Thursday 27 April 2017

My #MMMay17 Pledge




'I, Zoe of 'So, Zo...' blog and @sozoblog, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '17. I endeavour to wear all me-made clothing (excluding bras, socks, tights and footwear) each day for the duration of May 2017'


It's that time again my friends: for all of us who want to take part in the the Me-Made-May challenge to take stock of what's going on in our lives, and think about how we hope to improve our relationships with our handmade wardrobes. Or something like that.

For me personally, this Me-Made-May will be my first as a full-time mum of two little people, and probably my last with a baby hanging around the place. That means needing to wear intensely comfortable and practical things in outfit combos that take NO TIME to put together, with regular breastfeeding access a necessity. That all may sound a bit constraining, but I'm actually feeling really good with what I have, and have to, wear these days. Plus, I'm feeling a real freedom, both practically-speaking in the comfortable clothes I'm wearing, and conceptually by not needing to 'dress to impress' anyone at the moment.

I've accepted pretty fully where I am currently at with my lifestyle/wardrobe needs, so much so that I had a major clear out a few weeks ago. I bagged up and donated at least a third of my wardrobe. I guess, there's nothing like an expanding family to shift and refocus your priorities. That said, I've also been feeling for a year or so that my personal style and influences were shifting somewhat, but being pregnant for most of last year meant that exploring that was put on hold. Now I'm not pregnant, and I have a fairly clean slate in the form of my dramatically thinned out clothing selection, I'm free to add to my wardrobe slowly and mindfully, which I'm really excited about.

But back to Me-Made-May. Although my pledge this year is the same as it has been for previous years (including the first in 2010!), this year will be different for me in that I've decided not to attempt daily documentation photos. Taking photos is, of course, NOT the point of the challenge, but it has always been something I've liked to do (however much of a struggle it can sometimes be) as I've found it really informative and useful. But I just can't see how I'll be able to keep up with that this year, whilst dealing with two tiny scamps with their various and different needs. Plus, Mr So Zo is studying hard at the moment on top of his full time job and childcare duties, so it doesn't seem fair to rope him into daily mini-photoshoots as well. Also, with my current limited clothing selection, I'm expecting lots of outfit repetition, so there's not much point in taking pics of the same thing over and over again.

Instead, I plan to write down what I wear each day, so I can analyse at the end which items get worn the most, and therefore which types of things I should focus my future sewing activities on making. I will take some outfit shots here and there, perhaps when I'm feeling particularly pleased with an outfit, or more likely, when I randomly get the chance!

If you plan to challenge yourself during Me-Made-May, I hope that coming up with a useful pledge wasn't too tricky. I wish everyone heaps of fun throughout the month, and hope that you learn lots of useful lessons along the way.

9 comments:

Quinn said...

I've never been able to participate in MMMay as I'm fairly new to sewing and my Me-Made wardrobe is not very large. I plan to take stock of everything though, to see if this may be the year for me to join in! I really hope I have enough to make it work :D

Dianne Talley said...

I, Dianne @diannetalley, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May'17. I pledge to wear one hand made item each day during made and one outfit per week. I also pledged not to buy any more fabric or patterns for the year and pull from my stash instead.

Anonymous said...

Fabulous goals as always, Zoe. You consistently set the bar high for us. Thanks for everything.

smmczyk said...

I, Sue of 'Everyday_Artisan' blog and @smmczyk, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '17. I endeavour to wear a piece of me-made clothing each day for the duration of May 2017.

Good Luck everyone!

nobutterfly said...

'I, patricia of nobutterfly blog, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '17. I endeavour to wear at least one me-made clothing each day for the duration of May 2017'

vintagerockchick said...

Hi Zoe - I've not done much blog posting (or reading, come to that) for a while, but I suddenly realised its the 1st May today and although I've not signed up yet, I'm hoping it's not too late, but either way I'm going to take part. Its the photography bit that I find difficult as I don't have anyone on hand to take pics, but I will post photos as and when I can.
I moved to Norfolk in September, and see a lot of my three little great nieces, so I can imagine how busy you must be. I'm impressed you manage to GET dressed at all, never mind think about what you're wearing!
Take care, Gill x

AlmondRock said...

Hi Zoe
The Love Sewing team would love to take part this year and show that we all love to make clothes as well as magazines. We pledge to post a pic a day of someone from the office in a handmade garment, accessory or bag. Thanks so much for this awesome event which every year introduces us to new lovely sewists

Anonymous said...

I, KIran @gloopygoo, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May'17. I pledge to wear one hand made item for either myself or my kids each day during made and one outfit per week.

BLD in MT said...

'I, Beth of the blog BLDinMT, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '17. I endeavor to wear a different Me-Made garment each day for the duration of May 2017 and to do at least a little bit of sewing every week.'

Sorry I am a bit late this year! Where did April go?!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...