Enfin, Un Petit Effort!

I had a little more time today (3-day weekend, yay!) so I played a bit in PicMonkey.  Here are my outfits for the last three days.

Day 15 with Norah Gaughan Tilted Duster (because it's still cold) and a RTW blouse that I dyed a pink-orange many years ago:

Day 16 with a skirt from Simplicity 2655 and the rest is RTW.  Plus I am showing off my new cotton yarn, a birthday gift from my mother. :)

Then yesterday I again wore my Tilted Duster sweater with my Lisette Portfolio dress from Simplicity 2245:

Apparently I like looking at my feet in this series of photos!  Oh well, it's a theme like any other ;)  All three of those outfits were new combinations for me.  The Me-Made Challenges do force me to be a bit innovative!

Me-Made-May 2013 Half-Way Point

Close enough!  So far I have mainly (re)learned that I still have not rectified the basic problems of my wardrobe.  And I (re)learned that I need to get rid of stuff that I no longer wear, for whatever reason.  At least on that point I've taken action.  I donated three big trash bags full of clothes this weekend, including some me-mades that were made solidly enough but didn't fit any more. 

So, I do feel better after having gotten rid of stuff.  But I still have a huge mending pile and I still lack basic, well-fitting, pleasing things that I can wear both for work and on the weekend.  It is really hugely tempting to just go shopping!  But then I remember that my most recent RTW purchases are so-so at best.  OK, that's not true.  I got some good dresses from People Tree recently.  But the two pairs of pants I've bought in the last year don't fit particularly well and aren't especially flattering. 

But then after I remember that, I (re)remember that I have precious little time to sew nowadays and I definitely do not have the time to get everything done in the timeline that I'd like.  Sigh.  I guess it's a question of prioritizing and picking my battles, like everything else, right?

Anyhow, I didn't take pictures of my outfits on Friday through Sunday because calling them "outfits" is really stretching the meaning of the word.  But I was clad in self-made things on all three days.

Monday I went back to work so I had to scrape together a proper outfit.  Here I am wearing a staple dress (that is looking a bit had in person) and my Renaissance Basket Stitch Cardigan.  It got cold again so I brought about the boots, but I took them off before snapping the photo (at nearly 11pm!).

And today I am wearing more wool.  Here's my Thermal sweater paired with black pants (ill-fitting ones, as mentioned above) and black boots:

I suppose it is odd to be wearing wool in mid-May but it's a stroke of luck for me because if the weather got really warm, I would be hard-pressed to find things made by me.

A Short Trip to London

Wednesday and Thursday of this week were bank holidays here in France so I took advantage and went on a jaunt to London with a friend.  We mainly just walked around and ate and drank (hey, just like Bruges!) but we had fairly good weather so it was a nice trip.

We did spend a little time at the British Museum and we even saw the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, as well as at the Horse Guards near Whitehall.

 

We had fish 'n chips and beer and cupcakes in Soho.  And the apartment we stayed in wasn't far from St. Paul's Cathedral.

And we visited Chinatown.  I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but I didn't even know that London had a Chinatown, albeit a small one.

 

And here's what I wore - at least, two days out of three:

 

I wore my knitted shrug two days in a row, but I only photographed it the second day.  And I wore my Renfrew on Thursday when it was a bit cooler and rainier.  

We also visited the V.V. Rouleaux shop and of course I bought some fripperies:

A velvet ribbon with lace trim...

and some striped ribbon.  

I don't know what this type is called but I'm sure it has a specific term.  Anybody know???

Beginning of Me-May-Made 2013

I wore my Tilted Duster (pattern by Norah Gaughan) on day one, but the outfit was very uninspiring, so I didn't take a photo.

I did take photos the next three days, however:

On day two I wore a newly finished dress, yay!  I used New Look 6098.  The fabric is a pretty heavy knit that I purchased from Ray-Stitch.  I originally had it earmarked for a Renfrew, but I decided to use it for a dress instead.

On day three I wore my celery-colored blouse (fabric also from Ray-Stitch).  I made this last summer with Simplicity 2339.

And today I wore a skirt that I made two years ago using Simplicity 2655, as well as a newly completed scarf using the Diagonal Lace Scarf by Helena Frank.  And my sunglasses 'cuz it was sunny!! :)

Me-Made-May '13

I am officially signing up for Me-Made-May 2013 - I pledge to wear at least one me-made item for the month of May!  This doesn't sound like much, but this is actually going to be a challenge for me because my me-made wardrobe has shrunk.  I'll do my best with the outfits and the photos, but I can't guarantee much creativity.  Nonetheless, I'm excited to participate and fill my eyes with inspiration!

Here's a little taste of a new dress I managed to make this weekend:

And a newly finished scarf... :)

A Short Weekend in Bruges

I was able to meet up with some friends in Bruges last weekend. It was my first time in Belgium and the first time I'd seen these friends in ten years!!

Here are some pics I took:

My friend's name is Marie, so of course we had to stop here and take a photo. :)

As you can see, it was sorta sunny but not entirely warm yet.

We were mostly just chatting to get caught up, combined with walking around the town and drinking beer and eating chocolate. ;)  There was a most excellent flea market/street fair...

 And we took the river tour:

Check out the cute dog hanging out the window!

In more sewing-related news, I am planning on participating in Me Made May 2013 but I'm still thinking about the particulars of my pledge. I honestly haven't made much this past year so my outfits won't be much different from the last time around. Plus now I have the additional constraint of my new job which demands a slightly more formal work wardrobe.

I have a feeling that this challenge is going to be rather like the first time I participated, with me trying to scrape together outfits! There may be some days when my only me-made thing is a scarf, but I'm not going to be hard on myself. I may not do daily pics though and just do 'highlights' so to speak. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to participating and seeing everyone's creations; it's always an inspiration!

Book Challenge Progress: 2 out of 12 Categories

I haven't been crafting much, but I have been able to get some reading done.  Thank you long bus rides!  Granted, I haven't gotten as much done as I had hoped, but nevertheless, I've finished off two categories for my Eclectic Reader Challenge.

Urban Fantasy:

Pale Demon and A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison

Image is from Amazon.com.

I'm not being very efficient; that's two books for one category.  And the next category is even worse: three books!

I love this Kim Harrison series.  The cover is pretty trashy, but that's okay.  Anyhow, if you like slightly silly fantasy stories set in Cincinnati, then this is for you. ;)  Sorry, I'm terrible at book reviews!

Romantic Suspense:

Blameless, Heartless and Timeless by Gail Carriger

Image is from Amazon.com.

I would categorize this series as fantasy steampunk.  Meaning, it's set in Victorian England and there are some fancy gadgets that are ahead of their time, plus werewolves and vampires and such like.  And some pretty awesome descriptions of hats.   The suspense and the romance elements are sufficiently strong that I'm letting myself label the books as "Romantic Suspense" for the purposes of this challenge.  That's a pretty broad category in any case. ;)

I love this series too.  I don't know what I'm going to do because both the above series are coming to an end!!

 Anyhow, the 10 categories left are:

1. Translated fiction
2. Historical mystery
3. Romantic suspense
4. Made into a movie
5. New Adult
6. Urban Fantasy
7. Dystopian
8. Memoir
9. LGBT
10. Action Adventure
11. Humour
12. Published in 2013

Do you think I can count the Watchmen graphic novels as dystopian?  I think I can...

Plus, here I am Claiming My Blog in Bloglovin'...which is apparently a separate thing.