First of all, thanks for all the advice on cleaning house and organizing tips you all shared yesterday. (HERE) The ones who posted comments had varied tactics for keeping their houses clean. I’m going to implement a few of the ideas and see what happens. I had forgotten about a little plaque that my hubby bought for me once when we were out antique shopping. It’s just a little hand painted thing, but we both laugh about it as it hangs on a wall. (Disclaimer… I had to dust it off before I could show it to you!) :o) or maybe :o(
My hubby is very forgiving in the housekeeping department and he knows when I have deadlines or need to get something finished, the dishes will wait and so will the dusting. But I try to have dinner most nights!) He is excellent at helping me out with things around here too… just tonight, he helped me with the dishes so we wouldn’t have to wake up and start the week off with dishes in the sink.
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Okay, now onto Kirsten’s dress… I had a very busy day and didn’t get much done on Kirsten’s soon-coming dress…yes, it’s going to be a dirndl this time. I almost did a prairie, but I was messing around with some fabrics and liked this combination. You’ll have to use your imagination again for it but I hope you like the way it looks in the end. I think it was Marilyn who suggested a Mid-Winter dress and I liked that idea. It will be on the softer color side, but warm and cozy looking…I hope!
It’s 11 p.m. Sunday night and my light isn’t the greatest in my sewing room, so my colors look just slightly off. In person they are very pretty together… Okay, so here’s the part where you’ll have to use your imagination again… Hang on, and I’ll get it going ASAP!
I wanted to stay up and work on it some more, but I have to take my mom to an early doctor’s appointment so I need to get to bed…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
So pretty, Jeanne! Kirsten’s coloring always seems to bring out the best in every fabric you put on her! She looks good in the bright reds and blues, as well as the more subdued colors like these. Can’t wait to see what this turns out to be!
HI Linda,
Once again, I hope it turns out like I’m picturing it in my mind…
I’m changing bed sheets and putting out new towels!!!! :o)
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
So funny, Jeanne, but good for you!! 😉
Your plaque reminded me of one of mine “My idea of cleaning is to sweep the room with a glance”.
HI Donna,
I hadn’t seen that plaque before… that’s funny!
Thanks so much,
blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne, I always love looking at your doll clothes and I love the colors you have chosen…..Lynn
Thanks so much Lynne,
I’m glad you like to look at my things… that puts a smile on my face…
I hope Kirsten’s dress turns out just like you hoped it would!
Blessings, Jeanne
It is so nice to see Kirsten in those light colors, perfect time of year, I guess. The bits of blue bring out her blue eyes so prettily. She really is a beauty!
Your plaque says the same thing that the one I took a photo of did. It made me laugh; how true, right? ha ha…
Reading through your comments from yesterday, I saw that many of us have wonderfully helpful husbands. Yay for us! We are so lucky!
Have a nice day, Jeanne!
HI Cindy,
Yes, we are the blessed ones to have those wonderful hubby’s, aren’t we?
It’s funny, but when you said you had a picture of a plaque, I just had a feeling it might be the same one…don’t ask me why I thought that….
I think I may take Kirsten’s braids down and do something else with her hair… I guess I’ll wait and see how the dress turns out… I’m trying to get the rest of all my Christmas baking, boxes, wrapping paper, and things like that packed away too…
I’ts very cold out today, but the sun is shining and it’s pretty outside…
Thanks Cindy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Early morning eye candy for me! Love the tiny prints and the yellow, blue, green, white, and beige combination. Think the dress and Kirsten will be stunning.
P.S. I need one of those signs.
HI Joy,
You made me laugh when you said you need one of those signs… :o)
So glad you liked the fabrics I picked out for Kirsten’s next dress. I hope she looks sweet in it.
Blessings, Jeanne
I’ve seen that plaque before and think it’s so funny as well.
Kirsten’s new dress is going to be lovely. The soft blues and tans with green really work with her eyes and hair. I’m so glad you’re back to sewing as I love to see each new creation.
You asked my about German Addy’s yesterday, so here goes. Pleasant Company made Kirsten, Samantha and Molly first in 1986 with white bodies. When Felicity was introduced in 1991 she had a flesh colored body because of the lower necklines of Colonial styles. I first saw a catalog when Felicity was brand new. All dolls began having flesh colored bodies in 1991. My daughter’s PC German Samantha who then became mine in from 1991-1992. Her dress was made in Hungary. 🙂 Her eyelashes are incredibly long and soft.Her PC German Kirsten is from 1993-1994. Doll was still made in Germany, but Meet dresses began to be made in China. She has much more straw colored hair that’s not as shiny as Mattel dolls. Her eyes are also a slightly different blue. Her wig is attached with a thin bias tape . My PC 1991 West German Felicity is like yours, coppery hair with true ribbon wig and meet gown made in West Germany. Addy debuted in 1993 and would be the last German made doll. My daughter’s was a 1993 and I don’t recall the wig attachment now, but the mold is vastly different looking than Mattel’s IMO and she has a rosy underglow to her face and of course, those gorgeous soft eyelashes like the other German dolls. All the Mattel dolls have black eyelashes, so that’s a dead giveaway. The German dolls also have a slight almost gold color added to the eyebrow paint. No, Addy had a dark cloth body to match her skin. Only Kirsten, Samantha and Molly can be WB dolls. The vinyl is also much softer and can be squeezed on the German dolls faces and limbs. The facial paint is also less vibrant. You learn to recognize them at a glance. I know your Felicity is German and your Kirsten and Molly are Mattel. German Kirsten’s and Molly’s have very little face paint. To use as a sewing model the Mattel versions are better as the German ones would look washed out. It also depends entirely on what you like best. I prefer German Felicity, Samantha and Kirsten because that it what we have. saw first. I prefer Mattel’s version of Molly because we didn’t have her and I think Mattel’s version is very pretty. I bought Caroline because her eyes are a unique color and decal ( my favorite style). Her hair is Julie’s color, but looks more varied because of the curls. She and Felicity make a striking contrast to each other. I’ve discovered my favorite attributes of the dolls are German made (if a version exists) decal eyes, curls, pincurls or tendrils. Nellie is my only one who doesn’t have one of those and I love her for the Josefina mold, dark blue eyes and her little girl look.
Probably more than you wanted to know, but secretly loving them and buying for my daughter first years ago did it. Dolls are such a creative outlet.
* this concludes Pleasant Company/ American Girl 101* LOL ;-))
Thanks so much Laura,
After you mentioned that you only wanted a German Addy, I looked on Ebay and I think I saw a few… and now that you mentioned about the eyebrow “glow” I think I’ve seen that and know what you mean…
Seriously, if I ever have anyone ask me about the early dolls or the differences, I’m sending them your way!!!
I’m anxious to get this year going to with some sewing…I’ve missed it…
Thanks Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne,
I absolutely love love love the various selections of material you chose for Kirsten. She looks great in the material/ colors surrounding her as she models them. I don’t have a Kirsten to spoil as I sure love the clothes you make for her.
Also, I found Laura’s information of the AMG dolls and their history so interesting. I forget if my Felicity has the ribbon underneath her wig or not. I don’t think she has a ribbon but she has the copper colored eyelashes. She has a beautifully painted face too.
It is neat to know who made the dolls and the differences. I basically get dolls because I like them but I must say I am disappointed with some of the Mattel wigs, especially with bangs- they seem to be thin at the part.
Also, I never heard about Melody…when and where did that news come from? She sounds very cool.
Have a great day!
HI Paula,
I know very little about Melody too. I think she’s going to be a 60’s doll and she’s dark skinned, but not sure if she’s as black as my Addy was… Does anyone know that? It looks like she has bangs in the one picture on her first book cover… I’ll see if I can find out anything else about her…
I’m glad everyone is liking the colors I chose for Kirsten… I was going to let you all choose, but I was running late and just made an “executive” decision to pick them myself…
Thanks Paula,
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Paula,
Thank you for the compliment. Your Felicity is still German made if she has the copper eyelashes. My daughter’s is from 1993 and her hair is just slightly less coppery red than mine and the wig doesn’t have the ribbon attachment of the first run dolls.
Melody is the newest historical to be. She will be from the 1960’s. 1964, if AG sticks to the 4’s. She’s due to come out this year.
Who knew there were somany differences in aG dolls.. Extremely interesting and thank you to Laura for writing and sharing her knowledge on the dolls.
HI Jan,
I’ll “Amen” that… Laura certainly knows her AG doll history! I give her an A+!
Thanks Jan,
Blessings, Jeanne
Thank you Jan and you’re welcome. I would have been over the moon as a child to have owned these dolls, but they didn’t debut until the year I graduated from high school and I wouldn’t see a catalog for a few years after that. Needless to say, I was smitten, and my daughter and I fell in love with the historical dolls and their worlds.
I’m saddened that the clothing isn’t as well made today and the accessories are often plastic instead of the wood, china, glass and silver-plated of the PC accessories. I enjoy setting up scenes . I also prefer the earlier eras.
Thank you, Jeanne. Well, if I receive an A+ in AG history, you certainly deserve an A++ in sewing. I enjoyed the posts on all the lovely dresses you created in 2015 and can’t wait to see all the things you come up with this year.
I would love to have a Kirsten to sew for. She was already retired, when I started my collection. I looked on E-bay, but I am not sure how that works.
HI Janis,
Ebay is pretty simple…I’m sure if you feel intimidated by buying something off there, you could find a friend or a relative who could help you… Just start looking at the Kirsten dolls and start looking for one that has all the qualities you like… make sure you have a good seller to deal with, great feedback, make sure they have good pictures and disclose everything, make sure it’s from a non-smoking home…(if that matters to you! it does me…) and then keep watching. Sometimes I’ve gone months looking until I found the right doll. Just go to Ebay and type in Kirsten American Girl and the dolls will come up. I don’t type in doll, because not everyone puts that in their title…
Hope this helps…
Blessings to you you, Janis,
~ Jeanne
I think Laura may have posted a comment before about the history of the dolls, but I certainly copied it this time. It is soooo interesting. Thanks for all the information.
I always wonder how you take those little bits of material, Jeanne, and end up with something amazing. It’s wonderful and an inspiration to watch the process. Thanks for sharing.
HI Susette,
Yes, I was glad Laura posted what she did too… :o)
I am working on the set right now… have the blouse almost finished… I needed to get it done to figure out the rest…
What have you been sewing on?
Blessings, Jeanne
These are beautiful colors for January and for Kirsten. It will be so nice for her to have a shawl and the blue in several fabrics, as several people have noted, looks lovely with her eyes. The tiny flowers remind us that spring is coming, though it’s not here.
Two housekeeping notes — towels too tired to use make lovely big rags for mopping up anything wet or for washing things like cars and patio furniture, and old flannel nightgowns and shirts make great dust cloths.
I have a request for Laura — I want to know more about the different AG eye styles, including years produced.
Thank you Marilyn,
It’s turned very cold here the last 2 days…and windy so it seems even colder…that comment about flowers makes me wish for Spring even sooner than I was! I think it’s just 80 days till Spring…
I’m right there with you on the towels turned into rags…also (don’t tell anyone, but undies that are cotton make good rags for staining furniture… :o)…that’s our little secret Marilyn, okay?)
Yes, we want to know about the eyes for AG dolls…
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne