100 days and counting...
Today, I realised I've been doing this for 100 days. I've made my first century! My plan had been to spend the day in my studio making a pair of jeans, but then something about the rain outside made me just want to curl up in bed and take a morning away from my needle and thread to reflect on the last 14 weeks.
Made My Wardrobe, began on 1st January 2016, I woke up at the crack of dawn and cycled to the studio as the sun rose over Bristol's colourful houses. My route speeds down what is known as the Bristol to Bath cycle path. It runs along where the old railway tracks used to be and is lined with trees, allotments, abandoned buildings and parks. I can cycle all the way to the studio without seeing a car or stopping at a red light. It's a pretty dreamy commute and has become a part of my life I really treasure. Of course at that time on new years day it was deserted, almost eerily quiet, but it felt totally exhilarating to be zooming along into what would be my first day on this one woman mission.
Before I began, I had no real idea how many items I would be able to create each month whilst still making a living doing freelance work and you know, other life essentials such as sleeping. I also had no clue how I would go about recording my journey, but from that very first day I've kept a log of a few key stats, so 100 days in, this is where I'm at...
438 hours have been spent in the studio designing, draping, cutting, sewing, pressing and fitting.
52 metres of fabric have been used.
28 different coloured spools have have been threaded up on my machine.
14 bleeding fingers have needed to be kissed better after being stabbed with pins.
5 needles have been broken.
3 jars of nutella have been consumed whilst working late into the night.
And from all of that..
3 pairs of pants, 3 bras, 2 corsets, 3 tops, 3 pairs of trousers, 2 skirts, 1 jumper, 2 jackets, 1 coat, 1 bracelet, 1 earring and 1 headpiece have been created.
I think I'll have a cheeky whisky sour with lunch celebrate!
Here's to the next 100 days...it's stopped raining so I better get down to the studio and crack on with those jeans this afternoon.
1 wardrobe is well on its way to being made!