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! 

Inspiration: Alabama Chanin

One of the things I'd like to do on this blog is share some of my sources of inspiration for the creative activities that I engage in. Generally these will be artisans, bloggers and other creative people, but at times may also be places, experiences or works of art. I'm sure you will have heard of many of the creative people whose work I find inspiring, but perhaps this 'Inspiration' series will also introduce you to some new faces and ideas that might influence your own creative pursuits. So let's begin...

For my first post in this series, I'd like to talk about the founder of Alabama Chanin, Natalie Chanin. Quite simply, her work is stunning! She and her team of skilled artisans hand stitch truly beautiful garments made from organic cotton jersey embellished with paint, applique, reverse applique, beading and embroidery. You can see some examples of the detail in her work in the images throughout this post (all photos of her book Alabama Studio Sewing + Design).

Not only do I admire Natalie's creativity in crafting these beautiful garments, I am also inspired by the ethical and sustainable way she chooses to run her business. Based in Florence Alabama, Alabama Chanin uses locally produced cotton (on her blog Natalie even talks about how they are now working towards growing their own cotton). The business employs local artisans, many of whom work from their own homes, thereby providing valued employment in the local area. I also find it really interesting that Natalie shares detailed instructions for her stitching, beading and other embellishment techniques, along with patterns for many of the garments that her company sells in her books and through tutorials on her blog. Not only does this help to sustain traditional hand-sewing skills and techniques, it enables many of us who are unable to afford to buy a piece of Alabama Chanin's collection to make our own, while cleverly also opening up a new market for Alabama Chanin who now sell all the stencils, fabric and other materials needed to make these items. As someone who is very interested in the idea of socially responsible business, and someone that loves to sew, I find the work of Natalie Chanin inspiring.

How about you? Whose work do you find inspiring? 

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!

My winter wardrobe update

With my winter sewing plans in mind, I've been rummaging through my fabric stash and have decided on my first sewing project. I'm not sure of the actual composition of the fabric I've chosen as it's an off-cut I picked up from a local designer's clearance sale recently, but from the look and feel of it I'm guessing it's some kind of cotton polyester blend. It's a gorgeous magenta colour with a slight sheen when it catches the light, and although it creases quite a bit I think it will look lovely made up as a Colette Laurel top. I'm looking forward to getting started on it - if I can get it finished in the next few days I'll be able to wear it as part of the Me-Made-May'13 challenge. 

Making my winter wardrobe

Now that the weather is starting to cool down, I'm realising how few me-made winter clothes I have - although I've been doing lots of sewing, it's mostly been summer dresses and tops. It seems it's now time to focus on some warmer options, so I have sketched a few basic items that I think will be good to start with:

As you can see, my winter sewing will begin with a coat, a Colette Laurel top, a black knit swing top (similar to the one featured here), jeans (dark purple velvet??), a cross-over knit top, a hand-embellished knit skirt (in the style of Alabama Chanin), a basic knit dress and a hoodie with track pants. I'm also planning to make a hat and perhaps some new boots too. This list is going to keep me pretty busy in the coming weeks, but it will be great to have some new me-made items to choose from on these cool autumn/winter mornings. I look forward to sharing my progress with you here on the blog. 

And what about you - has the changing weather made you think about new sewing projects?

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!