This beautiful dress was made for “Granny”, Muriel Joy Gregory Petit (1930-2014), my wife’s maternal grandmother. Elegantly framed, the dress and its story have been lovingly preserved by my mother-in-law. It now hangs in our home.
It was made by Muriel’s mother, Florence Mae Guilfoyle Gregory (1904-1984), a.k.a “Nomnie”. My mother-in-law writes:
It was hand made, tiny hand stitches. Nomnie always did great hand work, as well as with the Singer Featherweight she later owned. I fell in love with it and saved it for years. I had it framed about 25 years ago.
Nomnie was able to copy most anything that Granny saw in a magazine or shop which was fantastic as they could not afford to buy a dress retail.
Sewing by hand and machine was a skill passed down through the generations to me and now Kate who is very talented with knitting.
Muriel probably wore that dress with these, her first pair of shoes. Nomnie had them bronzed after Muriel grew out of them. They remain a treasured family heirloom and keepsake. Though wearing a different dress and pair of shoes, here is also an early photo of Muriel.
Muriel Joy Gregory Petit (1930-2014)
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In May of 2020 I challenged myself and others to write every day for a month about a family heirloom or artifact. Here are 10 lessons I learned from this genealogy writing experience.