We made it though the day and I thank all of you who prayed for us. It’s 2 more months of Chemo for my hubby and then we have some hard decisions to make. But today was good…not comfortable, but good! So thank you! You kept me preoccupied with your comments on the way to St. Louis, and Marilyn even sent us a picture that made us laugh.
It was of sweet little Anna. Marilyn said Reuben could probably out-destroy Anna, but she was working on it!
We got home pretty late and my hubby was resting so I took the opportunity to work just a little bit on Molly’s dress. I gathered up her skirt and attached it to the bodice…now it’s starting to look like a real Valentine’s Day dress! I just have the trim pinned to the bottom, but it will be shorter than that… I just wanted you to see the effect of the trim near the hem.
Since that’s all I managed “sewing wise,” I thought maybe we could have some interesting conversations in the comment section below…You don’t have to answer ALL the questions, but maybe some will jump out at you and you’d like to comment on them.
How about a few Valentine questions…after all, Valentine’s Day is less than 2 weeks away…
What is your favorite Valentine memory, maybe from way back when you were in school?
Did you decorate a Valentine box, wear a special dress, etc.?
Perhaps you’d rather have some questions about something else? How about these:
Did you ever name one of your dolls after someone or name a doll something you really like?
What is your favorite online source for any fabric/handwork (knitting, embroidery, crewel, crochet, beadwork) materials/supplies?
Let’s get a few dolly questions in here…
How long have you been collecting dolls?
Which doll is your favorite?
Well, let’s see how this works out… thanks in advance for playing along…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
So glad things went okay for George and you today, Jeanne. Prayers continue.
Molly’s dress is going to be lovely!!
Okay, questions–what fun!!
My favorite Valentine memory was in 1974. I was newly engaged, we had just set the date, and I made my husband a big “countdown” poster/calendar, for the months leading up to our May 18th wedding. I used decorative stickers, and don’t remember what all to decorate it. Eventually (years later) we threw it away, but I wish we had thought to take a picture of it first!
Yes, I remember decorating boxes for our valentines at school! And worrying about how many I would get!! In the 1950s, you got what you got, there was no letter sent out, telling parents there were xx number of children in the class, and to please have one Valentine for each child! So, some kids got more than others.
Naming dolls….My most recent Little Darling is named for friends’ little girl who died when she was about three. She had been born with three severe heart defects, had surgery within 24 hours of birth–and was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. She had curly auburn hair, deep blue eyes, and skin like porcelain. I was one of the very few people she allowed to take care of her (a real privilege!) other than mom and dad, so on Sundays I would take her into an empty Sunday School room, and take care of her (she was too frail to go in the nursery) so her mom and dad could go to church. This was in the early 1970s, I think, as it was probably before Ron and I got married. I did give my Heather a different middle name (she was Heather Marie; mine is Heather Melissa), but she looks kind of like what I think Heather would have looked like, had she lived to be 7 or 8. All these many years, and I finally got my Heather (if we’d gotten a little girl, she’d have been named Heather, but we got Daniel, instead).
I don’t really buy too much on line, but I suppose Farmhouse Fabrics would top the list–they have wonderful heirloom sewing type fabrics as well as other things, and service is excellent!
I’ve been collecting dolls forever!! LOL I started as a child with the inexpensive “storybook dolls” (but only one Nancy Ann–mostly I had the kind you got in gas stations, etc.)–I ended up with about a dozen of them, and still have them all! Then I didn’t really start collecting dolls again until the Cabbage Patch Kids came out-I have an exorbitant number of them, including 20+ of the original, soft-sculpture ones, but I have been thinning my collection of the “toy” CPKs. I went on to other types of dolls–Alexanders, Julie Good-Kruger’s, American Girl, Betsy McCall, and now Little Darlings! I don’t count how many I have–I’d have to admit it then! LOL But I do keep coming back to my soft-sculpture CPKs. I think I love them because I have made cloth dolls and done needle sculpting and painting on their faces in the past.
My favorite doll….oh, dear, that’s like choosing your favorite grandchild….Impossible!! But, if I had to choose, probably my childhood walking doll, an Ideal “Princess Ann”, for whom my mother made an entire wardrobe! And the rubber baby doll I gave away when we moved out here–I was almost 15, mom said I couldn’t keep them all, so I figured, she was the smallest…..I cried!!
Oh, Jeanne, Molly looks just lovely in her pretty pink dress! I also love her hair down for those “special occasions” that make her look and feel so grownup! I do that with her hair too.
Every once in awhile I would look outside and see the sun popping out from the clouds and felt that all was going as well as it could with you and George. I’m glad it went as well as you say it did. You both are still on my prayer list!
Those questions, well in the 40’s , Valentines Day was a big thing for us kids in school. We made special boxes for all the valentines we anticipated getting at our party. They were mostly shoe boxes with a slit on top, decorated with crepe paper, Reynolds Wrap,glitter, valentine pictures, just anything we could find. There always was some sort of competition on who made the best boxes too! Oh yes, like Charlotte said, teachers did not send out any notices about how many children or who was in the class. You felt terrible when you got a valentine from someone you did not send a valentine to. We had cupcakes, gave out the valentines, and that’s just about it. It really wasn’t much, I guess it was the anticipation of it and no school work during the time of the party. I did have a special dress that I was allowed to wear that day, one with a white background and big red roses on it.
But my very favorite memory of Valentines Day was the day I received my engagement ring! I was in college in Cape Girardeau and Michael was working in St. Louis, so the on the actual day we were not together. I was able to come home the next weekend, but felt very upset that I didn’t get anything from him when all the other girls were getting roses, candy, etc. Little did I know that I would become engaged !
I’ve always had and loved dolls from my earliest memories. My first doll was a doll I called Susie, but other than her being a baby doll, I can’t for the life of me remember what she looked like! My mother has to throw her out because she fell apart. That really was sad, but then I got a Betsy Wetsy! I fed her and fed her and fed her until water was coming out of her neck, arms and leg joints! Needless to say also all over the floor and whatever chair or bed I was sitting on! Oh well….. My grandmother always gave my sister and I Madame Alexander story book dolls for special occasions. They were way too elaborate and fragile for little girls, but you know….grandmas! We also got the Madame Alexander Newborn Baby doll, Sweet Sue dolls, and I also had a Nancy Anne Bride doll, which I DIDN’T exactly want, because I wanted a very expensive doll I had seen at a local department store. She had braids, a cute pleated skirt and an entire wardrobe! Too expensive!! That’s why I got Molly when I grew up! She is my favorite!
I forgot to mention little Anna, a cute little wrecking crew of one, if I ever saw one! She doesn’t look the least bit embarrassed to be caught in the act!!
Effner Little Darlings are my favorites.. my first ine is named “Savannah ” , the city of my soul..another one is Krista Michelle after one if my daughters, and someday when i get my new Lana Dobbs girl, she will be Caroline after my mom:) sometimes my dolls pick their own name. When Lana sent me a photo of my first brown eyed girl, i was planning on calling her Sophia, but when she looked at me with those big brown eyes… she was Bambi:)! Dhes my favorite photo model.. those eyes!
Farmhouse Fabrics is my favorite online store.. Silk Ribbon.com (Cam Creations) is my favorite for double sided silk satin and silk embroidery ribbon.
Molly’s dress gets more beautiful with each completed step. She certainly wouldn’t have to worry about getting valentines in her mailbox. I remember being in school and decorating a box into a Valentine’s Day mailbox. I don’t remember a great deal more than that though. I always liked the craft projects even in elementary school. My favorite doll? I think my favorite doll would have to be a rag doll that my Mother made me when I was five. We were reading the “Little House in the Big Woods” books. Laura had a rag doll named Charlotte so I named my rag doll Laura. I believe I still have her although she is packed away. I should go find her and put her out with my newer girls. As for fabric stores, I try to buy more in person to avoid those annoying shipping charges but occasionally I will make online purchases. I like a variety of stores including Fabric.com and fatquartershop.com. I window shop at Moodfabrics.com but haven’t made a purchase yet.
I’m glad things went okay yesterday. I thought of you numerous times throughout the day.
Take care.
Love the photo of Anna. Such a smart one who appears to like shoes too. Good choice.
Love the addition of the trim on the bottom of Molly’s new dress. Just adds something.
When I was little, Valentine’s Day wasn’t the biggie that it is now. Just brought envelopes to school and put in boxes. Probably had some kind of treats too. I don’t remember having any kind of special dress to wear, just the regular ones I already owned.
However, the day is something easy to remember as it is the other person here and my anniversary. We’re not particularly sentimental, but the choice was the 14th or Friday the 13th! We had been up skiing for a few days and had our friends meet us for our day trip to Carson City, Nevada. Boy are we getting old. This will be our 41st.
Forgot to add that Wren Feathers has a new cute dress pattern on her site today. Probably more in Kit’s style.
Happy anniversary, Joy! Our 43rd is coming up in May.
Anna looks adorable. She’s obviously trying to choose the pair to play dress up and walk around the house in, so many choices.
Molly’s dress is looking very sweet. She’ll be all ready for Valentine’s Day.
In grade school we each decorated a box and put in on our desks. Right before lunch we would go around and pass out valentines to our classmates. We wore uniforms, but were allowed to wear some pink or red with our plaid jumpers. Because I have Scottish, Irish and Welsh heritage I always liked the plaids.
I received a Madame Alexander Pussycat doll from my great uncle as a birthday gift when I was five. I named her Daisy. I was into flower names. She and my childhood baby doll are the only ones I still have. The others were lost/ given away?? One I miss was Eleanore “Nell”, I had a complete story I played with her and how I could step into her Victorian world- only child imagination, I guess even though she didn’t have any clothes like that. I “made” things from fabric and paper to suit that era.
I’ve been collecting dolls since 2007 when I received my daughter PC German Samantha and a number of castoffs. I thought about renaming Samantha completely , but ended up giving her two middles name, Evangeline Claire instead. It would take me until 2013 to finally decide I could have Felicity, after all Samantha certainly couldn’t wear/use the Felicity things I had inherited and everyone here knows by now that Felicity is my favorite. I think one reason I now have dolls/ collections is to recapture those childhood dolls in a different way as each one of my five have carefully thought out names and personalities/ backstories just as I did with my childhood dolls.
Oh, one more thing. I’d never heard of Boneka dolls either, but I looked them up yesterday and there is a Monday’s child one named “Jeanne”. She was the first one I saw.
So glad to hear George’s day was good. You and he are on my prayer list as well.
Molly’s “Valentine Pink Candy” dress is so sweet. The trim really adds to it. The whole dress is such a feminine little girl’s dress. Perfectly pink!
Boy, I can’t think of any particular Valentine’s Day that was special. I’m sure my husband and I had several. I do love the old elaborate Valentine Day cards you find in antique stores.
My girlfriend and I always loved dolls (Barbies) when we were young and we’d play for hours with them, creating furniture and having such dramatic stories. In our 20’s we returned to our dolls which by then were Madame Alexanders and the older Barbies. Then several family members joined us in collecting dolls and doll searches became an event.
I think after all these years, and having had some really nice dolls , the PC/American Girl dolls became my favorite. At first I bought PC items for my Gotz dolls. Then when the Just Like You #25 came out, she reminded me of my daughter so she became my first AMG . I liked the quality of the doll. That was in 2005. That doll has had many names, Caroline, Leslie and now Katherine.
Felicity’s friend, is #61, and she’s named after your daughter, Rebecca. Rebecca Rosemont.
Trisha’s after my sister. Like Laura, I put much thought into each doll’s name, according to the era and storyline. Like two other girls from above, I had an Evangeline and still have Savannah. Truthfully, I have too many dolls and accessories but I sure enjoy them.
It was fun reading everyone’s posts. And little Anna is a girl after my own heart. I clomped around in my mother’s high heels a lot when little. Anna is adorable amongst her pile!!
I don’t remember Valentines day being celebrated at all by children over here in the UK and I went to an all girls school as a teenager so no swapping of cards there either but I do have many happy memories of Valentines day as it’s my birthday. I’ve always felt lucky to have such a nice day as my special day.
I only have one sister and she could have been my second birthday present but she got impatient and arrived on the 13th, poor mum 2 girls born a day apart two parties two cakes etc.
Don’t tell my other dolls but my Little darlings Tillie and Suzanne also my 10″ Boneka Julia are my favourites and I am lucky enough to have 2 more on order with Dianna.
I am glad that George’s treatment is going well, long may it ontinue.
Hope your upcoming birthday is lovely, Lorna!
I’m so glad the things went tolerably well for you and George. I’m still praying for complete healing.
I like the picture of Anna. She looks like a real “shoe girl” although I’m sure she’s an equal opportunity mess maker! After the grandkids leave my house I often spend a day or longer putting things back where they belong.
As for valentine memories, I liked decorating a shoe box in elementary school. Some years, there were prizes for the best decorated box. In high school, the student council sold red carnations which you could buy for $1, and then they would be delivered to the person of your choice. I remember receiving some from anonymous givers, and wondering who had sent them.
I have to confess that I wasn’t a doll lover as a child, consequently I still have some of them wearing their original clothing. I liked Barbie, but I think I was more into making things for her. I became a doll lover about 10 years ago after becoming friends with a man who collects dolls and sews for them. I was in awe of his collection of fashion dolls, and he gifted me with Gene Marshall, Tyler Wentworth, American Model, plus a few more. I started sewing for those, and eventually acquired several AG’s plus a few more fashion dolls, and the vintage high-heal dolls. I have been on Pinterest maybe 5 or 6 years, and first saw the Little Darlings on there. Of course, I was obsessed with them, but it would be better for my budget if I had never discovered them. Oh well, too late now. I just choose names I like for my dolls; I don’t think I’ve ever named one after someone.
BTW, Mollie’s dress is looking good. I think the fit is perfect, and I do like pink.
Wow, Carolyn, what a terrific friend you have, giving you those wonderful dolls!! Didn’t know what he was starting, did he?! LOL
I also have Gene–actually, I think I have 3 or 4 of them, plus oodles of clothes, all MIB! In addition, I have a Tyler who was repainted by a local artist (Seatle area), which I purchased at a doll show a number of years ago.
Thanks, Shara, for the tip about where to get silk ribbon in small quantities. I don’t know why my searches have never turned that up. I think there is a Mood here and I’ll find it someday. Anna is a real cutie!
I still have a Mary Hoyer doll which is in pieces because the rubber bands didn’t last for 65+ years or more. I wonder if it’s worth having it repaired. My mother made a pleated plaid skirt and little sweater for it which I still have. She came in a bride outfit which is history. She also made a knit red skater’s outfit and she had the skates. I didn’t name her.
I’m glad other people can’t remember Valentines Day from childhood either. I remember more about having my boys reluctantly sign their names on cards for school, one for each child in their class in the 60s and early 70s.
My doll collecting started two years ago when my granddaughter Riya got her first AG doll at five years of age. I saw Jeanne’s doll clothes on eBay and said, “I can do that” and started to sew again after a 45-year hiatus. I sew for the six historical dolls I have for myself and have some of the furniture, dishes and more clothes from eBay that I buy when they no one else is paying attention and they go for very little. Molly is my favorite as she was born when I was, 75 years ago. Great fun, all thanks to Jeanne’s blog.
Susette, your Mary Hoyer is Definitely worth having restrung! If her parts are all in good shape (no chipping/peeling, etc.), having her restrung should be fairly simple. Look for a doll hospital near you, or check doll magazines for doll hospitals–you may have to send her in if there’s no place locally that does it. There is a kind of certification or training or something that dolly doctors can go thru–look for someone who claims some training, also check online for those who may have used this person’s services, for evaluations.
Good luck!!
P. S. Looks like Kathie on this list is one of those dolly doctors! See her post below!
I think you have a bonanza of answers and stories today. Just ask for opinions from this group and you get great stories and opinions! Great reading ladies.
Glad your day of chemo with George went OK. Does he feel any better yet?
The skirt looks like the perfect fullness and the trim will be so cute.
Favorite doll…mine was a big ole compo baby doll similar to a Dimples. Her name was Angela after a friend of my Moms and she was almost as big as I was. When I was 13 or so My Mom said I was too big for her and she went to the Goodwill. As an adult I saw one kind of like her at an Antique store and so started a search…and in the meantime I found vintage dolls that just needed a bit of “fixing”…one thing led to another and I started repairing dolls for friends. After a professional class on doll repair I have been busy doing that ever since. Favorite doll now?…Little Darling.