My embroidered wedding dress at the VESILLYA Exhibit

I was honoured to be part of the VESILLYA Ukrainian Wedding exhibit which opened June 19, 2026 at the Ukrainian American Archive & Museum (UAAM), Hamtramck, MI.

I married Eugene over 50 years ago at ImmaculateConception Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hamtramck, so this was a fitting tribute.

Actually, a mannequin wearing my wedding gown represents Ukrainian-inspired designs being incorporated on white wedding dresses from the 1960’s onwards. My wedding dress was a collaboration with my seamstress-extraordinaire mother and myself.

I found a lacy floral charted pattern in Dover Needlework Series of Charted Folk Designs from along the Danube, collected by Maria Foris. The solid row of embroidery charted between the floral top and bottom was gross. I photocopied the charted pattern twice, cut out the offending heavy row on one set, and re-taped the two lacy halves together. Then I sliced in the middle of the mirror-imaged florals and fitted the diamond-like motif in between. Once all taped, this was my repeat all around the lower skirt of my dress.

The bodice was embroidered with a center motif using the lower charted floral and a garland of cross-stitched flowers around the neck. Two bands of interlocking flowers were embroidered for the puff sleeves.

In order to embroider counted cross stitch on a satin fabric, I basted on wide waste canvas all around the the skirt. Once I embroidered the flowers, I had “fun” pulling the waste canvas very carefully because I didn’t want to dampen the canvas to avoid disturbing the fabric’s satin finish.

Before starting to embroider the dress, I would spread a white bed sheet on the floor around the living room coffee table where I would sit and stitch while sitting on the carpet. I do not have photos of this stage, but it was a very long process in between my college studies in 1973-74. There was a deadline: time for my mother to sew it all together for my wedding on August 10, 1974.

I am grateful to my six bridesmaids who embroidered motifs and the sleeve openings of their own dresses. As many of the girls lived long distance, this was a practical solution. I sent them fabric, the charted design, waste canvas and threads. They in turn embroidered and sewed their dresses for a coordinated look. It was beautiful!

Vesillya

The Ukrainian Wedding

Threads of Love, Ritual and Heritage

 

The UAAM social media post wrote: “A traditional Ukrainian wedding is far more than a single day or a private family celebration. It is a sequence of customs, symbols, songs, blessings, garments, and shared gestures that mark a profound passage in life: the joining of two people, two families, and often two communities. Through these rituals, generations have expressed ideas of love, continuity, faith, hospitality, and belonging.”

“This exhibition offers an overview of Ukrainian wedding traditions and invites us to look closely at the many layers of meaning within them. We begin with the ceremonial world of the Hutsul region, where traditional attire is especially vivid and distinctive. Hutsul clothing is known for its rich color, dense ornamentation, layered textiles, embroidery, woven belts, outer garments, and carefully chosen accessories. These garments were never simply decorative; they identified place, family, status, craftsmanship, and participation in ritual life.”

A Hutsul bride in full regalia

UAAM continues: “At the same time, Vesillya is not only about the past. The exhibition also traces how wedding customs continue to live, adapt, and take new forms in contemporary Ukraine and in Ukrainian communities outside Ukraine. In the diaspora, including here in the United States, these traditions have often served as a way to remember origins, teach younger generations, and sustain cultural identity even far from ancestral villages and towns

Bridesmaids in a contemporary Kyivan-style adaptation of a regional costume

My 1970‘s Ukrainian-style blue embroidery on a white gown

A modern contemporary dress by Helena Mila, Lviv, from 2025

There were wedding essentials

 A dramatic display of rushnyk(-y) (ritual cloths) grace the wall and one was shown under the korovai (wedding bread). Many rushnyky are used in a wedding: one for standing on during the wedding service, one which binds the couple’s hands as they process around the altar, two worn by starosty (elders) who who have ceremonial roles, one for greeting and blessing the couple with the korovai to name a few.

Rushnyky (ritual cloths) and icons for blessing

Our wedding invitations were in form of a printed rushnyk which my husband designed.

Front invitations

Open to show English text

There were two korovai wedding breads on display. The complex one was made by pani Drohomyretska, an ethnic Hutsul who continued to bake fancy traditional breads in Detroit. It was mind-boggling to see the miniature birds on top of each dough wheat stalk of Martha Korol’s wedding korovai! My mother-in-law baked our korovai which was simpler in style with dried stalks of wheat surrounding dough love birds and periwinkle. She baked 350 loved birds which we handed out to our wedding guests as Thank You favours. Here is a link to my friend Lisa’s Korovai website where you can learn about the complexity of the bread baking and decor.

Two styles of korovai (wedding bread)

Collage of wedding photos

This collage of wedding photos spanning a century showed how brides in the early 1900s chose to marry in traditional white dress. As time went on, more elements of Ukrainian culture and traditions were adapted. Now there is an array of gorgeous stylized dressed with colorful embroidery. 

Themed information cards on wedding rituals and traditions in between many photos enhanced the exhibit.

Olga Liskivskyi and I in front of my dress

Sincere gratitude to executive director Olga Liskivskyi and exhibit coordinator Marta Sobko for the wonderful and meaningful installation.

Olga Liskivskyi at the opening

Thank you to all who contributed and those who attended the Vesillya opening. The exhibit is on all summer. Don’t miss it!

Eugene and I in front of my wedding dress

Groovy Flower Power Toronto Bead Society 2026 Bag of Beads Challenge

This year’s Toronto Bead Society (TBS) Bag of Beads was a blast from the past! 

Thank you to John Bead Corporation for donating the two tubes of “Groovy Mix” 10/o rocailles featured in this year’s Bag of Beads. The Committee threw in a dash of lemon yellow and fuchsia-lined seed beads, a string of orange bugles, 8/o olive and 6/o orange beads; blue Super Duos; a few olive large-hole acrylic beads. For interest there were a few warped glass shapes, a rosaline glass heart, and a glass circle. Plus there was a square of very orange stiff-stuff foundation.

At least one of everything in the TBS Bag of Beads had to be used in the challenge. This includes the stumper — a looking glass!

When I looked up GROOVY on Google, I found all sorts of art that screamed 1970’s. Scary thing: I remember the 70’s. The one that spoke to me was “Flower Power”, single flowers in all sorts of colours next to each other. It would be fun to just combine in random coloured seed beads in any order. Can’t go wrong because they all go so well together like the tube of “Groovy Mix”.

FLOWER POWER

No two flowers are the same. Each one started with a circle of beads like a daisy start. Then I filled in the center with a single bead of any colour or size. Next I often created a picot between the circle of beads, but by changing the base colour, it added dimension. Sometimes, I would add a string of beads around in each picot.

Occasionally, I did a 3-bead picot, or a 5-bead like the blue one in the top row of the photo below. Then, I played around with stringing different combos of beads and texture in between. The Super Duos held in place with the lemon yellow added interest and zing to a flat beaded flower.

In the lower row I strung large orange 6/o between marigold seeds around the circle. Then, I added fuchsia picots along the edge. I like this one because the complimentary colours pop.

Since the Challenge required us to use at least one of every type of bead in the bag, I cleverly dealt with a big-holed acrylic bead. I circled it with the large orange 6/o beads. Then I secured it by wrapping between each bead down the center. The thread path is part of the charm. Next, I ran through one side of the Super Duo in between the large orange beads. I strung 3 olive rocailles between the other side of the unique 2-hole beads. Because they were in such a tight circle, it created interesting motifs. Lastly fuchsia picots stand between the orange circle around the acrylic beads to create a very lush 3-D flower. 

The last photo shows a fresh flower with Super Duos petals around the lemon circled large orange bead.  

LOOKING GLASS STUMPER

This was a big challenge for me! Luckily, I had cylindrical Delica beads in my stash for beading a holder for the looking glass. Silly me had a hard time figuring how to start the mosaic (Peyote) circle of beads. Nymo thread is the wrong stringing material! You need to have an EVEN number of Delicas for the initial circle. This was not easy to count in a single colour! Now you know why I enjoy complex pattern with many color changes! (i.e. Ukrainian-style gerdans). It’s easier to count a few beads v.s. 60 teal metalic beads!

On my third try, I used 6 lbs. Fireline. Once I created the circle, I very carefully added the second row of beads on one side of the center. then turned it around to add a second row to the other side of the middle row. 

Next I found 13/o Charlotte seed beads in my sash. Very carefully I threaded a seed bead between sicking up cylinders.

Once I filled in with seed beads around the band, I pulled the Fireline tightly to cinch the ring. Then I added a single seed in between the seeds and pulled the circle tighter. This created a rounded base for the glass to rest in.

Once the glass was pushed into the cradle, I needed to repeat the process on the other side. First, I added a single Charlotte between the Delicas, then pulled the thread to tighten the other side. Next, I added another in between and tightened the circle. The glass was now securely in place. I reinforced the ring but left tails of Fireline for attachment later.

DAISY CHAINS

Don’t have step photos because daisy chains are a universal basic. The "Groovy Mix" made is easy to create fun daisy chains.

First, I started with beading a bugle daisy chain. I did an 8-bead daisy between the #3 orange bugle thinking there would be four petals on either side of the bugle. I found the flowers were lopsided probably because the center bead was too small for an eight petalled flower. I figured the Bugle daisy chain should be used for the medallion.

The continuous daisy chain has 7-petal flowers. The trick was to be consistent in how I added the center and completed each daisy every time. There is a repeat of six flowers. The continuous daisy chain is perfect for the looking glass. However, I needed something in between. The warped glass beads in the bag proved to be perfect for  softening the transition between organic daisies and engineered glass ring.

FLOWER POWER MEDALLION

I found the bright orange color of the stiff foundation overpowering. It drained my beautiful miniature works of art. On the other hand, a lot of hippy 70’s prints were very orange. There was no white in between. So, I just had to do the best I could to make my Flower Power medallion dance!

Since each flower was created individually with lots of spare thread for attachment, I was able to play around and audition several layouts. Once I secured the large flowers to the foundation, I started adding touches of zing here and there. Sometimes I had to edge petals with another color for them to stand out against the orange ground. I added a few small single daisies, attached a few warped glass beads with a blue complimentary seed. Then I stitched on the top-drilled rosaline glass heart.

TRIMMING THE EDGE

For a clean finish on the back, I added a cream faux leatherette. I auditioned two different sizes of olive beads along the edge. In my opinion, the mid-sized 8/o looked better. However, it was a very close call whether I had enough to trim all the way around. You can see how I counted spare beads by ten beads on my board. I just made it with 7 beads to spare!

To best secure the bugle daisy chain to the medallion, a single petal was stitched between two edge beads then reinforced all around. 

Once the medallion was fit tested, I put on the continuous daisy chain and held the looking glass above the medallion. My husband snapped the photo. By looking at this picture, I unpicked a few daisies before securing the looking glass.

FLOWER POWER THROUGH A LOOKING GLASS

Here I am wearing the entire creation. OR, I could wear them separately. The looking glass on the daisy chain make a nice pendant alone. The medallion on the bugle daisy chain is a work of art statement piece. 

This photo sums up my challenge: Using the looking glass to magnify the beaded flowers. Admire and enjoy!

The "White Aster of Love" Project (1989-1992)

Thanks to Anna Chaykovska of Vinnytsia, Ukraine for reminding us about the unsung heroes behind this immense project!

While going through her archives, she came across unique photos from the preparation for printing of the book White Aster of Love by Iryna Senyk. The deluxe 160-page edition is a collection of bilingual poems, Iryna’s fashion sketches with charted embroidery, and photos of elegant dresses inspired by the illustrations.

The back story

3 Invinsible Spirit

 After reading the book “Indomitable Spirit: Art and Poetry of Ukrainian Women Political Prisoners in the USSR,” Christine Bolubash was interested in meeting Iryna Senyk, the author of moving poems and creator of unique thematic embroidery. Christine was so moved by a person of such a great spirit that she decided to meet this woman when she went to visit Ukraine. 

Iryna Senyk

Iryna Senyk, poet, former political prisoner who spent 34 years in Soviet hard- labor camps and exile, member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Helsinki Group (UHG), died on October 25, 2009 at the age of 83.

In the summer of 1989, they met in Lviv. Iryna gave Christine a folder of poems and her original fashion sketches decorated with embroidered designs. Christine took this gift with her to Canada at great risk. While leaving Ukraine for Przemysl, they were detained for a long time at the border and, as usual, everyone was ordered to get out of the car. Christine stood aside and prayed that these officers would not find a folder with Iryna Senyk's works while checking the car. Luckily, they did not see the folder, so with great relief Iryna’s works were brought to Canada.

The story of this book is extremely interesting, and the creative preparation for its presentation are even more interesting. It was published by the women's organization - UCWLC in Canada to honour pioneer women on the occasion of the centennial of the settlement of Ukrainians in Canada (1891-1991).

Project of the St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Women League of Canda (UCWLC)

Christine approached her UCWC branch at St. Demetrius the Great Martyr Church with an idea. She proposed the League publish a book of Iryna Senyk's works. Branch president, Elsie Stieglan, and members agreed to this proposal and created a committee headed by Christine Bolubash. Pastor and Spiritual Director, Rt. Rev. John Tataryn, approved and blessed this project. Fr. Terry Lozynsky helped with practical matters.

Book Committee 1992

The committee decided to publish a book of fashion sketches, charted embroidery miniatures, and poems by Iryna Senyk. The 100th anniversary of the settlement of Ukrainians in Canada (1891-1991) was approaching. The ladies wanted the poems to be translated into English and published in a bilingual collection. In this way, previous generations and foreigners could get acquainted with the extraordinary talent of the long-time political prisoner of 34 years.

Bringing Iryna's fashion sketches to life

In the search for a designer who could bring Iryna's sketches, decorated with patterns, into contemporary dresses to life, the UCWLC put a notice in the church bulletin. Parishioner, designer and graphic artist, Maria Rypan volunteered.

The creative work began with consultations with 27 members of the UCWLC who were willing to participate in getting an original “Iryna Senyk” garment sewn and embroidered. This quickly evolved into a huge project that included the design and publication of 5,000 copies of a book of embroidery and poems, White Aster of Love. A book launch of the publication was planned for September 27, 1992.

See the Portfolio of My Iryna Senyk dresses (1989-1992) blog post about this portion of the project.

Everyone had to finish their embroidered elegant outfits by the spring of 1992 so that Oleh Iwanusiw could photograph the ladies, the “models,” at the Etobicoke Conservatory for the upcoming book. 

Olga S., Olga W, and Anne

Preparing the “White Aster of Love” book

"White Aster of Love" book cover

Before preparing the book, Ariadna Stebelska wrote a scholarly analysis, and Morris Diakowsky worked on the introduction. Eugene Rypan took up the computer-graphics conversion of Iryna’s ornaments. Maria Rypan did the artistic design of the book. She was well organized, so the books printed overseas were delivered in time for the grand
Première. The Committee and president Olga Krawec, decided to hold the presentation  in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Hotel. This was going to be a serious fashion show on a runway, not a church hall production.

Christine Borsuk volunteered to translate Iryna’s lyrical poetry. When the Committee realized there were not enough poems to complete the publication, they asked Iryna to provide additional material. These were transported to Toronto by Christine’s Bolubash’s sister Bozhena Iwanusiw.

Bozhena Iwanusiw & Christine Bolubash

The author called this publication “White Aster of Love.” Christine Borsuk sensitively conveyed the meaning and reflection of feelings and events in her translations of 67 of Iryna's poems.

Spring, O Spring

In the publication, each poem was decorated with an ornament in the style of a cross-stitched embroidery. This is because Iryna decorated everything with embroidery. Whether it was miniature gifts for her cell mate friends, stitched on fabric scraps with pulled threads, or stylized embroideries with coloured pencils on paper to accompany a poem or letter.

Toronto Star Article, Oct 16, 1992

Premiere of “White Aster of Love”

The committee invited Iryna Senyk to the world premiere of White Aster of Love and were very overjoyed when she agreed to come. They decided to hold a grand presentation of the publication at the Marriott Hotel in Toronto on September 27, 1992.

Maria Rypan also produced Première. Daria Diakowsky, an extremely talented organizer of public events and presentations, a teacher at St. Demetrius School, was invited to direct the program for the presentation of the book White Aster of Love. As a director, Daria came up with the theme “Seasons of the Year,” based on the poems of Iryna Senyk.

Lillian Yuryk and Margareta Shpir prepared the scripts. Slides of Iryna's sketches were interwoven with paintings illustrating feasts and seasons. The multi-media program included a fashion show of women's and children's clothing embroidered with Iryna's designs, and stories about her difficult, full of patience and struggle for a better life and the poetic creativity of the Ukrainian heroine in two languages.

Collage of photos from Premiere

The ladies, trained by Uliana Ihnatovych and Mariyanna Zaparaniuk, modelled embroidered outfits according to the script. Actress Joan Karasevich and Luba Zaraska introduced each Season theme; young girls Yulia Krekhovetsky and Lara Semeniuk recited poems. The musical accompaniment was provided by Roman Demeda and Orest Skliarenko. Two poems were set to music. The choir of the Church of St. Demetrius the Great Martyr sang “White Aster of Love”, music by Myron Maksymiv. “Oh, You, Madonna of Madonnas”, music by Zenon Lavryshyn, was sung by soprano Luba Kozak and tenor Oleh Chmil. The last runway models, Maria Rypan and Dzvinka Haba, presented Iryna field white asters.

Iryna Senyk & Christine Bolubash

Christine Bolubash presented the deluxe White Aster of Love book to its author, the indomitable Ukrainian patriot Iryna Senyk. These were published works from the folder she gave to Christine in 1989 in a park in Lviv. This was the most touching moment for Iryna and for us, the members of the Committee. Iryna spoke to her loyal admirers and her dedication. Everyone was happy to personally meet the Ukrainian poet, artist, and indomitable patriot of Ukraine. 

The members of the St. Demetrius UCWLC worked selflessly and generously helped organize fundraising events. Without their help, this project would not have been possible.

"White Aster of Love" in the Vinnytsia Regional Universal Scientific Library

A shipment of 1000 books was organized to Ukraine, where Iryna Senyk and volunteers distributed White Aster of Love to schools, universities, and libraries. Anna Chaykovska confirms White Aster of Love was received by the Vinnytsia Regional Universal Scientific Library named after K.A. Timiryazev, for which the people of Vinnytsia are grateful to everyone involved in the project.

Iryna Senyk and models

The premier was repackaged into a travelling “Tribute to Iryna” slide show with recorded narration, readings and poetry. We travelled extensively around Ontario and to Detroit to bring attention to this project. This was an effective tool to promote all that Iryna Senyk, a political dissident for 34 years, and Ukrainian people were and are still fighting for. 

Iryna came again for the Celebration of 100 Heroines of the World

Iryna Senyk at 100 Heroines of the World

In 1998, the Society of American Ladies in Rochester selected Iryna Senyk as “One of the 100 Heroines of the World.” The ceremony was held in Rochester, USA. The St. Demetrius UCWLC again sponsored Iryna Senyk’s trip from Ukraine to Canada and USA for this celebration. A group of women in their embroidered dresses, the patterns of which were the designed by Iryna Senyk, traveled with Iryna in honour. 

There still are a few books available.