There was a brief couple of hours between finishing work for Christmas and going back again when I wasn't ill with a cough and cold. In that time I managed to make the Colette Ginger skirt. I know everyone has raved about this skirt but I wasn't prepared for quite how perfect it is.

Made from just over a metre of corduroy from East Street Market (£2 a metre) and created in next to no time - this is what we sew for.

It's perfect - the ideal shape for me. I've pretty much worn it non-stop since I made it - it's gone to work, it's gone shopping down Oxford Street, it's gone to the pub (The Roebuck on Great Dover Stret, SE1 if you must know) and it has been perfect for all purposes.

Action shots...

To paraphrase my favourite band, The Wedding Present - That was my favourite skirt you know. If you have no idea what I am talking about look them up now!

I'm a sucker for Vivienne Westwood - I love everything she does - the draping, the asymmetical-iness  (I don't care if that's not a real word), the traditional fabrics.  When I win the lottery I will be living in her shops in London.  I actually work fairly close to them and walk past and drool over the windows fairly often.

The ideal item of clothing for me would be shirts like these:

So when I saw this pattern on the Sew Daily site I knew I was going to make it.

Ideally I want to make it in a pinstripe wool - but I'm not confident to do that without a trial go first so this is my (very) wearable muslin.  It's made from an old curtain I bought from ebay - I can't remember how much it was but I got two of them.  The contrast facing is fom a metre of cotton (perhaps) I got from East Street market in Southwark.  I live just up the road in Borough so its my first port of call for cheap-as-chips fabric.  I got the buttons there too - I think they were 80p each (they are plastic not metal).

The skirt was stupidly simple to make - I made it in less than a day (given my sewing speed that's faster than light!).

I think it's turned out great - and I've worn it a couple of times. It's not perfect - my buttonholes are terrible - the machine couldn't cope with the tickness of the folds and I'm going to hand blanket stitch around them with some contrast embroidery thread.  Also, the curtain fabric is pretty stiff - it needs something bit more drapey.

I just need payday to come so I can invest in the wool pinstripe...

I'm embarrassed - 3 whole weeks since my last post and last finished project. That 30 projects I predicted at the beginning of the year seems a distant dream now unless I get my arse into gear!

It's finished - and it was worth the wait!

I love the finished "Pearly skirt" - named by Ottobre not me.  It was exactly what I hoped it would be like - slinky and very special feeling, I actually feel like a grown up - and dressed up - in it.  Perhaps even a touch of Mad Men about it.

So here it is:

Work is really getting in the way of my fun!

I just don't seem to be able to get this Ottobre skirt project finished. With just a couple of hours of sewing time once I get in from work, I seem to get the sewing machine out, sew a seam, do some ironing and then it's time to put it all away again. Oh for a dedicated sewing room.

I'm determined to ramp up the sewing projects for 2010. I'd love to commit to one project a week but I think I would be setting myself up for failure. With full time work, travelling at weekends to visit family and the occasional weekend of fun, it would just not be possible.

So what's a realistic target? 30?Well that's what this blog is here to record.