I just got back from Alaska!
FAIRBANKS
Fairbanks was our first stop.
This is a mural in downtown Fairbanks.
In the Fairbanks Cultural Center I saw
this doll made by Dixie Alexander.
I love the beautiful beadwork in
many of the Alaskan dolls.
This doll was made by Ellen Savage.
These dolls made me think about
finding a doll during our trip!
Beautiful beadwork is a big part
of native dress in Alaska.
I loved this mural in Fairbanks of a sewing woman.
Our next stop was...
Denali National Park
Denali Mountain Range.
We saw wild moose.
We stayed at the Denali Education Center
in a cabin like this.
The Nenana river ran right outside our window.
While in Denali, we were given a
demonstration of native dances by
the Topkop Family dancers.
This style dress is called a "Kusbuk".
I loved her dress and the history
behind it. In the 1890s, ladies in Alaska were
using flour sack fabrics just like ladies
in the lower 48 states.
The Kusbuk dress is made from cotton,
originally flour sack fabrics,
but as you can see it has a
definite style of its own.
We also visited "Squid Acres Kennel" while in Denali.
(Nova the 12 year old retired sled dog who now
spends his days getting belly rubs from tourists)
They breed and train dogs for sledding.
These trainers and dogs have run the
Iditarod over 12 times!
The dogs getting ready to do a summer
training run.
And after they got back. They were all such
sweet dogs. We got to give them scratches
and belly rubs.
Our final stop was...
ANCHORAGE
This is Downtown Anchorage.
The average temperature was 68 degrees!
I had this nebulous plan to find a cute Alaska doll
but nothing really caught my eye.
How cute are these crochet dolls?
Another traditional Kusbuk dress.
A group of dolls in an Anchorage shop.
Some of these dolls have scary faces.
These two have much nicer faces.
This doll was in the Anchorage Museum.
These two were also in the Anchorage Museum.
My favorite doll is below...
Sadly I saw her after the store closed and
we were leaving early the next day for home.
I never found a doll!
When I got back home from Alaska, I looked
for a Kusbuk dress pattern for 18" dolls.
Look what I found from 1997!
I started looking for fabric as soon as
I ordered this pattern. This is what I found.
I selected 2 fabrics that I felt had a
flour sack fabric look.
Then I selected some fake furs. I was
full of fervor at this moment. I was planning
on making two complete outfits. I had
never worked with fake fur before...
This is Grace in her Kusbuk dress.
I really like how it turned out, but I
think it may be too long.
Very pretty Grace!
Next came the fur Parka. How hard
could it be? Same pattern, just with fur.
HA!
I did eventually get it made, but working
with fake fur was difficult. It tended to slide
around. The top fabric would stretch out
longer than the bottom, but I just
forged ahead.
Here is the Parka.
Grace loves it. She says it is
so soft and warm.
I still need to finish adding fasteners, but
for now this will have to do.
Grace is ready for a dog sled team
of her own!
Stay warm Grace!
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