Things were looking a bit too blue so I found a scrap of fabric my daughter had dyed that had the pinks and purples she favored as a young one. I'm continuing to block in the shapes on the back of the jacket which is requiring some discipline, since I really want to get on with the decorative stitching.
I revisited the Cooper-Hewitt website to look more at their Make Do and Mend images.
The ladies of the day went to great lengths to make the work decorative, or to at least blend in quite well. I imagine they were practicing these patterns so that they could patch fabrics so that the patches would hardly show. Very inspiring!