March has marched away from me

Sorry about the silence here at SEWYLD Mansions.   The new job is taking a lot of my time up.  However, it seems to be going OK (I've not been sacked yet anyway, so that's a reasonable start). 

Not content with starting a new role I thought I might act on my decorating plans outlined earlier in the year.  As usually happens with anything to do with DIY, it didn't quite go according to plan.  However, the bedroom is taking shape slowly.  The paint colour I chose was specially mixed and for once came out exactly the colour I had imagined in my head.  The new chest of drawers looks lovely, though needs a smarter mirror on it, and I still need some smaller bits, most notably a bedside table of some kind, and a new ceiling light.  But  I'm pleased with it so far.  I made the curtains last week and since its sewing thought I'd post them here.  I'm really pleased with how they look and the way the stripes gather up at the top of the curtains.  What you perhaps can't see is that between each stripe is a length of pink and cream cord applied on which gives the curtains a very expensive look.  The fabric was a bargain, and even the lining, which is really good quality satin weave, was on special offer.  I made the curtains last weekend and pinned up the hem, but only managed to hem one of the curtains.  So I had one old and one new curtain up for the week but have finally hemmed the second curtain and here they are in all their glory.  What do you think?   I know I said I was going to get a plain, dark pink, and I did go to the shop armed with paint colour chips and a pillow case from the bed to match the colours exactly, but I walked in, this fabric was in the corner of the shop, and I knew it was the right thing for the room. 

As part of the tidy up following my move back into the room, I had a ruthless wardrobe cull and reorganised it into three sections according to the use the item will be put to:
Meeting appropriate - attending work outside the house.
Work appropriate - in the house.
Weekends and evenings.

I've also organised the items so that tops, bottoms and jackets that will work together are stored together to make it easier to get an outfit out in a hurry.  I think this will work OK though I've had it sorted by colour and type of garment for so long that I keep opening the wrong door on the wardrobe.  :) 

The result of all this was a list of clothes that I can legitimately sew in order to fill wardrobe gaps, and a realisation that I have enough of most items not to need to make more at the moment.   However, I do need/want a few things, so I now have a small pile of fabric in the workroom that is awaiting transformation into garments. 
Some greenish/teal knit for a skirt (and maybe a cardi/jacket if there is enough fabric) to wear for work from home. 
A red wool melton to make a jacket with a frill collar to replace a red jacket with a frill collar that I have quite literally worn into rags. 
Some raspberry pink minky fleece for a dressing gown.
Some raspberry tweed for an over dress (not strictly a necessity but I think a nice addition to the meeting appropriate section of the wardrobe)
Not in the pile but at my mums, is a brown wool mix knit with pink roses that will become a jacket.  Again, not strictly speaking a necessity, this one is a sewing challenge mum and I have set ourselves; to make the same jacket, a pattern she has ordered from Canada.  Its a Trudy Jansen design and whilst mum has had great success with this pattern line, I've never tried one of these patterns.  Its a reasonably fitted, princess line, shawl collared jacket, so it should be reasonably straightforward to alter.
I also need to make a fleece, but the jury is out on what pattern I'm going to use but I do have the fabric, a turquoise ex-Nike fleece that is quite thick and very lovely. 

We will see if any of this actually happens in reality.  I can't actually access the sewing room properly at the moment as its full of stuff that has migrated from around the house as a result of the decorating.  And there is more decorating on the horizon which may have to take priority over the sewing.   But I'm taking it as a good sign that the fabric has migrated from cupboard to the outside world and a pattern or two have been put with the fabrics. 

Meanwhile, the knitting continues in a supremely slow manner.... and eventually there should be a Hitchiker shawlette in a particularly lovely coloured merino yarn, and a pair of VeryBusyMonkey socks.