2021 Plans Updated and Expanded

 So, I wrote a post earlier this year outlining my original crafting plans for 2021, which was made using the Historybounding Discord channel's prompts. I'm now updating my plan based on the following:

a) Reality - I now have a better grasp on what I am able to realistically complete in a given month

b) Using the British Guild challenges instead

c) Adding non-crafting plans (mostly reading)

So without further ado, here is my updated 2021 Plan

Crafting

Prompts (from this month onwards)

• Mythology May
• "Sumer is icumen in"
• Just do it!
• Academia and Allure
• Spooks & Secrets
• Out to Sea
• No Buy
• Winter Woolies

May 

Mythology, Legends, Folktales

I've always planned to make an outfit based on Russian folklore, so I'm still hoping to get at least part of that underway this month. It might turn out to be a much longer project, but I wanted to get a catalyst section completed in May. Currently I am hoping to make a version of a sarafan, based on dress from an unknown museum. I had thought it was in the Государственный исторический музей, as I have a copy of a page showing it in an exhibition held there, but since I can NOT find it anywhere in their collections, I have to assume it was a loan item. I'll share the inspiration image(s) I'm using on another post as I hope to write more on Russian folk costume later this month.

June 

Summer - theme or purpose

I have a vague plan to make an Edwardian or Late Victorian hat, to go with my walking skirt planned outfit. A nicely decorated hat could double as a summer hat. I may also consider a fan and a parasol as useful things for summer...

As Pride is still within the remit of June for the updated challenges, I may colour theme it with the Ace/Aego colours.

Other options I have considered:

1950s swimsuit or other beachwear

Summer pattern circle skirt (because I love circle skirts!) - with a petticoat to match if I make this

Edwardian blouse - nice and cool for summer, but also covered up, because sunburn

July 

Just do It!

I have no specific plans here yet, but honestly there are many aspects of sewing which I've not yet had the confidence to try, so there's lots of opportunities here.. This may be where I finally actually work on the Edwardian blouse! I may also use July to get a nice big chunk of my Regency underthings sorted.

August 

Academia and Allure

Well, I guess August is the time to let my inner librarian become my outer one! My plan for August is primarily to make an Edwardian (stroke Late Victorian) walking skirt from the pattern I bought last summer. I may line it in something fun though, especially if I can find a cute books related fabric print... 

This month may also be the one where I try out the American Duchess cloak pattern.

September 

Spooks and Secrets

I am not ashamed to state that I am a goth and that I love the gothy aesthetic as much now as I did as a student. I've not got any definite ideas here, but vague thoughts include

Bonnet trimming - can get quite autumnal and/or spooky without much difficulty

Cobweb themed circle skirt (and hopefully a top to match)

October 

Out to Sea - Nautical or Regency (thinking of Trafalgar Day)

I'd like to spend October working on a spencer, pelisse or redingote for my Regency 1818 project. The fashions for these sorts of coats were strongly influenced by military fashion. A waistcoat is also part of the borrowing of men's fashions for women, and would be a nice thing to make...

November

No Buy November. 

Whatever I make this month must not cost me anything if at all possible. I am personally choosing to make exceptions for items purchased at charity shops or otherwise second hand, as I feel Not Bought New still aligns with the ethos of No Buy.

I will NOT be applying this to my life in general in November, notably because November into early December has a LOT of family birthdays, plus spreading out buying helps a lot towards making Christmas affordable. In acknowledgement of this aspect, however, I will continue to make a conscious effort to make as many of my Christmas presents as possible. 

December

Winter Woolies

If not done earlier in the year, then both the AD Cape and Pelisse fit here beautifully. I may also focus on the "wool" aspect and try again to learn how to crochet.

I will also be using December to make presents, so that will be the "Winter" aspect...!

Reading

Reading is one of my longest persisting loves, and I have managed to completely lose my mojo over lockdown. I need to get it back! There is some flexibility in this list for adding new books that I buy, borrow, or which are selected for my book group. I hope to pay for the Hugo voting packet again this year, so I'll also be adding those books to the list. Here's my Short and Longer lists for 2021, where Short List is library books, books I've started reading, and a few others. The Longer List is for books I would like to get around to reading this year, and also books I want to read, but which are stored at the other end of the country from me... I also am resolving to ensure that I read at least 50% of my magazine that I have on subscription (because I accept that not every article is going to grab my interest each month). 

In "honour" of writing this, I am going to read at least one short story off my list before I go to sleep tonight! 

Short list

Started and need finishing:

Who Fears Death

The Island of Sodor

Cold Comfort Farm

The Fifth Season

No Longer a Gentleman

Regent's Park [history book]

Library books

Blood of Elves

Children of Blood and Bone

Cursor's Fury

Dreams of Gods and Monsters

Elsewhens

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

The Hunt

The Kingdom of Copper

A Peace Divided

Redemption's Blade

Short Stories

The Angel of Khan el-Khalili

Chicken Chicken Bang Bang

The Perseverance of Angela's Past Life

Head of a Snake, Tail of a Dragon

If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again

The House of Aunts

The Queen's Army (Lunar Chronicles)

Book of Souls (Prof Croft)

Long list (additional possibilities)

Hugo Leftovers

A Memory Called Empire

The City in the Middle of the Night

The Light Brigade

Middlegame

Presents (2020 Birthday and Christmas)

Prudence (re-read)

Imprudence

Competence

Reticence

Strange Brew

Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight

Finally I have 5 or 6 books which were given to me in return for reviews. I need to do my genuine best to read them (or DNF) and write genuine reviews before the end of 2021. 

April into May

May rough craft plan, plus What I Did In April, with another cheat for May Day bank holiday weekend :)

April 

Crafting / Crafting Adjacent

So, firstly I think I mentioned that my Discord group came up with our own monthly challenge calendar, and I'll be switching over to that list from now on. April here was "Alter and Adapt". I went for Prompt 2 and, with the help of my awesome spouse, we completed the work on my room here... We had to wait until the weekend just gone for the last bit - two table legs, but now it's done! In between working on May's challenge, I also need to work on doing a LOT of tidying!!

So the layout is an Ikea hack, made up of one 4x4 Kallax unit against the short wall nearest the door, The desktop is in two parts, with one 2m Linnmon underneath the window and along the majority of that wall, which butts up against a shorter 1m at right angles to it along the short wall opposite the big Kallax. Underneath the desks I have 2 legs on the end nearest the big Kallax, then one 2x2 Kallax slightly off centre along the long desktop, with a 2x4 on it's side along the rest of the back into the corner (and therefore underneath one short end of the 1m desktop. The other end of the short desk is a second 2x2 Kallax unit. We bought some cheap heavy duty clamps, which are currently ensuring the desktops don't move as they're not screwed to the units below at all. We may revisit this decision in the future if it proves to be shaky, but so far it's fine... I'll try to share more pics than the one below once I finish getting things looking pretty ;)

I also spent some time working on the maths and general fiddling to try and adapt the sizing of the paper pattern for the cups part of my 1830s corset pattern. I think I'm there, but I now need to get on with the first fabric mock up. Thankfully the work on my room has turned up a lot of old scrappy fabric, so I can get on with that shortly, I hope!

Not-Crafting

In addition to the room-creation work we've cleared out a LOT of paper and card, mostly dead boxes. I have NO idea where these things came from, but they seem to be breeding. We've made good inroads, but I suspect we've got at least 2 more wheelie bin collections to go...

This month I read The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. I also restarted Who Fears Death, and I'm happy to be back into it. I really enjoyed the former - I've been in a massive reading slump, pretty much since lock-down 1, and this book was fluffy enough to "just read", but still enjoyable.

Other than that, I got my eyes tested, and have finally got new glasses on the way, which is a relief!

Completed

1. My room!!



2. Box clearance
3. Left Handed Booksellers of London (Read)
4. Eye test
5. Breast cup adaptation

Plans

Plans for May

Craft

Challenge inspiration: Myth May 

I plan to do a short post mid-month talking about the characters below, what their meanings are for me, how I envisage their costumes, and how I plan to make them. Hopefully with some initial progress notes.

• Vasilissa the Wise
• Snegurocha
• Baba Yaga

Plan

1. Mock-up 1830s corset (no busk, cording, or boning, just size fitting).
2. Sarafan - draft
3. Belt for sarafan
4. Kokoshnik (probably a maiden's one since most female folklore characters are unmarried)
5. Doll and skull motif elements OR snow and frost

Books

I am probably going to skip my book-group book this month, as it doesn't really catch me AND we're rather drastically short on cash, so I shall skip a month and save that £10...

1. Who Fears Death - finish off finally. I started this before the Plague was really on the horizon, and it's a bloody good story, so I want to finish it!
2. Blood of Elves - I'm slowly reading my way through the translations of the Witcher series, and this one is next.
3. Rev W Audry book on a History of his Sodor

Other stuff

1. Lentil Chickpea stew -
   I found some lentils that are about to die, and I dropped a can of chickpeas, denting it, so I plan to mock up something using those, some mushrooms, and whatever else turns out to be in the cupboard. Economising and reducing waste in one, which makes me happy. Also my first time planning to use the slow cooker - it's usually his cooking implement... If you hear no more of this, it was shit!  
2. Christmas Cake for Christmas #2
   I inherited cake baking duties from my great aunt once dementia meant she was struggling. Last Christmas was a complete shitshow (actually an understatement), so no cake was made. My mother has deemed our July meet-up to be a do-over for Christmas, so I need to bring a cake. Cakes in our family need plenty of time to get fed alcohol, which means baking the base cake ASAP. Icing can be done in July!
3. Move. More. Boxes!
4. Oh, and we bought a couple of organisation things for the bathroom today in the sales, so I want to get those up and rearrange the bathroom. Boring, but easy win task...

Draft Plans for 2021 forwards

Craft

1. Hats
1. Regency
2. 1890s/Edwardian
2. Fan-skirt
1. Wool blend
2. 100% wool
3. Stays
1. ✓ Breast cups work - adaptation from D cup to my more copious HH/J cup size
2. Mock-up
   Because needed for Regency dress mock-up
3. Buy wooden busk
4. Final version
4. Edwardian blouse / shirtwaist
   
1. Mock up
2. Final
5. 1818 Dress
1. Petticoat
2. Mock-up
3. Final
4. Decoration
6. American Duchess cape, but with a hood
7. 1890s men's three piece suit
8. 1830s men's three piece suit
9. 1950s dress(es)
10. Circle skirt
11. Princess Charlotte's Russian Dress
12. Cycling shorts (modern, padded)
13. Cycling trousers (historical, to accommodate modern underneath)