My goal for this year was to mix and match my Makes with more of my store bought pieces and in that I think I succeeded. I also did well with actual making but I fell a little short on my documenting and my mending. That’s another benefit of this challenge .. your priorities tend to show through.

I’m going to post my daily pictures here along with details and links to other blog posts or videos where I go into construction more.

Day 1

Swing Skirt in Apple and Brunette from an Alabama Chanin DIY Kit / Bloomers Stencil / Reverse Appliqué / Seams on the right side / Blog Post here

Single layer Corset in Brunette from an Alabama Chanin DIY Kit

Day 2 – Enjoying some sunshine

Black on Black T Shirt from a DIY Kit / Paisley pattern in reverse appliqué / I’ve cut out the back side fabric and added a 2 inch stripe down the sides to make the shirt larger and lighter. I talk about this on my Week 1 Video

Video for my Reversible mini skirt on the black side

Day 3 – Off to the Farmers Market

Midi length Skirt from a hijacked DIY Baby Doll Dress Kit / Natural on Natural / Magdalena stencil with gold paint / Negative Reverse Appliqué / Blog post about my DIY hijack here

Not sure of the top fabric color on the tote – it was a sample given to my sister at our 2016 workshop – bottom layer is Natural and stencil is Anna’s Garden / Reverse Appliqué / sample was sewed onto a canvas tote from the workshop. My favorite part is the back of the tote where she couched the word “Love”

Day 4 – I’m just going to send you to the YouTube video for this one

The top of the DIY hijacked baby doll dress.

A Chanin Cropped Cardigan in Natural

Day 5

Sleeveless Bolero in Navy on Navy / Can’t remember which stencil in Black paint / Reverse appliqué / Black Button Craft thread on Black binding

Black A Chanin machine sewn long sleeve T Shirt

This time I’m wearing the reversible mini on the navy side

Day 6 – Stitch night at Maggie’s

Swing skirt in Pewter over Black / Magdalena stencil in reverse appliqué / This was a kit from AC where a bunch of friends did a “Host A Party” and I made several YouTube video’s about it to help my party friends who were new to Alabama Chanin: Introduction / When do you cut out the design / Construction / Attaching the waistband

You can see the fitted dress in the back in Ballet and Natural – that one has been in my mending pile for a while. I need to add strips on the side to be able to fit into it. I put in 3 inch strips but it’s throwing off the neckline so I think I want to raise that as well.

Day 7 – Headed to the office – I had to include the picture of my leaning into my phone to take a picture. I have more of these on my phone than I care to admit.

Pencil skirt in Black on Black from a DIY kit / Tartan stencil in a golden paint / stitched around the design with ochre embroidery floss / Video here

Ochre A Chanin V neck sleeveless T shirt and Black A Chanin Cropped Cardigan

Day 8 – Work from Home

Swing Skirt in Peacock on Peacock / Magdalena stencil in reverse applique / Navy Button Craft thread

Peacock A Chanin V Neck T Shirt

Day 9 – This is when I decided I wanted to bang out another reversible mini skirt since I kept pulling out the Black/Navy one. This one is Indigo/Peacock. I couldn’t find the same pattern I used for the first skirt so I found this other pattern in my stash which wasn’t marked. I hope I like the shape as much as I like the first one (the second picture is my first skirt on top of the second). I messed up a little when I sewed the center back seam. I put the seam on the indigo side but I didn’t catch the peacock fabric at the very top. I think once I stitch the circles and I’ll see if I need to do a little “repair” stitch or two before I attach the waistband.

Day 10

Skirt made from a DIY Poncho Kit / Black on Black with silver paint in Anna’s Garden stencil / Negative reverse appliqué / Knot’s on the wrong side

War is Over if you want it to be

Day 11 – Mother’s Day

Single layer panel tank in White with an extra panel on each side / Seams on the right side with rosebud stitches / Blog Post Here

A Chanin White Cropped Cardigan (that I think I should bleach to make it more white)

Spent the morning with my son and the afternoon with my sister at my Mom’s gravesite. Arrived just in time for a dove release that I didn’t even know about – what a treat. My sister is wearing a Tank Dress in Natural on Natural / Angie’s Falls stencil in silver paint / Various treatments and even some sequins stitched on. I stenciled this for her for her birthday a few years back.

Day 12 – Driving to New York

Reversible Corset top with a recycled RVA Makerfest T Shirt on one side and plain Black on the other / Black Button Craft Thread and Black binding / Seams on the Makerfest side

Day 13 – Golf at Mohank Mountain House in the morning and lounging by the lake in the afternoon

Single layer Natural Tank and Single layer Ochre skirt.

Day 14 – Flower shopping in the rain in Cornwall

The plain Black side of the reversible Corset – I’m wearing a sports bra underneath because the neckline on the corset is often a little too low for my liking

A Chanin Cropped Cardigan that was originally natural but I dyed it Indigo with a Jacquard kit / Blog post here

Day 15 – Gardening on Constitution Island – so I didn’t wear any Makes this day

Day 16 – Haircuts and Lunch in Livingston Manor (can you even tell I got a haircut?), Cocktails in Woodstock and sunset at Olana state historical site, home of Frederic Church, artist of the Hudson River School

Corset in Ballet over Ballet with an added panel on the side / Anna’s Garden Stencil in while paint worked in reverse appliqué / Rosebud stitching in Natural thread on the Ballet binding

A Chanin Cropped Cardigan in Natural (yes, I do wear these as much as it seems, I wish Alabama Chanin still sold them)

Day 17 – We took the train to Grand Central (with a bunch of Mets and Yankees fans) and walked all the way to SoHo because I wanted to go to Sezane. It’s a fashion house out of Paris with reasonably priced sustainable fashion. I’ve purchased a few pieces on line but here was my chance to see a store in person. A bit underwhelming since it was so small and we had to wait in line to get in, but I did buy an adorable top.

White cross-back top made from a DIY Poncho Kit / Anna’s Garden stencil worked in negative reverse appliqué with knots on the right side / I wish I had a picture of the back to show you my “big mistake” but I forgot to take one. / Video here

Day 18 – Getting ready for my 7 hour drive back to Virginia – I just wanted to be comfortable!

Walking Cape in Black over Navy / Medium Polka Dot worked up in reverse appliqué / Reversible to plain Black / Circles are outlined in Black embroidery floss using a backstitch / Blog Post here

Day 19-20 – Home again and cleaning up my garden which had become very overgrown. I managed to get some beautiful bachelor’s buttons and snapdragons arranged

Day 21 – From the office bathroom

Tank in Natural over Faded Fabric / Magdalena Stencil in reverse appliqué / Black button craft thread around the shapes and on the Black binding / Blog post here

A Chanin Black Cropped Cardigan

Day 22 – Headed back into the office

Black single layer long sleeve Bolero with a mini squares treatment around the bottom of the sleeve / Squares attached with a parallel whipstitch / Blog post here

Wooland Gray Sierra Tank Dress in charcoal heather. This is the dress I bought with my $100 certificate I earned for doing the 100 day dress challenge back in 2020

Day 23 – Art Gallery Opening Tonight

Ezra long jacket in Indigo on Indigo / I also dyed the embroidery floss and button craft thread indigo / Aurora stencil drawn with silver paint worked in reverse appliqué

Plain black side of my reversible corset and plain black side of my reversible mini skirt

Day 24 – I didn’t wear any makes because I went to a friend’s new studio to create some art to match my guest room pillows

Day 25 – 28 – I was a bit burned out and I little too busy at my day job to even think about what I was wearing but I did capture this wonderful moment from my garden

Day 29 – Work dinner after a long day at the office

Hard to see it but this is my Tank Dress in Navy on Navy from the DIY kit I bought during my weekend workshop in 2016 / Facets stencil worked up in negative reverse appliqué / Navy button craft thread with knots on the right side / It has pockets!! Blog Post here And yes, I’m wearing a navy A Chanin Cropped Cardigan with it

Day 30 – Couldn’t see the texture in my indoor pic so I went out before the rains came to get a better shot

Tank in Navy over Twilight with white gold paint / Facets stencil worked up in negative reverse appliqué / Navy button craft thread with knots on the wrong side and navy binding

Single layer Swing Skirt in Navy

Beaded and Ruffled clutch in Navy / Dark gray chop beads sewn on with a chain stitch / Sorry to say that Alabama Chanin took down their instructions so the link on my blog post doesn’t work, but there are some guidelines in my post Blog post here

Day 31 – Last Day of May

Single layer Black cross back top / Black binding with Rosebud stitching in Black Button Craft Thread / Blog Post here

Slim Scarf in Faded Fabric / Blog Post here

So what did I learn after all this: stay flexible, wear what you want, make what you want, enjoy the process and never stop being inspired