Progress!

It's done!

That's me - centre front, in the hat!

Yes, the dissertation is finally handed in, and I have a life back. Not that I'm at a loose end - there's a huge backlog of tasks awaiting my attention, starting with a sewing project which I have to keep under wraps for now, but which does have a deadline. Plus ça change.

I had been wondering what to post about this week, when the latest issue of Sew Today arrived. Browsing through it I came across this, in a section featuring Butterick's latest releases.

Gasp! An actual, grey-haired woman! Butterick 6704

Cynic that I am, I assumed that this was going to be it for older-woman representation (after all, the Big 4 haven't exactly covered themselves in glory on this front), but I was wrong.

Pattern envelope for Butterick 6707

All the images are taken from the Sew Direct website, and close inspection shows that they have been digitally enhanced; some less than others. (To be fair, Sew Today/Sew Direct are hardly unique in doing this.)

Detail of further image for Butterick 6707

Butterick 6709

Butterick 6710

Butterick 6717

Another of the models used, while not grey-haired, does appear to be rather older than I'm used to seeing in the Big 4's images.

Butterick 6713

Could it be that, helped by campaigns such as Sew Over 50, the big pattern companies are finally getting the message that older sewists have disposable income, and we are increasingly inclined to dispose of it where we see ourselves represented? Here's hoping.