Me Made May 2014: the pledge, the sad inventory, the UFO pile & the plan

Most of my Me Made May outfits from last year

The Pledge

I, Mikhaela Reid, of Polka Dot Overload blog, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavor to wear one me-made, refashioned or friend/mom-made item each day for the duration of May 2014.(Cutting myself a little slack here because my size has changed, I didn't sew for six months due to carpal tunnel and lost sewing mojo, and a few of my favorite me-mades have gone mysteriously missing).

The (Sad) Inventory

I'm calling this sad because I am sad that a number of my me-mades have either gone mysteriously missing (lost during travel or in the laundry room, I guess) or are just too small (or in the case of old maternity makes, too big). What remains, and can be actually worn:

• 2 dresses: the polka-dot ombré frankenpattern and the candy-striped Cake Patterns Tiramisu
• 4 skirts: the self-drafted knit polka dot skirt, the striped and piped denim Cake Patterns Hummingbird skirt, the brown and white $1 polka dot woven skirt, and my new blue twill Tilly & the Buttons Miette wrap skirt.
• 4 tops: Two Jalie scarf tops (in polka dot and blue floral) and two Cake Patterns Hummingbird peplum tops (in polka dot and wild colorful paisley).
• 1 pair trousers: my never-worn wide-legged navy blue corduroys.
• 2 handknit sweaters: my refashioned blue cotton-silk cardigan and beloved chartreuse Georgina cardigan.
• 3 pairs handknit socks: in magenta, gradated blue, and TARDIS blue.
• 3 pairs of panties: in purple, stripes and more stripes.
• 1 kitchen apron. (I cook a LOT. So it counts!)
• For a total of... just 20 wearable items, 6 of them socks or undergarments.

When I look back I have made over 50 garments over the past five years or so, but some of those were maternity, some were for my daughter or other babies, and some just didn't work out. So... this is all I've got out of the starting gate. And you all saw most of them during Me Made May last year. Oh well!

The UFO pile

These are the UFOs that are so close to done I hope to finish them within the first half of Me Made May.

1. My Cake Patterns Red Velvet Knit Dress in blue and purple patterned ITY (upper left). She's all cut and ready to sew, but I abandoned her after sewing one seam due to carpal tunnel last fall.
2. My third Cake Patterns Hummingbird peplum top—the Blue version, with the dickey and three-quarter-length sleeves. I cut her out during the sew-along last summer, but was so busy moderating said sewalong I didn't actually finish her:
   
3. My Delancey cardigan by Alexis Winslow (center bottom row): I am just finishing the bands, then the buttons and collar and I am DONE.

There are a few other items in the UFO photo I probably won't bother finishing with any urgency—it's the wrong season now for my coming-out-far-too-big Knotty Gloves. The chartreuse doubleknit jacket you can just barely see the edge of on the bottom left is too big and requires more fitting (it also dates from 2010). And the blue silk dot bias half-slip in the upper middle is cut rather askew.

The plan

• Wear at least one me-made every day.
• Don't worry about outfit repeats.
• Don't worry too much about boring the blog readership (that's you!) with the same clothes I wore last year.
• Take a photo every day—even if it's just an Instagram mirror selfie.
• Whip out a few TNT patterns in fabrics from the stash.
• Make at least one pattern I haven't made before.
• Refashion at least one wardrobe item.

I cannot even describe how excited I am for Me Made May. Last year it really got me energized and sewing again after a horrible six-month bout with severe chronic sinusitis and surgery for same. This year I'm hoping to get back into sewing after a ... horrible three-month bout with carpal tunnel (no surgery this time, but the mojo was definitely lost).

And it also gives me an excuse to dress up and feel, well, pretty. I've got to admit the winter has been getting me down, and I've been feeling a bit like Frumpy Food Allergy Mom (or that's how I imagine myself in my head) who never does her hair or makeup, always looks frazzled and sleep-deprived, is always covered in flour or pickle juice from one allergy-free culinary experiment or another, and wears the same jeans and old falling-apart T-shirts and worn-out flats every day.

So here's to old makes, new makes, refashions and new ways to wear and combine them!