Me Made in May

I wore something Me-Made each day of May, but I was shockingly unsuccessful in taking photos each day.  Rather than boring you with me made Renfrews and other tees, I will share my highlights instead:

 Simplicity 2906 skirt

New Look 6735 Tee and beige Jalie 2908 Jeans 

 

      Sewaholic Renfrew Tee and Simplicity 3628 jacket

 

Maria Denmark Kimono Tee and Jalie 2908 Jeans in brown non-stretch denim

 

McCalls 6654 Maxi Skirt

 

In surprising news...I have been sewing!  While in London at the end of April, I made it to Walthamstow market on my last day there.  In the first shop I went in, I found this very cool striped knit with little accordion-like pleats/wrinkles.  It was 1pound per yard, so I bought 2 yards.  I thought it would make a cool maxi skirt.  I did actually use a pattern for the skirt which is almost silly, but whatever...It was McCalls 6654, and I made the flared version.  I didn't have enough fabric to match the stripes along the side seams but I think it makes the skirt more RTW ;)  For the hem, I marked it about 2"off of the floor and used my coverstitch machine. 

 

This is my first maxi skirt.  I am only 5'-2" tall and I have always thought that a maxi skirt would make me look even shorter than I am.  I was reading this blog post by Michelle at Happily Caffeinated, where she mentions in her "Pet Peeve #2" about being annoyed by being told what you should and should NOT wear, and that you can actually pull off whatever you feel comfortable wearing.  So all 5'-2" of me made a maxi skirt.  I cut off several inches from the pattern so it didn't use quite so much fabric, which is a benefit of being short.  I still didn't have enough fabric to match the stripes though.  Now that it's done,  I can see the appeal of a maxi skirt.  Unshaven legs stay hidden as well as post-winter pasty-white legs.  (I don't tan and I am an SPF freak so pale legs are pretty much year round).  When your fabric is pretty or interesting, there is a lot of it in a maxi skirt and it's really shown off.  I had a few small chunks of fabric left which got turned into a skirt for my youngest.  So I got 2 skirts for 2 pounds!  :)

 

In other news, I have been sewing like crazy, so more garment post are coming!

My Own Personal Honey-Do List and my MMM '14 plans

Friends, I haven't been in the mood to sew.  I really don't need anything new right now, and would rather do other things.  (gasp!)  Instead of pulling up at the sewing machine, I have pulled out my power tools, painting supplies, and dove into some home improvements.  

I am the handy one in my house and I take charge of repairs, maintenance and upkeep at our house, so the Honey-do list is made by me and done by me.  My husband was also out of the country for business so I had free reign to go crazy without having to explain myself to anyone.  (Does anyone else do that?)  I also didn't feel bad about leaving cans of paint and tools on the dining room floor all month.  :)

I'm not sure where my motivation came from, but I felt as though I was experiencing an intense non-pregnant form of nesting.  Here's a brief look at my completed tasks:

• primed and painted the family room ceiling (painting ceilings stinks)
• washed and painted the stairwell walls
• re-caulked trim where it separated from the walls
• stained the front porch floor and back deck floor blue (it looks awesome btw)
• scraped, sanded, primed and (almost) finished painting the porch railings
• stained the back deck railings
• fixed ALL drywall cracks
• organized the junk drawer. 
• fixed a sticky drawer on the coffee table
• dug up and relocated 2 shrubs in my front yard
• had the carpets shampooed
• had the house power-washed
• organized the front closet and BUILT a shoe rack
• did a small closet purge
• cleaned out the garage
• fixed a closet door that wouldn't close
• pruned low tree branches
• bought a leaf blower and cleared leaves off my yard (we live in a very wooded area)

I don't even think that's everything...

Oh wait!  I've also lost over 6 pounds in the past 10 days by tracking my calorie intake and daily exercise.  A big Thank you to Erica B. for suggesting the My Fitness Pal app.  I downloaded it right away and have been faithfully and honestly inputting my meals.  There hasn't been any working out but I can count cleaning, painting, and yard work as exercise and calories burned.  :)

So, basically everything and anything that has annoyed me about my house has been addressed over the past 3 weeks and it feels great.  :)

Do you know what else is great?  Next week is my birthday and hubby and I are going to LONDON!  He has to go for work, but I get to tag along!!  We leave London on May 1st so that means that Me-Made-May must start in London!  The photo opportunities alone are making me giddy!  Here is my MMM pledge:

I, Meigan of Get My Stitch On, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I will endeavor to wear at least 1 handmade garment 6 days a week for the duration of May 2014.

Last year I made the pledge for 5 days a week and I wanted to step it up this year.  So there you have it.  What I've been doing and what's coming next.  :)