I guess writing down goals really does work… The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 32
The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels –
it’s a year about noticing patterns, trying things, and observing what happens.
Day 218 – Friday, March 6th
purple sweater // black tank // black maxi skirt // bead crochet bracelets
black scarf // black tights // brown boots // various rings
Day 219 – Saturday, March 7th
archer button up shirt // black tank top // cascading flowers skirt
bead crochet bracelets // various rings
Day 220 – Sunday, March 8th
purple sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
bead crochet bracelets // various rings // black tights // brown boots
Day 221 – Monday, March 9th
archer button up shirt // black tank // black maxi // bead crochet bracelets
black scarf // black tights // brown boots // various rings
Day 222 – Tuesday, March 10th
boring black sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black tights // black shoes
bead crochet bracelets // various rings // robot clock necklace
Day 223 – Wednesday, March 11th
handknit sweater dress // black tank top // black tights
Day 224 – Thursday, March 12th
archer button up shirt // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black scarf // black tights // brown boots
bead crochet bracelets // various ring
When I started the self-made wardrobe I had a few loose goals in the back of my mind, but I intentionally didn’t set any super specific goals.*
*because my wardrobe & I are grand adventuresses!
I knew at some point I’d need jeans, a winter coat, and some sweaters. But other than that I wanted to keep things loose.
And 7 months in, with no specific plan, I’ve accomplished 2 of those things. Yay!
Having said that, I’m setting a couple loose flexible goals for the last 5 months of the self-made wardrobe. I talked a briefly about most of these goals in the January wrap up over on the selfmadewardrobe.com blog, but I wanted to expand on them and add a couple more here.
Goal 1: another chunky sweater. Kind of like my deconstructed sweater, I want something chunky, warm and cozy – that will work over other sweaters for the rest of the winter, but that will also act as a spring jacket once it gets warm enough to put my alpaca coat away (soon, I hope.)
In the interest of time, I want to sew this instead of knitting it and in the interest of versatility I want it to be a cardigan. (This could also be a straight up spring jacket – but in the long run, I think I’ll get more wear out of the sweater.)
Goal 2: another light, thin, long sleeved pullover. The purple sweater I’m finishing now will fit this bill quite nicely.
Goal 3: another 3 − 4 quick, easy, simple, wonderful skirts. I haven’t felt the desire to sew anything for awhile, this winter has made me want to curl up and knit more than anything else. But with the promise of spring I’ve started sitting down at my sewing machine again.
Goal 4: jeans. I know – damn bloody record over here. But I have the pattern. I have the fabric. I just need to sit down at the machine…
Goal 5: looking forward to summer. Skirts. Dresses. Tank tops. Yes please! (This isn’t really a goal, it’s more like a “yay summer!” thought.)
It’s funny. I originally wrote out these goals a couple weeks ago, and since then have made substantial progress on both my purple sweater (it’s ready have the ends woven in!) and my jeans (they’re constructed! so now they just need a waistband & finishing!)
I guess writing down goals (when they’re thoughtful, aligned, centered goals) really does work…
Adding a Third Rule to The Self-Made Wardrobe – Week 31
The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels –
it’s a year about noticing patterns, trying things, and observing what happens.
Trying something different this week – photos at the top of the post, commentary at the bottom.
DAY 211 – Friday, February 27th
hand knit sweater dress // black tank top
black leggings // various rings // robot clock necklace
Day 212 – Saturday, February 28th
handspun handknit sweater // basic black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black tights // brown boots // long necklace // various rings
Day 213 – Sunday, March 1st
deconstructed sweater // boring black sweater // black tank top // black maxi
black tights // brown boots // various rings // long necklace
Day 214 – Monday, March 2nd
purple sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black tights // brown boots // acorn necklace // various rings
Day 215 – Tuesday, March 3rd
handknit sweater dress // black tank top
black leggings // black scarf // various rings
Day 216 – Wednesday, March 4th
archer button up shirt // birds & wheels circle skirt // black tank top
black leggings // various rings // bead crochet bracelets
Day 217 – Thursday, March 5th
handspun handknit sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black tights // brown boots // long necklace // various rings
I’ve been blogging with varying levels of commitment since 2010(?), and yet, I haven’t quite mastered the “don’t forget to photograph to project at each step” mindset. I find that quite annoying. For example I don’t really have photos of the yarn I used to knit my handspun sweater. I had the yarn sitting on my desk for ages and didn’t take photos before I started knitting with it. The skein of worsted alpaca handspun I used for the sleeves & body was basically the size of my face.
I mean seriously, how do you not take photos of a skein yarn the size of your face – especially when it’s your own handspun!?!?!
Anyway, this rather infuriating habit of not taking photos has prompted me to institute a 3rd rule for the self-made wardrobe.
Rule #3: projects aren’t actually finished until they’ve been photographed. (And since they aren’t done, they shouldn’t really be worn.)
I considered saying “projects aren’t finished until they’ve been blogged” but then I started thinking about how I so often start and finish projects in clusters, and then because I wanted them to be done, finished and wearable, I would end up clumping lots of finished project posts together, and that sounds completely overwhelming – both to write and to read.
For example, I finished & photographed 3 projects this week – a new shawl, a pile of bracelets, and a skein of handspun yarn – I photographed them all at the same time, but am going to spread out the finished object posts.
Side note: I’m kind of annoyed that I finished three projects this weekend, and none of them were clothing – but there we are. I’m comforting myself with the fact that I also finished both sleeves of my purple sweater.
So, projects aren’t “finished” until they’ve been photographed.
This way I can take photos as I finish projects, in clusters if necessary, but I can spread out the writing and the posting.
However. What about the projects that oh so often get caught between almost finished and finished finished?
More often than I’d care to admit, I’ll get a project very closed to finished, and then something will happen and the project will wait for ages until I get back to it. It took awhile for me to recognize this, and I’m still not positive why I do it, but I do.
Remember my first archer button up shirt?
That project sat between wearable and finished for absolutely ages.
But I sill wore it.
In this particular case, it was waiting for buttons, which was waiting for a trip down to the garment district. And, I desperately wanted to wear the shirt.
So I did.
(There’s also the lack of winter coat photos to consider – and I’m certainly not going to stop wearing my coat for the sake of a photo shoot.)
So. I think that since I’m already working with such a limited wardrobe that instances like that are ok.
My hope is that this new “rule” will get me into the habit of thinking about photography as part of the making process, and not just something I do (if I remember) after a project is long finished.
sticking with a project that has high burnout potential – The Self-Made Wardrobe Week 30!
The Self-Made Wardrobe is a project where I only wear garments I’ve made.
It’s sort of a year long experiment in getting dressed without clothing labels.
DAY 204 – Friday, February 20th
purple sweater// black tank top // black maxi
grey cowl // black tights // brown boots // various rings
There’s something poetic about a project that last a year.
One year. No more, no less. Birthday to birthday.
A year, being both a really long time, and absolutely no time at all. It turns out the number of things you can do in a year, or that can happen in a year, is pretty astounding.
To have a project that lasts a year, is to have a project that is going to run alongside (or against) all of the “stuff” that happens in that year. So the rules/guidelines/conditions for the project have to deal with that in some way. You can try to foresee all of the stuff that will happen, or you can keep things flexible.
I went the “keep things flexible” route – 365 days of adhering to stringent self-imposed rules isn’t really my thing.
DAY 205 – Saturday, February 21st
handknit sweater dress // black tank top
black scarf // black leggings // various rings
Elise Blaha, one of the only lifestyle bloggers I follow recently announced her latest birthday challenge, “Make&Give30.” When she first introduced the project, she wrote a brief FAQ, which included this gem:
“I FEEL LIKE THIS HAS GREAT POTENTIAL FOR BURN OUT.
Yes, but so does blogging. So does everything. This is why the rules are flexible and the concept is tremendously broad.”
(original post here)
I love that answer!
Everything has the potential to burnout. Especially if the fuel for the project involves finite resources. And especially, especially, if the main finite resource is you: your time, your interest, your mental space.
DAY 206 – Saturday, February 22nd
handspun handknit sweater // black tank top // pirate skirt
grey tights // various rings
For me, one the the keys for avoiding burnout with this project is the flexibility of my self-imposed “rules.” I only have 2 rules.*
*I recently added a 3rd “sort of” rule, but I’ll talk about that later, possibly next week.
THE “RULES”
1. undergarments & accessories don’t count.
2. if it feels like cheating, it probably is.
(And by “cheating” I mean “going against the spirit of the project.)
And that second rule is the important one. That’s the rule that is preventing this project from flaming out.
It’s also the rule that forced me to define why I’m doing this project, and the angle I’m looking at it from.
DAY 207 – Monday, February 23
handspun handknit sweater // black tank top // black maxi skirt
long necklace // various rings // black tights // brown boots
There are numerous angles I could be doing this project from. Each angle would change what “cheating” (going against the spirit of the project) means. I chose the angle that’s possibly the hardest to explain, and that I thought was most interesting.
I’m doing this to a) see if I can, b) ask questions about what I wear and why, c) use it as an angle to look at creativity & making, and d) I thought it’d be fun. (PS. I was right.)
DAY 208 – Tuesday, February 24th
handknit sweater dress // black tank top
black leggings // rings
I want, and have always wanted, this project to be light and fun and playful – because otherwise, I would have burned out a long time ago.
200+ days in, and it’s still fun & interesting.
DAY 209 – Wednesday, February 25th
handspun handknit sweater // black tank top // graphic silk circle skirt
black tights // brown boots // rings
Of course there are days that aren’t fun. There are days my life would be stupidly easier with jeans, and days when I wish I wasn’t limited to these same 20-odd pieces of clothing – but those days aren’t the whole picture, they’re blips on the radar.
When those days for multiple days in a row, I can pull back, find a different angle, come back to center, and re-discover the joy. And this room to pivot seems to be (at least for me) one of the main keys to sticking with an intense projects that has a high burnout potential.
DAY 210 – Thursday, February 26th
purple sweater // black tank top // black maxi skirt
black scarf // black tights // brown boots // rings
