cahokia indian mounds is a fascinating and little known world heritage site in illinois. other world heritage sites include the great wall of china and the pyramids in giza. we've been planning to go for 3 years, and have driven past it several times, but never made it a destination until a few weeks ago.
it was fascinating, and well worth braving the record-breaking heat wave that most of the central and eastern us was experiencing to explore. the photo above shows the largest mound, which has a foot print that is larger than the largest pyramids. there was once a huge, thriving, well-developed culture that built huge earthen structures here in north america. cahokia is just across the mississippi river (to the east) from st louis, missouri, near collinsville, illinois.
it was a much more strenuous climb to the top of monks mound than our kids make it look in this photo, especially in the extreme heat.
you can see the st. louis skyline, incuding the arch, in the distance from the top of monks mound. but now that i've uploaded the photo, I'm not seeing the arch...., it's there, i promise!
we forgot to get a photo of one of the most interesting remains at this site, a giant lunar calendar that has been named "woodhenge". it wasn't discovered until excavation for a freeway project in the 60's. it is a huge circle of giant wooden tree poles that line up with the solstices and equinoxes. this trip has opened us up to the little-known, and even at least somewhat covered up, cultures in ancient north america. it is becoming quite a controversial topic, but there is quite a bit of evidence coming to light that there may have been a purposeful mid 1800s governemnt "cover-up" of the artifacts and evidences of how highly developed the ancient peoples here had once been, because it didn't fit in with the plans for american expansion and domination of the native peoples. john wesley powell figures prominently in this supposed cover-up. i can't say for certain if it is true, but it is interesting.
grandma & grandpa came with us, and seemed to enjoy the day as much as we did.
we finished up at the st louis arch, and finally made the trip to the top. (here are the kids at the base of the arch.)
view of downtown st. louis from teh top of the arch.
my artist friend, michael bedard, who commissioned this suit, a reproduction of the suit that george washington is wearing in this photo, circa 1772, has been very patient with the slow progress i've been making. that was part of our arrangement - i didn't need to feel rushed or pressured. but things suddenly changed in the middle of march, the same week as the girls' musical, which i was sewing for, and the same week that i needed to alter a wedding dress, and a hundred other things, and he suddenly and unexpectedly was leaving town and needed to take the suit with him.
this suit has been a tremendous amount of work, as all of the stitching of any type that shows has been done by hand. but it has also been a joy to work on. i sewed furiously to get it (almost) done, and it left town, and will return soon for the finishing touches.
it is all wool and linen with pewter buttons - very heavy!The photos aren't the best - i needed more light, but wanted to take the photos before the suit left.
i love my customers! and love them even more when they share their incredibly lovely and inspiring creations with me.
i am completely smitten by this izannah walker doll by dylnne on etsy - everything about it is something i love: history, accurate reproduction, beauty, fabric, sewing for children, and i could go on. she inspired me to do some research on izannah walker and her dolls, which i found fascinating. here is the story, and here are photos of some of the original dolls. this dolly's dress is made from a sweet reproduction fabric designed by mary koval for her "mary's chocolates" collection by blank textiles.
one of my amazing mary friends (i have several amazing and well loved mary friends) makes beautiful reproductions of dolls that were the forerunners to the izannah walker dolls.
and krista made this inspiring bag - if only i can find the time to make one too!
this math fabric from the "american vintage" collection by windham fabrics is selling fast.
i love it too. see krista's post about making this bag on her delightful blog, which will lead you to another blog for a tutorial on how to make your own.
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whew! is just about the only word that comes to mind as i try to express how i feel about this project, reproducing a suit of george washington's. but it is truly exhilarating to see it coming together. i am doing all sewing that will show by hand (no sewing machines in the 1770s). the linen shirt, scarlet wool and oatmeal linen waistcoat, and scarlet wool breeches are mostly done, including 31 hand stitched buttonholes that were quite intimidating. now it's time to charge head long into the indigo wool frock coat....deep breath.....
breeches leg
breeches back
breeches front (i still need to do a fitting to place the 7 pewter buttons that will close the front.)
brock and the girls got home from their road trip at 6:30 this a.m. they visited SVU for an openhouse and lexi auditioned for an additional scholarship (she has quite a good scholarship already, but this is expensive private school tuition) in voice/choir. we think this is a great option for lex, and she even applied last fall without our knowledge. but she is still holding out for BYU - which would be less money, even without a scholarship. i need to be careful not to let her know how much i like SVU, so she isn't tempted to run the other way :)
they didn't take these photos, these are file photos pulled off the internet.... virginia was having the worst winter weather in 100 years while they were there.
i want to go.
the two oldest are going to be in their high school's production of "Bah, Humbug" this saturday, a fund raiser for their spring musical of "Thoroughly Modern Millie'. tashi will be wearing the 1840s dress i made for her in august.
i have been wanting to make one for lexi too, and this is the perfect opportunity for it to be used. it will be her hand made christmas gift from me. a crazy time of year to be working on it, but i am enjoying it!
i love working with the intricately printed fabric, and discovering the ingenious and beautiful way that dresses were made in this era. with this dress i learned an amazing way of installing hooks and eyes:
it was difficult to photograph it so they could be seen... the hooks were sewn to the lining, and then pushed through the "fashion" fabric. the bases of the eyes are hidden between fabric and lining. so the sewing and the bases of the hooks and eyes are hidden away.
now for my mistake....not really "the" mistake, just one of many, but the most serious.
something about the bodice was bothering me, and for a while i didn't know what it was. can you see it?
look at the sleeves. they are cut on the bias, and this fabric, that i love, has a diagonal, or bias print. i cut one sleeve with the stripes running in one direction, and the other sleeve running in the other. i just finished removing and replacing the offending sleeve (barely had enough fabric left on the bolt - phew!), and now both sleeves run lengthwise like the one on the right. with the bodice complete, i am cartridge pleating the skirt so it can be attached. i love the cartridge pleating. it can be seen on the skirt of tashi's dress. it is a lot like hanging curtains.
during my studies of 1800s clothing over the last year, i have realized that although i have always idealized civil war era dresses as the loveliest, they really are surpassed by the grace and elegance of the 1840s fashions, which are also more flattering to the figure (especially a teenage figure).
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