The More Things Change...Re-Considering Project 333

...the more they stay the same.  I've been thinking for several months about Project 333 and what my goals are for both my wardrobe and for the Project.  (For those who aren't familiar with Project 333, you can read more about it here.)  Basically, the goal is to live with less.  Not just less clothing, but less overall.  I'm a minimalist by nature, so this project feels very natural and good to me, but I've wondered lately if I'm making it too complicated.  Some people who do the Project have whittled themselves down to 2 or 3 rotations.  I've never been able to do less than four, and I have very little cross-over between them.  (Maybe a cardigan or two, or shoes, but rarely main garments).  

Winter 2017: Flannel #1.2, Flannel #2, Flannel #3, Eshakti knit black dress

Winter 2017: Flannel Plaid Dottie Pearl, Folk Birds canvas linen, Daisy Chain canvas linen, Eshakti olive knit dress

I had come to accept that this was okay, and that a lot of it has to do with the way I dress.  That is to say, I primarily wear patterned dresses of differing weights and sleeves depending on the weather, and I don't really want to wear half of them for the warm months and the other half for the cold months.  I get sick of them.  (My summer rotation in particular gets very sad by the end of the season).  And for the first time ever, I'm sick of my winter rotation.  I think this has to do with the fact that I've leaned down each rotation quite a bit, so there isn't as much to choose from (not a bad thing) but it also means items wear out quicker.  

Winter 2017: Grey flannel dress, Geo Flannel Skirt #2, Orange wool skirt

Winter 2017: Dusk cardigan, Banana Republic wool cardigan, LLBean navy cardigan, Fair Isle wool cardigan

I swapped my winter rotation for the spring yesterday (because today was supposed to be a writing and liturgical prep day, but I have a sick kid home today so I'm blogging instead of working on the novel).  The weather has also changed to a decidedly spring tone in the past week--40s in the morning, high 50s or even low 60s in the afternoon. Definitely not heavy flannels and woolens weather.  I've put my winter coat away and swapped my fur boots for leather. 

Winter 2017: Blue cashmere cowl neck pullover, gray wool pullover, navy cotton pullover, black wool cardigan

Winter 2017: red undershirt, gray henley, orange undershirt, olive pullover sweater, blue undershirt, black undershirt, olive undershirt, olive cardigan/pullover

I've had a suspicion for a few months that I'm keeping certain items in each rotation not because I especially like them, but because they tick a box in my mind or because the blog photos look nice or they were a lot of work, or I wore them a lot in previous seasons or whatever. Chambray dress, tick.  Novelty print spring/summer dress, tick. Linen dresses, tick. Goes with that cardigan, tick.  I got everything out yesterday and piled it up on my bed.  Even the knitted accessories, silk long underwear, and wool socks.  I realized that there were a few pieces in each rotation that were there not because I liked them,  or even particularly wanted to wear them, but just because they were, you know, there. 

Spring 2018: Eshakti navy knit dress, First Light dress, Eshakti green knit dress, Navy Birch rayon dress*

 I looked at each piece very critically and asked myself if I was wearing it because I wanted to or because I was forcing myself to because it was in the rotation or because it went with something else.  If the former, I kept it.  If the latter, into the pile it went.  If it was in the rotation because it went with something else (a cardigan or two were in this category), I also was pretty critical about the item it went with.  Was I still going to wear the dress without that particular cardigan?  In some cases, the answer was no.  In others, yes.  So it was a good weeding out process, and I feel pretty good about the state of my off-season bins at the moment.  

Spring 2018: Painted Roses rayon dress*, Eshakti black knit dress, Menagerie rayon Dottie Pearl dress (unblogged), Cross Hatch denim dress (reworked slightly)

The notable weeds were the Daisy Chain canvas dress (I like it in theory, and wore it a lot this year, but honestly, it isn't the most flattering color on me, and it requires a lot of particular layers to look right and be warm enough), the Dusk sweater that goes with it (reblocking it made the fit worse, but I might keep it for bumming around it, as it is warm), the Menagerie dress (I did wear it quite a bit this fall and winter, but I think I'm just over it.  I don't like the way I feel when I wear it and I don't like the particular layers that go with it to make it warm enough for cold weather), a green wool cardigan I bought second hand that doesn't go with anything and is too boxy on me, the Target pants (I tried, I really did.  I just don't like pants that much), the Fair Isle wool sweater (I was forcing myself to wear it, but it is too big on me, the boxy style isn't flattering and feels matronly to me), plus a few other items that I'm forgetting right now.

Spring 2018: Flannel plaid Dottie Pearl dress, Marigold linen skirt, denim pencil skirt, Hobby Horse linen-canvas skirt (still fits!)

Spring 2018: grey cardigan, black wool cardigan, peach cardigan, navy cardigan

When I got to the spring bin, I noticed right away that a few items I had put away last year were in worse shape than I remembered.  The Dandelion Zadie was very sad indeed.  (Which is just as well, as I wasn't particularly enthused about wearing it this year, but felt I had to to justify the cost of the fabric last year.  Nevermind that I wore it constantly last spring).  Word to the wise: Do not, under any circumstances, place Art Gallery printed jersey in the dryer, even to prewash/dry it. Just don't do it.  In fact, don't do it with any printed jersey.  This PSA brought to you by a sad sack who learnt the hard way last year.  The charcoal gray linen was in pretty poor shape on the bust tucks and the linen was starting to look worn.  I've never understood why the linen wears so badly on those seams but not in other fabrics.  I had to retire my navy linen dress late last fall as well because the linen itself was looking shabby.  In truth, I was never happy with the back neckline or the resulting shoulder fit of the navy linen, so I wasn't too sorry to see it go (although I did wear it a ton, despite the fit).  Both were great dresses for the three seasons I wore them, but I didn't really want to wear them this year.  

Spring 2018: Navy battenberg shirt, green henley, navy striped shirt, grey henley, gray striped shirt, blue striped shirt, blue shirt.

Spring 2018: Gray wool pullover, purple cotton/wool longline sweater, navy cotton longline cardigan

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my Hobby Horse skirt still fits pretty well--I worried that it would be too big and I'd have to remake it as an Everyday skirt (I have the fabric to do so).  I really love it as a pencil skirt and put a lot of work into that skirt, so I'm thrilled it is still wearable this year.

The main changes to my Project 333 approach are to have more cross-over garments between my fall, winter, and spring rotations rather than three distinct sets of garments.  I've been missing my marigold linen skirt for a few weeks, so I decided to add it to this rotation.  The color works more or less a neutral anyway.  I'm wearing it today with complete happiness.  I also carried over my plaid flannel dress from my winter (because I've been wearing it a lot lately, and it seemed like a good piece for in-between weather because it doesn't need a lot of layers).  I also carried over my black knit dress for the same reason.

I'd like to replace my wool black cardigan with a longline version, as I've never really been happy with this one as a cardigan (it is okay as a pullover tucked into a skirt, however).  I'm nearly finished with a long cardigan that goes nicely with the unblogged Menagerie dress, and am going to start another long cardigan using my frogged Yellow Brick Road Jade wool.  I figured out a few key things about swatching recently that have helped me to understand why I often don't like my finished sweaters (more about that in another post).

My sewing queue for this season is quite short.  I am going to try a knit dress pattern using the Mille Fleur jersey I blogged about last year.  I plan to make a rayon Everyday skirt out of some rayon challis I bought last year.

My knitting queue has taken front stage as it is something I can do when my mind shuts down on the novel.  I'm trying to knit more accessories and fewer full garments, since I'm fairly happy with my sweaters (I have plans for two sweaters right now, including the above-mentioned Jade) and would like more cowls and shawls and the like.  I need to address my linen Gemini, as the pattern torture device lace panel is the main reason I haven't finished it.  I'm thinking of frogging it and starting again, either with no lace panel in the back, or something simpler over the same stitch count. (I know, I know.  It is fingering weight.  But half-finished is still half-finished.  And it's been two years already.  Enough is enough).

*I have in mind to experiment with adding in-set sleeves to my rayon dresses, since I love the fit and feel of the new (unblogged) Menagerie Dottie Pearl Dress.  I had to purchase additional fabric to adapt the Navy Birch and Painted Roses dresses. I plan to experiment on the Eggplant Birch dress first since I have less attachment to that one if the experiment fails.  One of the ways I'd like to simplify my wardrobe is to have fewer necessary layers in for the colder months.  Long sleeved dresses are a way to accomplish that.  I'll still need cardigans, and undershirts are handy for really cold weather (especially under a flannel dress), but I'm tired of wearing undershirts for almost everything in my closet and needing so many to make sure I make it through a laundry cycle.  If it works, I might retrofit my flannel dresses next fall.

So that's where I am with Project 333 and my making.  I'm going to have a rest before services tonight; this post took way longer than I anticipated and I didn't sleep super well last night.  Plus: sick kid at home.  

Pray for me, a sinner.