Every year, sewists around the world partake in a celebration of their homemade wardrobes. While painting is my first + lasting love, I’m also a big sewing geek, so I used Me-Made May as the launching point for a month of paintings about cloth.

Although illustration is my first love, I’m also a big sewing geek and for the last six years I’ve sewn most of my own clothes. Along the way, I’ve learned a few pieces of Sewing Wisdom™. Read on for my favourites, including: what’s really wrong when clothes don’t fit, the freedom of having absolute responsibility, and why you should call your mom.