Today's post will focus on the traditional costumes of our host people. These are not worn much anymore except at parties or on a wedding day; today's brides are opting for the western, white, puffy dress- such a shame!

Ladies will wear a white dress with widely ruffled sleeves of many layers, and a similarly layered skirt portion made from a synthetic chiffon. On top of that, girls will don a highly sequined vest, usually fashioned from a velvet-like fabric (velour) of a darker color such as maroon or forest green or navy blue. The sequins are beaded in the traditional design called the Woy-oo, shown on the rugs I've posted about before.

In my opinion, the hat is the most interesting piece of the costume is the hat. Feathers, especially white ones have long been considered good luck by the people here, and are often seen adorning car rearview mirrors, entrance ways at homes, and on the ladies hats.

Shown here (in a rather unflattering blurry photo) are the hats I am speaking of.


The men will wear a long highly ornamented very heavy robe over their regular clothing. Again, one can see the traditional woy-oo design embroidered throughout. One person joked that the traditional hat for men reminded them of Captain Kangaroo. They are made of felted wool and quite warm. Even today, some of the older men around town can be seen wearing one going to or from a gathering on a cold day. But the everyday versions are simply black embroidery on off-white felt.

When the people have no need to dress up and go out, they wear very plain and practical clothing. Women will have a "housedress" made of velour for the winter, or a synth. blend and short sleeves for the hot summer months. There is an odd unspoken general rule about exactly how far one can travel from the home in the house attire. It is about as far as the corner store, but no further! Same goes for the house/work shoes. Any further, then the fancy leaving-the-house clothes and shoes must be gotten on- no exceptions!

For dinner get-togethers such as this below, normal business-like clothing is generally worn. For women that means a nice dress and heels, and for men a collared shirt and slacks. Jeans would never be worn to a dinner party like this.

So there you have a glimpse into the fashion of where we live. Like all cultures there are generally known and adhered to rules that most don't break. Learning them is one of the keys to feeling at home here.

Hanging Around in My Housedress,

Your SteppeSister

I've been busy with a few projects lately that I wanted to show you. I finally got around to taking and uploading these photos for you to enjoy. So far, I think they are all turning out really nice!

This first one I started out a while back, and actually may have already posted it, but here it is again, just in case not. It is really only 1 of 4 panels. There are 2 the same size and shape is this one-one being the shepherds, the other being the Wise Men. The 4th panel is the same size and shape as well, but is turned sideways and lays above the other 3- horizontally. It is a stunning angel carrying a banner and a trumpet. I looked for a very long time for a quilt pattern that told the Christmas story in it's entirety, but there are like NONE out there that I could find save this one. There are tons of teddy bears, and stars, and cutsey stuff like that, but none that had an elegant flair and mature theme like this one! I am so happy with it so far.

Most of you know I've been teaching a quilting class to some local women (5) for the last couple of months. I wanted to show you the blocks we've sewn so far- the last one for the empty spot will be a Sawtooth Star. For all of you quilters out there, they've learned all kinds of techniques like rotary cutting, measuring with the empirical system, Y-seams, chain stitching, hand applique, and the preciseness needed in sewing exact seams and matching up corners. We have 2 weeks left of piecing, then it's on to getting our blocks together and ready for quilting!! So far they are really looking lovely!

This one is for me! It's the first BIG hand-quilting project I've tackled. I have to be really honest here; I don't really like the quilting part of quilting! I love to work with those colors and textures and patterns and shapes, but oh, Lordy! Hand quilting takes FOREVER!

Here is a detail of the Dresden Plate Blocks that I did a medium meandering stitch with variagated thread on. I adore the colors I chose! I can really live with this wall hanging!

The plates are hand appliqued on and hand stitched together.

I also took a picture of the hand work on the white parts of the quilt. Each section takes about 2-3 hours, and there are 20 in all. 3 x 20= 60 hours.

I've named this one Flower and Garden Festival. For all of my Disney friends, you can appreciate this one. I love EPCOT; and I love me some F&G show!! We were there last year for it, and the park was absolutely stunning with millions of flowers everywhere! This quilt is completely hand appliqued except for the sashing. I have fallen in love with hand applique. I really, really like it. I think I love hand working applique, and can't stand hand quiliting, mostly because I can't wear a thimble-- and getting through 3 layers hurts like the dickens!! I've just never found one that fits me, and it's forever falling off. I hate that! So, it's wtih a naked middle finger that I spend hours sewing away.

Here it is in its entirety, but sideways. But you can get the picture, I think. I'm completely open to ideas for quilting this one. I'm really just not sure what to do with it, so am stalled out on it. If you have any quilting friends, please send them over!!! No, I don't mean to here; I mean over here to the blog! I need some inspiration here!

Well there you have it! An entire post about my little projects. You know, I'm actually thinking of selling one of these?? What do you think??

Until Next Time,

Your SteppeSister

It's been ever so long since I've been able to sit for a spell and chew the fat with you! The people around here absolutely adore doing just that. The fattier the meat the better; sometimes it's ONLY the fat they chew... and chew... and chew.

Ah well, onto more important other things- like the great things that have happened this last week, and the not-so-good. I'm generally an upbeat sort of gal, and like to see the brighter side of things, so we'll start with those.

We now have a teammate- the first Westerner to work with us since our first teammates left 4 years ago. We are more than thrilled and quite excited about what this will mean for our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. For just a few moments humor me, as I expound upon what that means. Most of you who are reading this know exactly the isolation and lonliness we at times feel here. Aside from a few Peace Corps workers and one other American man who married local (none of which we have much in common with) there is no one here to share our lives with in our own language. Of course, we do have many local friends, but none of them understand deeply our longing and need for fellowship with other English speakers who understand our sojourning in this place. We are also thankful to have someone who knows how to dial an internation emergency call to our medivac folks if the need arises. Auto accidents are horrendous and frequent around here, so the skill of contacting outside help does exist.

So, last Sunday, a wonderful woman who has lived right here in our country for about 8 years, but in a different city, has come to join us in our work!! Rejoice with us in Spirit, if you will!

On a lighter and much more purely fun note: We've made our room reservation for my next year's ladies trip to Disney World!!! I am so, so, so excited for this trip with the ladies! A very close friend, whom I've known for about 20 years and a brand new friend that I've become very close to online (and have actually met once) are all going to the House of Mouse for a week next September! WOOOHOOO!! We booked the free dining promotion, so for about $1,200 I can have a week of acting like a 5 year old again just with the gals!! Laura, if you're still reading this, it's still not too late to join the par-tay!!

Now, that very news really helped pull me out of the funk I've been in all week. Utilities have been CRAPPY!!! this week. The power is going off for more nights than staying on, and today was the 3rd day in a row, we were without water. Can you say greasy hair, and stinky pits?! Gag me! We are all very thankful that it just was turned on again, and so thusly cleansed. We are not at all happy with the onset of the situation this fall, the season things tend to be iffy at best. Thank Heavens for oil lamps and good books we can read aloud in the evenings. But all the oil lamps in the world don't fill an empty cistern!

School has started again at SteppeSister's Learning Academy; time is short as you can well imagine. With 2 in high school, 1 with significant LD issues and 1 who's exceptionally bright, my days are spent amongst books, craft materials, DVD video lessons, pencils, erasers and bribery bobbles (stickers and coins do wonders in teaching a reluctant child to learn his multiplication tables!), and the days fly by so quickly. Fridays come so fast, and before we know it, it's pizza/movie night once again.

So, there's the low down on why I've been unable to be so regular here, sharing my life and times with you. Next time, I hope to have some pictures uploaded to the computer from the welcome party we held for our new collegue on Monday.

Until Then,

Your SteppeSister