May Photographs and MMM Reflections

I have had an on-and-off love affair with the concept behind taking a photograph daily, but I am trying it up again. To ease off the pressure, I decided to just start on a random day in April instead of making an event out of it and then psyching myself out. I keep overthinking photography and how my photos are never what I want them to be, but since I've recently been trying to turn off [or at least block out] that internal censor, instead I have been focusing on what aspects of my life, my neighborhood, my home, my day-to-day that I would want to remember in ten years. Because I can still look back on photographs from 3 years ago and recall where I was and what I was doing, and I like that.


A brief collage of some of the highlights from May. Clockwise, from top:

1. Mom and dad's visit at the Arboretum
2. Don't drink the water! [I kept forgetting when I brushed my teeth so finally my darling roommate wrote and illustrated a little note that she promptly placed in the sink. I burst out laughing when I saw it]
3. 'Dude, want to play show and tell?' subtitled 'I went to grad school and all I got was this chaote squash growing wild in my locker ...'
4. Strand Bookstore, New York
5. Snuggie Queen!
6. Picnic
7. Koreana Redux

In mimicking with the photography style of many crafting bloggers, I've noticed I tend to do a lot of still life's, a lot of close-ups, a lot of empty space filled by half of an object. And while that's cool, I'd also like to be more versatile, so I'm trying to challenge myself to take more panoramic photos [hence the ones top left and right].


Me-Made-May-Lite reflections. In my not-so-representative sampling of three crafters, it seems like tee's were a major area of RTW clothing that MMM'ers are taking a critical look at, in terms of places in their wardrobe that they can cull and replace with handmade items. I have to agree with this one, especially since I have a medium-ish number of quirky tees which I adore, but really only wear 2 of them all the time. Since I am loath to get rid of them [why is it so hard with clothes and fabric?], maybe I will refashion them into pillows and such?

Also, lots of talk around creating wardrobes that work together - most in favor of minimal wardrobes, since as many have pointed out you actually need far fewer clothes than you think! I have to say I kind of like the mix-and-match factor and will guiltily admit that I like to keep a variety of clothing on hand because what I love most about clothing is the ability to create new combinations. That said, I think it's time to diversify out of neutral t's and white button-downs and into more interesting blouses. So I've signed up for Ali's sew-along to motivate myself to whip out a couple decent blouses. And because I am not feeling like mucking around too much, I will probably use this pattern and this one, at least to start ...