Tuesday 16 August 2011

'I, Zoe, sign up for SSS '11...'


It’s awesome to watch as more and more people sign up for Self-Stitched-Sept ‘11. I can see some repeat participants, as well as many very welcome first-timers are pledging. If I don’t want to miss out on all the fun, I’d best sign up myself…

'I, Zoe of ‘So, Zo…' blog sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-Sept '11. I endeavour to wear only self-stitched and refashioned clothing each day for the duration of September 2011'

To qualify my pledge:

  • I am allowing myself to include thifted cardigans this time, but at present I only have one so it’s not a great change to how I have participated in the previous me-made/self-stitched challenges. As I’ve explained in the past, knitwear/warm layers is the main area I find myself struggling with both during these challenges and during the rest of the year. I can’t really knit, but even if I could I don’t think I could justify doing so as I am pretty committed to creating with second hand and reclaimed materials. I know I could unravel old jumpers and such, but if I’m thrifting for second hand jumpers, I may as well just thrift for second hand cardigans that are already fine or need a little refashioning.

  • As usual, I am excluding bras, socks and hosiery in the pledge, but am including handmade knickers and pyjamas.

  • For Me-Made-June ‘11, I decided to allow myself to wear non-handmade jogging wear, and seeing as I have more or less kept up this recent stint of keep-fitness, this me-made omission will stand for SSS’11 also. However, I do plan to up the ante by making myself at least one handmade jogging garment and have given it a trial run by the end of September.

  • I will also be upping the ante by trying not to repeat any outfits for the whole month. Now, in itself I see no logic in this aim, and it worries me when I get a vibe that some participants may think that no outfit-repeats is a pre-requisite to this challenge. It couldn‘t be further from the truth. The aim of this challenge is not to entertain us with as vast a variety of outfits as possible, but to integrate your handmades/refashions into your everyday life. And everyday life means often repeating the outfits we wear. The problem is, I personally tend to repeat what I wear to a degree where I bore the socks off myself (and probably those who have to see me every day). I want to use SSS’11 to push myself to find new ways to combine the handmade and refashioned clothing in my wardrobe. To be honest, the vast majority of my wardrobe now consists of handmade clothing, so pledging to wear me-made clothes isn’t really a challenge. So adding this element to SSS’11, for me, is challenging and will hopefully teach me some new tricks to help me feel prouder of my appearance throughout September and beyond.
If you are a repeat participant, how are you planning on upping the ante this time round?

10 comments:

Sølvi said...

I´m not sure how to make this month more challenging than the others, but your idea of not repeating outfits is a good way of looking at my wardrobe in a different way.

Another thing I have been contemplating is to get out of my "taking photos in a rush"- rut (I´m thinking, if I´m not in a rush, maybe I´ll like it better?), and actually try to get photos outside in daylight. My schedule for September should really make this possible. But I´ll guess we´ll all see that when September comes, wont we? :-)

Shelly said...

I'm not sure how I will up the ante this time around. I really struggled last time but have more things to choose from now so that will make it a bit easier instead. I guess, really, I participate because it keeps me focused on wearing my handmade clothes and inspires me to make more. This is a good thing. No?

lexi said...

I've been umming and aahhhing about pledging because last time I had trouble keeping up with posting. Maybe I could do bulk/abbreviated SSS posts this time - and up the ante by (finally) conquering making my own pants? So inspired by your pants posts, Zoe!

Stacy aka Stacybeads said...

I'm still not sure if I want to commit to SSS, just because the weather will be so similar to June. I suppose my challenge to myself could be not to repeat any outfits I wore during MMJ. Hmmm...

Kirsty said...

oooo I wish I had enough MM garments to participate ! But I cant wait to see what everyone else is wearing. Hopefully this time next year I will be able to participate in one of these events. Well done for organising these events. Kx

Jo Campbell said...

I'm so tempted to sign up but I'm not sure I have enough self made clothing to last a week, let alone a month. Mind you it might be a good way to convert some of the several hundred meters of fabric I have into actual garments.

Christina said...

I think your idea is brilliant. Wearing me mades each day isn't a challenge anymore as my wardrobe is starting to contain more and more of them. So I opted for the full challenge. The reason I still included one bought item per day is to be able to have more options for combinations and perhaps even find new ones and not to become tired of my me mades by the end of the month.

quietandsmalladventures said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
quietandsmalladventures said...

sadly, i'm going to have to pass this time around. i'm about to move and all my sewing gear is packed and most of my self stitched garments aren't suitable for an intensive week of painting and moving. next time!!


(although i can't promise i won't sneak into the challenge after mid-month!)

weriem said...

'I, weriem of ‘http://weriem.com/' sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-Sept '11. I endeavour to wear 1 self-stitched and refashioned clothing 2 or 3 days per week for the duration of September 2011'

Sorry I can't do that everyday, it's already a big challenge for me to do that 2 or 3 days a week!

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