me made may

This is a very belated re-cap of my first year participating in Me Made May, which is a month-long challenge around wearing handmade clothing. I committed to wearing all my handmade items at least once during the month. May is a good month for both warm- and cold-weather clothes, so I wore almost everything (except for a couple sweaters and knit accessories). I shared my progress on my Instagram stories, because Me Made May is quite popular among social-media savvy sewists (I have learned "sewists" is preferred to "sewers"... for obvious reasons).

I also finished a few sewing projects for Me Made May. First up is this striped shirt. I used the Bettine pattern (like my chevron dress), but I lengthened the top and shortened the sleeves. I also swapped out the neck facing for a neckband since I used a knit fabric. I wore this on our boat tour of Providence and blended right in with the gondoliers.

Next up, here's a Blackwood cardigan (pattern from Helen's Closet) made from the same green knit fabric as my Camas blouse. I also made the sleeveless top in a pattern of my own design (a slightly gathered scoop neck top with bias bound neckline and arm holes) with some rayon fabric from Jo-Ann.

Tired of that seeing that green fabric?? Too bad... I bought a lot of it. I also used it for the sleeves of this Hey June Lane Raglan. The lemon fabric is leftover from my Skater dress.

The first day I wore this shirt, Dan took one look at me and walked straight back upstairs to put on a different shirt. I made him take a photo of us twinning before I let him change.

I had fun working my way through my handmade wardrobe during May, but it didn't change my clothing habits much. I love wearing my me-mades all year!

rhode island and lake george

I checked another 2 states off my list!

In mid-June, we flew out to Providence, Rhode Island (my 34th state) to visit some of Dan’s college friends. We stayed with CJ and Catherine, and Mae was very excited to see Abby again! We only had one full day there, and we made the most of the perfect weather. Saturday morning, our group took a chartered boat tour of the bay and the canal that runs through the city.

After a pizza lunch and nap time for the kids, CJ and Catherine hosted a big backyard party for everyone, complete with a giant T-Rex sprinkler. The kids had fun running around in swim suits, while the adults stayed up late reminiscing and drinking (while displaying an impressive array of shorts colors).

Sunday morning, we went to church and then met everyone for breakfast downtown. Although the weather was a bit drearier, we enjoyed a tasty meal on the cute outdoor patio at Olga’s Cup & Saucer. Afterwards, we packed up our stuff and hit the road for Lake George (passing through Massachusetts, my 35th state, on our way).

I was fully prepared a cool rainy week at the lake, but we were pleasantly surprised by gorgeous, sunny weather on Monday and Tuesday. We spent lots of time digging and building in the sand, "fishing" with sticks, and tootling around on the paddleboard. The lake water was chilly (which didn't slow down Mae in the least), but the (heated) pool was nice and toasty. Mae had me chasing diving rings all over the pool and had fun splashing around in her puddle jumper.

Grampa took us on a short, speedy boat ride. I just love the feeling of being out on a boat on the lake! Mae loved going fast and watching the waves as much as always, although she is learning that wind and longer hair don't mix!

Wednesday and Thursday were rainier. The power went out Wednesday, so we drove into town for our essential trip to the arcade. We identified the cause of the power outage as soon as we got to the main road and found a large tree down, blocking our route. After a (somewhat) brief detour, we made it to the arcade and wrapped up the afternoon with a visit to Nina's Sweet Shoppe for ice cream and fudge.

We also filled a rainy morning with some good old puddle stomping. We found some very stomp-able puddles, and everyone ended up soaked. I think Archie had the most fun of anyone!

On Thursday, we had a big party to celebrate Gramma and Grampa's 70th wedding anniversary, plus multiple birthdays and an adoption! It was a fun end to a great little vacation!