Practice piece ...

The plan was I'd make a shirt in black linen for the cello recital. Fabric, pattern, and notions purchased, but first I wanted to practice, so I started in on some scraps of cotton I have from quilting.

The recital came and went and the practice piece is still hanging, unfinished, on the door.



I think it's rather fun with all the different patterns in it. I'll wear it around the house this summer. The unsewn--as of yet--sleeves are simply pinned on in that picture so I could get a sense of how the color would look with the other colors. It'll be done soon--but obviously much too late for the recital. I can then move on to the all-black linen.

Making shirts is easier on a machine that can 'back tack'. On the Singer 66 I have to take 3-4 stitches ending with the needle down and pivot the whole of the material 180 degrees to stitch back across those 3 or 4 stitches and pivot back 180 degrees to proceed. In the tricky bits (collars and sleeves) it's pretty fussy work to pivot the whole kit and caboodle around. I love the Singer 66 and will be using it for much of my sewing, but I decided it might like some company ...



And now I really must put a padlock on my wallet and throw away the key.