Cleaning Out

Sewing is a hobby that involves a lot of stuff. Unlike knitting or crochet, where you just require the wool and needles or hook, with sewing you need lots of tools, plus space for cutting out. And, as most sewers find, you will have a lot of fabrics in the stash, plus patterns, and perhaps books as well.

One of my collections (amongst many) are Burda magazines. I even have some dating back to the year 1991 - that is 20 years worth of magazines! Not that I have all issues, but some years - from 2000 to 2010, I do have all twelve issues plus the Burda Plus issues as well.

This is one magazine that I am unable to throw out. Probably because of the patterns that come with each issue, it means that I would be throwing out the equivalent of a drawer of patterns with each magazine. Also, I am amazed at how Burdas don't seem to date.

As I was sorting through the piles, I was surprised to see covers that were very attractive and that I thought I had just looked at yesterday, only to be surprised to see the issue was from 2001 or 2002.

When I had my sewing business (Timmel Fabric online fabric sales), I had subscriptions to several magazines and could justify them by the fact that they were a business expense. But that is not so anymore. And this past year, I actually canceled my Burda subscription as I couldn't justify the price for the number of times I use them. The truth is - I have not used them enough, not nearly enough.

True, my favourite jean jacket is from Burda 2007 and my all-time favourite pant pattern is from an issue ten years ago. Plus capris, plus a jean skirt, and a linen dress that I have made three times.

But Burda has changed. Gone are the number of patterns they give, plus the marvellous editorial from Aenne Burda, and the clothes are geared towards a very young trendy working woman, not a matronly retired grandmother.

So, now the mags have all been sorted and piled by year, in order from the earliest to the latest, and placed on four shelves where they are easy to get to.

And this afternoon, I will finish a pair of pants from a Burda catalogue pattern. They really are well-drafted and timeless; if you have never tried a Burda, give it a shot - they may just become your favourite pattern company.