Me Made Meh?

I'm not participating in Me Made May though I do respect the concept (and will probably steal some style ideas from your blogs throughout the month! Muahaha!).

I have enough me-mades to get me through a month. But I reckon it would be hubris for me to assume my taste is at a level that seeing what I wear every day is in some way inspiring. After all, check out my latest pants-in-progress...they might just be the most hideous pants you have ever seen:



Barf-colored, tie-dye-print stretch denim? What was I thinking? I am too far gone now to turn back, however. So finish these I will. And, I hope, at some point these pants will cross the threshold from awful into awesome. It could happen yet. (Couldn't it?):

I was inspired by Project Runway winner Michelle, who frequently makes use of the above color palette, and has a knack for making the putrid look pretty. Michelle is my middle name (truly, it is!), so hopefully I can pull this off without making everyone sick.

I am again using the pattern I drafted using Kenneth King's Craftsy.com "Jeanius" class, which I cannot recommend enough.

Anyway, back to Me Made May: even my successes are nothing much to write home about. Last week I sewed another version of Grainline's Tiny Pocket Tank, this time with a short button placket. It turned out beautifully and I have worn it three times already. But would anybody be impressed by this simple tank?

The other big reason I can't do Me Made May: the only person who could conceivably take pics of me everyday is four years old. And she chops my head off. Every. Time.

Are you doing Me Made May? Why? And do you enjoy reading others' daily outfit posts?

His and Hers Plaid Separates!

My apologies for the cellphone photos, but I'm trying to make it easier on myself to post regularly. Plus I wanted to share this prototype version of the Tiny Pocket Tank, which I modified to add a full-length button placket. I love the cut of this simple tank, but I thought it needed some visual interest:

If you've been reading my blog for some time, than that print may look familiar. It's a remnant from a short-sleeve Western style men's shirt I made my lucky husband Ryan. He's such a sweet man. He even agreed to let me take a pic of us together in our His-and-Hers shirts:

Wow. We look equally tired. 

Of course once I sewed a couple tank tops, the temperature dropped precipitously in NYC, so those of you who live in the Big Apple can blame me for the Spring backtracking.

Adding a button placket to the Tiny Pocket Tank is pretty damn easy. You just re-trace the front pattern piece, and then use your ruler to draw two lines parallel to center front, each one inch apart. Then you fold it on the lines and use a tracing wheel to true the top curve. When you're sewing, fold and then fold over again on the lines and topstitch. Voila: insta-placket ready for buttons.

I have since added some ease to the hip (as always; I have to do the pear-shape-girl alterations), and have drafted a 4 & 1/2-inch placket for another version of this tank, which I'm sewing from the navy deer-and-dot print cotton I picked up at Mood last weekend. It's very sheer, and behaves like silk, so I'm thinking it may be a blend. It will definitely require some layering, as I'm not one for letting my bra show through. (Well, maybe for that lucky man pictured above — but not amongst the general population. I am a Lady!).

Have any of you done other variations to this simple pattern by Grainline? I'm thinking of making one with a yoke and color-blocking. What else can you think of?

Blog Milestone!

Before yesterday, the closest I ever came to fame was starring in my highschool's musical in Grade 10. The musical was "Leader of the Pack," which is about the life of Ellie Greenwich, a famed songwriter from the '60s. I played Ellie Greenwich, which was a humbling experience (not humbling in the modern-day "I'm so humbled to be nominated for an Oscar" way, but the old-school, true meaning of the word: I lost a little more of my dignity every time I opened my mouth). 

I did sign a couple autographs during that week of shows. I hope they were all requested in earnest.

Anyway,  yesterday I was actually recognized by a reader at Mood in NYC's Garment District — which was also somewhat humbling because I was buying this hideous/amazing stretch cotton which I intend to turn into pants:

The yellowish tones in this actually read chartreuse in real life

 An Australian, Liz was in New York City just for a short time, but she seemed well-versed in the Garment District having been here many times before. She said she intended to go to the Museum of Natural History, but just had to do some swatching on the way (I'm super jealous of her fabrics; Liz clearly has great taste, so I think she was being ultra-gracious when she said she liked the puke-print I was purchasing).

I also bought this ultra-lightweight navy cotton printed with dots and deer:

I've been making and adjusting a few versions of Grainline's Tiny Pocket Tank, which I thought would be a good way to eat up some remnants and expand on my dismal summer wardrobe. I hemmed and hawed over buying it: I like the cut of it (the scoop neck, darts and hemline are all perfect), but it's so simple — I know I could draft it myself, probably in an hour. But at $6.50, I figured if I saved myself that hour of work, it would be worth it. (Surely my time is worth that?).

I think I may draft a button placket and use this deer and dot print cotton to make yet another version. I did only buy a yard (it was pricey! $20/yard). My daughter informed me it's see-through (with a really judgey look on her little face!). I'll have to learn how to layer.

And now I can hear her waking up....so that's it for today, friends. What has been your closest brush with fame?