One of my favorite American Girl doll “customer letters…”

Back in 2009 I didn’t have nearly as many dolls as I do now and Kirsten was the doll that brought in the most money for me. It was fun sewing for her making all kinds of dirndl’s using practically every print in my stash. The more combinations I made for her, the more popular my dresses became. One day I got a very special letter in the mail from a “Kirsten customer.” My heart just melted as I read it and I thought I’d share the letter with you…and then a picture she sent along…

“Dear Jeanne,
So, you’re probably wondering what kind of a crazy person spends that kind of money on a doll’s dress. (I’m wondering that myself.)

Some history: when the American Girls first came out in the 80’s and I saw the catalog, I fell in love with the Kirsten doll. I said, “If I were a little girl, that’s the doll I would buy.” Of course, I’m a grown-up, so buying the doll seemed out of the question. The years went by and my granddaughters, Hannah and Doris, came of American Girl age. I took them each in turn to New York City to buy the doll of their choice and even gave Hannah a day at the American Girl cafe and show as a Christmas present. I would always stop by the Kirsten case and tell the girls how much I loved the Kirsten doll. Of course, they much preferred Emily and the modern dolls to the old-fashioned pioneer girl.

Lo and behold, last Christmas, my husband surprised me with the Kirsten doll. I had no idea about it and was bowled over with happiness. Now when Hannah and Doris would come over, we would play with their dolls and my Kirsten. In fact, one day in October of this year when I was having Doris for an overnight, she brought in the mail. There was a letter from American Girl which I told her to open and read. It was then that I found out that Kirsten was to be “archived” – what a great euphemism. I was shocked because I hadn’t bought much for the doll and figured I had years to buy the dresses and so on. (In passing, I should mention that my two girls made signs saying “Save Kirsten,” that we carried around the store when we made our annual pilgrimage to the NYC store. In fact, at one point, while I was shopping with the girls, my husband was sitting on a bench with my Kirsten doll sitting next to him holding one of the signs and got into quite a few conversations with other Kirsten lovers about the “archiving” of the doll.)

After that day, I bought what outfits I could before everyone else bought 3 or 4 of every Kirsten dress to sell on Ebay. I also began to look for other doll clothes makers, and that’s how I came to your outfit. I loved the cap most of all and the apron made from the vintage handkerchief. The fact that I also had recently bought a small tree with Swedish style straw ornaments on it – well, your doll outfit with the ornaments seemed perfect. In addition, it was just such a joyful piece -the colors were so appealing.

But, here’s the exciting part for you to know. I bid on the doll outfit early when it was about $35.00. Then I did nothing. The final night that your outfit was available, I was just like you. I was watching the price go up and up – and not bidding. I kept asking my husband, “Do you believe the price is this much -Oh no, now it’s that much. I don’t think I can even bid on it. What do you think? Do you think I should bid?” Now, I certainly didn’t need his permission to bid on it, but even I thought the price was very high – I had anticipated maybe $150 at the most – but I did love it. Finally, he said, “You only live once,” and I thought, “Why not? You’re right, let me put in a bid.” So I did – in the last 20 seconds. My heart was beating as yours was, I’m sure.

Anyway, I love the outfit. Kirsten wore the outfit for Christmas and posed right next to the tree with the straw ornaments all through the holidays. One morning, I came down to find that my husband had found a tiny Nativity set and had set it up under the tree for me. He also managed to get me the Kirsten trunk on Ebay to keep her things in – they had quickly sold out of the store and online – so that was another surprise this Christmas.

I want you to know that the dress will have a good home and will certainly be worn by the doll every Christmas – and passed down to the little granddaughters later on – when they’re old enough to hear and understand the story of how much their crazy Grandma paid for Kirsten’s special Christmas dress.

The dress has brought me joy. I hope the fact that there were lots of people loving and bidding on the dress before me makes you feel even more special about your creations.

Sincerely… ________”

Isn’t that just the sweetest letter? That’s what motivates me to sew for these dolls!

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne