My Ever Evolving Project Spreadsheet

Happy middle of the week!  Back in July I shared my way of keeping track of projects through a spreadsheet.  I am here to report that my spreadsheet has been evolving in the two months since I first created it.  I hope I’m not the only crazy person out there who needs to list everything out in a very detailed way!

Originally, I had all of my future, current, and completed projects listed on one tab.  As I kept coming up with more and more projects, that tab started to get pretty long and unmanageable.  To remedy this, I removed the completed projects from that tab and inserted them on their very own tab, called 2011.  When we get to 2012, I will start a whole new tab for completed projects.

I also needed a way to organize all of the projects that I was daydreaming about.  I decided to keep in-progress projects at the top of the tab, but then to divide all future projects into seasons.  They are:

Spring	March-May
Summer	June-August
Winter	December-February
Fall	September-November

When deciding which season a project should go in, I took into account how badly I wanted to have that item finished, what season it would be appropriate for, and if I had any specific reason to finish an item.  For instance, even though I love the design, I pushed off making a Lonsdale dress until the Spring because I didn’t want to spend weeks making a dress and then not be able to wear it for another 6 months.  I also had to prioritize items that I am making as gifts and decide how they were going to fit into my sewing schedule.  I know I've said it before, but I will not have last minute sewing again this Christmas!  For the record, I plan on starting all of my Christmas-related sewing projects at the beginning of December, which will be more than enough time to finish weeks before they need to be given.  I hope that if I keep repeating myself, this will actually happen.

Of course there are random projects that don’t really fit into a season, so I allowed myself to have a catch-all section for small projects that can be completed when I have a little wiggle room.  This section mostly consists of curtains, dishtowels, and napkins that I need to make for the house.

I am also finding it helpful to list mending projects as well, since they always seem to get pushed aside.  I have been meaning to mend the arm seam on one of Nick’s sweaters and take the hem up on one of my skirts for over a year.  Once I put them on the spreadsheet I felt compelled to move them to the completed tab.  The items are now fixed and we can actually wear them this winter!  It’s amazing how motivated I get if I can cross something off a list.

Once I saw all of the projects that I wanted to complete listed, I knew that there was no way I’d ever complete everything in the designated season.  I edited down the seasons so I would only have one garment listed per month.  I think sewing up one garment per month is realistic at this point.  At least I hope it is!  If it proves to be too much, I’ll have to make edits again.

So what is on my plate for the coming month?  Right now, here is what I am working on:

• Mr. Bird: I've been working on this in the evenings after work when I feel like doing something creative but don't have the mental energy to sew. I just have the frame to finish and then I can hang up all four of them!
• Halloween embroidery to hang up at my desk at work: I’m working on this during lunch.
• Sew U Blouse Muslin for my sewing class: I should finish up the muslin at class on Wednesday, so I'll be starting on the actual blouse soon!
• Lisette Market Skirt: After stitching up the muslin on Sunday, I have made a little progress on the actual skirt.

It sounds like I am a crazy person!  Once I finish the Market Skirt, I’m going to work on the new Colette Pattern, Peony.

 
I am so excited about this dress!  I hope to finish it in time for an event at work on November 2^nd.  I am looking to make a simple pencil skirt since mine is looking a little ratty.  Anyone have any pattern suggestions?