Well I clearly didn’t listen to myself when I told me that I would finish the white shirt last weekend. I did do some sewing on it, but I actually finished it completely today [Wednesday]. Just three days late, I know, but it had been hanging on since the beginning of December and it has been a bit of a drag and I couldn’t work out why. I like it and it fits perfectly and looks O.K. – so why take so long? It is also a shirt pattern I have made at least four times from this particularly pattern and I have made quite a few other shirts before that, usually in a couple of days or so, and shirts don’t vary that much do they? The only change I made to this – and the reason for showing this not so good picture – is that I cut the front straight and curved the back. This makes it sit nicely under a straight skirt without bulking at the front.

Finally light dawned.  I have a list of sayings that are frowned on in my hearing. The sort of thing that when someone says them you immediately say “don’t say that!’ You know the sort of thing, when someone says ‘it can’t get any worse!’ – [What? – just ask the flood victims expecting more rain this week.] Well, I have another – ‘I could make these in my sleep’.  Which is what I probably thought- if not said out loud, with this white shirt, and that is probably why I took so long. Nothing went right, I couldn’t find my mojo, I’d sew in fits and bursts and not be happy with what I’d done that day and couldn’t work out why I didn’t just get on with it.  I was a little bit blasé about it and perhaps it was feeling just a tad ‘samey’ so clearly I needed a break.

Whilst procrastinating,I occupied my mind and hands with other things. Spinning and knitting – I finally spun and then knitted all the pieces for my handspun cardigan and sewed them together, only to find I needed to spin just enough for the button band, so back to spinning once again.

I knitted a pair of utility socks [i.e. plain, nothing special just warm], all the UFO’s in my last post and I enjoyed making the kiddies toys, whilst planning more serious sewing stuff, so all is not lost entirely and now I have the white shirt out of the way I can get on with something more interesting, although I do have another couple of tops/blouses planned. I have another trip to Reading arranged for this Friday. There is a fabric stall in the Market on Fridays and this is conveniently near my favourite bricks and mortar fabric shop. I make lists https://lifeaworkinprogress.com/2013/03/21/go-on-ask-me-i-dare-you/ remember? but I want to do several interesting things and I have a wedding coming up in March. I just need more fabric don’t I? https://lifeaworkinprogress.com/2013/09/12/i-am-oh-so-tempted/