Addiction to black

I am addicted to black clothes. They make me feel safe and well, thinner. My husband took this photo on washday to send me a message - I look like a Greek widow.

I am aiming to inject some colour into my winter wardrobe. So why have I just sewn a "wearable muslin" in black crushed velvet?

Mental note to myself - don't finish it. Whip up something in that red or green in the stash.

Nothing is impossible...just difficult

In the process of making this jacket I have learned that bound buttonholes need to be completed on the front panel before completing the garment! I spent hours looking for a method to get around that fact, even listened to endless replays of the treacle sweet Candy Cane Canso on Expert Village (worth looking at for the pink sewing machine and pink fabric samples!) trying to work out a way of putting bound buttonholes on my finished jacket.

Well I ended up pulling up my lining and opening out the already topstitched front facing as far as I could and made them anyway. You have no idea how difficult it was to create straight, even sized welts this way. The result is only passable. If only I had known what to do at the outset.

Which is a good segue into my next topic. I need lessons! I have booked to take an intermediate class with Sydney dressmaker Bernadette Doherty starting 23 June at 6.30pm in Roseville. The only problem is that so far I am the only person in the class. We need two more people to join the class of three students. If you are interested please contact Bernadette directly through her website. See the link to tuition.

I was also very excited to hear that my fellow countryman Geoffrey Rush won a Tony Award for his performance in Exit the King on Broadway. I had front row seats to see this play when it played at the Belvoir Street theatre in Sydney. This is a very intimate space and I felt that I was witnessing something very special. Certainly one of my memorable theatre experiences, including the occasional spray of spittle from the great man!

The other theatrical highlight of my week has been my daughter's school performance of Anything Goes. R played Reno Sweeney - a standout performance that would give the great Patty Lupone a run for her money. She wants to study musical theatre when she leaves school this year. Unfortunately there is only one musical theatre school left in Australia that takes 30 students from 1000 hopefuls each year. I say some luck and chutzpah are needed as well as talent.

What would you wear with this?

I have this completely OTT skirt that I really love but always wear with a plain black t-shirt. It is really worthy of more than that. Any pattern and colour suggestions? Don't ask me to wear bright blue though.

Finished at last!

After lots of mini stints at the sewing machine my BWOF 11/08 jacket is now completed. I'm still waiting for the my covered buttons from Tessutis. They will be ready to collect on Monday 1 June. They are two-tone in the tweed with black silk on the outer edge. Overall I'm really happy with it except for a slight problem with the hang of one pleat at the hem line. I'll probably unpick and try to rectify this. Will post another photo when the buttons are on.

In the meanwhile I whipped up this great jacket blouse in about an hour using fabric bought from Fabric Fair in Armidale. Rita the shop owner is very knowledgable and trades in the good quality wools, linens, silks, cotton and knits. She is starting up a website if Armidale NSW is a little off your beat. I also bought a gorgeous silver cotton with with an embroidered border to make up for a cocktail function later in June. The sleeves and trim are from a great black knit from my other spiritual home Tessutis and the buttons are self covered from the grey frill. I didn't use a pattern for this, just a t-shirt block and shirred the waistline underneath the frilled layer.

Both jackets look great with the black pencil skirt I made in March, so I guess I have a bit of a SWAP happening.

My young sewer has abandoned machine for the pencil. This picture is of her latest self-portrait hanging at a local youth art award. She didn't win a prize but was hung on the same wall as the winners in this category. She is a very creative child. So far I'm resisting the urge to finish the dress that she cut during the holidays. What to do?

Still travelling - this week to Brisbane (my old home town) and Australia's capital Canberra.

How would you do this?

Yes yes I know I have a jacket to finish, but I can't do much sewing at the airport can I? Meanwhile I've fallen in love with this cardigan by Jill Sanders. Great disguise for back fat...I've seen sitting here trying to work out how to achieve that drape. I'm stumped. Any suggestions?

My one armed lady

This jacket is a labour of love. Not only because am I working very hard learning new construction techniques but also because I have so little time to sew at the moment. It feels like every stitch is precious. It took such a long time to prepare the sleeve pleats and set in the sleeve and cuff that my jacket has only one arm. Still haven't sewn in those false flaps yet! Should I risk attempting a hidden pocket underneath? I'm having two-tone buttons made with tweed centres and black on the outside.

What has distracted me from sewing?

1) the travelling roadshow continues - I've been to Armidale, Wagga Wagga, Dubbo, Kempsey and tommorrow I'm going to Lismore all the in space of one week.

2) I went to the theatre - The Wonderful World of Dissocia - a play that challenges the notion of theatre as entertainment. Rather the audience was taken on a journey into manic depression - the high was amazing and the low very low. We had to pay with low for the magic of the Alice in wonderland type experience of the first act.

3) I went to the new Star Trek film - didn't expect to enjoy it but loved it. The special effects are very special indeed and Zachary Quinto is mesmerising as Spock.

4) I did the 4km Mother's Day classic raising funds for Breast Cancer.

Much as I'd love to finish my jacket I think I've had an interesting week. What have you been doing?

Ideas for making toys

Maya is making toys as part of her school technology course focusing on industrial design. She has asked me to ask the sisterhood if there are any sites that offer good ideas for designing toys from fabric and other materials.

No sewing until the weekend - I come home from the airport each night too spent to sew.