2014 Year In Review

A LOT has happened in 2014 around Jennuine Design and A Jennuine Life!  Here’s a review of everything:

January: Project Run & Play and Tiny Sewists series

A long-time dream was realizes when I had the opportunity to participate as a competitor on Project Run & Play.  I made it through the first round with my riding inspired look, but was “out” with my Pretty in Pink movie theme.  I was sorely disappointed that I didn’t get to show my favorite look – the refashion challenge where I made a coat using salvaged leather from my sofa!  Hadley is now enjoying wearing that jacket!

Arden and I collaborated on a project where we showed how young sewists can learn with the Tiny Sewists series.  That series is far and away the most popular on my site and receives multiple pins per day.

February: Scout Your House

February I posted another popular series called Scout Your House about finding locations in and around your house to use as photo backdrops.

March: Arden turns five and Contributing at Kids Clothes Week

In March we invited Sweet Pea to come to Arden’s fifth birthday party.  I was also a contributor for the Spring 2014 Kids Clothes Week, which was a lot of fun and I got to meet several new friends.

April: Matinee Pattern Release!!

A personal goal was achieved with the release of my first garment pattern, the Matinee Dress and Peplum Top.  I had been trying for what seemed ages to be able to offer PDF patterns for sale, but there didn’t seem to be any solution that would work for me.  Then my friend Lauren published Pattern Workshop (affiliate link) and a whole world of opportunity opened up.

I also attended SNAP! conference in Salt Lake City where I got to meet up with Lauren again as well as Hayley from Welcome to the Mouse House and Lisa from Mabey She Made It.  I also met many other sew-y, blogg-y friends there, it was amazing to meet people I respected so well in person.

May: Tours

May was a little quieter with some pattern tours like the Soleil and Bohemian Babydoll, as well as a tour of my sewing studio.

June: Matinee Pattern Tour

June saw my first pattern tour for the Matinee, where we got to see many great examples with the individual’s personal twist.  I also went glamping with Willow & Co. (love!) and some other tests and tours of other designers’ patterns.

July: LOL!

July was such a CRAZY month!  I released my second garment pattern, the LOL Swing Top, which I offered in a huge size range from newborn through 12 and then I decided to make it work for both knits and wovens.  Phew!  It was a lot of testing and tinkering, but we got it!

I also participated in Skirting the Issue and published the free Pip Skirt tutorial, which is digitally illustrated exactly like the rest of my patterns.

In the midst of all of this, I met up with several of my sewing blogger friends in New York City for an absolutely wonderful trip exploring the garment district and talking shop (and a lot of non-shop).  We met with fabric manufacturers and even spotted the current season of Project Runway All Stars as they were exiting Mood Fabrics!

August: Getting a Little Quieter

August was a little quieter.  My husband had accepted a job out of state and we were busy preparing to list our house and for him to relocate to New Jersey – several months ahead of the rest of us.

I published a free pattern for a kid’s project, the Camper Cowl.  It was fun to work with Michael Miller on this project and I’ve made use of these simple but cute reversible scarves myself!

September: Flip This Pattern September Showcase

You may have noticed that I didn’t do a blog tour for the LOL Swing Top – that’s because I had a little secret: The ladies of Frances Suzanne had asked if I wanted to participate in one of their fun twists to Flip This Pattern: a showcase of newer designers who had published five or fewer patterns.  I wholeheartedly agreed – several months before the pattern was even published!  Yikes!  I also got to have some fun with a pattern and put a slight twist on the Serendipity Swing Coat by Sewlosophy.

October: Quilt Market!

In October, I attended Quilt Market.  Well, my dress did anyways!  I received yardage from Andover Fabrics of Alison Glass’ new line, Handcrafted, and sewed a sample dress to be displayed in their booth.

On the home front, I was busy keeping the house clean and ready for showings – sometimes with very short notice!

November: A BIG Move

November was when I packed up my Rogue and drove across several states with Arden and Hadley.  I packed an entire box full of activities between the two of them, planned for two hotel stops along the way (one of them being a Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos) and off we went!

I still managed to get some posts in, like the Sunday Picnic Dress, Betty Skirt and Betty Bowler.  Once we arrived in New Jersey and the movers arrived with all our belongings, we quickly set to work unpacking and even managed to put a reasonable Thanksgiving supper together just days later.

December: Haven Acres Mini Collection

December has me back in the designing seat – this time with a mini collection.  The Sweet Pea Cap, Haven Acres Blouse, and Dressage Leggings are undergoing testing as I type and should release in January.  Starting 2015 off with a bang!

Phew!  Thanks for hanging in there with me for 2014 – what was your year like?