Coming Up in July & Me Made June Review

Hi All

I wanted to let you know about a few things I have planned for July...

1. Result of the vintage buttons and pattern giveaway! Still time to enter....

2. Wrap skirt tutorial in response to demand - I think 2 requests is enough to make it valid! I wish I'd taken photos as I made it, but I'll think of something to make it nice and clear, even if I need to make another one. It is super comfortable so I certainly don't mind doing that!

3.This I am very excited about - Do you remember back in April I posted about the Marian Martin/Reader Mail pattern company, giving a bit of history? Well, I was contacted by a lovely lady who actually worked at Reader Mail in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and she agreed to do an interview about her time there. It is truly fascinating, and I will spread it over a couple of posts, as there is so much information in there! Here's just a small snippet:

"It was a very strange place to work in many ways. It was a place destined to fail in the modern world. It was like show "The Office" but set in a sweatshop. The average age of the employee before I was hired was about 72 - no joke! They had a 94 year old janitor who, if you called him to change a lightbulb [and believe me, we delayed as long as we possibly could before calling him], all the ladies instinctively gathered around him to steady him on the ladder because he teetered so badly."

Finally a brief review of Me Made June. Overall it was a really fun experience, so thanks to So Zo for initiating and organising it. I haven't taken any outfit photos for the last 3 days - I just got so bored with doing it, but I did wear handmade so you'll just have to trust me! So what did I learn?;

• I have more handmade items than I think! I made it to Day 17 before repeating and could have made it even longer if I'd tried a bit harder.
• I need some plain skirts and tops, but they have to still be interesting to make in some way, otherwise I know I won't make them
• If you put photos on Flickr, check your activity feed to see who is commenting and favouriting your pictures. I did have a couple of *slightly shocking* experiences when I saw what kind of photos my innocent pictures have been favourited along with. Some seemed fairly harmless, but if you're not comfortable with who is favouriting your photos, Flickr has a great mechanism for making sure you can totally block some users. Read the Slapdash Sewist's post for some helpful information
• I really enjoy restyling. It's quite a good challenge to work with what you have, and I'll definitely be doing more of this
• The 'multiple photo' and self-timer features on your camera are really helpful if you have to take photos of yourself
• I really need to stop grabbing a cat to add interest to my outfit pictures. Sometimes they do just get in the way, but I don't want to overdo the cute factor, adorable as they are.

How did you enjoy Me Made June? If you didn't participate, do you feel inspired to? I believe Self Stitched September is planned!


K x