Hands

The  June theme  for #SewYourWardrobeBasics over at the Sea of Teal blog is  prints. That got me thinking of the favorite prints in my stash and  I pull several out of storage.. This is one of them

Hands.  I have long been fascinated by them. They are part of our bodies. We use them every day to do so many things. To complete a task. To express one’s self in ways words cannot such as through touch, playing a musical instrument, creating a painting. I have a collection of hands that include vintage jewelry displays, the molds once used to make rubber gloves, and handmade mechanical hands that clap or drum the fingers when knobs are turned. I  have ceramic bathroom fixtures shaped like hands; soap, toilet paper and towel rod holders. And a copy of Michelangelo’s Creation of David, hand detail,  on the wall.

 When I look at my hand print fabric, I feel good, optimistic.  Hands holding hearts. Red roses and the patriotic colors of red, white, and blue.  The fabric is silk and was purchased a few years ago from a China based Etsy seller. I used the fabric for a blouse. New Look 6394. All the styles have front chest darts and shirttail hems, with back, sleeve and collar options.  I made view E which had a stand collar, ¾ length gathered sleeves, a shoulder yoke and waist darts in the back.

 This print is directional, and I oriented the hands reaching up.  That looked good except where the shoulder yoke wraps from back to front.  At the front yoke seam, the hands were reaching down and were chopped off.

Yoke Before

For print continuity, I hand appliqued full hand motifs across the yoke lines. Now  hands reach down towards the ones reaching up.

cutouts to be appliqued

I

Yoke with appliques

This is how I wore it to go to the grocery store. How exciting is my life!

New Look 6394 Casual

For a picnic or dinner out, I would wear it like this. 

New Look 6394 Picnic

This was how I originally planned to wear it, back when I purchased the fabric. For work with pinstriped pants.     

New Look 6394 work

Instead, shortly after I took these picture above and before I could change, I had to take my mother to the hospital emergency room.  She is now fine and being treated for her ailments. But I was upset and frustrated to find I was not allowed in the hospital  with her because of Covid.  She is 85, hard of hearing and was in extreme pain. She does not have or want to use a cell phone. I was told I could wait in the car in a faraway parking lot, or on a covered bench outside the door.  It was getting dark, but I chose to sit on the bench, damp from the torrential rains earlier in the day, facing illuminated fountains.  It was very quiet, no ambulances, just the security vehicle making its rounds. After several hours, the sound of fountains was irritating and the biting insects were swarming.  I went back to the entrance door, and asked the three masked sentries, enclosed in their plexiglass cubicle, if I could please speak to someone about  mom's status.  I was given a number to call and after being transferred a few times, I was told diagnostics were still in progress and it was recommended I go home.  A Dr. did  call the next morning.  Mom will be in the hospital for several days until she has stabilized enough for surgery.   Even though we can now dine inside restaurants, get our hair cut at a salons, and exercise in fitness centers, the hospital's policy is still no visitors "unless the patient has received a life-threatening diagnosis". Fortunately that is not the case.  A Dr. (hospitalist) calls me once a day with an update. I am still waiting to hear from the specialist.  I feel like I have abandoned my mother. Every time I call her room, she is off getting another test.  Luckily future DIL #2 works in this hospital.  She has kindly offered to spend her lunch hour visiting with mom. Not as good as being there myself, but it does relieve my anxiety a bit and I am grateful to her for that.