Today was surreal... I had the honor of accompying my sister in the delivery room for her third baby and had the misfortune of attending one of my husband's best friend's brother's funeral.  If I was a poet or philosopher I could come up with something meaningful about seeing both life and death in one day...  but I'm not.
A few things today I can say is you may not always agree with the way others live their lives or how they do things but there's not much you can do about that.... it's just there's few people that you can truly call friends and the best you can do is to be there for them. 
I'll start with my sister, my total opposite yet deep down the same.  Her life is difficult but she tries!  I admire her strength through the adversity she's faced in her young life.  I was honored today to be the first to hold her daughter (the whole 10 1/2 lbs of her!) and be there while she was born.  Holding this new being it's so difficult to remember we were all so tiny and vulnerable at one time in our lives.  So fresh, innocent; new to the world.  Even though I'm sure I was a terrible choice since I have no maternal instinct and get sick at the sign of hospitals, blood, any type of medical procedure!  She let me in and I'm grateful to have been able to have been there for her! 
Then later the service for our family friend...  was tough after a minor falling out with said friend last week.  In the end none of that matters, deep down there's such love and admiration for the family that we will be there with whatever they need.  My favorite thing from the service was from our friend's friend, Tony when he described there nights at a local diner there until 3am talking about life and their plans for the future and how he looks back on that so fondly.  Reminds me that's what life is all about, those simple moments shared with friends. 
Our friend Bill's card had one of my favorite poems on the back by Robert Frost, "The Road Less Traveled".  I took comfort in the fact that his short 34 year old life went this route and I hope the same for my sweet neice that was born on this day.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And
be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the
same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden
black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads
on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling
this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a
wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the
difference.      

As a sewer, you get asked to do all sorts of things...  "can you make curtains for my living room?", "can you hem my jeans?", "help me with Halloween costumes?", "will you make my dress for the big dance?" and the biggest request ever, "would you make my wedding dress?".  No question brings such mixed emotions like honor, fear, joy and even a little nausea!  This came from my husband's niece and my immediate reaction was "Yes, of course!"....  then the brain kicked in to remember to say "as long as it's simple"!  As I know really there's no such thing as simple when it comes to this topic!

So we get started trying on tons of dresses with the family so we can get a sense of what works on her hourglass shape.  Magazines are browsed through, sketches are created and fabric is purchased without a plan in mind (couldn't help myself, I was in NYC!).  We tried on tons of dresses and finally narrowed down that high waisted halters are very flattering on her.  I would have loved to make the pattern but the clock was ticking so we found a Vogue pattern (V8556)  to reference (but in the end was altered so much I probally should have made that pattern!).  After 3 unglamourous fittings in scrap purple taffeta I thought we were ready so I cut into that dutchess satin from Mood and got to the sewing just 3 weeks before the wedding.

All went well so we had our final fitting 2 weeks before and I'm not sure how the bust was a little big (no problem; taken out at side seams and blended to waist) and she was no happy with the skirt shape.  It was bias cut and very clingy on the hips.  So a last minute layer of tulle was added to the lining.  And I had a silk chiffon waistband that was not working for me.  I tried to had stich it down to lay nice but finally ended up taking scissors to it and making a self fabric belt with the last remaining scrap of fabric (I was kind of regretting making a wrap and a pruse out of the same fabric at that moment!).  Purse is Vogue V8628, wrap a simple double layer rectangle.  Both have beaded lace applique from a beautiful fabric I found at Mood in Los Angeles.