New Fabric, need ideas

Here are two of my recent acquisitions; both were purchased with no particular pattern in mind, and both were really inexpensive (less than $2/yard).

This one is 2 yards of 45″ wide 100% cotton from eBay (I typically avoid fabric shopping online because I like to touch/feel/check the drape, but the price was low, the shipping was reasonable, and I love retro pink prints):

This one is actually a curtain that is 52″x78″; I got it at Goodwill in Concord and it is 100% cotton with a slight wrinkled texture and black floral embroidery all over. There is also a black ribbon at one end that I think would make a great hem. Since I suck at hemming, having an already finished hem would make whatever I make out of this look 100% better than if I were to hem it myself:

I have no idea what to do with either of these. In fact, today I inventoried and cataloged all of my fabric and patterns and made a list of which fabric was for which pattern, so I knew what to sew next. I used to just have enough fabric around for one project at at a time, but I finally started stockpiling enough patterns and fabric to last me the rest of the summer.

I initially was thinking of using the Pink Panther print for another shirt for Andy but he quickly vetoed it; apparently the Pink Panther Patchwork fabric was a bit too…umm..busy for his liking, and he really didn’t think he could pull off a tailored shirt in this design. The issue of coworkers questioning his sexuality was also brought up. So now I have 2 yards of it, which is enough to make almost anything for me, only I don’t have any ideas. It would make a great dress, but let’s be honest – I have no real need for a summery cotton dress. I do have one button up blouse/collared shirt pattern in my collection, but I look silly in collared shirts and I hate wearing woven cotton shirts, so I would end up with an item I would most likely never wear.

The black and white is another story. Andy took one look at that and said “that would make a great summer dress”. And he’s right, it would. Except…I have no need for a great summer dress. There are several reasons why I have no need for said dress:

1.) ‘Summer weather’ here lasts approximately 8 weeks and is frequently interrupted by weeks of rain, temperatures well below 60F, and the occasional frost, so clothing that is specifically for temps above 65F seldom gets worn. There is a reason I have a wool sweater collection and only own 3 pairs of shorts that are not for running or cycling.
2.) I don’t work in the summer. In my former life I was a high school teacher, and in my current life I am a graduate student, and if I proceed on my current plan to pursue a PhD, I will most likely be looking at a lifetime of not very productive summers. I suppose I could be like a 1950’s housewife and put on a pretty day dress and heels and pearls every morning during the summer before I do things like vacuum, load the dishwasher, clean the house, and fold laundry. However, the first thing I do most summer mornings (after I have my coffee and breakfast) is get on my bike and train for 2-3 hours, which is followed by stretching, shower, lunch, Internet, THEN house chores (or sewing). I really don’t see the June Cleaver thing working for me.
3.) Even if I did venture over to the lab in the summer to do research or data collection, a flirty sleeveless dress isn’t the ideal thing to wear when one’s task for the day involves calibrating the metabolic cart and lactate analyzer, getting athletes hooked up to the two way rebreathing mask, putting them on a treadmill or bicycle and forcing them to exercise to the point of volitional exhaustion, all the while pricking their fingers every three minutes and drawing blood. I’d hate to get blood and sweat on my flirty dress.

[caption id="attachment_868" align="alignnone" width="150" caption="Me, getting the SuperSpecial VO2 max test (yes, this is what we do in our lab)"][/caption]

So, as you can see, I really don’t need any more dresses. Lab coats, perhaps, but no dresses.

However, the black and white really sings to me as a dress, something Sabrina-Esque, something like this:

Or this:

Or maybe this:

But let’s be honest – any of those would hang in my closet and never get worn, so it is hard to convince myself to make one. But the fabric really is perfect for something like that.

My other thought for the black and white is to use it to make a more practical piece of clothing, something that I can and will wear more than twice a year. I was thinking, maybe a coat or a jacket. I had something like a belted trench style in mind. I have this pattern in my stash and it seems like an interesting match:

So, People of the Internet who are reading this now – please help. Do I use my lovely once-in-a-lifetime embroidered crinkly cotton fabric that is just lovely for a dress that I will perhaps wear once a year, or do I use it for a jacket? Or do I abandon all rules of pattern piece layout and try to squeeze a dress and jacket out of it? I recently acquired this from eBay (sorry, too lazy to upload yet another image, so you have to go to the link to see it) and it has me thinking that with my tendency to use less than a yard of fabric for dresses (ah, the joys of being short) perhaps I could make this entire ensemble?

Comments and suggestions are appreciated!
(and, by the way, what in the hell am I going to do with the Pink Panther Patchwork? Dress? Blouse? Skirt? Make Andy a shirt anyway and say “you’ll wear it and you’ll like it”?