Fabric fit for a queen

Thanks to Jenni from across the road (who incidentally has started her own very amusing, very cute sewing blog, check it out!) I finished the top using her walking foot. Now I have to say it's great having a keen home sewer over the road. We have phone conversations that go like this, "hey, did you know Burda is half price at the Bernina shop," "Hey, I'm just walking down to Mike's - he's having a 'everything $4 a metre sale', wanna come along ?" Etc.

When I'm over at her place we have long conversations about pattern adjustments and fabric and sewing projects. Her children, however, have short conversations with me that go like this, "Mary Anna, when are you going home?"

So I finished the top, and i still got a bit of a wave on the hem, not sure why, I loosened every thing that could be loosed and used a walking foot. Still, it could have been a lot worse. I have memories of the neckline still fresh.





My mother in law presented me with some fabric on our last visit. It was given to her by a homestay student, whose parents were physicians to the Queen of Thailand. It was given to them by the queen herself. Hey, I'm happy to take her 100% handwoven silk cast offs. I hate to tell my M-I-L this but the colour is all wrong for me and I see it best as lining. Classy lining though.





Now I have been looking at Trench patterns. Me I have never liked the design but it is on Tim Gunn's essential items list. Who am I to argue with Tim? And I have seen some classy ones about. I even took a fancy to some in Burda WOF but it's not so much tracing 14 pieces + lining that bothers me so much as following their instructions. I need pictures. Hate reading. Like looking.


So I purchased a separate pattern. Burda 7786:







OK here's some classy trenchy looksy for you from the Sartorialist: a fashion trench, it can be done.


Hey, Mr Sartorialist, forget Milan, New York and Paris, come on over to Auckland and take a pic of me in my trench when I'm done! pa ha ha I do crack myself up sometimes.