Me Made May 2017: first 11 days and meeting Gertie!

I decided to try participating in #memademay17 this year, not because I think I can actually do a new piece of me made every day, but because I wanted the kick to do more selfish sewing and create more of the clothes that I've been planning in my head for ages.

The first eleven days have been a mix of clothing items and accessories. I'm starting with day 11, yesterday, first, because it was incredibly exciting. I left the boy with a friend, and headed out to Castle Hill Spotlight with a sewing friend to see Gertie and get my copy of Gertie Sews Vintage Casual signed.

Me with the glamourous Gertie, She is so poised. 

Day 11: My blue snood.

Day 10: A coat made long long ago!

Day 8 - a shirt in a cool blue/green print from Spoonflower.

Day 7: My burgundy jersey tunic dress with self fabric sash, 

Day 6: My bright cherry print tote bag

Day 5: This cool teal asymmetric top.

Day 4: My garnet bracelet.

Day 3: This vibrant fruit skirt, 

Day 2: Satin and lace kimono style dressing gown

 Day 1 and day 9's photos have disappeared already. Oh well. There are more details for each day on my Instagram account ( user name parlour_duck) if you aren't already following me there.

It has been quite a reminder that I've been sewing and making a lot for gifts and for my son but not enough for me!  I've almost run out of clothing items for me and have only a few accessories to go - and then I'll have to start repeating.

On craft days and exhaustion

Since becoming a mother what I miss most for my crafting is the ability to "binge" on a project. I miss being able to spend six or eight or ten hours across a weekend or even a single day just indulging my love of craft and my obsession with a current project or pushing a project to the finish line before a particular deadline. Getting used to crafting in stolen moments of calm and short bursts of the evenings has definitely hurt my sewing, if not my crochet, which is better adapted to being picked up and put down in a hurry.

So one of the joys of the last two years has been a friend's monthly craft days. One Saturday a month I get to leave toddler at home and catch a train by myself and spend the day with other craft inclined people and work on whatever I want. Some months I start lots of projects, getting them past the initial tricky stages to the  point where they are more mindless and can be worked at odd moments. Some months I spend all day finishing projects. Whatever I want! And no little hands wants to "help" and no little voice demands I play instead. Because as much as I love my son and being a mum, I do need the occasional break.

This last month has been very stressful. I got a diagnosis. I got started on medication. And sadly September craft day was cancelled! I hadn't realised just how much I'd been craving that day. Because now I'm not just battling the time and attention demands of my zoomy boy (and all the other work of the house) to spend time on craft. I'm battling with my body and energy levels too. I hate being exhausted. I hate the way the medication makes me feel and can only hope that as we keep looking we find meds that work better for me.  This is just another change to my routines that I'll cope with. I'll work out how to keep crafting despite exhaustion because I can't imagine my life being fulfilled without some kind of craft.

Meet "Dame Esmeralda" - Duct Tape Dress Form party

I'm doing a Craftsy class that includes a lesson on making a duct tape dress form. As you cannot do it yourself, the instructor suggested "have a party!" 

And so I did.

Four wonderful friends came around one Saturday afternoon last month (I packed the small boy off with my husband) and they wrapped me in duct tape.

Starting off. 

At this stage I was getting woozy.

Doing the sleeves.

Not long after we did the sleeves they cut it off me and we seem to have neglected pictures in favour of stuffing. While we did, we had a lively discussion about what to name my dress form and somehow we decided on Dame Esmeralda. I cannot quite recall all the conversational ramblings we took to get there. 

Done! 

Dressing her up in one of my shirts. Very happy with the fit.

Face off. 

There is something very confronting about seeing your body in a three dimensional likeness, especially when you are plus sized and not 100% happy with your body all the time. 

Esmeralda is going to help me fit clothes that I'm sewing but also help me design a crocheted cardigan. I've never actually had a dress form before so I'm looking forward to it. If I was going to do this again I might wait til Winter (it did get uncomfortable) and I might consider a less shiny silver armour duct tape. But these are minor issues. Overall, a very successful afternoon's work and at least one of the others is pondering making her own.