A Dress for Naomi

 Last December, and again this past summer, Nick and I were able to spend some time with his sister Emily and her family. It's been delightful to meet all my in-laws and get to know my new nieces and nephews this past year.

In the autumn, I discovered that Naomi (one of Emily's daughters) loves history and old-fashioned dresses. A girl after my own heart! I offered to make an old-fashioned dress for her. I had some fabric on hand, and a lot of patterns, and had her choose which one she liked. 

The skirt & bodice were largely machine sewn, but a lot of the finishing was hand-sewn. 

The pattern she chose was an 1860s inspired pattern. This was a bit of a challenge for me, as I've never done 1860s, and with the exception of the 1830s dress and the 1780s dress I made several years ago, most of the historical clothing I make is 1910s, so not very much fabric or gathering. 

Ironing & pinning the pleats. 

With this dress, I was amazed by how much fabric can fit into a small waistband! No wonder many petticoats & crinolines were necessary in this decade. 

A lot of it was machine sewn, but a lot of it was hand-sewn as well, and I was able to use family heirlooms that I'd inherited this past summer. For example, I used ten black glass buttons (see my earlier post: Family Buttons). 

The fabric for the dress & for the bodice lining were both reproduction fabrics, the outer fabric circa 1880s, the inside 1840s or thereabouts. 

A closeup of the lace and the buttons. 

I also had a spool of lace that I'd inherited from Nick's family. I'm not that well-versed in lace, so I don't know how old it is, or if it was machine or hand-made. The last thing, which I don't have a picture of, was an old petticoat that I sent with the dress. It was really exciting to me to be able to send these old family heirlooms to Naomi to be part of the dress. 

I had some fabric from Nick's grandma that I used to line the hem with (the blue fabric shown). There's also a glimpse of the antique petticoat here. 

The cuffs on the dress, which also had lace. 

The finished dress.

When I was making my 1910s skirts, I made a few belts to go with them, using vintage ribbon I got from Harmony, a great local shop here in Provo. I had a belt buckle, also inherited with the old clothes, notions, etc. that I inherited from Nick's grandma, and though it's not as old as the 1860s, I thought it would be fun to make a belt to go with the dress, so I got some of that same lovely ribbon and made one. 

The dress with the belt.

I was so worried that it wouldn't fit, and even though it was late for her birthday, I hoped it would get there in time for Christmas. Miraculously, it only took two days to get from Utah to New York! 

Oh, good! It fits!

Here are a couple of closeup photos from Naomi as well: 

It makes such a difference seeing clothes on as opposed to just lying flat!

And another picture of Naomi in her dress. She looks so pretty!

The lovely Naomi in her dress. 

Boulder, Utah Trip: Part Three

After the museum, we all had some lunch together, and here we split ways: Jared, April & Lucy went home one way, and Beccah, Nick & I decided to drive home through Capitol Reef. We saw so many beautiful sights, and we were also able to see more petroglyphs, though not as up close. It was a wonderful drive home. The beauty of it has stayed with us, weeks afterwards. 

So stunning! Nothing can match the beauty of nature. 

The weather was so nice, not too cold at all. A glorious way to say goodbye 
to the autumn. 

Everywhere we looked was magnificent. 

As with Boulder, I'd never been through this area of Utah before either and it was such a 

great opportunity. All three of us were so impressed by everything we saw, the beauty of it 

almost wore us out by the end of the day.                                                                                     

    

I don't know if I've ever seen autumn leaves in the desert like this before. 

Beccah admiring the scene. 

Do you see the row of figures on the rock? 

Our last stop was in the little town of Helper. It has an old-fashioned charm to it for sure. I loved the vintage Christmas decorations they had up in the streets already. We stopped at a gas station and talked to the woman about her town and how it was changing and growing. 

Love the old J.C. Penney building too!

The town is beautifully situated up against the mountain. 

Boulder, Utah trip: Part Two

 As well as time spent outdoors, we also spent time together playing games, eating dinner, etc. We were able to eat at Hell's Backbone Grill, which serves some of the most delicious food I've ever had. All fresh and local, and delicious flavors! 

Hell's Backbone Grill, on the grounds of the lodge where we stayed. Such good food! 

April, Jared & Nick

Lucy & me.

Nick and I took a short drive on our own and walked around, which was really nice too. The whole weekend was so quiet, slow, and beautiful. 

I love the streaks of pink/ orange coming down the mountain.

The beautiful rock on the drive Nick & I took. 

We also visited the Anasazi State Park Museum. It was a great place with wonderful displays, and outside the remains of structures and homes. It was fascinating to see the beautiful pots, arrowheads and other material remains from these ancient civilizations. 

This flat jug is so beautiful!

I love the designs on the pottery.

The excavated structures. A lot in this area remains uncovered. 

I love the hearthstones.

Boulder Utah Trip: Part One

Driving towards the petroglyph site

This past weekend, Nick and I joined my sister Beccah, my brother Jared & Sister-in-law April, and my niece for a lovely trip to southern Utah. When I lived with Jared & April, they started going down to Boulder, and this is the first time I'd been to that area. It was beautiful, that goes without saying. Even though it's November, during the day it was sunny and warm, and when it cooled down at night, we were able to take advantage of the hot tub where we were staying. Nick and I almost didn't end up joining my siblings, but I'm so glad we did.

Before we went down, Nick found a trail that led to some petroglyphs. It wasn't a long hike, but it felt full of adventure. It was so quiet and we had the place to ourselves. 

Closeups of the petroglyphs. We were so close to them we could touch them!

Someone in the past had tried to cut them off of the side of the rock. We were all appalled by this. Luckily they didn't succeed, but the scarring sight of their attempt is sad to see. 

I love this spiral shape.

There was also a panel called 'A Hundred Hands' that was higher up. We couldn't reach it, but it was still really exciting to see. I wish we could understand the symbolism behind these ancient images. 

Lucy and me.

The 'Hundred Hands' panel. 

We were so enchanted by the beauty of the place, and the perfect, blue sky.

It felt so good to be out in the desert, and to be together sharing this wonderful experience.

Nick & I admiring the view.

This was a great spot for shouting...

...and hearing an echo.

The third panel we found, the "Shaman Panel". So much going on here! I love the figures, the bird tracks, the dots leading to the animal. So mysterious and beautiful. 

Nick's Murals & Installation at the Bean Museum

 On the Brigham Young University campus is the Bean Life Science Museum, which houses a large collection of wildlife: birds, insects, elephants, etc. 

When Nick was a graduate student at BYU, he worked on a mural for the African exhibit, painting a good portion of it, and crafting and installing the displays for the animals as well. I knew that he'd done this work, but this is the first time I have gone up to see it. I was really impressed with the display, and thought I'd share some pictures of it:

Not only did Nick paint a large portion of the mural, he also worked on the trees, rocks and plants in the displays. 

The fake water needed a dusting, but Nick worked on this part of the exhibit as well. It was really cool seeing all the different aspects of his work.

Look at that lovely day-time moon.

I was really impressed by these murals that Nick painted, and all the work he did to install the animals in their display. I hope he gets a chance to paint murals in the future. 

I wrote a post about Nick's art last year, but I'll post a link to his website again with his more recent work: Nick Bontorno.