The End of Me-Made-June - Day 30

It's the last day of June. Finally, the last post about my Me-Made-June outfit. This month has seemed to pass really quickly, but at the same time, seemed endlessly long. Does that make sense? Maybe it is because of all the travelling I have been doing this month. Next month won't be like that, I have a lot of stuff I want to get done in July. I want to stop with all this moving around, flitting from one place to another.

Today I wore one of my polka dot dresses and my blue wrap cardigan. There was rain and thunder and lightning. Summer storms...

As I was walking to the bus stop I saw a woman who had an umbrella which I thought would match perfectly with my dress. She was nice and let me pose with it!

Pécs - Me-Made-June Days 26-29

I have a few days of Me-Made-June to catch up on. I have been in Pécs without much internet access.

This is the main square in the centre of town. Such a a picturesque city!

Pécs is a gorgeous city in the south of Hungary. Last year it was one of the European Capitals of Culture. I had been wanting to go there ever since I came to Hungary and finally, after more than five years, I made it!

Day 26

On Sunday I caught the train down, wandered around the city a bit in my red and white striped dress, had lángos for dinner, watched the last concert of a little festival that had been going on.

Day 27

Monday morning I got up at 5.45am. I was kind of in disbelief when I was setting my alarm clock, that the first number would be a 5....

I got a job working at an English summer day camp. That's why I went to Pécs, to learn how it all works. That's also the reason why I dressed like a Bavarian boy.

I thought it would be better to wear shorts for spending the day running around with kids. My lederhosen seemed like the most comfortable option from my me-made shorts. So I wore them with the white blouse (Burda 7381) that I made to go with them (none of my other me-made tops seemed to fit...). When it got cooler in the evening I put on my aubergine cardigan.

I didn't wear the lederhosen straps. It is hard enough to take these off with five buttons to undo, let alone seven of them!

Day 28

Yesterday was another early start. I decided to be brave and wear a mini dress even though I would be spending the day playing with kids again.

This is with my favourite of the kids. She was soooooo cute!

I even managed to play Stuck in the Mud in my dress! Shorts would have been better though. I need to get some kind of sporty shoes... Sandals are really not the best for running in... I slipped over trying to catch one of the kids while playing Duck Duck Goose and skinned my knee. I have gotten so many cuts and bruises and new scars this month... it is ridiculous!

I showed the kids how to make origami dogs and boxes. This kind of work is a great way to do all the craft stuff I love!

Day 29

I wore my red and white striped dress again.

I had a delicious ice-cream in the centre of the city (they actually give proper scoops of icecream there, not like the stingy Budapest icecream sellers who use the tiniest scoopers you will ever see, and then they scrape off the scoop so it is just a half scoop! I ate an icecream pretty much every single day in Pécs...). I people watched for a while, then got on the train back to Budapest. A lovely woman was seated next to me. We chatted the whole trip so the time just flew, it was great! That's one of the things I love about travelling alone - all the people you can meet along the way.

Midsummer - Me-Made-June Days 24 and 25

On the discussion on the Me-Made-June flickr group there is a thread about things people have learnt so far this month. I was thinking about it and have really realised how few clothes I need/wear. I have been wearing the same couple of dresses over and over this month, even when I have been in Budapest and had access to most of my wardrobe. I just counted - I have worn my polka dots and stripes dress 8 times this month... I actually thought it had been more, it felt like more! So I wanted to be a bit more varied for the rest of the week and wear some of my other me-made clothes. But then I woke up yesterday, Day 24, and put on my fave summer dress...  (I had already worn that about 4 times already). The dresses I wear all the time have a few things in common - they are comfortable, they are light, they don't make me feel too hot and sweaty in this summer heat.

In the other Me-Made/Self-Stitched Challenges last year I tried to vary my outfits a lot, not to bore everyone, but this month I don't care :)

So this is me at my sewing machine in the middle of the night in my fave dress. You have all seen proper pics of it millions of times. I'm making a pair of shorts.

Day 25

Today I am wearing my scallop necked polka dot dress. I love this dress. This fabric is so light, it feels so weightless. While I love that about it most of the time, on windy days like today... well... I think I flashed about a hundred people while walking around. The slightest breeze picks up the skirt. It is made up of eight gores, the hem is more than four metres long.... It is kind of fun though, it makes me feel kind of Marilyn Monroesque. I'm wearing it with my petticoat, I think it needs it.

Me-Made-June Days 19-23

I haven't been at home for a few days so I need to catch up with the Me-Made-June stuff. I have to upload pics to the MMJ flickr group too and see what all the other ladies have been wearing. At the start of the month it is still all fresh and fun but towards the end of the month all the photo taking/blogging gets to be a bit of a chore.

Day 19

I stayed in my pjs all day and did lots of sewing. Here you get a glimpse of my new pj top and my blue wrap cardigan.

Day 20

I took a train to Füzesabony to visit my step-sis. It's a not so nice village in North East Hungary. I wore my polka dots and stripes dress. After all my travelling earlier this month this dress quickly became my favourite for travelling in. It's easy to wear, comfy, suits most occasions.

After the kids went to bed we were hanging out and Ági got the idea to straighten my hair. It reminded me of when were teenagers and would stay up all night chatting, even before we knew each other's language.

So here you see me with the straightest hair I have had since I was a baby. It was so strange, it felt so flat, I felt like I was bald.

Day 21

I wore my blue floral dress. This is with Tomi, Ági's youngest. He's so cute.

Then I went to Eger which is a beautiful city only 16 min by train from Füzesabony. I went for a wander around the city while my friend was at work. There were people giving out free beer!!! And there were a few choirs singing in front of the church in the main square so I stopped to watch that and drink my free beer. I love Eger!

Day 22

In the morning Adorjan and I went to the market and got lots of fresh fruit then sat on his balcony to eat breakfast.

I kinda loved how at the market they had signs up warning you about the local pickpockets.

Day 23

Today. I wore my polka dot and stripes dress. Again. I have worn this dress practically every second day this month. We got up early. Adorjan went to work. I got a kakaós csiga (my fave type of Hungarian pastry) and went and sat in the big park in Eger to eat it. It's a beautiful park. I really want to start getting up earlier and doing more stuff like this, enjoying the daylight.

Then I got on a train and headed home to Pest.

Rainbows - Me-Made-June Day 18

I'm in a sad mood now. I am listening to sad music. Great music, but sad. Songs by friend Dóri. She is an amazing singer, listen to her songs.

I just got home. I thought tonight would be so fun but it was really shitty. Well, there were good parts of course, but I only spent about 5 min in one bar... First place we went to had a huge line. There never used to be lines in Budapest... At least not in the places I went to. So we bought some jager and drank on the street and gossiped :) That was fun. So we thought of going to the gay after party. That had a big line too and it was 2000ft! I am not paying that much to go to a bar where the majority of guys won't even be attracted to me... so I got a gyros at my fave gyros place. I hadn't been there in about two years (!!! how could that have happened??!) and the guy there still remembered me :) That made me happy. Then I saw someone I didn't expect to see which made me sad. Went to Instant. That was shit too which is why I am home.

The songs are getting happier :)

Tonight I am wearing my blue jacket, my fave summer dress, and my sparkly black leggings. It is really hard for me to take self pics and get my whole outfit in!

Today, in contrast to this evening, really was nice!

I sewed up my rainbow dress. All two seams. Oh yes, probably the most simple garment I have ever made. No hems, really just the two side seams, no other sewing! When I was a kid I had a white jersey top which I loved that had these stringy things like this at the bottom. It had a bead on each string. I had been thinking about doing that kind of thing for a loooooong time and I finally got my chance.

Hard to believe that yesterday this was just boring navy and white striped jersey. The colours didn't turn out quite as bright as I thought they would (I watered down the paint to make it easier to use) but I still like the effect.

The Pride Parade was on. I went and met up with a few friends there. It was nice, but strange. Because Hungary is full of crazy intolerant people there were barriers up to separate the parade people from the crazies.

And hundreds of police in their riot gear... There would be police right by the marchers, then a big kind of no mans land, then more police...

So along the whole long walk you see very few people who aren't actually in the parade... just a couple of people in their balconies and windows, some workers in the very few shops that were open.

There was lots of pink and rainbow flags and umbrellas.

Dávid wore a shirt I made him!

I used Burda 7767. I used the collar from view A and the shirt front from view B. For some reason they didn't match up properly but I think the result is ok.

I cut the sleeves off at the elbow because I didn't want to figure out how to sew cuffs I didn't have enough fabric. And besides, Dávid always rolls his sleeves up to the elbow anyway. I also didn't put a button at the top of the neck because then he would button it right up and I think that looks stupid. Oh the power! Making other people's clothes you can stop them doing the things you don't like :)

I bought this fabric at the Sali Pazari in Kadiköy for 1.50 lira. Istanbul feels so far away right now.... This fabric wrinkles like crazy. It's a blue gingham, quite stiff.

I love fabric paint! MMJ Days 16 and 17

Day 16

Yesterday I spent most of the day in my pjs. Doing some sewing and drafting a pattern for a new pj top. I had to get dressed to go meet my friends for drinks. So I wore my polka dots and stripe dress and my blue wrap cardigan.

This is my friend Tats and his darling girlfriend Ola. They make such a cute couple!

Day 17

I was wearing my blue floral dress all day. And then I took it off to check the fit of a new dress I am making at the moment and then it was just so much easier to put my pjs on than to do up all the back buttons on my dress. Yes, lazy of me.

I have been to a few craft shops today, hunting for fabric paint in all the colours of the rainbow. I wanted these paints so badly I went allllll the way to Üllői út (ok, it's only about 5 or 6 tram stops but that felt pretty far when I usually walk everywhere). It is Pride Week here in Budapest so I want a rainbow dress to wear tomorrow :) I had been thinking of sewing together strips of different coloured fabric but then when I was lying in bed this morning I had this brainwave to use this striped jersey I bought in Istanbul instead!

How much fun is it to paint something! I completely lost track of time and so now I don't even know if I will go out tonight. I'm in a lazy mood. And I want to finish my dress...

I think the colours look good in these proportions but this was not what I was planning at all. I think the sun must have gotten to me. There were about 28 white stripes to paint. 28 divided by the 7 colours of the rainbow is 4. So I started painting the colours with 7 rows for each colour.... I had already started the yellow when I realised what I had done... And I only bought 6 colours anyway because I count blue and indigo as both blue!

In the next pic you have what I was wearing, what I am wearing, and what I hopefully will be wearing tomorrow.

Halfway through! - Me-Made-June Days 13, 14 and 15

This month is passing really fast. Already halfway done with Me-Made-June.


Day 13


On Monday it was a public holiday, something about 40 days after Easter? I don't like public holidays here - everything is shut and I haven't worked a 9-5 job, well, ever so I don't have the benefit of getting paid for a day off. I would just do away with public holidays. Except maybe St Stephens Day on August 20th (because there is a nice big fireworks display).

I met up with Vitaly in the afternoon. We checked out the Czech beer festival that was going on. I wore my Come Back Summer dress (modified Burda 7829).

Then wandered around the city a bit. This is the Bazilika. It was a really hot day. Sweating.

Day 14

I had picked a huge bag of sour cherries on the weekend that needed to be used up. This is the fruits of my labour: jam!

I hadn't realised what a huge amount of fruit you need to make a small amount of jam. And what a lot of time. I spent two and a half hours squeezing the stones out of the cherries (these were smaller than usual ones). Got covered in cherry juice. Next time I am choosing an easier to prepare fruit.

I wore my black and white dress.

Day 15

I wore my fave summer dress (Burda 8693).

I got a lot of looks on the street. I don't know if that was because the split in the front of the skirt is so high or because I haven't done my hair since the weekend... 

Getting out of the city MMJ - Days 11 and 12

Day 11

I got to wear one of my favourite dresses. I hardly ever have an occasion to wear this dress. It is one of my many versions of Burda 7829. Basically every seam and hem on this dress has been sewn at least twice since I first made it.

 I have replaced the bodice, added aubergine coloured pockets, then changed the pocket fabric to black so they weren't visible, shortened the hem, let out the sides.... When I think of all the time I have spent on this dress...

I went to watch an opera. One of my friends was performing in it. I love going to the opera - seeing the costumes, the backdrops. It was held at the Royal Palace in Gödöllő. My first time going there (kind of crazy since it is only 30km north of Budapest...). The gardens are very nice, I would like to go back there sometime and explore a little.

Day 12

I wore my pink and red plaid dress (modified Burda 7831)

We went to Mogyoród to have a garden party. We ate the most delicious bográcsgulyás (a Hungarian soup). Olyan finom volt!

This is me pretending to help cook.

Dávid found some ping pong balls in the garden...

Me-Made-June is actually feeling harder now that I am back in Budapest and have access to a lot more of my me-made clothes. It was so easy having only four dresses to choose from, it really saved a lot of hmmming and hawing over what to wear.

This is how we open wine bottles in Hungary...