Binghamton NY and the Roberson Museum

 Twelve years ago, before leaving to study at the University of Glasgow, I lived in New York State with my sister Heather and her family. Earlier this month, my husband Nick and I drove across country to come back to New York - to see friends and family and explore the area a little again. 

Downtown Binghamton

Boscov's - an old department store still running in Binghamton.

When I lived here before, we often went to Binghamton, but surprisingly, never to the Roberson, which is a beautiful mansion from the early 1900s, and an attached museum. We went through the museum first (which had a really fun exhibit about cats) and then went through the house (I didn't get a photo of the outside). 

Vintage Halloween cats. I have a couple noisemakers similar to that one in the middle. 

This was a wacky display of a 1950s city couple with their wild cats. I love it!

There was also an exhibit on quilts, clothing and other things. I really liked how they were able to recreate little rooms and display items and clothing:

A dressing gown with antique furniture and quilt as well. 

The sleeve of a 1910s dress. Stunning!

I loved this display with the 1850s/ 60s woman and child's dress, the coverlet curtains and old sampler. 

A quilted pocket. A quilted pocket has been on my to-sew list for years. 

Then we wandered around the mansion. It was a self-guided tour, and we had the whole house to ourselves!

Nick got some photos of me on the grand staircase. 

Look at the stained glass window at the top of those stairs!

I really enjoyed this museum, and the house. They also had a model village with trains of Binghamton, Endicott and nearby places that was really delightful. 

1923 Dress, The Winslow Boy & Enchanted April

For years my mother and I have loved the film "The Winslow Boy"(the 1999 version). The film is set around 1913, if I remember correctly. The character played by Rebecca Pidgeon wears these delicious drop-waist dresses that weren't very common in the 1910s. There were little pockets of fashion where these sneaked out, and I've tried to hunt them down. Whether or not her clothing is historically accurate, I love it and have wanted to recreate some of it for a long time. 

One of the beautiful drop-waist dresses in the film. 

The sailor middy blouse - a pattern from the 1910s. 

The dress in the upper righthand corner has a loose, drop-waist silhouette. This is from 1916,
NY Public Library. 

There is also a clothing pattern available from Wearing History of a woman's coat from 1913 that has a drop-waist. It looks a lot like the tweed jacket Lady Mary wears at the end of Season 2 in Downton Abbey: 

Lady Mary's shooting jacket. Very similar to the dress pattern above (please follow the link). The episode takes place at the end of WWI, but perhaps it could be an earlier coat of Lady Mary's? 

Several years ago I found some fabric online that reminded me of one of the dresses in "The Winslow Boy". I started it probably two years ago, and only just finished it. 

The inspiration dress from The Winslow Boy

The dress pattern I used was from Past Patterns for an evening dress, circa 1923. As with other dresses I've made from movies that inspire me, mine is not an exact copy, nor did I completely follow the look of dresses from 1923 (I made my hem a lot shorter). But I wanted a dress that nodded to the one in the film. For years I've also wanted a dress from the era of Enchanted April, a book which was published in 1922. There was a film adaptation (also made in the 1990s) that I've also loved for many years. So now I feel like I've killed two birds with one stone with this dress. 

From Enchanted April (1991). Polly Walker as Lady Caroline Dester

Dresses from 1922, which have a much longer hem than my dress. 

Here are some photos of my dress that I finished and wore for the first time on Easter Sunday: 

The silhouette does fit the early 1920s better than the 1910s. I'm happy with how it turned out. 

I wore it with my American Duchess London Oxford shoes. 

April Catch-up

It's been a little busy the past few weeks. There was a personal event that took place down in Utah, and a lot of Nick's family was able to come out for it (perhaps I'll post about that later). Other things that have been happening: I had a poetry meeting at my house, which was wonderful, I also participated in a monthly art stroll at the beautiful Romance Theater, where I was able to sell a few poetry books, talk about book arts & help people make pamphlets. 

I don't have a picture of the outside of the Romance, but here's the theater part, which has been excellently restored!

In the foyer of the Romance, with my collection of hand-made books, supplies for making pamphlets, and two of my poetry books for sale. 

Another big thing that's happened since my last blog post is the decision my husband & I made to move back east and try to find a spot that suits us best. We'll be looking in upstate NY, but will be looking in the east coast and maybe the south as well. For several reasons, we feel like it's time to move on. 

The weather has finally started to be warm and pleasant. Last week we went for a walk near the Snake River. We found an old farm with lots of abandoned buildings, but weren't able to take a close look, as it was on private property. When I was in Scotland, I learned about the right-of-way there: that if you're on foot and not trying to change or destroy anything, you are able to walk wherever you like, whether it's private property or not. So whenever I see a "No Trespassing" sign, I get pretty frustrated. I'd love to just be able to walk through those gates and look around. Oh, well. I got a picture of one of the buildings from a safe distance. 

A little cactus grove

I love finding bones out in the desert.

One of the derelict buildings.

Lots of pretty river stones all along our walk.

Also, I wanted to remind everyone about my new Newsletter site (It's kind of like a blog too, and I've been going crazy with it lately creating a virtual Book Club). But if anyone visiting this blog would consider becoming a paid subscriber, that would be helpful and supportive and so nice of you! It's also called Magpie Tidings.

Quilt Show at the Museum

We draped the modern quilts over the benches in the Tabernacle

Last weekend, we hosted a quilt show in the Tabernacle (the building where the museum is located). We displayed several antique quilts from the museum collection, and local women kindly loaned us their quilts to show. We also had a blanket drive for the Family Crisis Center. 

It was impressive to see all the hard work these women put into their beautiful quilts, and how creative they are. 

A lot of people came to see the quilts, it was a busy weekend.

I was also able to put up a display about sewing and quilts. I really enjoyed being able to do that. 

The display we set up with the quilts from the museum collection.

A closeup of the display table.

Another view of the table for the museum display at the quilt show. 

Newsletter Subscription

I've been feeling lately that I'd really like to do a newsletter in addition to my blog. There are a few people I subscribed to and I really enjoy their monthly newsletters. I couldn't find any way to do that through Blogger, but just recently I learned about Substack and I've decided to give it a try. 

You can subscribe for free and get a monthly newsletter, or you can pay a small monthly fee and get extra material, like a poem every week and other writing and photos. You can check it all out on this website: Magpie Tidings. I'm not expecting to make a fortune from this, but I would like to be able to make a little money from my writing, especially since I won't be teaching for the rest of the year (just the way the adjunct schedule worked out). 

I've put a link to it in on the side (computer view of my blog) as well.

You can view this all on your computer, and they have an app as well. If you subscribe, you'll get all that information. Let me know what you think! 

The Art of Nick Bontorno

 I don't think I mentioned in my post about my wedding dress, but my husband Nick and I have known each other since 2007. We met and dated briefly then, and then went our separate ways for many years, though we'd stay in touch off and on because every few years we'd collaborate and make a little booklet of my poems with Nick's drawings. 

One of Nick's recent Horse paintings.

I've always really loved Nick's artwork. All during my years in Glasgow, I put up his artwork in my room. I like how it's traveled with me through the years. 

Another recent painting of Nick's

One of the things that I've always admired about Nick is that he is a true artist. He is passionate about art and true to that calling in his life. He's lived an unusual, raw life and I admire what he's done and the kind of person he is. 

This is in our living room. I've had the painting on the left since 2007, when Nick gave it to me for my birthday. The print in the middle is also by Nick (the crow print is by our friend Carla Jimison).

The last few months, Nick has produced some really beautiful, interesting paintings. He's revamped his website, and I wanted to share that on my blog today (there's also a link on my homepage in the top right corner). To see his new work, click on this Link.

Most (though not all) of the poetry books we've done over the years, with the most recent one on top. We just put this one together this past December. 

Nick & me back in upstate NY in 2007! 

Nick working on a drawing for an etching. 

Another thing that I admire about Nick is his support of me. He's always encouraged me to be a poet, and he still does. He encourages me in all my artistic and creative endeavors. 

Nick & me on New Years Eve

Book of Hours: a beginning

I plunged into starting my medieval-inspired Book of Hours. I made a Coptic bound book, bought some pens & colored pencils, and got to work. I haven't done very much, and progress will be slow, I want to add to it when I feel to, and not force anything. But I'm excited by what I've done so far: 

The cover of my book. I wanted a plain, dark cover. 

The inside cover of my book, using Italian paper. Coptic Christianity is an ancient branch of Christianity that began in Egypt, and this form of binding comes from them. 

The first page of my book. 

The second page of my book.

Like I said, I haven't done much yet, but I look forward to adding to this project over the next several weeks, months and years.