Me-Made-May final days!

Here are the last few days of May, and I've been happily wearing me-made stuffs.  I'm kinda bummed this month is nearly over, but I'm so glad I brought out my hand-made goodies.  The weather has been so crazy, I was actually able to wear some of my winter hand-knits!

May 26th, I wore my Mod-Podge jacket.  Little did I know I spent most of the day with the snaps misaligned.  Oh well.

 May 27th, all this hand-made goodness inspired me to finish a pair of jeans!  I had the fabric ready, but was unsure it would be enough to make a full-length pair.  They're tailored and about ankle length.  I think they look rather fetching at ankle length.  I've worn them twice now, and they're quickly becoming a fave.

 May 28th, the second time I wore the jeans, I paired it with one of my favorite cardigans knit in Malabrigo Lace which is super soft and fuzzy.  I had no idea I'd be wearing hand-knits and it's nearly June.  The weather's been crazy.

 May 29th, and I think this may be my final Me-Made-May post.  I have a wedding to attend this weekend in Italy, and I don't know how likely it will be that I can photograph my wardrobe.  So, I did it!  I wore hand-made items 4 days of each week.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I did get lazy last week.  The cold weather actually helped me pull stuff from my hand-knit collection that I might not have worn.  So, today I pulled out my alpaca shell.  One of my warmest hand-knits and one of the earliest garments I knit.  I love it and it used exactly one giant skein of Alpaca with a Twist yarn.

If I dooo manage to finish the dress in the background I'll post a pic. ;)

Happy Me-Made-May!

ETA: final me-made photo.  'twas too cold to wear the dress-in-progress unfortunately.  But, I did manage to wear my nicely brightly colored loop!  Who would have thought the end of May would be so cold in Italy!

May 31st, me-made-loop/cowl, Bassano del Grappa, Italy

Me-Made-May, Week 4 update

This week was a blur.  In fact, I can't remember what I wore when, but thankfully the photos have dates time-stamped in them.  I forgot to photograph May 20th's outfits, but that's okay.  It was generally a lazy week in terms of clothes.  I was really excited about finalizing a big illustration, and my eyeballs were practically plugged into the computer this whole week.

May 19 - I wore Sorbetto made by upcycling my friend's skirt that ripped.  She gave it to me with a big ripped hole in it and I managed to use the remaining fabric to work up a Sorbetto.  The trousers were recently hemmed which makes them fit finally!  They're a bit on the frumpy side, but they're comfy.

May 20 - I wore my Clover trousers, but I forgot to take a photo. It's okay, I wore other me-made stuffs this week!

 May 21 - I started off wearing this shirt I finished last year.  It got cold later in the day, so I ended up covering up.  But, at least it was sunny for a little bit, and I was able to wear it out for a while.

 May 22 - Another dreary, overcast day and so out came the wool jacket from last year.  The shawl is an adaptation of a free knitting pattern called "Haruni".

May 23 - Today was still really cold and rainy, and since the jacket was already out I just decided to wear it again.  Sorry for the repeat. In honor of the MMM theme "hometown" I wore this super bright flower print shirt I got from a thrift store in the hometown of my heart- Austin, TX.  The colors of the shirt remind me of my actual hometown, Miami, so it was the perfect nod to the hometown theme.

All this wearing of last year's stuff reminds me I should make stuff... this year.  :)  So, out came the denim and I'm working on a pair of jeans now.  I'm already at the zipper!

And, next week I can finally reveal my latest published patterns!  I'm so excited about that.

Me-Made-May Week 3

It's the Me-Made-May Weekly Wrap-up!

Part of last week and the beginning of this week I was traveling, but was still able to bring along a thing or two of hand-made goodness.  I wore this comfy travel ensemble to Prague where I fit right in. This is the Iris Pullover from last year combined with the Amaranth headband.  I love wearing it what can I say? 

Re: Prague - The locals like to dress really funky, and I loved their personal style!

Then, when I came back to Munich, I wore a completely me-made outfit.  From head to toe, I wore a cowl (cross-hatch cowl) and top (to be named) both designed by Amanda of Dilettant Knits, and then hand-made jeans made with Jalie's 2908 pattern.

missing photo here>>> http://twistcollective.com/collection/blog_images/mjandadriana.jpg

Later in the week, I walked about town and wore the plaid skirt I made for the Sew Weekly along with the cross-hatch cowl previously mentioned.  That's the thing about cowls - they become your go-to accessory and especially in Munich's fickle weather, you just don't know if it's going to be cool or warm or what!  So, a cowl is a great flexible item to have.  And yes, my hair was a bit crazy yesterday...

Today I'm wearing a hand-knit camisole, the Orange Blossom Camisole I designed last year.  And, as I was writing, I realized I missed a photo from this week.  I met up with a friend and wore my hand-knit lace Apres Surf Hoodie (designed by Connie Chang Chinchio).  Hmm. Maybe I can ask her for the pic when she has some down time?  Ah well.  In the meantime, here's today's outfit...

Also, the giveaway winners have all been in contact and their loot is on the way!

Sew Mama Sew May 2013 Winners

Congratulations to the winners of last week's Sew Mama Sew Spring Giveaway Week!

Winner of the vintage sheet of buttons was Marloes...

Winner of the Drops Alpaca yarn was Amy...

 And, winner of the trachten fabric is Gill...

Thank you to all who participated!  I loved reading all your comments, and hearing from you about what projects you're currently working on.  And, I can't wait to do this again in the fall.
I've contacted the winners directly.  If I don't hear from them within 24 hours, I'll draw again.  Winners, if you happen to read this, please comment here or contact me if you didn't get an e-mail from me.

Thanks everyone!

MMM 2013, Week 2

This week has been really interesting.  Firstly, thank you to all the visitors to the blog that commented on the Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway!  Wow!  I've never had so many people comment on anything.  Ever.

I've had to take most of my own photos this week, which is usually fine because I set up the tripod and all that.  Take my time, check lighting, and adjust locations.  But, with these daily shots, I was trying to do them quickly because I'm working on quite a number of different projects which meant no time for the tripod and the lollygagging. Sadly, I can't show most of these WIP's that have taken over my life because they're not yet published.  But, when they are live and ready to show... one is an illustration project, two are logos, and two of them are knitting projects... you'll be the first (or second) to know.

My own personal knitting has taken a back seat because my arms/hands/elbows are somewhat injured due to repeat motion injury stress. So, I've been using the knitting machine - more on that later.

Here are this weeks DIY outfits for Me-Made-May, 2013.

May 6
(May 5 is a typo!) I wore this upcycled green top that used to have these ridiculously huge leg-o-mutton sleeves that looked a bit like loose flesh to my untrained eye.  I chopped them off and tailored them to short-ish sleeves that are more acceptable to me.  The shawl/scarflette is the Amaranth Shawl that I designed this past fall.

May 7 
This challenge had me digging!  I woke up late and remembered the brown jeans I made for a Sew Weekly challenge last year.  They fit much better now!  My DH took this photo and didn't warn me at all that my top was so wrinkled.  Oh well.  It straightened itself whilst cycling to work.

May 8 

The sun was shining, but I bruised my knees this past weekend with the bike pedals so I didn't want to go bare-legged.  Out came the Go-Go Triangles dress from last year's SewWeekly challenges and the grey leggings.

In knitting machine news, I've nearly completed my first garment.  I'm just trying to figure out how to cast-off in the center of a piece. It's something I take totally for granted in hand-knitting, but it's taken me 3 tries so far to get it right on the machine. 

May 9

We'll see what today brings, but whatever comes my way, I'm wearing the red JJ Blouse I made last year in February.  I'm wearing a hand-knit loop and headband, too!  Have a great day, folks!

Sew Mama Sew, Giveaway Day 2013 at Adri Makes a Thing or Two

Hi and welcome to this year's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, May 2013.  Thanks for stopping by!
You are currently at Adri Makes a Thing or Two and I'm sure you'd like to know what you can win in the giveaway and how.

Here's what:
Giveaway Prize 1- Fabric for my Sewing and Quilting Readers

prize 1, traditional trachten cotton fabric .80m x 1.5m

Giveaway Prize 2- Yarn for my Crochet & Knitting Readers

Prize 2, DROPS alpaca yarn, 2 skeins (plus extra)

Giveaway Prize 3- Vintage Buttons for all Fiberists!

Prize 3, 21 vintage buttons still on their sheet

Here's how to enter my giveaways...

Leave a comment with the following:

• your e-mail address
• which prize you'd like to win
• what you're working on at the moment

If you like what you see on my blog, feel free to follow me on Twitter or Bloglovin'.  Happy Giveaway Day!



Follow me on Twitter here.

Details: This giveaway will close on May 10th at 5pm my time (I'm in Germany).  I will choose 3 winners using random.org, and I moderate all the comments so it may take a moment to post.  Please make sure that you have an email address attached to your comment otherwise you'll be disqualified since I can't contact you. :(  Winners will be contacted on the following Tuesday, May 14th since I'm traveling.

To find more giveaways this link will take you back to Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day for crafts and supplies!

May 11, 2013:  Comments are now closed on this post.  Thank you for entering!  Winners will be announced this upcoming week on Tuesday.

MMM Week 1 complete

This week's Me-Made-May Round-up...

May 1st as was previously blogged about included wearing a plaid skirt from last year's Sew Weekly challenge.  The cowl was hand-knitted this year and is a self-published pattern.

May 2nd
It was still quite cool here in Munich so I layered this hand-knitted lace hoodie (Apres Surf Hoodie by Connie Chang Chinchio) with this sewn skirt from 2011.

May 3rd
I happened to be traveling to London for a day, and what a change in the weather for me.  Who would have thought London would be so beautifully warm and sunny!  Well, I soaked in every drop I could and wore a hand-knitted pullover (heavily modified Kim Hargreaves pattern from "Precious").

May 4th
I'm back and ready to rumble.  New haircut, hand-knit lace headband of my own design (self published pattern), and up-cycled top.  I bought this top from a fellow student when I was at RISD.  She had the clever idea to sew a patch of cute buttons on one corner, and I bought it off of her at one of the student sales.  The vintage cardigan (my great aunt's) managed to cover the cutie-patootie buttons.  I find self-portraits so challenging without the tripod, but since these photos are nearly daily I just didn't have the urge to set up all my gear.  So,  these photos don't show that I'm wearing cut-offs that I did myself from a pair of jeans whose knees had worn too thin.

That's MMM week 1 wrap up!

Me-Made-May 2013 Challenge Pledge

I took the plunge!

I, Adriana of Adri Makes a Thing or Two, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May 2013. I pledge to wear at least 1 hand-made/up-cycled item 4 days a week for the duration of the month of May.

There it is!  Plunge taken.  Every year I see wonderful outfits and things that people have made, and I always miss the cut-off dates to join in the Me-Made-May challenge.  So, this year I made sure to note the calendar dates and be sure to join in.  If you'd like to learn more about the challenge, click on the button "Me-Made-May '13" above.

This is May 1st's outfit...

Item 1 is a knitted cowl I made this year.

Item 2 is the plaid skirt I made for last year's Sew Weekly childhood challenge.

I'm hoping to get some use out of the many items I make and try to rotate them a bit.  Does that happen when you make something too?  You start to like the look of something and then forget the rest of the clothes in the closet.  Perhaps, this challenge will get me to purge a few of the non-flattering items in my repertoire.