Takeaways from Me Made May 2022

Me Made May

Another May is over, and I have plenty of takeaways from Me Made May 2022. Like previous years, it’s been a good, creative push. And no surprise, I’ve added more garment patterns to my queue and found new people and companies to follow.

The Goals

As a whole, I’d say that I feel pretty good about the goals that I set this month. I deliberately made it open-ended with the exception of the one specific goal to sew a dress. That’s a good balance for me. I did make my dress, and I started to include that in this post, but I think it’s best to save the details for a later post.

In addition to making the dress, I’m generally pleased about pushing myself to up the sharing a bit, which included a simple video and my first reel! Technology and social media feel overwhelming to me at times. I tried to keep things in check, not take it too seriously and have a bit of fun with it.

The Takeaways

There are so many takeaways and good reminders for me. Here are just some of them.

// I love getting lost in the flow of a project. It can be a quilt, it can be a garment, it can be anything that requires a level of focusing on the task at hand. The beauty of all of it is that not all projects require the same skills and attention; I love being able to choose the project for the mood I am in. In making the dress, there was plenty of consideration of the adjustments I wanted to make beforehand. I also cut out a couple of bras this month (one seen at the top). Bra making is tedious in the best possible way and making sure to account for all of the various pieces, elastics, fabrics and hardware engages my brain in such satisfying ways. Making something you haven’t made in awhile does this too.

// My closet is full of things I don’t wear often. I’m someone who gravitates towards wearing the same things over and over without realizing how much I am missing. This May, more so than some in the past, I made a point to seek out forgotten items and actually wear them. I found some pieces that I really like and didn’t realize how much I like them like the jumper I made back in the day for the Euclid release (below). I chalk this up to doing too much at once and moving too quickly on to the next thing before appreciating what just happened. I’m kind of bad about that.

// There are a lot of good memories in the clothes I’ve made. There’s the thrill of having made it, plus the stories behind where I acquired the fabric. If I designed the fabric, there’s a lot to that too. I also love discovering new ways to pair pieces together. It’s just an exciting moment to find a new combination–this is just as satisfying with patchwork too!

Moving Forward

// Related to rediscovering new pieces, I want to continue to take a serious look at what is working for me and what isn’t. It can be hard to part ways with something you’ve made, but it’s also nice to pass items on or figure out a way to repurpose them.

// Much here (from @jacthemaker) really resonated with me. I had similar thoughts about seasonal stuff–except for me it’s the opposite problem. For me it’s hard for May not to end up with loads of tanks and shorts. That’s all I feel like wearing this time of year, but it isn’t the only thing I wear all year. It would be fun to spend a month sharing my favorite Me Made layers and combinations.

There’s the grace for taking a break from posting when the feeling just isn’t there during a tough time. That’s good. And I also appreciate the celebration of not making any clothes this month. Moving forward, I can remind myself that I don’t need to make all of the things all of the time. Focusing on making less and putting more care into the things that you make can be a good thing.

How was May for you?