All the fabric I ordered recently has arrived, and so, I present my sewing plans for the next while. I have a few fabrics in the stash that I have in mind to make up next spring and summer, but these projects will take me through Lent at least. Going forward, I'm trying to be more careful about what fabric I order, and use a kind of meal planning approach to sewing. Which is to say, if I don't have specific plans for it, I don't buy it. I don't have enough space to store fabric indefinitely, and while there are plenty of great fabrics out there (my bookmark folder overfloweth!), there are almost always good sales, and I'm almost never in a rush to get something done. I do have some bits and bobs I inherited from my mom and my gram, and just some things that found me over the years, but they are not garment sized lengths, and so I'm trying to figure out creative ways to use them. I'm also at a point where my wardrobe is pretty functional, and so I don't need to add dozens of new garments every year. I do like to have something new for Christmas and Pascha, and some of my vintage stuff is a bit fragile and can't stand up to regular wearing, so I try to account for those things when I'm considering projects. I also recognize that sewing is very soothing for me, and the creative process is something I need to do right now, so balancing that against the needs of my closet is kind of tricky. But enough waffling about. Onward!
1. Peppermint Patty Hollyburn skirt (for Christmas): Fabric is a quilt-weight novelty cotton from Joann's (bought during a recent fabric sale). I'm still looking for my perfect a-line skirt pattern, and I have high hopes for the Hollyburn. I didn't want to make a whole dress for Christmas for a variety of reasons (limited wearability, time, etc), but I think a skirt will do nicely. The peppermints are a little more cranberry than red, so it won't go with the shirt I had in mind, but I have a black knit top that might work, or I have a cranberry Fisherman-style sweater if the weather is cold enough.
2a. Brown Plaid Jumper: McCall's 9464 (or possibly McCalls 8347 jumper pattern that is similar). I suddenly got a hankering for a brown plaid jumper after seeing this pattern image on etsy while browsing for a Swirl dress pattern:
I really like the lines of it, and while I like the overall look (the brown one on the right), I know I wouldn't wear the button down shirt otherwise, so I'm going to pair it with a knitted something underneath. 
I have some brown check flannel in my stash, but I'm having a hard time choosing between the patterns. The McCalls 8347 has the same princess seams, button front, square neck and pocket options of the original, but will need significant shortening (not a big deal) and has a waist seam (also not a big deal, but it changes the look of the jumper; I might try cutting it all in one piece). The McCall 9464 has gorgeous lines, and would be a great shape on me, but it is a different look from my inspiration photo. I'm tending toward the 9464 right at the moment, because I'm a little put off by making a full button front jumper. I'm also a little concerned about the frump factor 8347, whereas I kind of think the 9464 will be more in line with the silhouettes already in my closet.
2b. Lute fabric scrap: I inherited this little scrap of fabric from my gram's stash (probably from the 1950s or early 1960s). It is a woven cotton blend and I really like the print, but it is such a small scrap that I'm having trouble knowing what to do with it. I had thought of a contrast yoke on a blouse, or even pockets on the plaid jumper, because it goes well with the brown fabric, as you can see, but I just can't decide.
Also, brown looks terrible near my face, so I'm on the hunt for a solid color fabric that will coordinate. I've got a couple fabric samples from the Art Gallery Pure Elements line, but nothing is singing to me. The fabric also coordinates well with hunter green and looks okay with deep purple. I think there is just enough there to make a contrasting front section for a blouse like in the pattern below, but I was kind of hoping to make something with longer sleeves, so I'll have to sort that out soon. And make a muslin, for sure.
3. Shetland Flannel Gertie Pencil Skirts. This fabric is cotton, and incredibly soft with a nice weight to it, but it looks like wool. I'm super excited to make some pencil skirts from this fabric for winter, as I've finally made my peace with my too-small wool pencil skirts from two winters ago and consigned them.
4. Vintage Feedsack Blouse: Gertie Button Down Portrait Blouse. I already have this cut out, and it is a little daring for me, I must say. I bought this little feedsack bit over a year ago, and didn't realize how small it was until it arrived. It was just enough to get the front of a blouse out of, or a contrast yoke/pockets on a dress.
I waffled on dress vs. blouse all spring, as I thought to make the New York 927 with it, but after converting the Hello Birdie dress into a faux two-piece dress, I realized I was better off making a blouse out of this fabric. I searched high and low to find a suitable solid color cotton (after the Strawberry Fields Forever skirt disaster with Kona cotton, I wasn't eager to use Kona again). I discovered Art Gallery's Pure Elements line, and it is fantastic. High thread count, super smooth hand, lots of wonderful colors to choose from! I found an etsy seller who was willing send scraps to color match the pink flowers, which was helpful. I've got some teal blue buttons that match, and I'm considering using some mustard-colored vintage trim on the sleeve edges. The teal matches the Miette wrap skirt I'm currently working on.
5. Anne Adams 4986: This is for the late spring or early summer next year, but I found this 100% cotton aqua gingham fabric, and it is the perfect weight for warm weather. It is surprisingly difficult to find gingham that isn't half polyester (which is nice for a smooth no-wrinkle finish, but tends not to be as cool in the heat) I've been wanting to make this pattern for a while, and this fabric seems perfect, although I'm sure the pattern matching is going to drive me mad. Plus: bias cutting.
6. Cotton + Steel fabric is everything others have been saying and more! So pretty. I'm not sure whether I'm going to use this pattern exactly, but this is the overall look I'm going for (actually, just look at any dress Tasha has made this spring and summer and you'll have an idea of the silhouette). I might end up combining the Emery bodice with the skirt part of this pattern, since I like the extra bust shaping on the Emery bodice a bit more. I'm probably going to use kimono sleeves instead of inset sleeves. I have a navy blue sweater planned that should pair well with this make.
7. Celtic Knot Dress: Fabric is a quilt-weight novelty cotton from Joann, and the color on the screen was completely different from what I received (it looked almost teal on the screen), but I really love this shade of green too, so I'm still excited to work with it. I'm a little on the fence about the pattern for this dress, as I might end up making another version of the Emery bodice + McCalls 4275 skirt if that one works well. I have a RTW version (in a different colorway, bought on clearance two and a half years ago), however, and I really like it, so I might go for this one if I can figure out how to grade it down a bit.
8. Hollywood 1495: I don't actually have any fabric in mind for this, but I love the pattern art on it, and have contemplated a way to recreate view A.
I would need to figure out a way to make the blouse with a lower scoop neckline, as high necklines like that don't look great on me. But black broadcloth or black PE fabric would do nicely for the top, and I have several red fabrics that would do for the bottom (although I do have a nice red twill six gore skirt already)
My plan is to finish the vintage feedsack blouse in the next few weeks, make one of the dresses for Fall for Cotton in the early part of the fall, and then just poke away at the rest of it as I have time and inclination. In the meantime, I have a lot of fabric to prewash!
