It's almost that time of year again: Me Made May!
Me Made May is the brainchild of Zoe at So, Zo... What do you know? Here's how Zoe describes it: Me-Made-May'18 (#MMMay18 for social media interaction) is a challenge designed to encourage people who sew/knit/crochet/refashion/upcycle garments for themselves to wear and love them more.
This is my fifth year participating in Me Made May (You can check out my pledges and round-ups from previous years here), but my first participating as a repatriated American living back in my old stomping grounds of New England. My past four Me Made Mays were spent on the other side of the world, primarily in places with flip-flop weather. As in the weather was appropriate for that type of shoe, not that the weather changed often. Here in Vermont I'm more likely to experience the other kind of flip-flop weather. I think May in the Green Mountain State can be quite exciting, weather- and temperature-wise, and can keep you on your toes!
During those four years, my employment situation varied a lot, too, ranging from not working, to working in an office, to working from home (last year's situation, seen below). That context affected how my Me Made May went and what I wore, of course. This year I'm back working full time in an office setting during the week.
In years past, my Me Made May pledges have varied, and ramped up a bit, year by year:
- 2014: I endeavor to wear at least one item of me-made clothing each day for the duration of May 2014!
- 2015: I endeavor to wear at least one me-made garment each day for the duration of May, 2015 and will mend or alter at least five me-made garments to make them wearable.
- 2016: I pledge to wear one me-made item every day for the month of May, but I will use MMMay16 as an opportunity to re-wear some deep cuts from my me-made wardrobe to assess whether they should stay or go. I'll wear two deep cuts per week and make a decision about their status.
- 2017: I endeavor to wear at least one me-made garment every day and wear at least two me-made garments three times per week for the month of May 2017.
Given the weather, my work situation and my history of ramping up my pledges, I'm continuing that trend by ramping up my pledge this year! Here's what I pledged for 2018:
I endeavor to wear 2 articles of handmade clothing each day, and 3 articles at least twice per week for the duration of May 2018. I plan to mix and match my handmade articles to find new pairings and layering options.
May is layering and light coat weather in Vermont (Google tells me the average high and low temperatures in Burlington are 68F and 46F), so I don't think compliance with my pledge will be particularly difficult to achieve. Throughout the month, though, I am going to try to pay attention to what additional layering pieces might be helpful. For instance, I already know a white t-shirt and/or white layering blouse would really help me out. What other items can I identify during May?
I'm going to photograph my outfits daily and post them on Instagram stories. I'll probably do a weekly round-up on Instagram and maybe a mid- and end-of-month round-up here. I also think I'll use the hashtag #memadecombo, created by Amanda, because I like seeing how different handmade items get paired together. Sometimes there are some really creative and unusual combos out there!
Are you participating in Me Made May? If so, what's your pledge? And what's your favorite part about this challenge?
