What a month! I struggled the first week and lost a big of momentum somewhere in the middle, but overall I’ve loved my first Me-Made May! I’d watched from the sidelines before, but actually taking part was so much more fun!
At the start of the month, I did a round-up of all the Me-Mades that I could wear, and proposed an extra challenge for myself: Japanese For Crafters! Each day I introduced a sew-related word or phrase in Japanese, and challenged the Flickr group to try using it in the comments.
The original goal was to have a prop to make me feel less foolish posing every day - and I was more than a little worried that people would be annoyed that I was bending the structure of the challenge. To my relief, people in the Flickr group got right into it! The word-of-the-day led to some neat conversations and always motivated me to take and post a daily pic!
Here’s what my month looked like:
As a teacher, we talk a lot about engaging students in meaningful discussions. While everyone loves a good compliment, I love to see people digging a little deeper! Another hot buzzwords in teaching right now is “effective feedback” - giving immediate, concrete, and meaningful feedback right away. The flickr group provided just that! A daily boost of confidence, some helpful and kind advice, and a push to continue doing your best! It certainly helped me grow and challenged me to constantly raise the bar.
During the month, I finished 8 garments, including one for my Mom! As you can see, it was exclusively doubles: Two Sorbetto, 2 Licorice dresses, 2 Renfrews, a second Truffle skirt, and a first of two Cambies! It made sewing fun and easy to repeat the same pattern, and meant that I was able to expand my wardrobe quite a bit during the month!
Another benefit of the month was that I grew much more comfortable in front of the camera. My husband was a huge help: He hopped out of bed early every morning to takes pics, and did silly things while shooting to make me relax!
Here are a couple of my favourites:
Sense a theme? Thanks, babe, for all your support!
Strange as it might sound, the photo component also helped with my self-confidence. I’ve never felt very photogenic, and yes, I slouch, blink constantly, and pull a lot of odd faces during photos… but taking 20-50 pictures a day helped me come to terms with how I look from different angles. Sometimes Japan made me feel a bit sumo-sized, but looking through my pictures and clothes, I really quite like myself. Thanks, sewing!
The final thrill of MMM was having so many people join in on my proposal to thank Zoe on the last day. I loved reading everyone’s reflections on the month (Told ya - I like instigating meaningful discussions!) I’m so glad it worked out!
(The final day, dressed in Nautical Zoe-tribute!)
Arigato (thank you) to all the MMM participants, and the people who supported us!
Matta rai-nen! (See you next year!)
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