Me Made May Musings

I enjoyed challenging myself to wear my me mades. I had more than I thought, and some are staple pieces in my wardrobe. I think I wore either my black or blue linen pants every week. My Ebony raglan tees were in heavy rotation too.

I have realized the fabric is really important. I need more knit tops, and more from linen or softer cotton. I use quilting cotton as a wearable muslin, and in some cases it works out just fine. I think I just need to suck it up and spend more on fabric and give myself permission to let it go if the fit isn't the way I want.

I really like skirts and dresses, and it's probably the bulk of my me mades. Unfortunately my office is so cold I don't like wearing them as much. I finally bought some no show socks so hopefully that will help with wearing mary janes or "dressier" tennis shoes. I might try making some capri length leggings to see if that helps. It's frustrating, but an important factor to keep in mind as I make clothes.

I for sure did not have enough lounge/casual clothes. By Friday I just wanted to wear jeans and a t-shirt and on the weekends I'm in shorts or lounge pants and a t-shirt. I think too if I had more me mades in fabrics that feel cozy that I would wear them more on weekends.

I did make a pair of owl pj pants. I got stalled making a tank top to go with it as it didn't fit.

Lastly, I had a goal to wear all my me mades at least once. Below is what I didn't wear. Last weekend I pulled my modified Dress no 1 out of the proverbial corner and thought wow, why haven't I worn this. I sewed the pockets on and washed it, and then ran out of time during the week to wear. I will wear it soon. I'm going to hem the sleeves up a bit too. I pulled my Washi dress literally out of the back of the closet and wondered why I never wore it. I struggled a lot making it with the elastic shirring. I ripped out the shirring so it's a little looser fit, but I think it's fine. I'll wear and see what I think.

My green pencil skirt with brown polka dots doesn't fit. It gets wear so when I am back to that size I know I'll wear it again. My cabbage rose a line skirt just didn't get in the rotation because I didn't have my blue t shirt that I usually wear out of under bed storage and honestly a bit afraid it won't fit right now either. Ugh. I love it still and will wear again. Pants no 1 are also snug, so not something I wanted to wear. And lastly my beloved knit shark skirt doesn't fit either.

Me Made May Week 5

Tuesday I wore my Wren dress. Wednesday I wore shirt no 1 made from  shimmery shot cotton with my Zinnia skirt in a dark chambray and Thursday I wore my black linen pants with a tunic top.

Me Made May Week 4

I didn't get a lot of me mades in this week. I know I wore me mades Tuesday and Wednesday, but I am completely drawing a blank on what I wore and I didn't seem to take pictures. I am pretty sure they are repeats.

Thursday I wore my Moneta dress. This is the second one I made with a longer bodice. Saturday I wore my red knit skirt (2nd time)...it feels casual enough for weekend wear.

Me Made May Week 3

I started off on Monday with an Ebony Dress with 3/4 sleeves. I wear it with leggings and it feels like I'm wearing pjs. Tuesday was a second wearing of the unicorn tee. Wednesday I wore my black polka dot skirt. On Thursday, (no picture) I wore my blue linen pants. Saturday I wore a refashioned skirt. I also wore my owl pj pants this week.

I have continued frustration wearing skirts/dresses at work. The workplace is so cold. I often wear socks and I don't always like how that looks. I also find it tedious taking pictures. There's never enough light and I don't have a lot of patience for setting up shot. I know the challenge isn't about the pictures.

I'm realizing I really want clothes that feel cozy and comfortable. I definitely want to make sure I pay attention to how the fabric feels in addition to the looks.

Me Made May Week 2

I started off on Monday with a Shirt No. 1. I made this earlier in the year, and this was the 2nd one I made. I really don't like the fit, and it doesn't help that I used quilting cotton so it feels a bit stiff. I also just don't like the neckline. I've thrown it in my remake pile and hopefully there's enough fabric to remake into a tank top.

Tuesday, I wore a dotted knit skirt. This is a Kwik Sew pattern that I have made 3 times. It's so comfortable and such a quick sew.

Wednesday I wore my gray slub Ebony tee. I love this pattern!

Thursday I wore a Sailor Top in a soft chambray. Made me happy to finally have a woven top that fits!

Saturday I wore the first knit I ever made...my tomato skirt. Same Kwik Sew pattern.

Me Made May - Week 1

It was a rainy week, and it makes my body ache and leaves me feeling blue. On May 1, I countered this with my colorful unicorn Ebony tee. The cotton is so soft and it feels like a unicorn hug. May 2, succumbed to the gray side. I wore a RTW dark gray tee, and my black linen pants. The fabrics are soft and cozy. I brightened it up with one of my silk batik scarves that I made last year. On May 3, I pulled out the bright yellow Sailor top.

I took a long weekend, and discovered that I live in t-shirts and lounge pants when I have the day off, so no me made outfits this weekend. I did work on some leggings so will have a few things to wear on the weekends.

Me Made May

I, Sarah (aka Sparkle-Plenty.blogspot.com, IG @sparkleplenty299), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '18. I endeavour to wear each of my handmade items at least once in May 2018.

I also endeavor to wear it or forget/remake it. I know I have some me made items in my closet that I'm not overly fond of, so I plan to wear them once and then decide if I keep or repurpose or donate.

Lastly I endeavor to make a pair of pajamas so I can expand my me made sleepwear options.

I will document some of my items on Instagram, and will endeavor to do weekly recaps on my blog.

I am excited to participate for the first time. The Self-Sewn Wardrobe Series was very inspiring to me this year and I can't believe how much I have sewn already. I feel like I have a long list of things I'd like to sew, and have been working on planning my wardrobe more and thinking a lot about what I like to wear and what my style is. I'm looking forward to this challenge to help me continue defining my style and to sew list.

Shirt No 1 -- Quest for Fit

I really wasn't happy with the extra fabric in the armpit area when I made the next size up of Shirt No 1. I decided to tackle how to make it fit. I pulled out a couple of tops that have the kimono style/dolman sleeve. I looked at them compared them to my finished shirt and decided to try making the top sleeve angle more, and add the bit I was taking out to the bottom of the sleeve. It was a subtle difference, but I felt like I was getting somewhere. I still had a lot of extra fabric in the armpit. I decided to take in the pattern a 1/2" along the area with the extra fabric. So I slashed the pattern and taped it back a 1/2" in. It looked better, but really I was back at the original size with a few minor adjustments. Or I'm just overly sensitive to the extra fabric and it's not noticeable by anyone but me, and I did all of this for not.

It was a good exercise, but I have decided this type of top is not for me.

XL with only length modification

XL with shoulder seams at a stronger angle

XL with a 1/2" taking in through the upper bust

Really no different from the L

Self Sewn Wardrobe Series - Planning

I signed up to take a 7 week sewing class called the Self Sewn Wardrobe Series. I'm pretty excited about it. In particular I'm excited about the planning session. I am not very intentional about my wardrobe, and have been slowing reading The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees.

The instructor, Niku, had some great worksheets to plan out the shirt, pants and dress we would make in the series. All the patterns are from 100 Acts of Sewing. So I got to ruminating on mood, color/patterns, fabrics for the series.

Mood keywords: flow, comforting to wear, layers/color and fun.

Fabrics was easy. I knew I wanted to make the pants in linen or a linen blend, and possibly use it for the dress too. Otherwise cotton. I spent a delightful time at Valli and Kim fabrics, and found a lovely Essex Yarn Dyed linen/cotton blend for the pants, and a two toned shot cotton for the shirt, and a delicate floral pattern for the dress. I made sure they all coordinated so I could mix and match.

When someone asks me my favorite color, I often say green or purple. I do have a fair bit of green in my wardrobe, but not a lot of purple. I have a lot of grey and black, and also blue in my wardrobe. I think blue often winds up being a go to color, and I like grey or black to blend in.

As I looked at clothes on Pinterest and thought about things, I realized that I really like colors and floral fabrics but I'm often reluctant to wear them. I'm an introvert and I really don't want to draw attention to myself. Compliments are nice, but I'm usually embarrassed by them, and I certainly don't want the attention. I looked in my closet again and realized there are a couple floral blouses I wear, but the patterns are small and they are usually on a dark background.

I was a bit of a clothes horse as a teen and in my 20s. And didn't dress to disappear. I think some changes happened as I gained weight, and more happened as I became unhappy in my marriage. There's definitely some baggage I'm carrying from the ex, and at some point I hope I can just put that bag down. It's heavy.

A week into the class Niku talked about a podcast from Love to Sew. The topic was Sewing Makes You Love Yourself, which is a thing...to share your story of how sewing makes you love yourself. Holy cow. Now I'm ruminating on why I like certain clothes and how they make me feel. There's a lot to explore and I don't think I've even scratched the surface. I'm sure I'll write more as I process this more. There's a journey in here somewhere that will have some illuminating results...and I think get me closer to having a style and not using my clothes to hide.

Alchemy

A month ago, Studio MME posted a blog about why you embroider, see here for her answer. I thought that was an interesting question. It took me a while to think of a response, but when I did, I sent this to her. 

I think embroidering (and really knitting too) are alchemy. You start with some string, and with a little patience you create something out of nothing. I think the other part of the alchemy is that with every stitch I work out a problem, or a let go of a worry. Every stitch that makes something, I let go of something. Maybe thoughts of the day. Or maybe I let go of the critical voices in my head. It’s meditative. At some point my brain shuts up, everything else melts away, and I’m left with the gold of my work.

Today I made some strawberry jam, and I thought about alchemy again. Alchemy doesn't have to be turning something into gold but rather as good ole Merriam-Webster says: "a power or process that changes or transforms something in a mysterious or impressive way."

I don't think any of my hobbies/crafts/interests are necessarily mysterious, but they can certainly be impressive. There's something about starting with one thing and it turning into some something else that I really enjoy, and am fascinated with. Little stitches with thread become a word or image in cross stitch or embroidery. Yarn becomes a cozy scarf or shawl. Paint and a brush transform a surface into a landscape. Fabric and thread are shaped into clothes. Food is morphed into something even more delicious that what it started as.

I like the process of watching something become something else. I enjoy a finished product, but it's more about the process for me. And the finished product is really getting to see the final result of my alchemy.

I struggle with terms like crafter and artist. They never seem to really fit me, or I'm reluctant to take on what either of those terms mean. Sometimes even admitting I'm creative is hard. It doesn't seem difficult to call myself an alchemist though. And maybe my make stuff room should really be my laboratory.