This year has really just flown by.  I can hardly believe I’m coming up on my blog’s 1st anniversary!  What started out as a therapeutic outlet for me to focus on my creativity and not just motherhood  has become so much more.  I love how in a little less than a year I can see my style solidifying and my sewing skills improving.  Last year I would never have thought I would slowly be phasing out my RTW clothing and wearing made by me clothes almost every day.

December always seems to be a time for reflection so I’m excited to be participating in Gillian’s Top 5’s again this year!  I always love reading everyone’s posts.  It also is very timely as I have a ton of newly sewn clothing (I finished a Francoise dress and top + a handful of Bronte Tops) but have had no time for photos.  We’ve all taken turns being sick around here since Thanksgiving and I’ve been pretty consistently homebound the last week.

So Here’s my TOP 5 HITS of 2014!

•  My Skater Dresses!  I’ve made 3 for myself (here, here +here) and a ton for my little girl Ami. These are easy to sew and wear and oh so comfy.  I wear these all the time and could still use a few more.  My first version in an ikat knit(directly below) from Marcy Tilton is still my favorite.

•     My Indigo dyed jeans.  My first pair of jeans ever and I still love them.  They probably get the most consistent wear in my closet.   I can wear them almost all year round and they look great cuffed in spring.  These pair have so many special details too.  I love that I dyed the denim myself and the sashiko pockets just make me happy!

•   My Marcy Tilton Avocado dyed linen pants.  I love the shape and seaming/pocket details on these pants.  Plus they’re so comfortable and versatile, they work with almost everything in my wardrobe.  Also, one of the few solids in my closet.  I need to try to make more simple but well constructed basics like these.

•  My Shibori Wrap Skirt.  I wear this skirt ALL THE TIME!  It’s my go to if I can’t decide what I want to wear. My lucky skirt! I really love a wrap skirt and the shape of this one (from Shape Shape) is just fantastic.  I love how the indigo dyeing turned out on this skirt too, you can see the before here.

•   The many swimsuits I made this year!  I think my fav is still my Centauree Ava One piece (second pic).  I love the tie dye fabric and the bodice piecing is so lovely.  This pattern from Deer & Doe is one of my favorites.  My only downside for this make is that my interior bra lining is a bit scratchy.  Need to remedy that for next summer.  Living in FL I’m at the beach constantly so a good swimwear rotation is so necessary.  Can’t wait to sew up more next year as my swimwear skills are much improved now.  What I really need to take my swim clothes to the next level is a coverstitch machine, maybe for my birthday.  I need to save up.

Stay tuned for more Top 5 Posts and my newest fav, my covent garden scuba knit Francoise dress, its so fab! Happy Sewing!