Alaska!

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.

Pavva Inupiaq 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!

Squid Acres Sled Dog Kennel

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!