Tuesday 1 April 2014

Me-Made-May'14! SIGN UP HERE



Yes indeed my friends, here it is! 2014's official Me-Made challenge that celebrates all the love and hard work that so many of us put into crafting unique, special handmade clothing and accessories. If you want to improve your relationship with your me-made items, then this challenge is for you!


What is MMM'14?

Me-Made-May'14 (MMM'14 for short) is a challenge designed to encourage people who sew/knit/crochet/refashion/upcycle garments for themselves to actually wear and love them. The me-made and self-stitched challenges have been taking place for over four years now and they work on both a personal and community level. The participants decide the specifics of their own challenge pledge, so that the month is appropriate and challenging for them (more on this below). A very common pledge is for a participant to aim to wear one self-stitched or refashioned garment each day for the duration of May 2014. The participants can also choose to document their challenge with daily photos (though this is in no way compulsory for taking part) and share them with other participants (more on this below).


What isn't MMM'14? 
  • The Me-Made-May challenges are NOT all about taking daily outfit photographs. However, many participants do choose to document their challenge with daily/weekly/as-often-as-you-like photos and share them on their blog if they have one or on Flickr if they are a member. The challenge is about wearing your handmade clothing more often than you usually do, if you choose to take documentation photos, then that is fabulous and we'd love to see 'em, but taking photos isn't necessary or compulsory and really isn't the point of the challenge. 
  • MMM'14 also isn't reason to panic-sew/knit/crochet/refashion etc. This challenge is about wearing the items that you have already created, not about stock-piling more makes. However, if you want to use taking part in MMM'14 as the kick in the butt you need to finally hem that half-finished skirt, or rework an ill-fitting garment, then great. Remember, this challenge is meant to be fun, and panic-anything isn't fun! 
  • A competition. It doesn't matter how many self-stitched items you already have or haven't. You can take part even if you just have one solitary self-made item! You just need to set your pledge to make it challenging for YOU, no matter what criteria other participants have set themselves. 

I haven't taken part in any of these before, why should I take part?

Ohh, there are squillions of reasons why you might choose take part! They may include:
  • Do your handmade items often get left in the wardrobe rather than worn as part of your everyday wardrobe? Participating in this challenge can give you a bit of a nudge to help you to integrate your self-stitched items into your daily life.
  • This challenge may also be useful for discovering the 'holes' in your wardrobe so in the future you are able to focus your precious garment-creating time towards making things that will be useful. 
  • If you feel that what you tend to wear, day-to-day, doesn't really suit you or represent who you are, this challenge is a way to spend a month focussing on getting out of your wardrobe rut
  • You may enjoy an excuse to focus on finishing off lingering UFOs (un-finished objects), or to start a project you've had on your mind for ages. 
  • If you have been creating clothing for some time and already wear a lot of your me-mades, this challenge might help you to bring newer self-stitched items into regular rotation. If you tend to make all kinds of garments, you may even want to see if you can get by all month entirely without shop-bought garments (with undies or outerwear as notable exceptions, but not necessarily!). 
  • There is also guaranteed to be a lovely online community of fellow participants to give support, advice and inspiration.

I've taken part in these in the past, why should I take part this year?

Did you enjoy it last time/the previous times you took part?
  • If the answer is 'Yes': Then you'll have lots of fun again this year, whilst challenging yourself in a different way and learning something new about yourself and your style/skills/preferences/wardrobe. You just need to think about how you can alter and/or amp up your pledge specifics to get the most out of this year's challenge.
  • If the answer is 'No': Well if that's a 'no' because the challenge you set yourself was too hard, then that is easily rectified this time round; set your pledge so that it is tricky but do-able. If it's a 'no' because you didn't enjoy the pressure you felt to take photos each day, then simply don't worry about documenting your challenge with photos. You'll learn lots of lessons and get satisfaction from taking part in the challenge and completing your pledge, not from the documentation of it (although some participants have found that seeing the daily images of themselves has really helped them figure out what suits them and what doesn't work so well). If you'd like to do a little bit of documenting, then why not just photograph your favourite outfit/garment you wore at the end of the week, or some other version that doesn't make you feel under pressure. But seriously, if you didn't like taking part in it and don't want to try again, fair enough! 

Ok, you've convinced me, how do I sign up?

All you have to do is copy the pledge below and post it in the comments section of this post adapted to include your details and the personal specification of your challenge before 1st May:

 'I, (insert name here and blog address if you have one), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear......................................................... each day for the duration of May 2014'

Points to consider when creating your pledge:
  • This is YOUR challenge, write the pledge any way you want, just remember: IT IS A CHALLENGE and not meant to be easy or what you do usually. In the past I have received the odd comment saying 'Oh, I already do this so I may as well sign up', however those people had clearly missed the point which is to challenge yourself, and therefore they would be unlikely to learn very much or feel much satisfaction at the end of the month. 
  • THIS IS NOT A COMPETITION. It is a personal attempt to achieve a better relationship with your handmade creations, which you may or may not choose to share with the creative online community. What I mean is, don't set a pledge that you've seen other people make that sounds good but in reality is unobtainable for you and your lifestyle. For example, if you have to wear a uniform for work each day, you may prefer to pledge to wear self-stitched items at the weekends or days off only. 
  • There's no rush to sign up immediately, as long as you do so before 1st May. Have a think for a while about your current relationship with your creations, then think how you might want to improve that relationship.
  • If you have taken part before, or already wear a fair amount of self-made clothing and/or accessories, think how you can up the ante from the standard 'one self-stitched garment a day' pledge. How about wearing two or more self-made garments each day? Or pledge to try making a new type of garment by the end of the month to wear on the final day? Or pledge to finish all your UFO's by 31st May? Pledge to focus on wearing your 'meh' garments to see if you can fall back in love with some of them? Pledge to only wear separates to force yourself to get creative with your mix-and-matching? Pledge to only wear each garment or garment-combo once? Pledge to wear an outfit including one sewn or knitted garment AND one refashion each day? There are near-infinite ways to amp things up for yourself. 
If you have a blog, why not re-post your pledge there so your readers and followers can see what you are up to and be inspired by your endeavour? Please include a link to this post so others can also sign-up if they are interested. If there's one thing I've learnt from these challenges, the more people involved, the better the party!


I've signed up, what do I do now then?

Nothing in particular until 1st May 2014, except let an underlying sense of excitement brew! You may decide to finish up that UFO, but please people, NO PANIC-SEWING/MAKING NECESSARY OR CONDONED!!

If you would like to advertise your participation on your blog if you have one, why not treat yourself to the addition of the MMM'14 widget/gadget/button? The code can be found at the top of the right hand column of this blog's home page. The widget/gadget/button not only looks cute, but it shows other participants/potential-participants at a glance that you are taking part this year. Plus when clicked on, it will ping you to this sign-up post so others can read what this whole damn thing is about without you needing to go into too much of an explanation yourself. If you aren't sure how to apply/insert a widget/gadget/button code, check this post for explanations for Blogspot/Blogger and Wordpress blogs.


How do I interact with other participants throughout the challenge?

If you would like to see what other participants are up to throughout the month and/or show others how you are getting on then there are several ways to do so. 
  • Blogs. If you have a blog, then why not tell/show your readers what you are up to? Reading about others' experiences of these challenges is always so interesting and often useful. If you'd like to discover some blogs of other participants, you will be able to find lots by looking through the comments section of this sign-up post. Some participants like to post their outfit photos on their blogs, and remember if you want to do that but don't have the time or desire to post daily, you could post more manageable summaries once or twice a week (which I prefer to do, BTW).
  • Flickr. If you wish to be a part of the MMM'14 Flickr group, head over there and request membership. I'll 'let you in' within two days so you can begin posting your outfits/garments from 1st May. If you wish to start a discussion over there before 1st May, please feel free to do so! If you choose not to sign up to the Flickr group, you will still be able to see all the photos added by other participants and read the discussions being had over there, however you will not be able to comment on the photos or add to the discussions. The Flickr groups are always heaps of fun and such a lovely way to see lots of participants all in one go participating in different countries and climates. Plus it can be a fabulous way to discover new inspirational bloggers and blogs to follow, and generally make some new e-friends!
  • Pinterest. New for 2014, we have a Me-Made-May'14 Pinterest board that has been kindly set up by the lovely and very helpful Jennifer from Jennifer Lauren Vintage. To pin your garment/outfit pictures on there, you will need to 'follow' the board. It'll take up to two days for you to be allowed access, so don't panic if you can't pin on there immediately. Please add the #mmmay14 hashtag to your pins. 
  • Twitter. It would also be totally ace if Twitter users discussed the challenge using the #MMMay14 hashtag.

Anything else I should know?

HAVE FUN
!!!! This challenge is meant to be explorative, illuminating and beneficial, but above that it's meant to be fun! Getting dressed can often be fun, and if you haven't felt any clothes-based fun for a while, why not see if this challenge can help inject some of that back? 'Hanging out' online with the other participants can be a big part of that fun by seeing what they are wearing (either by visiting their personal blogs or through the Flickr group, Pinterest board or via Twitter) and by sharing your own unique take on this challenge.

If you are concerned or confused about any aspect of this challenge, please email me at sozoblog (at) g mail (dot) com.

Let the signing up commence!!!!!

641 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   601 – 641 of 641
Alana B said...

“I, Alana of Lazy Stitching, pledge to sit at my damn sewing table and sew for 20 minutes every day in May.”
More details here.

Katie said...

'I, Katie (http://stitchonthesheaf.blogspot.co.uk/), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear something i've made each day for the duration of May 2014 and use this as a good excuse to start my blog.

Anonymous said...

'I, Jen, of My Make Do and Mend Year sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14.
I endeavour to wear at least one handmade, upcycled, re-fashioned, or mended item for 5 days a week for the duration of May 2014'

Anonymous said...

I hope this counts. Almost all my clothes are already me-made, so it took time to figure out a challenge for myself - that would also work with my reduced available sewing time this month.

'I, Carolyn of themodernmantuamaker.wordpress.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear a garment made from an Indie pattern at least once per week and sew only from Indie patterns for the duration of May 2014'.

I really hope this qualifies as I'm pretty excited by this challenge for myself - and because it took so long to come up with!

.x.Helen.x. said...

I know I missed the sign-up date, because I wasn't planning on joining in, but I woke up on May 1st and started wearing me-made anyway. So my pledge is:

'I, Helen of http://sewstylish.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least one me-made garment each day for the duration of May 2014'

Fabric Mart said...

I, Julie from Fabric Mart Fabricistas (blog.fabricmartfabrics.com), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I will wear at least one handmade garment, three days a week, for the duration of May 2014. I also pledge to sew using only indie patterns for the entire month of May.

Diane MAe zumzum said...

Hello I am late. My friens just let me know today about the me made may. Can I still participate ?


I Diane Mae zumzum sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour at least 1 handmade clothes 3 times a week for the duration of May 2014'

Pleassseee let me participte : )

Beth said...

I'm so so late but…

I, Beth of bethstitches.wordpress.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade item each day for the duration of May 2014'

Jacqui - Birds of a Thread said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Snowma said...

I,Snowma sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavor to wear at least 1 handmade item each day for the duration of May 2014.

Meg said...

Oops- I made the pledge on my blog, but forgot to make it here, too!

I, Meg of cookinandcraftin.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavor to wear at least one item of me-made clothing each day for the duration of May 2014!

http://cookinandcraftin.blogspot.com/2014/04/me-made-may-pledge.html

Meg said...

Oops- I made the pledge on my blog, but forgot to make it here, too!

I, Meg of cookinandcraftin.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavor to wear at least one item of me-made clothing each day for the duration of May 2014!

http://cookinandcraftin.blogspot.com/2014/04/me-made-may-pledge.html

Anonymous said...

I, Kristi from http://alligatortoe.com/, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear and share (on my blog) at least one self-made or refashioned item each week for the duration of May 2014!

SO excited to be participating for the first time this year!! :)

Anonymous said...

'I, Briana Thompson (ecoopportunities.blogspot.com.au), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade item a week for the duration of May 2014'

Jo - The Knitographer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jo - The Knitographer said...

I, Joanna Davies http://theknitographer.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least three hand knitted items each week for the duration of May 2014. Only just found out about this awesome challenge today, but I can definitely extend into the first week of June to make up for my six days lost!

Anonymous said...

I, Elle of BusyElleBee.wordpress,com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least 1 item of clothing, self up-cycled clothing, self altered/embellished or use self made items each day for the duration of May 2014

I know I'm a bit late, but I like to think of it as being fashionably late!

http://busyellebee.wordpress.com/2014/05/06/me-made-may-14-challenge-accepted/

Sally said...

I, Sally of www.miydiy.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade something every day in May 2014.

Renee said...

oops, totally forgot to actually sign up, but been participating this year. 'I, Renee of two-many.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear. one handmade item each day for the duration of May 2014'

Anonymous said...

I, Helena of By Eitchy, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May 14. I pledge to wear one handmade garment each day of May when I meet other people*. I won’t repeat outfits and each garment I wear will be evaluated according to my style chart and discarded if I’m not pleased with it.

*Meaning if I stay in, doing yard work or just hanging around the house with the family I don’t need to wear me-mades. However, those days look few for May.

The style chart I'm referring to can be seen on my blog.

pao said...

Okay, let's do it!
I, pao of http://projectminima.blogspot.com pledge to wear items I've made, refashioned, and/or repaired every day in May 2014. Thanks for creating this opportunity.

Jeanne said...

'I, Jeanne @ veravenus.com, sign up as a (late) participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear a minimum of 1 me-made item a day each day for the duration of May 2014'. Also I will endeavour to finish at least one cut-but-not-yet-sewn project or one major alteration to a vintage item per week.

Nancy Winningham said...

Yikes! I almost forgot about MMM!
'I, Nancy Winningham at www.encue.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least one thing each day for the duration of May 2014'

Nancy Winningham said...

Yikes! I almost forgot about MMM!
'I, Nancy Winningham at www.encue.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least one thing each day for the duration of May 2014'

Karina said...

I'm a little late to the party, but here is my pledge:

'I, Karina of cameoofkarina.blogspot.ca, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least one article of handmade item 5 times a week for the duration of May 2014'

Giusy Jdeebella said...

'I, i am Giusy of http://www.bubiknits.com , sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavor to wear one handmade clothing or accessories each day for the duration of May 2014'

Katie said...

It's a little bit late, I know, but I only just found out about this! Here's my pledge:

I, Katie of Wool Geek, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear handmade things at least ten times for the remainder of May, to finish sewing up a cardigan and to make a skirt.

Unknown said...

I, Susie of oldfashionedsusie.com sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to pick up my sewing tools again after being away from them for a while and do a bit each day, however small for the duration of May 2014'

sinsmuse said...

'I, Erika G Harvey, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear something I've made at least one article i've sewn a week, so four total. i just started learning how to sew so i also pledge not to hide in the bathroom in embarrasment as i super glue a bad seam together so I don't make a wardrobe mishap spectacle for the duration of May 2014'

Not So Granny said...

I have just come across the #memademay14 hashtag and would love to join in for the rest of the month if you'll still have me.
I, Joanne Scrace, of notsogranny.com sign up as a participant of me-made-may 14. I endeavour to wear something I have made everyday for the remainder of May 2014.

Cerise Burns said...

I, Cerise Burns, www.kraftykatina.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear hand-made clothing, jewelry, some accessory or whatever hand-made I can find each day for the duration of May 2014.

punktyodniesienia said...

'I, Kasia, punktyodniesienia.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear only self made clothing each working day for the duration of May 2014'

Anonymous said...

'I, Irina from ElPetitTaller, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavor to wear 1 me-made item each week for the duration of May 2014'
A bit late, I know, but I'll sign up for June too!

Thank You said...

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Anonymous said...

'I, Karen (of http://andsewilearnt.wordpress.com
), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least 5 handmade garments each week for the duration of May 2014'.

I'm a new sewer and building up my handmade wardrobe in 2015!

fabric epiphanies said...

Oh my goodness, is it a year already!

'I, Andrea of Fabricepiphanies.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear as many items as possible of me made clothing each day for the duration of May 2014'

Anonymous said...

I Lois of @_a_simple_life_ sign up as a participant of Me-Made-Day 2015. i endeavour to wear a memade garment at least three times a week for the duration of May 2015

Unknown said...

Is it too late??

'I, Stacey (www.themoderndomestique), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least one handmade garment each week for the duration of May 2014'

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lorie's Laundry said...

'I, Lorie of http://facebook.com/lorieslaundry, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '17. I endeavour to wear at least 1 made by me item a day for the duration of May 2017'

Unknown said...

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