With my main readership (my mom) gone, I lost interest in updating my craft blog. But going through all my mom’s many unfinished and finished craft projects in the past two years made me want to keep better track of all my projects. So getting my website back up was always in the back of my mind.

I finally decided it was time to get my website back online at the end of 2024, buuuut then I decided that instead of just adding to my blog, I would overhaul the entire thing. I migrated my website from Jekyll to Astro and then redid all of my YAML headers (with automation help from chatGPT) so that maybe one day I can make a cute “Project Info” section (the one right now is not cute) and also add a gallery. Anyway, after going a little crazy over Christmas & New Years overhauling everything, I got really busy with work in January. I’ve barely had time for my hobbies, let alone work on my side hobby (this website) to support my hobbies.

But I’m back (for now) because I want to throw some things away. My friend who is really into pottery mentioned that she had recently thrown away a lot of early pieces and that it was liberating. It made me think of all the things I’ve made that have been sitting in my closet unworn. I decided that I needed to document this on my blog before I could feel good about decluttering them.

✨ Thank you for your service ✨

I have 16 items to let go, 11 of them which have made it onto this blog and 5 which have not.

Sparkle skirt + Simplicity 8335 ruffle back shirt: I made this sparkly skirt for New Years Eve in 2015 (going into 2016) while I was living in NJ and wore it around Baltimore where I spent New Years that year. I actually went patternless for the skirt AND added a lining. The fabric is probably too thick for what I wanted it to do and it looked weird and I never wore it again. This Simplicity 8335 ruffle back shirt was made 2 years later when I was living in Pittsburgh. I wore this a bunch salsa dancing while I lived in Pittsburgh but it was always a bit tight and always super wrinkly.

Triangle & Sparkle Chambray Willow Tanks: In my last declutter, I said I was getting rid of this triangle willow tank. I guess I never did because i found it again. This time I’ve decided to also get rid of my other willow tank because in the 4 years that have passed since my last declutter, I’ve decided they both kinda suck.

Winslow Culottes & McCall’s 6465 Shift Dress: I LOVED THESE CULOTTES! I wore them out dancing a bunch in 2018 and 2019 and always got compliments. The fabric quality isn’t great though and they started looking a bit cheapy after a while. Plus, COVID so I stopped going out for a while and these just didn’t call to me after all that. I also made another version with elastic back that I still wear.

The shift dress was always too short. I wore it a few times but it just wasn’t practical.

3 Megan Nielsen Rowans: The Rowan crop was one of my go to tops for salsa dancing in 2019 and 2020. The fabric got really pilly though so I stopped wearing it. The ringer top that I tried to make using the Rowan pattern was always too cropped so I didn’t wear it much. Finally, the Rowan tunic neck was too tall and I maybe only ever wore it a couple times.

I have two more Rowans — a bodysuit that I abandoned at home in Taiwan and another that I still have in my closet. The one that’s still in my closet also sucks but for now it’s filling a gap in my wardrobe until I can alter it to have the Nikko top mock neck.

McCall’s 8003 Cutout Crop + Helen’s Closet Avery leggings: The McCall’s is too big. The Avery leggings are too tall on the waist. Just not things I ever wear. Bye!

Vogue 9253 Dress & Tessuti Hilary Top: This dress made no sense in my life and the fabric I used made even less sense. I really wanted to like the Tessuti Hilary top but I think my fabric choice made it look really messy. I would love to make it again with a different fabric choice but I probably won’t get around to it.

A few firsts… First ever jeans and first ever button up shirt that don’t get worn because they just aren’t great. They’ve served their purposes as the first!

And finally a few “wearable” muslins… Firstly, the vintage Vogue 3020 shirt, which I never made a proper version of. And then there’s the floral Olya shirt, which I made two more versions of that I still wear all the time.

Alright! That’s it for now! Next up is my 2023 + 2024 recap before I (hopefully) get to regularly scheduled programming and maybe one day I will catch up with all of my un-posted projects.