Me-Made-March '11: Join Me!

So peops, here it is! The moment you may or may not have been waiting for since last September, the opportunity to sign up for my next self-stitched clothing challenge: Me-Made-March’11.

Some of you reading this will be aware of, or even participated in the previous challenges that ran last year along the same lines: Me-Made-May and Self-Stitched-September. Well, it's a (relatively) new year, and time for a new opportunity for those who wish to, to step up and see what they, and their clothes, are made of!

The purpose of Me-Made-March '11 is to encourage those of us who make and/or refashion clothes to actually wear them in their everyday lives. Rather than spend hours on projects that then languish unworn and unloved in the bottom of a drawer, I believe we should be proud of our achievements and creations. Let's show ourselves as much as anyone else, that our efforts are more than just a pastime, that we have been slowly developing valueable skills that we can use to actually clothe ourselves, damn it! Let's learn to love our creations, to look past any flaws we can see in them (that probably no-one else would even notice). Why not take an opportunity to learn about what garments work best for our bodies and lifestyles so we can make more informed choices when sewing/knitting/refashioning etc. in the future? Participating in Me-Made-March '11 can do all of these things and more!

Here's how it works: to sign up you copy the paragraph below then fill in the blanks as you choose best to create your own personal challenge contract. Then, post this personalised challenge contract in the comments section of this post and BAM!: You're all signed up! I would recommend you then post your contract on your blog if you have one, so your readers can see what you are up to. Please include a link back to this post so that anyone else who is interested can also get involved. From past experience, the more people involved, the merrier the experience is for all!

'I, (insert name here and blog address if you have one), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-March '11. I endeavour to wear
......................................................... each day for the duration of March 2011'

It's up to you how you fill in the main section. Remember, this challenge is about upping the ante when it comes to wearing your own creations. So, for example, someone who often wears something made by themselves might choose to endeavour to wear two self-stitched garments each day. Someone who has less experience of garment making under their belt may endeavour to wear one self-stitched garment or self-made accessory each day. If you want to include self-made accessories, bags or jewellery, then do it. If you regularly wear refashions but would like to push yourself to wear more sewn/knitted/crochetted from scratch garments, then fill in the contract as such. If you regularly wear sewn/knitted/crochetted from scratch garments but would like a push to make yourself tackle the pile of potential refashions you have been planning but not got round to, then fill in the contract that makes refashioning a focus for the month. Gettit? Do what you want, just make it challenging!

Then what? Then relax, congratulate yourself and maybe do a little planning. You may want to think about the 'holes' in your self-made wardrobe. You may want to pick up that half-finished project that you need a push to complete. Just see where the challenge takes you.

I will be creating a Me-Made-March '11 Flickr group in the very near future that you will be able to sign up to, if you wish, where you can upload your daily self-made garments/outfits pics and see each others'. The Flickr group will also have the ability to host 'discussions' on whatever related topics you wish to discuss. Look out for an annoucement on this blog about the Flickr group soon!

I will also be creating a jazzy little button that you can apply to your own blog, if you have one, to advertise your participation in this challenge. It will provide a ping-back to this post so you don't need to explain directly the idea and purpose of Me-Made-March '11 repeatedly. Look out for that in the near future also.

So, please leave a comment or email me at sozoblog (at) gmail (dot) com if you have any queries or concerns. Otherwise, all I have to say is: Who's with me?!