The photo mini challenge for today, the last day of me-made May is “red”.
min 6C, max 19C, fine and sunny
Details:
Jacket; Burdastyle magazine 08/2010, 113, chocolate brown faux leather, details and my review of this pattern here
Jeans; Burda 7863 modified, purple stretch denim, details here and my review of this pattern here
Top; the loose drape top from drape drape by Hisako Sato, white cotton jersey, details here
Socks, seen below, and also red!; hand knit by me to a 60’s pattern, details here
Boots; Andrea and Joen
In my family’s last day of MMM13, Craig is wearing this shirt, Tim is wearing this hoodie, Cassie is wearing this Tshirt, and Sam is wearing this jacket.
Craig’s shirt; Burda 7767 modified, white linen, details here
Tims hoodie; self-drafted, grey and khaki cotton jersey, details here
Cassie’s Tshirt; self-drafted grey and black striped cotton jersey, details here
Sam’s jacket; Burda7767 modified, navy blue corduroy, details here, and my tutorial for making that welt/patch double pocket is here
So, Me-made May…
Yay! I did it, and it is finished! I apologise for the boringness of my daily outfit posts, I know that a lot of my regular visitors switch off my blog completely during the me-made months; so obviously a lot of people do not like that what-I’m-wearing-today aspect. That’s ok 🙂
I do try to mix my wardrobe up creatively, and and to keep it interesting and keep it real.
I learnt nothing new, but this was my sixth time. Oh I lie, I did learn one thing; that I have more than enough handmade clothes… I repeated only three items this month; namely my ivory curtaining skirt, my calico knitted cardigan, and a plain white Tshirt; of which I have three, so maybe not repeating the exact same one, but still. Hmmm, these are all white-ish items. I cannot escape my love for pale colourless clothing!
I upped the ante by electing to wear exclusively handmade clothing, everything; including lingerie, hosiery and socks, but bearing in mind I have already pledged to do this for the entire of this year anyway, and actually I’ve always pushed myself to the limit in the me-made months. This year I’ve pushed myself way past those limits. I do wonder if it is time for me to let MMM go now.
I’ve always really liked the community of me-made May, and thought it was a brilliant idea of Zoe’s for getting us all together, wearing our handmade stuff and supporting each other.. Which is why I kept coming back, like a moth to the flame 🙂 This year I felt the “community” feel had diminished a bit; probably because the group was just so BIG this year, over 400 participants! While this is absolutely terrific, that so many people are sewing for themselves and proudly wearing their own creations and I absolutely love that and believe that side of it is just fantastic! however… the (tiny and selfish) downside for me is that the we-all-know-each-other aspect was lost just a little bit. I noticed that the group broke up into cliques. I did not get to know a lot of the new participants this year; I admired and commented on a lot of creations, and received far less comments back. I found it impossible to look at every picture, every day, so ended up just sticking to the small group of lovely ladies who were replying to my comments. And look, that is fine. Everyone does what they can, as much or as little as they want to, and that has always been the way the group rolls. But I did feel a little sad that it was a lot less personal that it has been in the past. A side effect of the group getting so big? I don’t know.
Taking the photos is always by far the most challenging part for me, and that didn’t change. I made a personal rule to limit my photo sessions to about one, or up to two minutes tops. Some days I had trouble getting the settings on my camera right for certain lighting conditions, and had to go over time; but having that rule took some pressure off.
I also documented here on my blog what in the me-made category my family was wearing, and on most days someone other than me was wearing something I had made. This made me very happy, and was my favourite part really 🙂
So that is it!
All my daily outfits for this month are in my MMM13 Flickr set here
Hi Carolyn, interesting thoughts about group dynamics – most humans can't function happily in large groups – about 100 is sort of max comfort level (goes back to our tribal days I think). Me Made probably has taken on a life of its own in its own right. I think you have put a tremendous effort in this year so all credit to you in that respect.
Well done for completing MMM. I wish my wardrobe was as stylish as yours
Have enjoyed your daily photos and outfits, they do look lovely all together in Flickr. Your MMM is really MMY (year) or more probably MMA (always) as you have so many beautiful MM clothes.
thank you Sandra 🙂
well done for completing MMM, just getting the pics done would be my first challenge. This has allowed you to showcase all your incredible sewing. Wonderful.
I like seeing what you wear. You put together some great outfits that I would never even dream of doing.
thank you 🙂
It was lovely to see your family included this year. I was overwhelmed by the volume of people so didn't even realise the groups.
Your outfits and photos have always been great to see and your work shines through in small or large groups.
As a total non-sewer, I've followed a couple of the participants and enjoyed seeing the outfits very much. I guess once the numbers get so big, it's impossible to follow more than a handful, just too time consuming! I must say that your photos have been amazing as well as the outfits. Well done on a great MMM!
I should leave my silent reader position after your lovely text.
I don't understand the MMM challenge, because why should I sew clothes if i don't wear them? My first thought was, gosh another participant. But then i read the details and saw pieces that i never saw before. Like your thights and the great tutorial!
Your blog is one of my favorites. I love your style. You don't sew clothes that doesn't suit you or you follow the latest "trend" in the form of "ohh the sewing communitity sews dress X and hypes designer Y, i should do that also.. and tell how great the pattern is..and so unique.. not seen in any burda issue before".
Thank you for that!
The fact that your family also participate on MMM was funny to see. There aren't much men's clothes in the sewing world and it's great what you sew.
Oh and.. Sienna looks so good on the picture 😀
Congrats for getting through it. Always great to see what people are wearing from what they have made.
I feel exactly the way you do about the group this year. It was big. I looked at every single photo every day, but by the end I was exhausted. My husband kept saying just look at a random selection. I did make some new friends but I think your commet are pretty right. I really enjoyed your daily posts and particularly the 'what's the family wearing' part!
I think you and your family really excelled in MMM (even though they werent aware of it) Its been good see you mix and match different outifts together.
I love all your socks and pics of the family. Decided not to do MMM this year, for many of the reasons you noted. I felt that way last year, which was my first MMM :-)Like you, I like the coziness of more personal blogging, and I miss your paper doll project!
thank you coco!
Well done!! You made it. I admit I love to see what you are wearing for the Me-Made months and this year I especially liked seeing what the other members of your family wore as well. I didn't join in this year because I didn't feel I had enough 'new' things to share with everyone and it would be boring. I do think it's sad though that MMM has gotten so big that the community spirit has been lost 🙁 Oh, I love Sienna's pose int the photo today – kinda cute! 🙂
Congrats on making it through another year! I know I've been pretty quiet on here lately (with only 8 days to go till my wedding, I've been swamped!) but I've been following MMM as best as I can, exclusively through the posts of the participating bloggers that I follow anyway. I felt last year like it was a lot to keep up with, though I did find several new-to-me and interesting blogs to follow, and it's a little sad to hear that the community feel has dissipated with the large number of participants. (Personally, what I'd love to see happen is a few mini-challenges in there– I've done enough MMM's and one Self-Stitched September, both of which are basically pulling from the same section of my wardrobe because the end of spring and beginning of fall still feel pretty summery around here, to know that what I REALLY need is to evaluate my winter clothes! Maybe I should do my own little mini self-challenge come January or something…)
You sure do have lots of mm clothes. Congratulations. I enjoyed seeing them even though I did not comment every day. You always do great photos.
I certainly don't switch off during MMM – or any other time – I love the ways you find to put your outfits together, You give us here in the UK an insight to the lovely sunshine and vistas of Australia and it has been a real tonic during our cold, bleak winter! Keep up the moral boosting! Maureen
thank you Maureen!
I admit, MMM isn't my favourite time of year for reading blogs. There are so many people participating and it's too much to keep up with. One exception. Your blog. I love seeing your wardrobe, I love your clothes. One year I may actually particpate, then we will see how I feel about it. 😎
thanks ElleC 😉
I'm new to sewing so my selection of blogs that I follow is already a bit limited. I'm not a fan of daily "Look what I'm wearing" in general, but for me, for MMM, it's just EXCITING!
I've enjoyed logging in daily — ok, several times per day — to see if there are new posts from the bloggers I follow. I've also enjoyed that you got your family involved in MMM. I'm not sewing for my family yet; still quite selfishly sewing! 🙂
Hopefully by next May I'll be able to do a few days per week or something.
Carolyn, thanks for the honest reaction and share. I love MMM for the community aspect and I chose to not participate this year because of time constraints (other hobbies-really!). Good call on my part as the overall group was immense. I do better in a smaller group and have found this to be a theme in my online presence lately. I love seeing your photos, and learning some new ways of styling certain pieces. Finally, I miss your fashionary drawings 🙂
I have really enjoyed your MMM posts, especially the sneaky way you got your family involved:) I found them very inspiring. I am slowly building up my sewn wardrobe (mostly dresses so far), and I find myself almost always choosing something I've made over my RTW items. I, too, don't understand people who make themselves things and then don't wear them.
I certainly don't switch off during MMM, I love seeing your various outfits – you pull out things I've never seen.
How is Sienna doing? She looks good, hope all is well for her. Such a beautiful dog! I am envious….
thank you Angela! and yes, she's as good as new 🙂
Carolyn, your daily outfit posts were never boring, esp since they were all handmade by you! Pretty inspiring for people like me who wants to sew my own wardrobe, as well as picking up ideas on how to put together an outfit. Lol. Thankfully the MMM is drawing to a close for me,it's been quite an exercise! This is my 2nd, and I came into it this year with the intention of (other than photo documenting me in my mm) to get to know more participants/bloggers from the Flickr group. That didn't happen this year. Not really because of the whopping size participants (if I am being honest with myself, I do get overwhelmed being in big crowds, which is funny to realize but it really doesn't matter if one just post the pics, it's not like a party with a lot going on at the same time) but more because of my own fault not being able to visit the Flickr group to post and even scroll at the pictures of others. It became for me, more of a personal challenge. I do follow MMM progress of those already on my blog roll/bloglovin feed, but that's about what I can squeeze in with my time.
I like your daily outfit posts, as it is fun to see how you put different pieces together. Also, Sienna really is just the cutest. Last year was my first MMM and I definitely see a difference this year. It really is less of a community feel, which I suppose is to be expected. Still very inspiring to see what everyone is wearing, and great to know so many are sewing there own clothes. Even though you are really a sewing superhero for making your entire wardrobe and wearing daily, and maybe MMM is not so much of a challenge for you – Please keep doing it! You really are amazingly inspiring for someone like me, who is just getting a start on a handmade wardrobe :o)
This was my first year of MMM and I enjoyed your posts because I haven't been following your blog for forever so it allowed me to see some of your past makes and you are such an inspiration with your style and level of skill and craftsmanship.
I don't have other years to compare but the Flickr group did get overwhelming at times. I admit to feeling a bit frustrated at times since every time I went to look I never found where I was before. I finally set myself a time limit so I could enjoy the photos I was looking at instead of just trying to get through them all. I'm looking forward to being able to go back now that it is finished and work my way through. Hopefully others will do this too as time allows and we will all continue to glean inspiration from each other.
I hope you and the other "older' MMMayers will continue to be involved some how so that us newbies can continue to learn from you.
I'm not much to comment – and I don't have a blog or online presence really to interact with other sewers. I've followed you for about 6 months now, and I really liked the aspect of seeing what you actually wore on a day to day basis. I'm new to sewing and don't have enough me-made items that fit well enough to even dream of doing me made may but I do aspire to get to that point. I feel like you stand out, especially because you have distinct style which is simple and very chic. I feel very inspired by your journey and you make it seem attainable. Thank you for sharing with us. 🙂
thank you so much 🙂
that jacket just looks so good on you! i like that it scoops up in the center front.
think i found you during last year's me-made may, so i've been following for a year now? it's really inspiring to see what you do. my next aspiration (once medical school becomes stable again, ugh) is to learn to do my own pretty underbits & swimwear. thanks for sharing!
I really like your jacket and would like to use the pattern. But I have a question. The pockets seem to sit quite high on the body. Is there enough length in the pattern to lower them without ruining the lines?
Gail; you could lower them a bit, but they are quite big and do take up most of the side front, sitting quite low as well as high, tucked up under the arm. It would be possible to make them smaller, and sit lower. You can see them in close up in my original post on that jacket here
I haven't followed your blog for long, so everything on your MMM posts was new to me, and I really really love your style! I didn't participate myself, and I don't find everyone's MMM blog posts so interesting, but I'm glad I got to see all of your lovely pictures. It's an overused word in the time of Pinterest, but I do find your style / clothing / sewing very inspiring.
I have loved every minute of MMM. The pink jeans were my favourite because I would wear those myself but I also liked seeing your pattern choices as your style is very distinct to you. Thanks for posting throughout May. Jo x
http://joeveryday19.blogspot.co.uk
If I'm being honest, I'm in two minds about MMM. I like that it shows people that others wear MM stuff all month (& therefore is doable). On the other hand, I wear MM stuff most days anyway (why sew if not too wear the output) so sometimes I find it all a bit forced (not your posts though to be fair). Ultimately though, I am generally in awe of participants as I can never seem to photograph my new makes to blog about them let alone daily outfits!
Thanks for doing this. I certainly do not have enough to participate in MMM, and it was fabulous to see how many clothes you have for your family. Not only are you stylishly dressed, but you dress your family well! Quite a feat!
thank you so much!
There were definitely a lot of participants this year! And I've barely had time to visit Flickr. I haven't even uploaded everything there. I did get a bit overwhelmed, but I'll go back and look at the photos for inspiration in the following months. That's the good thing; the photos don't go away right away. 🙂
As a newish reader of your blog, I really liked your daily outfit posts so I could see all your handmade clothes that I didn't see the first time around. I did MMM this year, and taking photos was just too hard for me. I only posted the first few days on Flickr, and otherwise didn't even visit the group. It's overwhelming!
While I've never participated in Me-Made May, I have participated in other challenges and have also noticed that when they grow so popular, it IS hard to meet and interact with all the new bloggers it may introduce us to.
I am in awe of your sewing output and quality! I always love your outfit posts and definitely do not tune out during me-made and self-stitched months: I actually look forward to seeing some of my favorite outfits of yours! Your photos are incredibly executed & thoughtful. I'm sorry the flickr group has so large as to lose the community aspect. Also impressed at the family participation!
I am interested to read your views on MMM this year, as you have participated many times and I am just starting out 🙂 I found the Flickr group huge and haven't looked at all of it yet, but I view it all as a massive source of inspiration. As you wear me-mades all the time, maybe the personal challenge wasn't as fresh for you? Including your family upped the ante though. Whether you decide to take part in another me-made challenge or not, I hope you will keep on blogging your endeavours. I enjoy everything from your stunning locations to your handmade socks and tights!
I've really enjoyed your MMM and am sooo impressed you took photos every day! I think that would be harder than wearing a handmade garment every day. It must make you warm and fuzzy inside to see your family wearing clothes you've made. Makes me want to do some selfless stitching.
Bravo ! I travel some lines, some article a few months of your blog. I enjoyed all of it. Your creativity, dresses, skirts, for you are beautifull, sober and sublime. idem for your familly. Thank you. See you soon.
(From Autumn in south of France.)
thank you so much Theoreme!
gaaaaaahhhhh!!! you've just reignited my desire to make my own leather jacket!!! this year's MMM was a disaster for me, too many hours in the lab compounded by a lot of me-mades that have just worn out or don't fit thanks to an oh-so-healthy(!) diet over the winter. it will be really nice to get back to actually making things, keeping up with my lovely sewing bloggers and getting home at a normal time 🙂
congrats on finishing a lovely MMM!
I very much enjoyed following you during this past month. I found our blog through MMM and I was immediately intrigued by your nice elegant clothes and your beautiful pictures. It was a wonderful glimpse at your me made wardrobe and I am very impressed that you manage to wear exclusively me made clothes (even lingerie!). I will surely come back often to your blog for inspiration and information. Thanks for letting us follow your through this adventure!
Calina, Germany
I am another one that loved seeing your daily outfits and it did show me pieces that I hadn't seen before which was lovely. I do understand your comments and for me the group just got too huge to visit too many and picking out the select few got too difficult. Another great outfit today and Sienna is gorgeous!
I just wanted to say I have been reading your blog religiously for about a year and am in constant awe at everything you make! You are so inspiring. I first learned to sew when I was eight but have been very sporadic about it. So much so that even though I'm 41 I still consider myself only slightly beyond beginner. Keep doing what you do! Oh, and as a dabbling artist I LOVE your journaling and sketches!
Oh, thank you so much for those lovely words Shae! Your comment totally made my day!
I like your all comments in blogs and thanks for sharing wonderful fashion picture.