Me Made May Is Over For Me

It might have been obvious to some of you from the outset but I'm pulling out of Me Made May for this year. I'll be trying again for Self Stitched September but I didn't have enough garments at the moment and I think I can get something good out of this and move on.

I don't know if I've told you this but I'm visiting my parents at the moment for my birthday and to visit the spring fair. I was planning on cutting and sewing up some clothes quickly over the last few days and borrowing my Mums sewing machine to do it, but when I got here I found out that all three of her machines are waiting to be fixed.

Oh well.

Because I get twitchy if I'm not doing something with my hands and I had already cut out the fabric anyway I figured I might as well give hand sewing a try.

Even though everything's a bit wrinkled (from too much tension in the stitches) it doesn't actually look that bad. Maybe if I keep practicing I'll end up reasonably good? Better than I am now, anyway.

I almost bought a book as well. I read about Bridal Couture by Susan Khalje on Male Pattern Boldness and did a quick search on amazon and eBay for copies. With ten seconds to go I was the top bidder at £36 and was excited but a little bit worried about how I could explain why I spent so much on a book. Yeah, I got a bit of money for my birthday (my parents find it easier) but still...

Turns out I didn't need to worry. Just seconds from the end someone sniped in and got it for about £75 plus p&p. It's probably a blessing in disguise.

I don't think I could go through my birthday without buying something, though. I went searching on Amazon and picked up Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Shaeffer and The Little Corset Book by Bonnie Ambrose for about £18. I should get them both before the end of the month.

I feel a lot more relaxed now that I don't have as much on my plate. I still have the pattern review competition to do, but that's going to be comparatively simple. I have my plan and a pattern I'm going to edit a little bit.

Have any of you guys ever tried sewing garments by hand? How did it go?