As for the "models" in the photo, I have a collection of pseudo-dress-forms at home--Margaret Ann, Eloise, and the mannequin currently named Holly Grace. None of them are actual dress forms; their original purpose in life was purely decorative.

Margaret Ann is, in fact, hinged on the side and her front open up. My original intention when I saw her was that she would be a great addition for the guest room/sewing room that I had at my last apartment, as the other accessories I had purchased showed dress forms and designer-type fashion sketches. But more than a year ago, I moved into a different apartment which has a "cozier" second room that either had to be a sewing room or a guest room, not both. Guess which I picked!

But I digress.

The day I picked her up from the store (back in 2004 or 2005), I felt compelled to name her, as it seemed silly to have her riding "shotgun" in my Jeep and NOT name her. So she was dubbed Margaret Ann. Up until last year, she was found most days in my sewing room, wearing my mother's light blue tulle prom dress from the late 1950s which is much too small for her, but she's dwelt in my Wisconsin office, and visited trade shows in California and Chicago and other towns in Illinois. Recently, she's been hanging out in the dining room with her buddies, as the sewing room is in need of some clearing out

In March 2008, I was on vacation visiting my folks and I found Eloise, the wicker blouse form, at a big flea market. (She insists that she doesn't need a middle name.) My folks brought her home in their car, though they were concerned about getting her home safe (there was no way I could check her in my baggage for the flight). They said they stuffed her full of soft items and surrounded her with the same to take best advantage of the limited space in the back seat (no trunk for MY girl).

When I was visiting Peoria in April 2008, I found my third roomie. Her name is Holly Grace, but I'm still not sure if that's really her given name, so I'm willing to change it if she would just speak up and voice her opinion. (She's a timid gal.) She's narrow through the shoulders, so we have a difficult time fitting clothes to her, but I'm sure I've got something in my vintage stash that will work just fine.

A friend of mine has taken to calling Holly Grace and Margaret Ann "Mary Kate and Ashley"--I correct him each and every time. But I thought you'd want to meet my roomies and see three of the scarves I made this weekend.