What gives? Life's UFOs...

Well, I didn't get much done on the sewing front this past week. I spent most of the week dealing with the ethics committee and end-of-life decision questions at the hospital at which I work. Its not the patients, but their families, that really have divergent views that we (the hospital administration & attorneys) are called upon to help referee. Surprisingly, our patients are quite prepared for this stage in life on paper, but tend to fail to adequately communicate their wants to their family members and friends.

*** BEGIN PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT***

Okay, let me put on my hospital lawyer hat for a moment and remind you all out there in blogland how important it is to plan for health care decisions before a crisis occurs! You don't have to be suffering from a terminal condition to make your wishes known and document them in writing. In fact, it is better if you make those decisions long before, God willing, they are ever needed. And once you make those decisions, please, please, please have candid discussions (plural) with your family and friends about it -- make sure they understand YOUR wishes despite their own thoughts/biases about what is best for you. If you don't have an advance directive/living will, check out Caring Connections for your state-specific advance planning documents, or speak to your personal lawyer of choice.

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So back to sewing ... I did manage to retrieve my dress form from my parents' garage. Its a size 10; I am not. I hope with a lot of padding, some muslin, and a fitting shell, that I can get "Iyagogo" to resemble my shape and be a boon to my attempts at fitting myself. My name, "Nneka," means "Mother is great/superior" in Igbo; "Iya" means "Mother" in Yoruba (one of the other main Nigerian languages); and a girl who takes after, is named after, or reincarnates (if you believe in reincarnation) her grandmother is often called Iyagogo. I haven't decided yet what method to use to pad Iyagogo out, but I'm contemplating either: (1) a duct or paper tape double a la Threads that I can put over the dress form with some kind of stuffing between the form and my double; or (2) creating a tight princess seamed shell based on my measurements and pad that out like Kay Y and Agnes on PatternReview.com did. Oh, I see that I commented on Agnes' review back in '06, so I better get cracking on this one!

I also found this ECI dress at a Dillard's clearance sale a few weeks ago for $15, marked down from $125!

I LUV the fabric. Its 100% rayon jersey cutout embroidery. It is buttah-soft & very drapey. The neck is done in beautiful silk organza and its lined in nylon. It is *supposed* to be a dress, but it is waaaay too short for decency's sake IMHO, so I'll wear it with jeans. But, as I said, I'm in love with the fabric, so I think I need to find something similar for my stash. Have any of you seen it out there in fabric land? Preferably online?

Well, that's it for now. The classic white shirt is still on my list, but I think I need some instant gratification projects this week.