All the Ems

May is here. Springtime and sunshine* - Hurrah!

May seems to be a good month for alliterative things to join in with. I've taken part - sometimes officially, sometimes unofficially with Me-Made-May for few years now and am joining in again this year.

Me-Made-May is an initiative of Zoe at So, Zo ... What do you know? to encourage people who make their clothes to wear them. You can read more about it on Zoe's blog, but here is my pledge:

I, Liz, sign up to participate in Me-Made-May '16. I will endeavour to wear an item of clothing or accessory I have made (other than socks) every day for the duration of May 2016.

I have excluded socks because I wear socks I've knitted nearly every day anyway.

Also happening this May and new this year is Mend it May, started by Jen of My Make Do and Mend Life. The aim of this is to inspire and encourage people to mend items - not limited to clothing - to extend their lifespan, avoid throwing out repairable stuff and other good reasons you can read about on Jen's blog. I have a list of clothing that needs mending, which will start me off, some if which has been procrastinated from for quite a while.

I may not blog about it all here, but am hoping to tweet/Instagram how I get on during the month using @lizmakesit for both. There is also a daily photo prompt for Mend it May, which I will try to join in on Instagram, although my track record for keeping up with daily photo prompts is terrible.

All this is dependent on the other M in my life. My ME is worse than it has been, so any commitment to activity is subject to the constraints that puts on me. However, I'm hoping that Me-Made and Mend it May will not be unmanageable. Let's see how it goes!


*I hope!

What on Wednesday

Looking back at some old posts, I noticed I did a few weeks of 'what on Wednesday' a few years ago, so here's a (possibly one-off) revival.

What I'm reading: I Am Malala by the amazing Malala Yousafzai, Sacrilege by SJ Parris and Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham.

What I'm knitting: socks, a pink slouchy cardigan and a black cardigan with sequins.

What I'm watching: husband and I are making our way through The Big Bang Theory.

What I'm eating: some Lindor chocolates left over from Christmas.

What I'm plotting: ways to use up my crafty stash.

It's been almost a year!

New Year resolution - update blog more than once in 2016!

In the meantime, here are some of the things I've made this year (next resolution, learn to make montages and work out why photos are not centred when they say they are), in no particular order.

 

 
I only finished this baby cardigan - I think most of it was knitted about 40 years ago.

Finished!

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you'll have seen this already, but it's the first thing I've finished in quite a while (apart from some socks and a scarf), so I'm showing it (off) everywhere!

Pattern, Sock Yarn Blanket by Shelly Kang only I used DK yarn and 4 mm needles. Time taken, 3.5 (nearly) years. I am also working on a sock yarn version, but that will probably be another 30 years.

As I mentioned, I've not made much else recently. My FESA plans fell apart, and I only made one pair of socks and a pair of trousers in September. I think the main reason was that I made the plans while I was on part-time sick leave over the summer and mid September saw me back full time at work, with a corresponding loss of spare time and not much energy for making things in the time I did have. Plus as Christmas approached, my sewing table got overtaken with piles of gifts etc., so I also lost my sewing space. Next time I will make less ambitious plans!

FESA2014 plans: 3. Fabulous Frocks and 4. Underneath it All

Sarah says Fabulous Frocks includes "Dresses of all styles; mini, midi, or long! Keep yourself warm in your modish designs, layering with tights and boots!'

I am not confident about making a dress. However, I was talking with a friend about it recently and as we were chatting, realised that I can make a skirt and I can make a top. Masking a dress is just taking those two and joining them together - okay not quite, but if I do make myself a dress it will probably be along those lines.

Underneath it All: " When you're spending months covered from the neck down, a glamorous underpinning of your choice adds a secret, luxurious touch that chases the cold away!"

I am not planning anything very exciting for this section. One day I would like to learn how to make my own bras, but I think I need a lot more experience first. My FESA make for this will be a simple slip to wear under some of my skirts.

I might need to buy some fabric for the slip, but here are some of the fabrics in my stash that I am going to play with for this sew-along

FESA2014 plans: 2. Chic Chemises for Cool Climates

For this category in FESA, Sarah says "Blouses, tops, vests, cardigans, and sweaters! These wardrobe essentials can carry you from day to night, not to mention provide necessary layering to keep out the chill."

So my plans are:

1. Vest/tank top - already a knitting WiP. I started this in the summer with the aim of it being a sleeveless top to wear in the summer and a layer to wear over a polo neck or shirt in the cooler weather. I have the back knitted and a few rows of the front. With no sleeves it shouldn't take long to finish it off so I can wear it.

2. A long-sleeved top. I have sewn nearly three kimono-style tops this summer (since it has cooled down I seem to have abandoned the partly made one, but I really ought to finish it off.

  

The first two kimono-style tops

I want to try to modify this to give it long sleeves and to be less spacious, so the winter draughts can't creep in too easily.

3. Another WiP to finish off. I have a lacy-cable jumper that I've been knitting on and off for at least a couple of years now (possibly longer but I've not checked back to see if I noted when I actually started it). I have the back knitted and have cast on for the front but not got very far with it. So I am picking this one out of my knitting WiPs to try to get finished.

I think three items is enough to have in a category. If I have time, I will try to finish off some of my other knitting WiPs that come under the FESA categories.

FESA2014 plans: 1. Fashionable Foundations for Frosty Weather

If I wait until I have the time, energy and organisation to write about all my plans for FESA, it will be next year's sew-along before I get around to it, so I have decided to break it down into smaller blogbites.

So my ideas for Fashionable Foundations, which Sarah explains is: Trousers, skirts, legwarmers and more! Anything that keeps your lower portion fashionably cozy fits perfectly here! The chilly weather necessitates the donning of bifurcated bottoms and sassy skirts!

1. A skirt. Specifically, I would like to make myself a circle skirt, and I have some lovely purple fabric for the purpose. By Hand London have even created an app that will do all the maths for me. They also have a couple of tutorials that will be very helpful for making this.

2. Wide-legged trousers. I made myself some cropped trousers (please excuse the bad photo) last month - just in time for the weather to cool down, so I abandoned my plans to make a second with pair until it gets warmer again next year.

I'm thinking something similar to these, but with full-length legs and better hemming. Possibly switching the drawstring waist with elastic.

3. If the trousers are successful, and I have enough time, I might make a second pair.

I'll be back with plans for the other categories. Are you joining in the sew-along? What are you planning to make?