I just missed out on the first Me Made May back in 2010—I had just started sewing seriously, had made about three things for me that actually worked out, and only became aware of it partway through the month. But the idea resonated. That first year, Zoe did a bunch of me-made months, and by Self-Stitched September I was IN. You can still see the photos here. (Incidentally it’s actually pretty neat to have that record of how I was presenting myself at that point in time in my life. Even though the answer is: weird) I went on to do several more Me-Made Mays, because they are super fun. But the last one I did was spring of 2013. After that, I started working two jobs and life was this insane slog where I just had to keep my head down and survive. Doing anything extra was not possible.
Which is still kinda the case now, but a few things have changed. My position at my day job is different, both less stressful and more fulfilling. I have a house with bits that actually look nice without massive effort. (Yes, that makes a big difference for these kind of challenges. Also for my mental health.) And, a week or so ago, after years of rumours,we learned that the Fabricland where I’ve been working for the last five and a half years is closing this summer.
There are a LOT of feelings about that, but chiefly a deep sadness. I have met so many wonderful people through working there. Anyway, that’s a whole nother post. Working at Fabricland has had a profound impact on my sewing, as you may have noticed—a substantial chunk of my posts in the past five years have been shop projects. But the projects also influenced WHAT I chose to sew, both in terms of fabric—many of which i wouldn’t’ve been able to afford otherwise—and the patterns. Having the pick of anything ButMcVogue or Burda envelope, really let me try out a lot of new things, and I probably sewed a lot fewer TNT and Indie patterns than I might have otherwise. It also reduced the practicality of my sewing—instead of focusing on basic wardrobe needs, the party-dress temptation was pretty much irresistible.
Anyway, the upshot is that I have decided to take another stab at Me Made May 2018, with a focus on wearing things I’ve made as Fabricland projects. I want to document them, as kind of an homage to my time there, and also as a way of looking at their place in my wardrobe more critically. Do they work? Do I keep them? Or was it a poorly-judged whim?
I’m going to aim for daily outfit shots of some kind (probably mostly crappy mirror pics like above). I’ll post daily over on Instagram (@tanitisis) and probably make a Flickr album again. I’ll try and do a wrap-up post here at the end of the month but I kinda suck balls at those so who knows.
I’m hoping this will help me sort out some of these feels. I guess we’ll see.
Tanit-Isis Sews 
Nooooo! Not your Fabricland too?! (I mean, I didn’t work at my local shop, but I mourn it’s passing all the time!) I”m sorry to hear that your shop is closing, and I love the idea of your MMMay challenge.
Yeah, they seem to be in a contraction mode (but then most brick & mortar retail seems to be). There is another location in town here at least. 😦
There are eras in your life, and Fabricland is one of them. Needs to be celebrated properly, and this is the venue. Sad and happy. Looking forward to some overdressed days this month. Sad and happy.
Never a shortage of overdressed days in my life—especially since I started working at Fabricland! 😂 yeah, I’m happy to document it at least a bit.
I’m sorry to hear about your job. I have been so glad to read your posts about Big 4 patterns. It seems sewing blogs are overwhelmed with the same few indie patterns sewn repeatedly that may be useful basics but aren’t that interesting to read about. Or affordable, in my opinion, compared to sales on McVogueick. I hope you keep sewing the interesting and creative patterns I’ve enjoyed!