Self-Stitched-September: Days 29 & 30

Now I clearly didn't balance the documentation of SSS very well, what with the last post covering a whole week's worth of outfits (and debacles) and this one only two days. Thus is the nature of irregular internet access I'm afraid. Anywho...

Day 29:

Worky worky work work work. Black Jenny skirt and Port Elizabeth top (and self-stitched pants, Saint Cardigan and yellow curtain jacket where appropriate) were once again deployed for the purpose of supervising a patisserie that may or may not be able to look after itself if I wasn't there.

Day 30:

A happier day came to pass with a day off which nicely coincided with the final day of Self-Stitched-September. And what better way to celebrate such a feat than with a new garment?! Having planned them some weeks ago, the final processes were delivered on the eve of Day 29 so that Day 30 could commence in new denim sailor trousers (and bustier T-shirt, Saint Cardigan, yellow curtain jacket and pants). The trousers were created using Burda 8488, the same pattern as my black sailor trousers which debuted on Day 9 and have formed a significant part in my working wardrobe ever since. The denim version were clearly much quicker to make as I knew the modifications and adaptions that would need to be made to the pattern ahead of time. The denim is a lovely, almost silky, broken twill weave (if you look on the reverse side, the threads make zigzags rather than the usual diagonal effect you'd expect from a standard twill weave) in a lovely mid-blue. I'm a sucker for a broken twill weave denim, which is why Wrangler jeans will always be closer to my heart than any other mass manufacturer of denim wear because they have used broken twill denim in many of their products in the past. The buttons came from the car boot sale by Wimbledon dog track that I visited a couple of weeks ago.

After visiting Shabitat (pictured above), the warehouse/shop section of a Brighton based recycling group, for pre-loved homewares for our little home, I took the train to London to meet:

Michelle! One of the lovliest stitchers out there. I met this beautiful lady a few years ago through the London-based sewing group I used to organise. If you need proof of her stitching genius, you need look no further than her gorgeous and quirky etsy shop. It was so nice to see her and indulge in deep, prolonged conversation of the crafty kind!

So there you have it. SSS is complete. As with Me-Made-March and Me-Made-May before it, I've learnt a few things from this challenge that I hope will inform my sewing and consumption from here on out. The specifics of these lessons learnt will, I'm sure, be divulged as normal broadcasting is resumed here at 'So, Zo'. I need some time to fully digest and process the events, thoughts and feelings of September. In many ways it's been a very hard month personally, a real rollercoaster. I've regretted not being able to have participated in and supported the SSS Flickr group as much as I would have liked due to physically moving around alot and not having regular internet access. But it is a testiment to the awesome and inspiring members of that group that it has been such a vibrant place of documentation of this challenge. The Me-Made-May Flickr group was a real surprise in that I never expected to be able to create something that could form the basis of such a genuinely supportive community. The SSS version didn't disappoint, and sustained a similar sense of community and then ran with it resulting in a seriously weighty volume of awesome images that I'm looking forward to sitting down and fully digesting now that I have reliable internets.

I really hope that those who were part of the challenge and Flickr group choose to share their personal thoughts and conclusions on the discussion board. Anyone who was part of the challenge and writes a blog post (if you have a blog) that includes any thoughts or summaries, please leave me a link, I would hate to miss it but with so many participants it's tricky to keep track. So thanks everyone who participated and/or commented along the way. See you next time (hint: March).