The Old Fashioned Outfit

Before I write anything else, I just want to say, thank you very much, all of you, for your gorgeous and wonderful comments on my last post. I’m always a bit reticent to share real emotions digitally, after all, as we all know, the internets is no place for feelings. But in the swirl of all this nostalgia, I felt some impulsive need to inject a touch of reality, or at least, my reality, into the vintage mania, which I myself truly do share. Thank you all for reading, really, it means more to me then I can say.

And now, onto my second Sew For Victory outfit! This one is actually a reproduction print, the ever popular Simplicity 3688. I took the blouse and skirt patterns and made them both, in a Spring (or at least anticipating Spring! Come on, Spring!) outfit. And here is what I came out with:

As I look at this photo, I realize there is just a ton of fabric bunching at the waist. Oh, well, what are you going to do. I omitted the waist tucks, serves me right.

As you may recall (though why on Earth would you…) I’ve actually made this skirt before. But I’ve never made this blouse, and I honestly do like it quite a bit. The neckline is a bit high, and I had to add two darts at each shoulder to get the sleeve to ease into the arm, but otherwise it really works for me.

The blouse material came from Fabric.com from a year ago, and the skirt material came from an Etsy seller two full years ago. STASH BUSTING FOR THE WIN!

I shortened the skirt about 5 inches (because, for real, I am short, and also, I want to wear this thing, not just save it for theme parties!) but otherwise made no changes.

Dance break!

I love the print, I think it’s perfect for spring! The look might be a bit modest, but I think it’s pretty cute and flattering, even given women with less then subtle chests.

A whole bunch of darts in that sleeve cap.

And there you can just see the flatfelled seams of the skirt.

And there you have it! More 1940′s stuff. I do truly love the lines and shapes of this period. This skirt falls rather stiffly, but really it’s not as big as it seems, and it’s easy to make it fabric efficient. As is the blouse! Makes it all the easier to keep the home fires burning.

Also, as a last word, the title of this post actually refers to the Frightened Rabbit song, Old Old Fashioned. Love it.

The My Kind of Staple Skirt

First of all, thank you people all so damn much for your kind comments about my last very form fitting dress! I really appreciate all the love, you people are amazing. I get really weird and nervous about putting those photos on the internets, so thank you. Seriously. You are all way too kind and way too amazing, and thank you for your advice about knit hems and junk in the trunk. Saving all my future makes is what you people do best!

So, you know how Vogue and Marie Claire and Glamour have an article every five minutes about “The Five Staples You Need Right Now” or, “The Ten Pieces You Need For Spring” or “The Only Things You’ll Ever Need To Wear”, like no one is every going to shop again, like fashion as an industry is just going to stop and throw up it’s hands, all, okay, we’re all done. These things do not happen. And yet, the magazines keep selling! I myself buy them! What the hell? So we’ve all heard this mishagas about “staples”, like, THE black pant, THE white shirt, THE floral trench for 5000 dollars (which everyone totally needs, SAID NO ONE EVER). But of course, for convenience and simplicity and just normal day-to-day needs, most people DO have staples, they do have a sort of uniform. And mine is typically woven skirt, knit top, tights, go, especially in this long cold Spring we are having up here in the mid-Atlantic. So it’s obviously in my best interests to make things that correspond with that pattern. Hence this lovely thing I made recently:

I have, of course, made this before, and pretty damn recently, too. It’s Simplicity 4529, which I have learned from experience needs a non-stretch woven to work. But I think when it works, IT REALLY WORKS. Am I right? Even though the expression on my face above looks like I’m eating glass. I really need to work on my face…

Ignore the line of my shirt which you can totally see here, and isn’t this nice? Yes, it’s a bit wrinkled, whatever, I live a life of wrinkles, one must accept such things. The one seam of this 10 dart skirt (10 DARTS! My mind balks each time I consider it, but clearly darts are the key to happiness!) is finished with navy bias tape, which you can see peeking out here at the back vent.

More wrinkles, sigh. But I love this skirt! And the three times I’ve worn it thus far, everyone around me has told me they like it, including my bosses at the costume shop , who, like, sew for a living and are the real deal. So I feel pretty darn good about this. How good?

This good! To be fair, I’m more laughing because my friend Ben, who took these photos, made me crack up. Also, it was so damn cold when we took these. Also, it’s the end of March. Also, it snowed today. SO that’s why I’m making wool flipping pencil skirts at the end of March.

To the sewing! I made no changes except that this one has an invisible zipper not a visible one, which, I mean, I hate invisible zippers, but it’s what I had. I also shortened it by 3 inches or so, which is my standard for this pattern now. This buttery spongy wool I bought last winter at the Pennsylvania Fabric Outlet and I got the last remnant on the spool, and I pet it for a full year before I actually made this. But I’m so glad I did! I love this skirt, and, weather being what it is, I will probably get a lot of use out of it before it gets too warm.

I’m trying to dance to stay warm here because it was seriously cold. But I’m so thrilled Ben took these photos of me, after a bagel brunch celebrating our last leavened product for a while, it’s Passover now, goodbye breadybye!

So how to I feel to have a well-fitting red pencil skirt that I love and is my version of a staple?

I think you can figure it out.

 

The At Last Skirt

I have finally found a pencil skirt pattern that works for me.

I HAVE FINALLY FOUND A PENCIL SKIRT PATTERN THAT WORKS FOR ME. This is a big flipping deal, people. Pencil skirts are hard, guys, they hard just plain hard! But I really wanted a good pattern, for the LONGEST time, and I tried all sorts of things out until I found my new favorite favorite pattern, this vintage 1950′s treasure:

Simplicity 4529. It’s actually a rather amazing pattern, 10 darts, 1 yard of fabric, fun all around. I actually tried this pattern once before with a stretch fabric, and that, as I discovered, was some bad news bears. That skirt turned out way too big on me, and it just never really clung the way a good pencil skirt should. I wanted so much from it, and it gave me nothing, it was very sad, I cried many a salt tear over that failure.

But for whatever reason, my instinct was, try this pattern again, and this time, do it in a non-stretch fabric. And lo and behold, look what I came out with?

And it looks, if I do say so myself, baller! I love this skirt, I really do. I shortened the pattern by about 5 inches (this is LONG, and I am short), but otherwise made zero changes.

I’m pretty into the fit of this. Oh, and I made that shirt, too. The sage of that nonsense can be read here.

I wore this on Valentine’s Day, a day in which I went to class, went to kickboxing, and made dinner for my roommate and we drank wine and watched Nashville. So, it was pretty perfect in all ways.

Obviously, given the nature of this skirt, it’s important that you see the back view. Much as I might blush to put this on the interwebs, I will sacrifice in the name of sewing.

I hand picked the zipper, and chose a tortoiseshell button, which I thought was fun.

Also, there is only one seam in this ten dart skirt, and I finished that with bias tap. I adore the back vent, I really do. It’s hard to photograph, though:

That is just the weirdest pose. Here, try it this way:

And I hand stitched the hem, of course. As one does.

I just, I adore this pattern. I love the fit, I think it really works for me, and I am so thrilled that I made this unbearably practical plain black skirt, and I can’t wait to make this pattern in other fabrics. I have a red wool I got a year ago that I think might be just perfect, don’t you? A red pencil skirt, doesn’t that just delight your mind?

Is there a pattern you have been trying for a while to find a perfect version of? Any luck? I feel so thrilled to have finally figured out a pattern that works for me, I can’t even deal with it. Very Joan Holloway, no?

Oh, and this is me with my Valentine:

Crazy cat lady status achieved.

 

The Home Sweet Home Skirt and some thoughts for 2013

Ah, Brooklyn, sweet Brooklyn. I have, indeed, missed you. Old Amsterdam was amazing, though, it really was, and we had the best possible trip, all stuffed with Vermeer and Rembrandt and pancakes and frites and Indonesian food and 17th century architecture and The Amsterdam School of Building and canals and Spinoza and Van Gogh and things like this:

And as a result we all felt like this:

And it was lovely. And yes, my hair did seem quite Dutch, I fit right in, it was excellent.

So it was a lovely way to spend the New Year, with the three people I adore the most, in a gorgeous place. No wild ragers, no embarrassing morning-afters, just fireworks and Surinamese food and cognac and my favorite people. And so I didn’t really think about sewing resolutions or life resolutions or anything but delicious apple tarts and avoiding getting run over by bicyclists. But now that I’m back in the States, and back in Brooklyn (for, about, ten seconds before I go to Puerto Rico for ten days…) and enjoying a more solitary existence (well, I live with two roommates, plus my cat, plus all my friends, plus all the bartenders I tend to get super friendly with, so, yes, solitude is a relative term), I’m considering my New Years sewalutions. Oh, and I made a skirt:

It’s a Colette Patterns meringue. I had to take about 4 inches off at the waist, which I did on the non-zippered side, of course, using a makeshift 2 AM dart. It’s still a little loose, but I like it.

Sewalution #1. Re-measure myself. Clearly my shape has changed and a lot of the stuff I’ve made and have been making recently has been rather loose on me, so I need to re-evaluate my sizing and act accordingly, instead of this late night slapdash alteration nonsense.

I got this fabric from the hoarder stash. Truly the gift that keeps on giving.

Sewalution #2. For SERIOUS, for REALS this time, SEW FROM MY STASH. I can’t even deal with myself in this respect, I need to be so much stricter about this.

These photos are awfully grainy. I tried to color correct them, sigh.

Let’s see, did I do anything else special with this? Not really, I added a lining because this wool is rather scratchy, but other then that, nothing, really. The lining is a cotton from my grandfather’s attic which I dyed blue.

Matches the plaid, no?

A little back view for you. A bit wrinkled, sigh.

I cut the waistband on the bias to make it as comfortable as possible.

I wouldn’t say it’s the most special thing I’ve ever made, but it’s cute and serviceable  and warm and perfect for wearing day-to-day. And I got brunch with my friend Becca today, and she said, immediately, cute skirt! So I feel pretty good about it.

Sewalution #3. Make things you know you will wear and that actually fit your lifestyle.

Sewalution #4. Try new patterns! This skirt does no fulfill that rule, I’ve made it a few times. Bad Leah.

Sewalution #5. Post twice a week. This is going to be hard one for me, but I love this blog, and all the people who read it, and I want to make sure I’m active and sharing my sewing journey with the rest of the world. So I’m going to do it. Come hell or high water.

That’s five things to do this year. That’s doable, right? Well, we shall see..

And it’s nice to be home. And thank goodness that Puerto Rico is also my home, so going there is a home as well.

I hope that your holiday season and subsequent aftermath has been pleasant and bearable. Tell me all about it,if you want…

The Sexy Candy Striper Outfit

I have been the worst flipping blogger in the world. And I’m sorry. Graduate school is crazy, people! Even when it’s Clown College. It’s a lot of work, making stuff up, writing it down, it really is! You can trust me on this one. And I also have to go to plays! And deal with humans! Who want to get dinner! The hell? Don’t they know I hate everyone? Apparently not, I keep getting invited and having some kind of attack in which I say YES instead of NO I HAVE TO STAY HOME AND TALK TO MY CAT. New York is doing bizarre things to me…

Anyway, I have been sewing. And I met Mika! Mika is awesome. I always loved her blog, so I’m really glad I got to meet her in person. She’s just fantastic, and her red clovers were dope. Seriously dope. I use this term because A. Mika is from California and I thought it might appeal to her, should she read this and B. they just ARE.

I’ve actually made a grand total of FOUR things of late, which I hurriedly took photos of this morning, because I’ve been trying for two weeks for some of this stuff, and I just couldn’t wait anymore! In other news, I’ve totally deviated from my Fall Sewing Plan, of course, OF COURSE. I have made the SPIRIT of the plan, but not the LETTER. That’s just who I am.

So, I made a bit of a vintage duo about which I have mixed feelings. Let’s take a look at the patterns from whence this sprang, shall we?

Cute, no? I ignored everyone’s advice about drafting my own pattern, like I do, and just bought something. Specifically, Simplicity 4529. I’m just that way. Actually I kind of love this pattern dearly, and while the end result is a bit loose, I know how I can tweak it to perfect the fit.

The blouse is, well, let’s look to the pattern, shall we?

McCalls 3305.

It LOOKS really awesome, right? Yeah, it does. It did to me. But the end result, well, I just don’t know. And let it be said right now, I’m so insanely influenced by pattern art, as you can see right here:

God, I look so mad! I’m not mad, really!

Or am I? I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel about this blouse. For one thing, like the skirt, it’s a bit big. For another, it may well be a bit, um, clowny…

I had this vision that this bow blouse was going to be the bow blouse to end all bow blouses. Because honestly, I really REALLY love bow blouse, but I have yet to make one with which I’m completely satisfied! How sad is that? Life is SO HARD SOMETIMES.

Instead, I don’t know, it looks a little, I don’t know, 80′s? 90′s? So decade no one likes? (Or maybe just I don’t like?) Sigh.

See, a bit baggy, not quite the sleek sophisticated thing I’d been hoping for, ah, well, I still enjoy it! It might be a bit clowny, but I can’t help but like the waist tucks and the bow. Bows, I’m just a sucker for them! Why is that? Can anyone tell me why bows are so delightful?

Oh, yes, I always forget construction notes. Well, most of this is French-seamed, with a bit of pinking. I eliminated the facings in favor of bias tape (I mean, come on, facings? ARE THE WORST.) And what else, I think that’s it!

So stern! Like a weird candy striper at, say, a mental institution. Super cute.

Now to the skirt!

See, I can still smile! I do like this skirt, I do I do I do. I like this pattern, something like 10 darts, one seam, which I finished with bias tape, a kickpleat which I sadly had to eliminate because I shorted this some 5 inches (at the insistence of my roommates who have informed me that I dress rather, um, matronly.) I made this in a stretch cotton, which, well, I’m going to do it again in red wool (speaking of sexy) and I will shorten the pattern and keep the kickpleat AND tighten it a bit at the waist, it’s a touch loose. But this version is perfectly serviceable and so comfortable and practical, it’s the ultimate in cake, to go with this rather frosting top.

And loose or not, it still looks good from the back. Doesn’t it?

Oh, yes, it does.

I noired it up for you. Now imagine a cigarette, a throaty purr, and a dark plot. And….scene.

How is your fall sewing going? Do you think I dress matronly? What does matronly mean to you? All comments are entirely welcome!

The I Guess It’s Okay Skirt

First of all, thank you all so much, SO much for your amazing and thoughtful comments on my last post. I haven’t been able to respond to them yet the way I would like to, but your thoughtful responses just thrilled and amazed me (though I really should stop being amazed at how awesome this sewing community is). If you haven’t read the book discussed, give it a gander if you get a chance, it’s really worth readying. I think this is such an interesting subject and clearly is something that we all think about or consider when we sew, both the gender roles involved and it’s impact on our lives and then the world in general. And just to clarify, when I talk about smugness, I really mean myself, I’m SUPER smug about sewing, I’m really just the worst, on the outside I’m like, ohhh, no, it’s really NO big deal, but on the inside I’m like, yes, I’m just generally better then you, ain’t no thang. It’s okay to be impressed about what a huge flipping deal I am. No biggie.

In other news, meh. Meh on me. I have NOT been a diligent blogger of late. Or a responsive person. Or a good emailer. The only thing I’ve kept up is consistent feeding of the cat and if I don’t do that he screams at me.

 

So deceptively calm.

But school is wonderful but busy and guess what? Guess what? Guess what? I got a job working in the Tisch undergraduate costume shop! Waaaaaaaaaaa? Yeah. AWESOME.

Actually, in all seriousness, I couldn’t be more thrilled. The people who work there are lovely, the woman who designed the show we are working on right now is a lovely young designer still in college but she’s so talented and smart that I want to just learn from her now, and she’s just one person there! The supervisors are lovely, the shop is fascinating, and I’m pleased as punch to have been able to hustle work-study into sewing time. Seriously, I sew and they pay me (in theory, I just started on Friday so I have no proof of that yet). It’s splendid.

Technically I’m overhire, so I just work around the student productions, but there is something really fun about rushed crazied costume building. (Especially when it’s a part time gig, let’s be real.) But I got to use a serger! On my first day! Living the dream, people, living the dream.

So now that we are all caught up, this thing is a thing I made. Meh to this thing too:

I made this three weeks ago, forced my roommate to take photos of it last week, and am just posting it today. STRUGGLE. I’ve worn it a number of times, and it’s cute enough, I suppose, but it’s not the skirt I set out to make. Can you believe the impulse behind this was to be more pencil than pouf? No? At this point neither can I…

I used BurdaStyle’s Marie pattern, a pattern I have used TWICE before, and yet for whatever reason this time I must have cut it wrong? Or something? I don’t know, it doesn’t taper at the hem which it is supposed to do. I converted the back pleats into darts, but that really oughtn’t to make a difference…..I don’t even know, guys. I don’t even know.

It’s also a bit big. Sigh. And wrinkled. Ah, well, that’s reality for you!

Still, it’s cute enough, and insanely practical (a solid colored neutral modest-but-cute skirt? Yeah, where CAN’T I wear this thing? Other then the Met ball or a nightclub, it’s pretty much a go-everywhere thing). And it’s stash busting, which is, by the way, my biggest fall goal, because I just really need to rid myself of fabric. It’s…taking over my life.

So all in all it’s fine, but honestly, it’s really just okay. Still, I’ll wear it, I’ll use it, but I wish I knew what had gone wrong!

In the meantime, I made another skirt (more on that to come), cut out a blouse and a pair of black denim Clovers, and looked at the men’s shirt pattern for a long time with no motivation. Why is it so hard to sew for other people? Sigh.

Fall Sewing! It continues! Has anything crazy (like a new graduate program and a new city) taken over your life lately? How did you deal?

Night to Day: Giveaway #6 (And by the way, I need your help)

Rough winds have shaken the darling buds of July and it is rainy, wet and honestly a touch chilly here in Philadelphia, not that I’m complaining, given that I’m on a bike for much of my day, so biking in the cool air is preferable to biking in the heat. I do both, as it turns out, but still, it’s nice when there us a breeze. I’ve been working on several new projects, two for my mamala, whose birthday is this coming Wednesday, one with the small person I’ve been teaching to sew, and one for the dinner I’m throwing tomorrow. That one is all done, expect photos and a dedicated post soon, along with some delectable food shots….

But for now, you will have to content yourselves with another giveaway, and a shameless plea for aid.

First things first, the winner of giveaway #4! And that is….Cindy, of Cation Designs! I think I’ve made my adoration for Cindy abundantly clear, but might I just say right now, thank you all, everyone who has been commenting to win on these giveaways! I really adore reading your comments, and I’m so thrilled that these patterns are going to such amazing people! Keep on commenting, I’ve got lots more goodies in store….

And here they are! Patterns which are far too small for me, but which I can’t help but find unbearably charming…

A closer look? But of course!

This could even be a cute dress, minus all the lace crap…

I actually really want all their shoes…am I alone?

Very Victorian, no? Or even Edwardian, for all those Downton Abby Fantasies…

And now that I’ve dangled patterns in front of your face as a bribe, please help me. If you want to enter this giveaway, or even if you don’t, would you mind terribly weighing in on my current internal sewing debate? I have 1.5 yards of 60″ navy linen, and it is awesome. It looks like this:

In the right hand corner you can JUST see some Cadfael paw. It’s a nice linen, even darker than this photo might suggest.

So I’m not really sure what to do with this length of fabric. Part of me says, make a skirt! You love skirts! And part of me says, make shorts! Make THESE shorts:

I’ve made them before, in fact, and I honestly adore them. But given all the shorts I’ve been making lately, I feel a bit silly making another pair, and a high-waisted style at that…

Or I could make this:

Okay, the cover art isn’t awesome, but I’ve made this before, the skirt and the pants, and the skirt, in a navy wool, is something I wore all winter, check it out.

Or I could do this:

Which of course I’ve made rather recently. And I can’t lie to you, I wear this at least once a week.

Or I could make something that ISN’T one of these options. What would you suggest? What do you like best? Any thoughts? Of course, it could just remain a perch for Mister Fattie:

Somehow, that doesn’t seem like the best use of this fabric…

Okay, tell me what to do! Or just tell me what YOU would do….

The I’m Really A Dog Person Skirt

Shocking confession time: Until about three years ago, I would have said I was a dog person. WHAT? I know. I KNOW. BETRAYAL.

I actually grew up with dogs. We had a HORRIBLE cat when I was young, Nadia, and like most horrible things she just lived for flipping EVER. My mother adopted that mean calico in college and the animal just would not die. Horrible cat. Horrible even to my mother, her savior. Horrible. But that’s cats for you, ungrateful, selfish, never kind. Right?

Mom, how could you say such things about me and my kind? I’m so upset I’m just going to have to sleep for 9 hours to deal with these emotions. Excuse me.

So we had dogs. Sweet stupid wonderful dogs filled with doggie happiness. I love dogs, I really do. My school mascot was a dog, in college, and I actually got to meet the fellow. Here is how I felt about meeting Handsome Dan in real life:

Right? In my disposition I’m actually quite dog-like. I’m cheerful, I pant easily, I love food, I enjoy getting my belly rubbed, it’s all there! I’m literally a person who is like a dog.

But somehow along the way, these devious plotting fuzzy jerks (i.e. cats) have crept their ways into my life. And what can I do? I love them. They are cute! They are interesting! They are consistently weird and funny! They’ve got tails and they chase bugs! I’m into them, what can I say….

So I made a skirt. As an ode to these creatures who have infiltrated my life and show no signs of leaving.

Ha, I forced Becca to take these photos in Target near O’Hare Airport. Yeah. I did this whole “oh, I’m shopping, are you taking a photo, how surprising!” thing. Super cute.

The fabric is the Tammis Keefe for Michael Miller line which came out, I don’t know, 2 years ago? But somehow I JUST discovered it and HAD to have it so off I went to le Ebay to spend some cash on new fabric, which is NOT what I’m supposed to be doing right now. Remorseless spendthrift that I am, I got it, I cut it, (thank you, Vivet Veritas’ free half-circle skirt pattern!) and I made it. Additionally, Remorseless Spendthrift is 100% going to be my indie rock band name.

Still, a woman complimented me as we boarded the plane back to Philadelphia, so I consider it money well spent.

Cute, no? Certainly crazy-cat-lady approved.

The fabric is really adorable. Take a look:

How adorable are these cats? Even loving dogs, as I do, I just can’t help it. SO. CUTE. They all look so happy with themselves. Of course, cats always do…

Of course, I could do as much jumping as usual, us being in public and all. Still I made some spinning happen, at least…

I don’t know that you REALLY need a back view of this very simple very easy to make skirt, but just in case, here it is.

I know it’s not my most exciting project ever, but it was fast and easy and fun and makes nice use of this ADORABLE fabric, so I’m pretty into it. And sometimes, you really just need something fast, fun and easy in a gorgeous fabric that celebrates an animal you haven’t ALWAYS loved, but can’t help loving now…

And as a final image, please enjoy this photo of Becca’s cat, Eloise. Eloise is a MEAN cat. Still, she’s pretty cute, right?

Me Made May 29, 30 and 31! Final Station Stop!

Wow. After 31 days of me made madness we have finally come to the end of the line! Goodness.

Really quickly, before the pontificating, let’s check in with the outfits:

May 29th!

My nautical bias skirt with a blouse I never bothered to document here, it’s a sorbetto with no pleat, just pintucks. I had some fabric leftover from my Flirting with the Forties blouse (which I made, goodness, how long ago?) so I used that. I love this blouse, I just never got around to photographing and making an homage to it.

Day 30!

My pro-petter pan blouse with a store-bought skirt. This is actually one of my favorite skirts and the waistband NEVER GETS MESSED UP. How does that work? Damn you, H and M!

Day 31!

My final outfit! My Wildcard pants with another sorbetto, also never really documented here. But check out what I managed to do:

Do you know how hard it is to take a photo of yourself in the mirror with a large camera and do a thumbs up ? But I did it. FOR ME MADE MAY!

The scarf is both new and vintage, and extra special. Why?:

Awesome. Got it on le etsy. Thanks, etsy!

It seems like only yesterday I was vowing to only wear stuff I made and look how the time has flown! I have to say, it’s been a challenge in a different way than last year. Last June when I did this challenge for the first time I had far less that I had made, and this year I had lots of options. and the challenge became about how to combine them in new ways. And I must say, I don’t think I repeated any one combination, which is nice! I also made some new stuff, including a baby quilt using old scraps for a co-worker, and I must say, I felt really special wearing all my me made stuff all month.

It also reminded me of a few things.

1. There are things I made that I don’t like or wear. And hey, that’s okay! Some of them I made when I was less experienced, some of them I thought would work but don’t, and some of them I don’t know what the hell I was doing when I made that crap, but for whatever reason, those items don’t work for me. I will be getting rid of them to make room for new things.

2. I wear separates a lot more than I wear dresses.

3. With that in mind, I need a good serviceable bikeable black skirt. Anyone have any pattern ideas or preferences? Many was the time this month that I saw that as a gap in my closet.

4. There are a lot of things I made that I really like! Including the new items in my Spring/Summer Palette challenge! So that’s nice.

5. I love this challenge. I love celebrating what I’ve made and seeing how other people style what they’ve created. I find it inspirational and excellent. So thank you, everyone who participated, I really loved all the posts I read, and a HUGE thanks to Zoe for organizing this yearly shin-dig! Thank you, Zoe! I salute you!

Me Made May Days 22-26 (I really need to make photographer friends)

These photos are going to be strugglesome. Seriously, I need to make some photographer friends, this is getting pathetic. Sigh. The last week has been busy and unexpectedly filled with nightlife (I’m usually a complete homebody when the sun sets, what’s up, universe?) and somehow that has translated to crappy photographs hurriedly shot in mirrors, and with the case of the 24th of May, no photograph at all.

But I can assure you that I did wear me-made-things on the 24th. Or did I? You would never know, now, would you? In fact, NONE of the stuff on this blog could have been made by me, I could be buying it and passing it off as my own and you’d NEVER KNOW. If this was a comic book that would totally be what I, as the evil villain, did. But here in real life, I totally made all this. (….or did I? See, the seed has been planted….)

Day 22!

My Faded Photograph Blouse with Wild Card Pants! I wore this to work, and I even wore a DIFFERENT Me-Made outfit out to dinner with my friend Laura! Doubling Down!

Day 23!

My Blank Canvas T with my I Was Made For Sunny Days Skirt! Wednesday I worked showing apartments and then actually once again changed post-gym into another me-made outfit to go see a musical with my friend Shamus. It was atrocious. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.

Day 24!

I got nothing. This day I attended Night Market (a big food market that is run by the Food Trust and mimics the famous night food markets of Taiwan and Hong Kong). The Food Trust has been running these for the past two years and they are fantastic and absurdly crowded, but I went early in a brand new me-made-skirt (post to follow!) and FINALLY got to try Pitruco’s Pizza, a pizza truck with a wood burning oven inside it (WHAT? YES.) and it was UNREAL. It’s probably better I was too exhausted to take photos even of myself in the mirror, I was all pizza-full and blissful.

 

Day 25!

A bought t-shirt and my Too Hot For Tzaft skirt. Cadfael had to check me out and be a part of it. Cats, man. Work, work, work, then dinner with my mom were we enjoyed margaritas and tacos. Yum.

Day 26!

And my Truffle Muslin, which fits me a bit better these days, and stood me well as I went from showing to showing to cleaning my apartment to going to a play.

And that’s me all caught up. Homestretch, people, and here in the states it’s a holiday weekend! So I promise to try to get some better photos (or at least better FRIENDS, seriously) in between barbeques and gardening. Any plans?