a milestone birthday I should no longer try and shop in the junior department (the clothes look absolutely tiny now!) and need to embrace my sassy and newly curvy self. Having been kind of a twig for most of my life, this entirely changes not only the way clothes fit me but has made me realize that certain styles I used to wear and love may no longer be suitable. So, I figure, it's time to jump in with both feet and start experimenting with building a new wardrobe doing what I love doing, sewing. As I also need to update my costume wardrobe, I'm tossing that in too. I'm anticipating a bit more free time over the next year so it's now or never. And I do need to see what's hiding in the UFO piles....

The rules: Writing "the rules" kind of makes me want to start rebelling but I need to lay down some kind of guidelines to follow, right? Okay, here goes:

• One project a week until December 1, 2011. Projects can be anything hand or machine sewn, including: UFO's hiding in the closet, costume projects (and one piece counts for the week, not the whole shebang--I'm not that crazy/ambitious!), garments made from vintage or modern patterns, hats, home dec projects, alterations or repairs that need doing (good for those crazy weeks, I hope).
• Stash projects especially encouraged but not essential
• Photos and blog documention on a weekly basis
• All projects must be for me, my home, or my fiancee (lucky dawg). Commissions, shop stock, etc., do not count. Complete creative experiments for my own use (e.g., the bird fascinator) DO count because that's half the fun of doing this and I have a lot of ideas to experiement with next year.

That's a little over 52 projects to complete over the next year. Sounds daunting, but when you do just a little a week...

Here are some of the other fabulous project blogs I follow. A few costume blogs are listed on my blogroll. Talk about inspiration!
http://www.sewweekly.com/
http://www.newdressaday.com/
http://burdastyle.com/
http://sewingfantaticdiary.blogspot.com/
http://loweryourpresserfoot.blogspot.com/
http://selfishseamstress.wordpress.com/