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I can't believe another month has passed already and Me Made May is over! By the way, we have been calling Me Made May "me-ma-may" in our household. Somehow, Me Made May is a mouthful and we figured as long as you make sounds that start with M really fast, it is all sounds the same. I have decided to roll the last couple days of Me Made May, Me Made May Conclusion post AND NBC Challenge Update post all into one! It may sound like a lot but my experiences with Me Made May really tied into NBC Challenge and lead me to discover more things about myself and my closet. First off, here are two last days of Me Made May. Day 30: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGCIpJtiuMW/?taken-by=anna.zoe.sewing Day 31: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGEtCgYCuKb/?taken-by=anna.zoe.sewing If you would like a full weekly recap you can visit Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4 posts. What an adventure Me Made May was! This was my first year participating in it and I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't sure if I would be able to snap a picture of what I am wearing on a daily basis, but after a few days I realized that leaving my tripod out in the kitchen was the best way to go about it. Here are some thoughts about my experience, broken apart with my top 5 favorite outfits (in my opinion) from May: First off, I wore something me-made everyday! That was super exciting. I also never fully realized how many clothes I have and how many of them are me-made. I really don't need any more clothes... but it won't stop me from making them! I love this dress! It is so easy to wear and look instantly put together. The tencel fabric it is made out of it pure dream. The challenge really pushed me to look at my closet with a different mindset. Rather than looking for pretty garments, I was looking for what is useful for daily wear. I love frilly dresses, but Me Made May quickly showed me that I lacked in the basics department - I had only a couple pants, almost no basic sweaters and one RTW t-shirt that was too short on me. These basics, although less fun to make, are what glues the workable closet together. I am already seeing a few more basic items that I need and I plan to work them into my sewing schedule. Yet another super comfy and instantly elegant dress. It is made out of super soft cotton and feels amazing on. It looks easily put together with heels and will look just as great but casual with sneakers and a denim jacket. I also realized that even though I try to push myself to make garments out of fun prints and such, I still reach for basic neutral colors. I knew I liked grays and off whites, but I never realized how much. I also came to a conclusion that it is okay to own more than one off white top since I wear them all the time. Somehow I felt bad for making more than one garment in the same color. These pants are my favorite! I feel like they accurately reflect my style. They can be dressed up or look very casual depending on my mood. My me made garments fit me better! I never fully realized that, but this month I tired on RTW t-shirt and a couple bras and I didn't like the way they fit and feel at all! I am tall, so the t-shirt was uncomfortably short on me. Off it went into donation pile. My RTW bra felt too padded, the straps too shirt and the band too thin and loose. I am not a great seamstress and I make mistakes, yet even at this level my garments still fit and feel great. This realization made me feel really good. I love this skirt! The corduroy fabric is certainly a little heavy for late spring / summer so this is probably the last time I wore it this season. But I am already thinking of making one for summer in cotton twill. Next time I will also add pockets at the front. I really pushed myself in May to tackle pants. I have made a couple in the past and I was really proud of my Thurlow Trousers success. But I was still taking it easy on myself and not pushing further. Well, this past month I managed to whip out 5 pairs of pants and 2 pairs of jeans! I think I have enough pants to last me for a bit. I am getting more comfortable with pant making and fitting. As for welt pockets and zipper fly, bring them on! I am not scared of those anymore. I am mad about Laurel pattern! It is so versatile! This particular Laurel is made out of tencel twill and has a Peter Pan collar. I can't help but feel very preppy wearing this dress. As much as I am going to miss Me Made May, my wallet is really exited for June. Seeing all the inspirational makes, styles and fabrics was extremely tempting. I bought more patterns than I can sew just based on what I've seen other people make and wear this month. And don't even get me started on the fabric envy... It'll be a busy summer! And finally, I found so many amazing and inspiring people to follow on Instagram and blogosphere! I find seeing other skilled seamstresses and their amazing designs and styles really pushes and inspires me. Sewing community really has blown me away with how nice and welcoming everyone is. I am so excited and honored to be a part of it. Now onto No Buying Clothes Challenge update. I have done really well this month! Well, with it being Me Made May and me having to wear me-made items it was easy. Here are some thoughts on my experience so far: I do not miss buying clothes! I am not even tempted. Sometimes I do see interesting styles in the stores but I don't have an urge to buy anything. I usually snag a picture and keep it for inspiration. Even though I am not buying clothes, I am certainly buying shoes! Too many of them. Those who know me in real life, lovingly poke fun at me because apparently the money that I save not buying clothes I spend on shoes. I need to stop. My feet will thank me too, breaking shoes in is too much for them already. Two things that I can not wait to buy - camisoles and underwear. I am thinking camisoles that are strictly worn under sweaters and see-through garments. It needs to be somewhat fitted and with thin straps, and it doesn't sound appealing to me to make... If you know of a good pattern, please share! Mine are completely wearing out and I am dreading making them. As for underwear, I do make and wear my own bras but knickers... They take up so much elastic and I find them a little boring to make. And then it's a garment that I wear completely out and so fast. It pains me to put effort into it to see it washed and being worn out on daily basis. Am I the only one who's so weird about it? That's all I can think of right now. I hope everyone had fun this Me Made May. What was your favorite part of it? Love, Anya

I've had way too much fun this past weekend in Canmore with my girl friend and then with family on Sunday afternoon. I didn't do anything sewing or blogging related, so here I am doing all my catching up on posts. I am definitely overdue for the NBC Challenge update. And I am proud to report that I went another month without buying clothes!! I think it is a success. I did come close to buying a t-shirt in Canmore this past weekend though. Mainly because the t-shirt had "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" artsy thing on it (I am a geek) and I had a couple glasses of wine prior to seeing the t-shirt. But I pulled myself together and opted out to buy a random book instead, which in the end was also cheaper. I hope the book will turn out to be good! But here are my thoughts this month: I am still spending too much on fabric. I managed to buy fabric at a local FabricLand every time I went to pick up notions, and I purchased denim from Threadbare Fabrics (I will write a separate review of my experience). Even though I set myself a budget for fabric spending, I did go over it. I feel bad, but I feel like I may have learnt something this month by watching and seeing how I spent my hard earned money on fabulous fabrics. I am really hoping next month will be better! This time I will really try to stick to my budget and shop my stash instead. I find that I do not miss my ready to wear garments as much as I thought I would. Even sweaters. On one hand I still need that ivory sweater I talked about in my last NBC update post. But on the other hand, I am excited to make it myself. I know that the sweater I will make will fit me everywhere and will be long enough for my long torso! My office is right next to the mall and I thought that I would be very tempted every time I have to walk through it to get somewhere else. But so far I find that the mall has been serving as an inspiration to me, rather than temptation. I love seeing garments and think of ideas and what I can make. I especially enjoy seeing and touching good quality garments, I find they push me to look for quality fabrics and slow down during construction of my clothing. Finally, I listened to "I'll Drink to That" by Betty Halbreich a couple weeks ago and I absolutely enjoyed the book! Even though it is written about shopping and clothes, it talks about quality garments, wardrobes, style and fashion. I love listening to audiobooks while I sew, or drive, or go for walks, and I found this one also made me want to elevate the quality of my sewing. I also really enjoyed Betty talk about not needing too many clothes or new clothes all the time, yet striving to be elegant and put together. I really relate to that message. It wasn't much of an update this month, but that's also a good thing. I am staying on course and I am still feeling good about the challenge! What about you? Have you purchased any RTW? What do you listen to while you sew? Love, Anya

I am very late at writing this post. As in we are already in May and I am just writing it, but better late than never! This is my first year participating in Me Made May challenge. I first learnt about it a couple years ago and I never thought I would be able to have enough me made items to wear even a couple days a week. Yet, here we are and I already mostly wear me made clothes. For those who are not aware of what this challenge is head on over to So,Zo... blog to read about it. The idea is to challenge home sewists and makers to wear handmade clothes more often. The are no strict rules, it's not a competition and everyone is welcome to create their own version of the challenge suitable to themselves and their lives, and to participate. Here is my pledge: I, Anya of Anna-Zoe (www.anna-zoe.net) and @anna.zoe.sewing on Instagram, sign up as a participant of Me Made May '16. I will wear at least one item of me made clothing each day for the duration of May 2016. I will also commit to making at least one new item each week to add to my wardrobe to replace RTW items and fill in holes. You can follow my journey on instagram (daily updates) and my blog (weekly updates). Well, I already wear at least one item of handmade clothing each day. Even if it is just my undergarments, but it counts I hope. My challenge here is to really try to find out where my holes in my closet are, what I do wear most vs. what I make most. I plan to figure out a way to show off my daily outfits on the instagram and do a weekly round-up on the blog. I think the daily updates will be most challenging for me as I am not used to snapping daily pictures, but I am sure I can do it for a month. I also plan to keep up with my sewing and continue to make at least one item a week to add to my closet. I have no particular plans but there are a few things on my to-make list. I'll share those on my instagram as well until I have time to snap outfit photos. Here we go! I am very excited for my first Me Made May! Love, Anya

I haven't tested any patterns in a while and when Charlotte Kan sent out a call for pattern testers for this shirt / shirt dress I jumped on the opportunity. I don't really wear button up shirts and I don't have any shirt dresses... I was under impression that I don't really like them, but I think it is because I don't know how to pair them into an outfit (I know, someone is probably rolling their eyes right now... ) I've had Archer and Alder patterns for a while but I am yet to make them. So I thought with me testing a pattern, I would have no choice but to make a shirt or a shirt dress and then I would be forced to figure out how to wear it. The patter is a super simple shirt / dress pattern. It has a loose boxy fit, with gathers in the back yoke. There are no darts, the sleeves have cuffs and the collar is a simple standing collar. It is called Mandarin Collar in Russian but I am not sure if that is a proper name for it in English. Would anyone know? I cut straight size 10 according to my bust measurements. The only modifications were to accommodate the fit according to my body - I added a little bit to the shoulder width and lengthened the sleeves. I also ended up hemming the dress a little shorter. That's it! Other than that there were no modifications to the pattern. The instructions are very well written and have great diagrams to follow along. I love having pictures to look at! It makes the sewing process so much easier. All the construction steps are explained very thoroughly without being too long and as a result the dress came together in no time with no issues. I am very happy with the pattern! It is well drafted and the fit is impeccable! The dress is the perfect boxy cut without being too lose and swallowing me whole. It is the first time when I made an intentionally loose fitting garment and didn't have to take in the sides to make it less overwhelmingly loose. I envisioned this dress rather flowy and light, so for my fabric I picked a polyester blend from my local FabricLand. The fabric almost feels slightly like micro fiber but is still light. I used micro fiber needles just in case to sew with it, and I didn't have any issues whatsoever. I had a slight hick-up with buttons though. I have an insane amount of buttons in my stash! I really don't know exactly how I acquired them, but I must have been buying buttons with all my fabrics for years! I have a whole plastic container full of buttons. So I was sure I would be able to find something in my stash to go with the fabric and I didn't buy any buttons. Well, lo and behold, when the time came to make button holes and attach buttons I couldn't find anything that went with this dress! Nada! So the dress had to be put aside until I could make an emergency trip to the FabricLand. In the end it turned out perfectly since I was able to find buttons that matched the color of the fabric extremely well! I am extremely happy with this dress. I fell in love with it as soon as I put it on. It feels so chick yet so comfortable! I am very excited to try play with styling it, although I think it looks great on its own and doesn't really need anything else. As you have probably noticed, I love wearing it with my sleeves rolled up. I don't know what it is, but I rarely wear anything with the full length sleeve... The pattern should be released soon! Charlotte is a very talented designer and I definitely recommend this pattern. As for me, I am hoping that with the success of this dress I can finally open up some space in my closet for more shirts and shirt dresses. Love, Anya

I have been seeing button front skirts everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE! At first they reminded me of a black denim skirt I used to have back in grade 9. I loved that thing to death and wore it all the time. I wore it so much that just a thought of a button front skirt gave me shivers at first. Then I kept seeing those skirts... and seeing them more... At first I thought "no way!" but then it changed to "hmmm... funny how the fashion comes around.." and then I went full on into "I must have it!!!" mode. I kind of stumbled onto the pattern for the skirt one day just as I was being slowly convinced to change my mind about the skirt itself. I've never tried any of Pauline Alice's patterns but she does have some super cute ones in her shop! Rosari Skirt did not jump out at me, it was more of a gentle wave and "hey you, here is that skirt that you've been seeing everywhere, okay bye!" So I kept going. Then one day, as I mentioned above my acceptance of a skirt changed into an intense need and I bought the pattern without giving it a second thought. I only have nice things to say about this pattern and I definitely recommend it. It taped together beautifully and the instructions were very thorough. I ended up blending between sizes - my waist being a size smaller than my hips. I used my French curve to draw a gently curved line to create a new side seam. I also determined the skirt length prior to sewing. I find I like my skirts around 19" long, so I added some extra length to the skirt pattern by slashing and spreading it. I didn't even make a muslin! I just went for it. And it worked! The skirt fit right off the bat. After trying it on, I did take it in at the sides a little bit as I found the overall flare was a little too much for me. But that was a super easy fix. I used a beige corduroy fabric I had in my stash. I have been saving this fabric for years in hopes of making myself a corduroy jacket but never getting around to it. I think in the end the fabric is much better off being a skirt than taking valuable space in my fabric closet. The buttons also came from my stash, except I only had 4 and ended up having to get 6 more. In the end I do love this skirt and it does remind me of my little black skirt I used to have in all the best ways. The first day I wore it I got a few compliments, and even a "I almost bought the same one the other day!" I don't just jump out at people and say "Aha! No you didn't! Cause I MADE mine!". I like to keep my sewing abilities semi-private so unless I am asked directly as to where I got something I don't say I made it. As for the skirt, it has definitely made it's way into a regular rotation in my wardrobe. Just like the old little black one did years ago... Love, Anya

I think in all my time sewing I've made more skirts that I could ever imagine. I started sewing with skirts. I made pencil skirts from my mom, I made simple gathered skirts for me... As a matter of fact, now that I am thinking about it, my very first me-made item for myself was a skirt. I was about 8 years old and I managed to sew by hand a simple rectangle skirt with a fold over elastic casing. By hand! I don't think I would ever do that again... This skirt does not have an exciting background story at all. I saw the skirt (Model 122) in Burda Style magazine for August 2014 and I really liked the technical drawing. I didn't like the model picture at all to be honest... It must have been the fabric choice and the way that skirt is paired with that shiny shirt... It's just off! I also didn't like how the front of the skirt has these awesome pleats, but the back does not. I prefer my pleated skirts to have pleats all around! To remedy all of that I decided to omit the zipper at the front and go for an exposed zipper in the back,. I cut two front pattern pieces on fold, one for the front and one for the back, which was exactly the same as the front. This way I had my pleats at the back as well! I used 100% wool suiting from my stash. As you can see I am really trying to use up my stash fabrics here! A few years back I managed to score quite a bit of beautiful thin wool suiting on great sale and I bought enough to last me a while. The wool is a deep forest green color which translates into a fun basic, yet not so basic, solid color. The fabric also has a subtle texture to it and I love fabric with texture! I always, always line my wool suiting. So this skirt is fully lined with rayon bemberg lining from my stash. The pockets though are made out of green polyester I had that matched the green wool a bit better than the lining. Exposed zipper was a fun challenge! I find if you interface and stay stitch the fabric where the zipper will be places and go slowly, the exposed zipper is not hard or scary at all. Megan Nielsen has a great tutorial on sewing an exposed zipper. I definitely recommend it. This skirt turned out really nicely. I am very proud of the quality of the construction and the way it looks. Unfortunately for some reason I haven't been wearing it a lot. However, now that it is back on my radar I am very eager to change that and take it out of my closet more often! Love, Anya

It is almost summer... what am I doing posting pictures of a coat?? Well, in Calgary, although it has been deliciously warm, one can still get away wearing a coat in the morning some days. I am also sure that a cold spell is still bound to happen (I will be happy if I am wrong!) It's Calgary, it is bound to come! It is not weird to get snow on May long weekend here, so see, posting pictures of a coat in April with +22 outside does not seem so weird anymore. The coat is Lekala 4333 coat pattern. When I first made it back in December 2015 I sucked at taking pictures. I am not a pro at it now, but I am very proud of my tri-pod acquisition and how it has slightly elevated my picture quality and photo taking abilities. Also I would like to think that over the past 4 months my modeling skills went from barely existing to "I-can-do-two-poses-yay!". I won't talk about the coat itself in this post, as I've written about it and my experience with Lekala patterns here and here. Feel free to check the posts out and if you have any questions, ask away. In the meantime, here are some shots of the finished coat: I love the two pleats at the front! They help create such a beautiful feminine silhouette. I used Kasha lining, which is a flannel backed satin, to line the coat. This lining is warmer than usual bemberg or polyester lining. And because it is flannel on one side, it is easier to work with. My lining is silver since FabricLand had a limited selection of colors and this silver color was the only one that went with the color of my Melton Cloth wool. I am extremely pleased with how this coat turned out! Between this one and my other super warm Cascade Coat (unblogged) I have been a very happy lady this fall/winter season! Love, Anya

I am completely obsessed with Laurel Pattern. I am not even hiding my obsession or pretending it does not exist. I think I have made over 5 Laurels, most of them un-blogged, and I still have one cut out waiting to be made. I could easily wear Laurel dresses every day of the week and be as happy as I can be. This pattern is so versatile and so easy to make! Lately I have been strangely drawn to drop waist dresses and I have been collecting images of what I liked on my Instagram. There is just something about that dropped waist and slightly gathered skirt that completely stole my heart. I envisioned a very simple dress - boat-neck, bust darts, dropped waist, gathered skirt and loose fit. Originally I had my eye on Malvarosa Dress by Pauline Alice and I even bought the pattern. But after trying to put together a muslin and running into fitting issues with my shoulders I quickly gave up. I have enormously wide shoulders! So wide that it would seem that I can swim for hours, if only I knew techniques other than doggie paddle (though my doggie paddle is da bomb!) It does seem that Malvarosa Dress is a great pattern, but I just didn't want to deal with shoulder adjustments. So I gave up and turned to my tried and true Laurel. My modifications were not complicated at all: I've completely eliminated back darts. Just outright ignored them I've added about an 3/4" on to each hip for less fitted silhouette, and used my French curve to draw a new side seam I've decided that I wanted my dropped waist to start right around the widest part of my hip. I felt that it was a more pleasing look. I've measured the length from the center of my shoulder to my widest hip and that became the length of my new dress bodice pattern For the gathered skirt, I've planned to use rectangle with 1:1.5 ratio for the width of the skirt but I didn't have enough fabric. So I cut two rectangles instead, both the full width of the fabric. I sewed the side seams of the rectangles, gathered them and attached to the bottom of the dress. I also slightly pressed them so the skirt wouldn't "puff out" too much as I didn't want a tutu look I've left the top part of the dress and the sleeves untouched. I also didn't insert the zipper since I didn't have issues getting into any of my other Laurels without the zipper. So both my dress front and back are cut on fold I am completely in love with how this dress worked out! The fit is exactly what I was looking for. All my previous hard work of fitting Laurel to my body has completely paid off and the dress is ridiculously comfortable in my chest, back and shoulders. The fabric came from my stash and is a polyester suiting blend that came from a local FabricLand. It irons well, but definitely requires an ironing cloth! It melts so easy and shine marks are super easy to make. Other than that, the fabric was easy to sew with and is really nice to wear. I do wonder if I've hemmed it a little too short. The length is probably okay as is with dark opaque tights, but I am unsure if it will be too short with bare legs... I have left a really wide hem of ~2.5" in this dress so I can easily let it down a little longer. What do you think? Love, Anya

How many Hemlocks are too many? I don't think it is possible to have too many Hemlocks. At least not for this girl. Shortly after whipping out at least four Hemlocks (most of them un-blogged) I was thinking of my next Hemlock. As I was falling asleep one night a thought crossed my mind - "make it into a dress!". I do tend to think of sewing as I fall asleep, as I am sure everyone else does too because it is a totally normal thing to do, right? So the next chance I got I promptly got onto making this pattern into a dress. To make the pattern into the dress I added extra length to the pattern. The rest I sewed up as usual. Prior to hemming it, I've tried it on to see if it is too wide (it was) and / or too long (it was). I ended up taking it in at the sides a little bit and cutting off a couple inches at the bottom. I finished my neckline with a band and used a chain-stitch on my coverstitch machine to topstitch it so it lies flat. I hemmed the sleeves and the bottom of the dress using the coverstitch machine as well. I have had it since Christmas (it was my present to myself!) and I am slowly learning the ropes on it. I find coverstitch machine slightly more finicky than serger, but I am sure I will charm my way to it's metal, gear filled heart. Oh, and check out the stripe matching. Like a boss! Ever since I started pinning my fabric at the stripes, stripe matching has not been an issue. The fabric came from Blackbird Fabrics. It is a loosely knitted cotton sweater knit. It is so lovely and so comfy against the skin. Unfortunately Caroline does not have any more left, but I am hoping next fall she will get some more awesome knits in stock There is nothing much else to say about the dress. It is easier than easy to put together, especially if you have a serger. It is super comfortable to wear and you instantly look put together after throwing it on in the morning. I find all dresses do that though. All of this got me thinking of what else can be done with Hemlock pattern... I mean it's free! Would you try making it? Would you make it into a dress? What else would you make it into? I also still need to try Mandy Boat Tee, I hear it is just as fabulous. Love, Anya

I have finally and fully gave into my desire for loose, almost shapeless garments. After wearing fitted dresses, low waisted pants, fitted sweaters and shirts for years, I really thought that something was seriously wrong with me. How could I even want a pair of pants that sit right below my natural waist?... Or even a loose fitted dress? Gasp... I certainly thought I caught some kind of virus that clearly affected my brain. But lo and behold, I think this is what growing up and getting older (and of course, better!) looks like for me. After realizing that just because a garment doesn't closely hug my bust, waist and possibly hips, it doesn't mean it still can not be flattering, I went on a pattern search of all cool loose fitting dresses and tops I could find. I've seen Inari Tee Dress before a number of times and although I did think it looked good on others I never thought it was for me. Well, it grew on me fast, with my new urgency for looser fitting dresses, I had to have it. The pattern was easy to tape together and I ended up picking a size based on my bust measurement - 40. I adjusted the shoulder, since my shoulders are so wide, and proceeded to put it together. It was easy! It all came together in one night. But... there is a but... it turned out too tight! Seriously, this was a loose fitting dress and I managed to still pick a wrong size. My mistake was that I simply assumed that my hip measurement wouldn't matter because of the looser fit of the dress. Well, it certainly does! I could put the dress on, but my hips were way too tight in the dress. There she is. Just hanging on the dress form, waiting for my friend to pick her up.... Thankfully though, I had enough fabric leftover to make me another one! This time I cut size 42 right away and went from there. I still widened my shoulder, but in hindsight I should have done a full broad back adjustment. The dress still feel a tiny bit tight across the shoulders, but it is not a big deal at all and it is barely noticeable. The fabric came from my stash and has been a part of it for at least 3 years. I bought it thinking of making a shirt dress, but I never got to it. I think the Inari Dress really suits it though. The fabric is a polyester blend. It is very light, yet opaque. It has a beautiful drape and hangs nicely. It was also not hard to work with at all! I have been wearing the dress all the time. It is so comfortable! I also like how versatile it is. It looks just as cute with a chunky cardigan and tights, as it would with sandals in summer. I am thinking I should make another one for the summer. Something in lighter fabric in a color that makes you think of summer... There, how poetic was that? Love, Anya

This is not quite the Friday Fail. It's actually the opposite, I would consider this dress a Friday Win, if you will. I don't have any current photographs of my recent fails to post as a Friday Fail. And there were some fails... The most recent one was so bad that I ended up throwing the whole thing out. Photographing it would not have even been possible! But I'll talk about it in a different post. Now onto Moneta Dress! Moneta... The sewing blogosphere is full of them! And for a good reason. The dress is such an easy make, fits well and is super versatile. It really doesn't get easier, there are no darts, the sleeves are set in flat and it's made out of knit fabric. One can't go wrong with this dress! Just like majority of Colette patterns, I had to make adjustments to make this pattern work for me. I lengthened the bodice, increased the width of the shoulder and made some changes to the sleeve cap. I made all alterations on paper paying close attention to my measurements since I didn't want to make a muslin. I tend not to make muslins for knit garments. I used my serger to put the dress together. The bodice was quick to sew and rather painless. The sleeves were set in flat. I finished my neckline and sleeved with bands as I much prefer the finished look of them and my machine always has trouble with double needle. I tried to use clear elastic to gather the skirt but that was a major fail for me (there! Friday Fail after all). I just couldn't do it! In the end my skirt didn't gather evenly and looked completely off. So I pulled my seam ripper out and took the elastic off. I gathered my skirt the old-fashioned way by using the longest stitch on my machine, stitching around the waist seam and pulling bobbin threads. It took some extra time but I am very happy with my gathers and how they turned out. The fabric came from my local Fabricland and is a polyester mix. I tend to be rather snobby when it comes to knits and polyester, but I am getting over it. This fabric actually feels and looks good. It's pretty soft and drapes well, but still, it does have that polyester-y feel to it. The print was what really got me, so in the end I didn't care about the content of the fabric. I just had to have it! Honestly, I am very surprised that I have only one Moneta Dress in my closet. They are such an easy make! And after throwing one on you instantly look and feel put together. I am thinking I need to make myself a solid color Moneta. Something in a neutral color that can be an easy basic item. But then, there are summer Moneta's as well to think of. So many choices, so little time! Love, Anya

It has occurred to me this morning that I completely forgot to post an update on how my No Buying Clothes Challenge is going. It has been another month of not buying any clothes and I am continuing to learn and develop from this process. An update is in order! I am happy to report that in terms of staying away from buying any clothes is has been a successful month! I haven't bough any clothes and continued to make everything that I need or wear what I already have. However there are still a few things I learnt I could improve on. I am in need of a plain off-white sweater... I am talking super simple, off-white sweater that would go with everything. In the past J-Crew's Tippi pullover was my go-to buy. It's exactly what I am looking for. I have to admit, I even almost convinced S to buy me one as a gift... But it didn't work. My main issue when it comes to the sweater is not that it is hard to make. It's easy! With a serger it will not take long either. However, I am having trouble finding the right knit. I want something that is of a better quality with some natural fibers and is a light sweater knit, not a t-shit knit. But I am having trouble locating the fabric in Calgary and actually in Canada... If anyone has suggestions for good quality sweater knit I could buy, on-line or in store, outside of Canada too, I would love to hear them! I have noticed that my fabric spending has increased dramatically! I guess having an excuse of not buying clothes for a year somehow justifies buying all the pretty fabrics I see even if I am not going to get to them in a bit. I guess a fabric stash is not all for sewing and can be considered a collection of sorts, but overspending on fabric was not part of the plan for the year. I am not sure how, but I will have to curb my fabric spending and shop my stash. There is this thing they call willpower... I wonder where can I get one of them... Finally, I have been doing my Wardrobe Architect project, mainly following along with Christine's journey and doing the exercises as she completes them (because I am too lazy to do it on my own). I was very excited to have my color palette finalized and named!It am sure that I could have narrowed my Main Colors to include less of cream tones, but it was unbelievably hard for me. They are all so pretty!! So I left it as is. The experience lead me to realize the full extent of my love for warm off-white and cream tones and come to terms with it. So now I don't feel as guilty sewing all shades of off-white tops! I love them and I will wear them.Having the palette also affected the way I look at my fabric stash and how I shop for my fabric. I used to come down on myself for not having enough bright pretty loud prints, and would force myself to "venture out". The reality is though, that I just don't wear them and don't like them. It is also okay to have a more toned down closet if it reflects my style. There you go, I think it was another month full of learning and reflecting. We'll see what the next month brings! Love, Anya