Me Made May: thoughts and conclusions

I thought I’d reflect on last month’s challenge using lots of pictures. Hey, why not? So here is a visual run down of various aspects of my MMMay experience:

Knit and crochet

So, it wasn’t all about the sewing for me. I’ve always been a keen crocheter, and I knit, although not to such a high standard. However, I tend to be drawn to really complex, lacy crochet in bright colours which doesn’t always seem practical for everyday. It was good to finally get a few of my pretty shrugs and cardies out and find ways to style them for the school run. And I’ve been wearing them since the challenge ended, so I’m feeling more confident about picking future crochet projects I’ll actually wear. I’ve started on a really fancy one, but as it’s in navy I reckon I’ll find lots of ways to wear the finished cardie 🙂

Jewellery

The jewellery bug never really infected me. I mean, I went under for a while, seduced by all the unusual, original pieces I could make. But to be honest? I don’t wear jewellery much, and anyway, I quite enjoy shopping for earrings and necklaces. I mean, a girl’s allowed some retail therapy, right?! Continue reading “Me Made May: thoughts and conclusions”

Me Made May, days 19-27

And here are the pictures all together:

There are more repeat appearances here, but I’m still managing to unearth some new garments to show off. You can find the previous posts here: Days 1-9Days 10-18

Here’s the full run down: Continue reading “Me Made May, days 19-27”

Me Made May, days 10-18

I’m only doing these in groups of nine because I love the look of tiled Instagram pics…

Anyway, here goes for the next lot of details. Some are repeats so I haven’t linked the patterns again. You can find days 1-9 here. Continue reading “Me Made May, days 10-18”

Me Made May 2016 – I'm finally taking part!

mmmay16final

 ‘I, Anna-Jo, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’16. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade garment or accessory each day for the duration of May 2016.  I also pledge to take photos of each outfit and post them on my blog as weekly roundups.’

So, after a couple of years of wishing I had enough everyday me-made clothing to take part in Me Made May, I’m finally giving it a go. I’m hoping that wearing something handmade every day will prove an enjoyable challenge, and am anticipating the following results:

  • Getting a better idea of how to creatively style my existing clothes, both handmade and RTW, using accessories and new combinations. And lots of scarves, probably.
  • Getting up to speed with using the DSLR, tripod, and my new garden (moving house on Wednesday–eek!) to take my own outfit pics.
  • Using the photographs to help make some tough decisions about which clothes are unflattering and ready to be donated/refashioned.
  • Coming up with a summer sewing plan to plug any wardrobe gaps I notice during the month. Practical sewing, not party sewing!

At the moment I’m using the prospect of MMMay to spur me on to finish my long-hibernating brown knitted cardigan, and to get going on a few simple makes I know I could do with. First up are a grey Plantain tee and a brown corduroy Osaka skirt. All fabrics from my stash. Now if only I could spend the next hour sewing, but I suppose I’d better get packing for the move… *Sigh*

*Stares longingly at sewing machine*

*Glares at stack of flatpacked cardboard boxes*

Anyone else out there ready to take up the #MMMay16 challenge?