MeMadeMay week 3

Where did the weekend go?! As I prepare this post on Tuesday morning I cannot fathom where the last three days have gone! I managed to get some sewing in last sunday and finished up this first run of my Deer and Doe Ondee sweater - it's a little too big however still totally wearable. After finishing this all motivation to do anything left me so instead of fixing up the pattern pieces I sat doing a jigsaw for about 3 hours.

Day 11:

My ear is absolutely killing me today so whereas I took a picture I felt no inclination to smile... the skirt is a RTW from Oasis it's a favourite RTW piece that i'm not parting with any time soon :-D.


Day 12:
When we got in yesterday our upstairs neighbours were in full on party mode. From the sounds of it there were at least 20 of them jabbering on up there. When I got ready for work this morning and left at around 9 they were still going strong. Hopefully we can find our house soon and be rid of them! I  other news today was another day for my second NL6020 and Deer and Doe Ondee.

My ear was still sore on Tuesday however had calmed down significantly from Monday. I managed some sewing in the evening however I honestly don't know where time went as all of a sudden it was like 23:30 - I'm working on a present right now and will be able to share this by the end of June :-)

Day 13:
Nothing much to report today. I was trying to make a rose plot all day at work and was voluneered to do some invigilation on Monday. Sould give me scope to write up some thesis.

Today I wore my Thurlows and Bronte top. The office is just too cold for tights just now. The whole of instagram seemed to be enjoying sunshine yet we have a cold dark office :-(

Day 14:
I wore my new look 1467. We didn't do anything much on Thursday but our shower rail fell down :-(. Oh well we bought a new one, it only cost £13!

Day 15:
We ended up going out for dinner at the fort - nothing fancy, just a Frankie and Bennies - or Ben and Jerrie's as I always get confused!! haha. I was well prepared as I had on my New Look 6144 which I think looks quite smart for both work and dinner out.

Day 16:
Today I went to the Scotland Street School Museum in Glasgow. A great hidden treasure! It was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh - the same person who designed glasgow school of art. After I went to one of my friends for cocktails! It was a great day (mostly - you cannot account for arsehole neighbours!) but as we went for drinks I thought my Oktoberfest dress appropriate.

The Oktoberfest dress is there - under the school uniform!!

Day 17:
It was around 8:30 pm before I got a picture today - I was so damn busy!

Another outing for my grey coco dress

We had friends over for dinner - and we had wine - a magnum of wine. It felt so middle class we brought out the crystal glasses - just to finish off proceedings!

So all in all another succesfull week I think! I'm certainly seeing some patterns emerging and know what I need to make more of to enable my wardrobe to work better for me!

Hope you are all still enjoying Me Made May :-)

Jenn xx

MMMay Week 2

Hello there :-)
After another successful week of my first MMMay I have compiled another round-up post! The week got off to a very hectic busy start and has stayed that way all week! Wednesday was the only day I really had time for any sewing and even then I didn't get much done :-(. So looking back on this week:

Day 4: We started off down in Appleby in Westmorland(ish) after staying with our friends at their new place. It was great to get out of the city!  We have been looking for a new place of our own and being in the middle of nowhere certainly emphasised the fact that the outskirts would be a win for us!

I didn't actually get a picture of today's attire however I wore my Minoru and singin in the rain emery. We were only really sitting in the car all day and then took a trip round the supermarket so we didn't do too much but all the driving was tiring. Thankfully there wasn't much traffic and the M74 was relatively quiet so we made good time.

Day 5:
This is the first day in May that my trusty Minoru has has a rest!! The weather was so grim today that I had to get my waterproof out.  I also re-wore my singin in the rain emery dress

Singin' in the rain emery

I had plans to meet with a friend for dinner so we went to wetherspoons for steak night! YUM! I also got a touch of sewing done when I got home: this leads nicely on to

Day 6:
I finished my second NL 6020 last night and hope to get some pictures after work today - so for now I have to make do with this effort taken in the office changing rooms

New Look 6020 (2)

This is the second iteration of the dress I hope to make up for my cousin's wedding - I think some of the changes have worked - others need more definition.(full post coming hopefully at the weekend)

 Day 7: Election Day
We got up early to vote today as we were going out in the evening. I thought better than to display my colours too vividly and then failed too far in the other direction
 

I finished off day 7's look with my thurlow wearable muslin. They seem to have shrunk a bit in the wash which seems to have made them fit a touch better too.

Day 8:

I had plans to go out on Friday evening for dinner (we went to an awesome mexican tapas Topolabamba) so preplanned with nothing too tight around the middle!

I wore my trusty OWOP shorts V.1 my Minoru and Julia Cardigan.
Day 9:
Haircut day!

We then went to a local pub with a beer garded to enjoy the sun.
Day 10:
I didn't actually leave the house yesterday - by the time I decided that I needed to go to the shops it was super windy and I decided that we could probably make do until Tuesday. Yesterday's outfit consisted of my second coco dress which provided a comfy lounging attire.

I have been enjoying keeping up with everyones MMMay too - especially on IG.

Good luck for the next wek guys!

Jenn

MMMay

Although not actively taking part in MMMay2014, I have been using this month as my own time to reflect on the current state of my wardrobe and identify where the gaps lie and what I can sew to fill these gaps.

I wasn't intending on doing this however my daily uniform of skinny levi's was eaten by the tumble drier and so I had really little option. Thinking about Colette's Wardrobe Architect silhouettes, my evolving personal tastes and what I actually already own, I have been wearing as many of the clothes as I can that have not seen the light of day in a good year to determine why it is that I no longer wear these items. The reason mostly is that they do not flatter my shape. Younger me clearly got the colours right - no yellows or anything too pale - however I did not know how to style my body shape correctly.

Whereas I'm a pretty standard height and my bust and hips seem to fit smack bang on most of the pattern sizing guides I usually have to grade up about two sizes for my waist. Something I never considered before I started to sew my own clothes. Previous skirts I have bought like this one from River Island just hung there and to put it simply just looked dreadful the whole day I wore it. I had no shape and had a boyish figure.

On the positive however, I rediscovered my tailored wardrobe, fitted shirts, belts and pencil skirts, which nip in at the waist and of course peplum tops which provide an illusion of a more hourglass figure.

My dress wardrobe remained largely unscathed - it would appear that my range of day dresses and evening wear is pretty much spot on in the shape stakes - again this involves a number of very fitted styles - a mixture of asymmetric and strapless included as well as a number with peplums and belt loops. (Yes I have a dress wardrobe, Yes it is full, Yes I love it, No the boyfriend does not- I get the feeling it's life is limited). Other more relaxed styles here include fitted bodices with full skirts. As long as there is a waist the style seems to work.

Having determined the styles which I like and which I love wearing every day has helped me come up with a sewing plan of items which can replace the jeans and give me the styles I desire and not replace the forgotten wardrobe items!

The first on the list is to remould this skirt into a a more fitted version of itself - i love the belt loops and the band on the bottom so I think it will be a case of unpicking the waistband and removing some of the excess material.

Other items on my list include:

Image from www.simplicity.com

A retro shirt dress - fitted top with a full skirt

image from www.victorypatterns.com

The Ava pattern has been on my to do list for a while in the top version - again I think the peplum is flattering on my figure

Image from: www.colettepatterns.com

Another shirt dress. I love this style and think it fits with my desired silhouettes

Image from www.tillyandthebuttons.com

The lilou. this has gone in straight to the top - a perfect styling of fitted top - waist detail and full skirt.
So hopefully after some self assessment in the styling stakes i'll be able to give my wardrobe the overhaul it deserves and at the same time sew with some clearer direction. how does everyone else choose what they will sew?

I do have another make which has been finished a while however the sizing issues occurring from another holiday has prevented any picture taking of this one!

Happy Thursday all!

JCS