Me-Made-May'13 Final Week

Well, I've made it through my first Me Made May challenge. I am actually feeling a little disappointed that it's over - it's been fun thinking of ways to incorporate my handmade items in my day to day wardrobe, but most of all I've enjoyed seeing so many creative people sharing their self made outfits on flickr. So here are my three outfits for the final week of the challenge:

My first outfit included my favourite me-made purple swing top, a me-made black scarf (I love how fluffy it is - so cozy and warm to wear), me-made purple court shoes and black cord jeans.

My next outfit included a me-made cotton voile top worn with jeans and a cardigan, and my me-made oxford shoes. I really like the leather these shoes are made from - it's got a lovely waxy finish. 

And my final outfit included a me-made self-drafted dress, me-made stretch cord jacket, me-made boots and a me-made linen and lace clutch. It's probably a bit difficult to see, but  I stitched a little wooden decoration with a cross-stitched butterfly on the front flap of the clutch - I think it helps to make it a bit more casual. 

Well, that's it for my Me-May-May'13 outfits. It's been a fun challenge - thanks again Zoe for organising it! And thanks to everyone who has taken part and shared their photos and comments on flickr. I look forward to doing it again next year! 

Me-Made-May'13 Week 3

The cooler weather has made putting together outfits for Me-Made-May a little more challenging this week - good motivation for getting to work on my winter wardrobe sewing! In the meantime, here's how I went this week:

This me-made cotton voile top was one of my summer favourites with the images of butterflies made up of tiny butterflies, and the fabric so soft to wear. I paired it with a navy cardigan and jeans, and my me-made lace-up shoes (the first pair of derbies I made when studying shoemaking). 

Yet another Cambie dress (yes, it was one of my most used patterns over summer). I wore this one with my aqua green cardigan and me-made purple court shoes.

Cotton voile seems to be another recurring theme in my Me-Made-May outfits. I wore this self-drafted top with jeans and my me-made court shoes. 

With one more week to go in the Me-Made-May'13 challenge, if you'd like to check out how everyone else is going, have a look at the flickr page - it really is inspiring seeing so many talented and creative people proudly wearing their self made clothes!

Me-Made-May'13 Week 2

I'm really enjoying seeing all the self-made clothing that people are wearing for the Me-Made-May'13 challenge. If you'd like to have a look, check out the flickr page - so many talented and creative people!

Here are my three me-made outfits for the week:

On what looks like the last warm sunny day for a while, I wore my green floral (slightly modified) Cambie dress and my handmade sandals and ring to the farmer's market. With both the floral print fabric and the lining being cotton voile, this dress is so light and comfortable to wear in the warmer weather, and was probably one of my most worn items all summer.

This is a close-up of the me-made ring in the previous photo. I simply threaded a small bead onto a piece of sterling silver wire and wrapped it around my ring mandrel - a bit of an experiment really.

As the weather started to cool down on Mother's Day, I wore my me-made jersey dress and shoes with a pair of full-length leggings and long sleeve top. For a hint of colour (and extra warmth) I also wore this super-soft scarf (can you tell yet that I love the colour purple??)

My third me-made outfit for the week included a purple knit top, similar to the first top I wore as part of the Me-Made-May'13 challenge. I wore it with a refashioned black velvet skirt and full-length leggings. As I've worn these me-made shoes previously in the challenge (and because it was cold!), I added the black scarf I knitted last winter.

Me-Made-May'13 Week 1

It's fun challenging myself to wear at least one item of handmade clothing and one handmade accessory three days per week as part of Me-Made-May'13. Here's how I've gone this week:

I had to start with my favourite top, made and lived in last winter. I haven't had much of a chance to wear it yet this year, but the cooler weather last week meant it could finally come out of my wardrobe. I wore it with a skirt I made several years ago, layered over leggings, and my handmade purple court shoes - these were the second pair of court shoes I made when studying shoemaking. 

The cool autumn weather didn't last too long, and it's been back to lovely sunny days over the weekend - perfect for walking on the beach. I wore my self-made blue cotton voile top with 3/4 length cargos, along with a pair of earrings and a bracelet that I made over summer. The earrings and bracelet are pretty hard to see in the photo above, so here's a close up below:

And finally, I finished the weekend in a self-made dress (a modified Cambie). I wore it with my handmade sandals - I made them for an assignment when I was studying shoemaking and as you can probably tell from the photo, they got a lot of wear over summer. I'll have to make a new pair for next year!

Thanks Zoe!

After enjoying reading and being inspired by other creative people's blogs for the past couple of years, I have finally decided to take the plunge and start my own. It's something I've been thinking of doing for quite a while, and Zoe's Me-Made-May '13 Challenge seems the perfect opportunity to start - thanks for the motivation Zoe!! So here goes...

I, Peta of A Handmade World, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '13. I endeavour to wear at least one self-made item of clothing and one self-made accessory (hat/shoes/jewellery/scarf) three days per week during the month of May 2013.

I look forward to sharing how I go in the Me-Made challenge here on the blog, as well as posting about some of my other creative pursuits and sources of inspiration. If you'd like to see how other participants in the Me-Made challenge are going, you can check out the flickr page.

By the way, if you're wondering about the shoes at the top of this post - they're the first pair of derby ankle boots I made (and in my favourite colour too!!)