Me Made May 2017 – Week Four + Three Days

It’s over. 31 Days of wearing something I made every day has come to an end and it was amazing! So, here’s the overview of my Week Four, plus the last three days of May just to sewfully round it out! This is a bit long, so grab a nice beverage and settle in. There’s a heartfelt evaluation of the month at the end.

• In case you missed it, here’s Week One, Week Two and Week Three.  Enjoy!
• And, so we can all stay friends. . . . you can sign up to follow my Sewfulness at the top right of this page – by email or Bloglovin’. Plus there’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, too. That should keep you busy when you’re not sewing!

Day 22 – The Ava Sundress and a lesson in darting
Serendipity Studios Ava Sundress has been one of my “must make” loves for a long time! When I taught a class on Double Gauze Fashions, I chose two prints from Shannon Fabrics and a solid for the hemline border. It’s beautiful and cool, but still a work in progress! Embrace™ Double Gauze is best in non-tailored garments, so I left the darts out to keep it loose. It seems shapeless, though. . . so, they’re going back in. Rosie, my Australian Terrier insisted on being my footside accessory, then worked her way into a couple more MMM pictures. I’ve included the pattern cover in my pics so you can see how lovely it is in red!

There’s no canine MMM, so Rosie snuck into a few of my pictures. One must obey the terrier!

Day 23 – A Katherine Tilton Vest for sheer delight
A Me Made vest with Me Made pants! This sheer knit, print vest went together quickly. I used a double needle for all the hems and topstitching and I love it. The detailed, almost origami, seaming is wonderful and I’m sure I’ll make more. Color blocking could be fun. Unfortunately, it’s OOP (Vogue 8777), but you may still be able to find it online.  My gray double gauze Indygo Junction Artisan Pants made a repeat appearance and looked great with the vest! And, I learned that the Terrier now thinks she should be in every picture and wants a raise in her bone allowance!

Day 24 – My Fold, Cut & Serge Kimono of necessity
I love the way this super-quick kimono dresses up a basic tee and jeans and I need to make a few more! It was the end of a bolt of sheer woven poly at Pacific Fabrics in Seattle; I fell in love and bought it – but then what? Two folds, a front slit, rounded neck, two seams, serger rolled edges and now it’s wearable. My version of self-drafted!! There will definitely be a future blog post tutorial on this one, so we can all be Kimono Sisters.

Day 25 – A Simple, Straight Maxi Skirt and batik tank on repeat
We had warm, sun-lovely weather in the Pacific Northwest and I got to wear my Rayon Batik Indygo Junction Everyday Tank again! This time I paired it with a knit print, self-drafted, maxi-skirt that took all of about 3 minutes. Seriously! There will definitely be a tutorial post on this one, too. Sometimes simple is just good enough and I really enjoyed the ease and comfort of this outfit on a rare hot day.

Day 26 – My Mosaic Cloth Scarf and the value of playing with fabric
Not the top, not the pants but it’s the scarf that’s Me Made today! I LOVE playing with fabric, stitching and dyes and this project was incredibly satisfying. Taught by the amazing Anita Luvera Mayer, I made this scarf in a class I was privileged to take at Fidalgo Artisan Yarn Co. In the Anita tradition, it is totally done by hand – dyeing, stitching and beading – and it was a joy to create! I’m including lots of pics so you can see the details. I swore I would machine stitch the next scarf with this technique and I did when I made one for a gift. But, Anita is right! I didn’t like it as well and my next one will be patiently (or not-so-patiently) hand-stitched.

Photo-Hubby made me laugh for Week Four. By this time, I’d post just about anything, so this became part of the line up!

Day 27 – A Linen Jacket inspired by RTW
Last Fall when we went to Maui, I wanted a lightweight jacket for evenings. Silly of me because I never needed it, but I did end up with a jacket that I love! Inspired by a ready-to-wear jacket, I modified Butterick 6056, raising the neckline a bit and subbing a separating zipper for the buttons in View D. I used Robert Kaufman Essex Linen/Cotton and Coats and Clark’s Tim Holtz Thread for the hand stitching.  It’s perfect for our PNW coolness and I had fun with all the details. There are five pictures so you can see everything I did and, how my hubby photographer was making me laugh that morning.

Day 28 – BBQ, Sunshine and Good Friends plus a vest on repeat
This was a holiday weekend day and my Me Made was a repeat. I know you can barely see it, but I wore the OOP Vogue 8777 vest you saw on Day 23. I love how it added a bit of pizazz to my purchased black tank and capris. And, I especially love it accessorized with my wonderful friend Patty and a large dose of silliness. She leaped into my lap just as hubby was about to snap the pic!

Day 29 – My Double Gauze Dress and all that Summer Jazz 
Dress up time in my Snapdragon Studios Summer Jazz Dress sewn in Shannon Fabrics gorgeous, double gauze, Queen Anne’s Lace print. The sleeves are bias-cut and have a lovely drape and swing to them. And, there are side seam pockets! I added vintage glass buttons because, in this fabric, the dress has kind of a retro look. Once again, accessorized with the insistent Terrier. I’m really looking forward to wearing this one (sans furry Terrier) for the Summer heat! 🌞

Day 30 – When you need just A Little Somethin’ Jacket
It was a typical PNW cloudy day again, so my CNT Pattern Company A Little Somethin’ Jacket was appropriate with my TNT Indygo Junction Artisan Pants and a purchased tee. This 3 hour jacket has been SUPER popular and it has it’s own blog post already. Click here to learn more!

Day 31 – Easy Top, Linen Gauze and a couple of hours
I actually sewed on Day 31! A lot of those following me thought I was sewing every day, but I wasn’t. Most of what I wore for Me Made May was sewn previously for classes, samples, vacay, etc. My personal MMM commitment was to wear something I made every day, not to actually sew it. Because, crazy as I am, I’m not quite that insane! This Indygo Junction Easy Top/Tunic is going to make a great capsule wardrobe piece. I am totally in love with the mustard Linen Gauze I bought at District Fabric in Seattle. In the spirit of capsule, I posted three different stylings with this top and I’ve already thought of more!

Sewful Lessons Learned From Me Made May

1. I own a lot of Me Made clothing. I need to make more and wear more. The confidence and satisfaction I’ve gained in the the last 31 days is priceless!
2. Most of what I make is tops and jackets. I’d like to stretch myself out to more pants and dresses in the future.
3. I LOVE FABRIC. Well . . . . this is not new – just reinforced by seeing what I have made and what inspires me. All those boxes of fabric stacked up in my Sewing Spa? Well worth it!
4. People who sew are wonderful, encouraging, friendly and awesome. I am so privileged to be sharing my Sewful Life with all of you!
5. My hubby is a great photographer! Although, he now requests that I call him Marlboro Man, ala Pioneer Woman. Love you honey, but that one’s already taken. Would iPhone 7 Man be okay?

I learned about Me Made May from Isabel of Fluffy Fibers many years ago and finally had the time to participate this year.  Seeing what everyone was making and wearing was incredible and I feel like I made a lot of marvelous new friends. You are ALL stars!!! I’ll miss it, but that doesn’t mean I’ll quit wearing my makes. MMM has added so much to my Sewful Life! Many, many thanks to Zoe at SoZo Blog for this amazingly inspirational challenge. It has enriched my life in ways I could just never have imagined!

Moment of Further Truth:
Shannon Fabrics provided the double gauze fabrics for me and Indygo Junction provided me with their patterns that I used. But, the rest of this is all me and I only gush about things if I truly believe in them!