So we have a new printer and I'm taking the rather extreme step of scanning the

drawing pages of all of my burda mags. The idea being that when I want a particular pattern, rather than pull down four years of magazines, I fight my way onto a computer and look at the scans. The only problem then being that I still have to find the right mag to know which lines to trace. But I will solve that part later. Rome wasn't destroyed in a day.

This activity prompted by a gloomy cold rainy day, and my need for a pattern for a pair of (very small) men's trousers for a tall but skinny skinny skinny boy. I had been thinking of it for a while, but lacked the combination of need, available technology and a strong urge to TAKE CONTROL AND IMPROVE MY LIFE. Seasonal affective disorder, I expect.

This one seemed a particularly long time ago

As I leaf through each burda in turn, I'm quite struck by how some issues seem to be from long ago and far away. And others seem fresh and new – from yesterday. I suppose this could be correlated with the editions I have bonded with and sewn from. They seem more recent because I engaged with them more – they were more a part of my passing life and so more real. Or I have revisited them more recently and so refreshed them. Or re-engaged when leafing through for a particular item – a dress, or a pair of trousers.

Actually, it's five years ago that I first realised (doh) that there were magazines with patterns, and a whole new way of sewing opened up for me. So that's five years of my life.

Nothing like revisiting old stuff on a rainy gloomy Sunday to make you aware of the swift and inexorable passage of time.

The other thing that strikes me is that I have need of a pattern which is a 28 in circumference and 34 in height. Thank the ineffable for counter irritants.

PS Anyone reading from another country should note how much we pay for 3 MONTH OLD BURDAS.  The distribution here is a joke, and a local subscription costs more than in the shops and comes later. We do slightly better by going dirct to Germany, but I'm still waiting for the July issue.  Fehr Trade will be reviewing August in about a week