My days have been so busy lately that I never made it through my list of Valentine dresses I wanted to share. I hope you won’t mind if I share a few more… my day was too busy to get in my sewing room. Caroline is still standing there with silk ribbons dangling under both arms… maybe tomorrow.
I think Isabelle looks younger in these pictures… I’m sure it’s my imagination, but she does. Janie had to help out with the slip modeling… :o)
Here are Isabelle and Janie in another Valentine duo… Poor Janie…again, she got stuck just modeling the slip…
This was one of my all time favorites for Elizabeth, I found this sweet fabric in a little mom and pop store once on the way to St. Louis and knew instantly it was going to become a Colonial dress. Elizabeth wore it SO well, in the good and the “bad” pictures. I hope you enjoy seeing it again.
This is a darling little Valentine dress being modeled by Elin, my 10″ Iplehouse sweetheart!
This was a dress for Cecile called “Peach of a Valentine.” She wore it very well! I miss her curls!
Addy and Elizabeth AND Cecile shared this dress when I listed it. This was a favorite fabric of mine. Oh, I have so many dresses I wanted to share… how did I let Valentine’s Day creep up on me so quickly?
Here is Cecile in the last one for today. I just might have to do a few more Valentine dresses tomorrow. I had such a hard time picking and choosing the ones to share. I should have looked ahead at the rest I had. I accidentally hit the delete button when I was loading these… now they are gone forever except for these few… sorry, Cecile.
Well, I hope that still makes you smile being that it’s the day AFTER Valentine’s Day.
Thanks so much,
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
I enjoyed all the dresses in today’s post! Poor Janie–I hope she got to model a dress eventually, too!!
I can definitely see what you mean, about the fabric for Elizabeth’s dress. Definitely colonial!!
Love that fabric in Elin’s dress! I wouldn’t mind finding some of that print, myself!
Did you use a smocking pleater to gather the sleeves of Cecile’s peach dress? The gathers are so regular and controlled, I thought maybe you might have. It’s such a nice, neat look–fluffy and feminine, but still definitely controlled.
I love that pink dress, and the bonnet is exquisite! Now, I know that’s Addy in the first four pictures of that dress, and I know that’s Elizabeth in the last four, but isn’t that Cecile modeling it in the rest of the pictures? Her ringlets are unmistakable, and the bonnet sets them off so well.
The last dress (red/gray) looks more like a school dress to me, than one for Valentine’s Day specifically. Maybe because it’s more of a geometric print? Maybe because there’s gray in it? I don’t know…..Still pretty and all, but not quite what *I* think of as “Valentine-y”!
Thanks for sharing all the pretty dresses!
Hi Charlotte,
Rest assured Janie has gotten to model her fair share of dresses! She’s such a cutie and that was the wig she came in.. it was pretty wild.
That burgundy fabric on Elin was one of my all time favorites. It had 2 coordinating prints…and I loved how old fashioned it looked.
The sleeves on Cecile’s dress were just done that way with a few rows of basting stitches. I didn’t get out my pleater. I did make a mark at the edge to put my needle down in the same place so it was almost like a pleater. Each row gathered up nicely and evenly that way.
You are so right…Cecile didn’t get credit for modeling that pink bonnet and dress so well…I better change that.
I’ll have to look up that last dress, but I had it categorized in the Valentine dresses.
Thanks Charlotte
Blessings, Jeanne
Absolutely beautiful, Jeanne! Aren’t you proud of yourself, when you see all the gorgeous dresses you yourself have made? I can’t imagine what that must feel like!
I wish I could comment about each one, because each one is so unique but I have to get going since we have snow coming and my cupboard is bare, or almost!!
I love that pretty pink gathered hat you have on both Elizabeth and Cecile. I haven’t seen that one, that I can remember. Also, that first dress for Elizabeth is more what I like for both her and Felicity. AG seems to be skimping on clothes for them now, or maybe I should be saying they are not doing much for the Colonial era.
Of course, Janie and Isabelle always seem to steal the show. They look so cute in whatever they seem to have on!
We went to the annual Mo. Botanical Garden Orchid show yesterday, for Valentine’s Day, and I will send some pictures I took. They really brightened the day, since around here it is quite dreary and brown, soon to be white!!
Hi Linda
I’m kind of amazed at all the dresses I have made over the years too, and sometimes I even love to look at them in a slide show.
I headed out to get a few groceries and just as I stepped outside it started sleeting. It has been sleeting and snowing off and on all afternoon
Rebecca just got home and said it’s coming down in big clumps right now.
I got your pictures of the Gardens and they really made me long for Spring. I’m going to use them to brighten up everyone’s day!!!
Thank you for your kind compliments on the dresses today. I’m glad you don’t mind seeing them again.
Blessings, Jeanne
What a beautiful post! I’m left to second all of the comments by Charlotte and Linda. There are so many beautiful and inspiring details in your ensembles. Thanks again for sharing them, especially with new followers.
About the carved vegetable, there are hundreds of videos, many of them free, about carving fruits and vegetables on YouTube and other sites. Enter “Vegetable and Fruit Carving” in you Search field. I think it is an Asian specialty but I could be wrong about that.
Hi Susette,
I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures today too. Just think back to when you first found me…it resurrected your desire to sew! I’ll always be grateful I had a part in that.
I might take a look at those videos about carving the veggies. I bet it’s fun to watch…
Thanks Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
Cecile steals the show today for me. Love her in that peach dress. Beautiful.
Still have rain here and a mucky mess. Can’t wait for a few dry days.
I think Linda’s Botanical Garden Orchids would be wonderful to see. Would definitely lift the spirits of gloom here in northern CA.
Hi Joy,
I remember seeing the name of Cecile’s dress…Peach of a Valentine. I guess it really was …everyone seems to like it.
Oh, just wait till you see Linda’s pictures…
They are beautiful…
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Who would think that pictures from Missouri would lift California spirits. Some places have reputations for beauty, and some should. Whenever Linda sends Missouri pictures, they are stunning. Thanks for the offer, Linda. I’ll look forward to the pictures.
Jeanne, you really, truly need to make more bonnets. That is so beautiful, and it’s beautiful on every doll. This set is another reminder of the importance of detail — Cecile’s collar on the last dress, Elizabeth’s sleeves on the gorgeous red dress. There were several pictures I hadn’t seen before. This was a lovely post. Many thanks. All we needed was Elizabeth’s black and white dress. I know it was for Christmas or New Year’s, but I’ll take it any time of year.
Hi Marilyn,
You can bet I’m going to share Linda’s pictures of the flowers. It was just what I needed to brighten my day!!! They are gorgeous!!
Thank you for your sweet compliments on the dresses you saw today. I’m glad you enjoyed them and thought it was funny that you remembered Elizabeth’s dress…you really love that one, don’t you?
Thanks so much,
Blessings ,Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, wow, what beautiful dresses. I think I like Cecile’s best. The colors are striking. Of course, Elin is adorable (I am bias as I have Elin also). One day I am going to get an Iplehouse Erzulie. She is such a cutie.
I never tire of seeing Valentine’s Day dresses.
Thank you for your kind comments, Dorothy.
I’m glad you enjoyed looking at the Valentine dresses today.
I hope you get your Erzulie someday..she IS a cutie.
Thanks so much
Blessings ,Jeanne
Jeanne, the outfits you shared with us are simply beautiful! I really gasped at them as they are all so unique. (even though I’ve seen some of them before.) The first outfit for Elizabeth is just stunning. I also like Cecile in the peach outfit.
The pink bonnet both Elizabeth and Cecile are wearing is my favorite and the lace on that dress is divine.
It was delightful to see the girls in the Valentine outfits. Thank you for the Valentine’s treat.
Thanks so much, Paula,
What a nice compliment that you “gasped” when you saw some of the dresses! You made me smile.
Well, since I couldn’t give everyone chocolates, I decided to give everyone dresses.
Blessings, Jeanne
What a beautiful array of Valentine outfits! I would not be able to pick just one if I had to. I love your Elin. She is so sweet looking. And if you look at her feet when she is sitting, she looks just like a little girl whose feet dangle because they don’t touch the floor. Too cute!
Have you thought of going into doll millinery? My grandmother and one of my aunts were wonderful at making hats, and if they’d had financial need, could have easily opened their own millinery shop. I’m not much for hats myself. My mother said I used to scream when someone tried to put a bonnet on me when I was a baby. I would wear a hat to church when we had to wear hats, but I sure was glad when that tradition was over. My grandmother and aunt were not. They kept on wearing hats. It was their creativity. I tend to make little sunhats for my dolls for their sundresses, but they’re pretty easy. Or I just buy straw hats and decorate them to match their dresses.
I didn’t get to comment yesterday, so I will comment on your post now. Your Valentine Party looked like so much fun. The decorations were perfect. I love oriental food. We have a wonderful place here in the small town I live in decorated much the same. We also go to Houston to Benihana’s for Mother’s Day and sometimes Father’s Day each year. It’s a hibachi restaurant. It’s fun to watch the chef prepare the food and doing fun things as he does it. The grandkids love it. Where do you find all the ideas for games?
One of the problems I find with having dolls that were in vogue several years ago and are no longer being made is that any patterns for clothes seem to be done the what I call “old fashioned way”. If I were making collector-type doll clothes I would tend to all the finer details that I use when I make children’s clothes, but I prefer the newer patterns for doll clothes with simpler ways of doing things, like Velcro. I don’t like sewing on snaps or making tiny buttonholes, even though I can now use my embroidery machine to make them.
So many of the older doll patterns are pretty finite in their usage. I am using one for my 14″ Betsy. The pieces are gathered according to the fabric intended to be used (remnant 1, remnant 2, etc.) and most of the markings are to the side of the pattern array. So, if you cut the pieces out to use the pattern differently than they intended, or you have used the pattern before and want to use it again, you have a mess of pattern pieces that you have to identify yourself. In addition, the pattern is for both 8″ and 14″ Betsy . It’s really a cute pattern, but it should have been created to be less cumbersome.
As for why I did not comment yesterday, well I’m not sure most on the blog would like to hear this but I was mowing my lawn and doing yard work. Even here we don’t usually have to mess with this until late March, but we had so much rain this year, the weeds are already out of control. We’ve had a few dry days of lovely weather, but next week we’re back to cold and rainy. So I guess winter is not over yet, even if I did have to mow.
Barbara,
Thank you for the sweet words you shared about my Valentine dresses.
I’m sure most of them are new to you so I bet you enjoyed them the most.
I do love making hats for my dolls and wonder just how many I’ve made over the years…
I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures of my party for the couples…as far as the games…I’ve been doing parties for 25 years and just have an active mind that’s always thinking of how things could be played. Sometimes I look on Pinterest for ideas, but I usually add a little twist to make them a little different. I could probably put together a game book pretty easily.
It’s hard to believe you were mowing your yard yesterday… but I guess it’s gotta be nice somewhere…and it was in your hometown!!
Blessings, Jeanne
I just found something I really need to share. At least I just discovered it. The website is called Londonberries.com. I was looking for some patterns for my 14″ Betsy McCall. The site is wonderful. They have patterns for several vintage dolls, including 10″ Ann Estelle and 14″ Betsy McCall. They have taken some of the outfits for Betsy from McCall’s Magazine from the 1950s and 1960s and recreated them as patterns. They add new ones from time to time, but they have several now and they are wonderful. I ordered four of them. Like I really need more patterns but I just couldn’t resist. Since I have both a Betsy and a Jane, I will get double use out of them. They are not downloadable, so I can’t review them just yet, but the detail is very nice. I have downloaded all the Betsy McCall paper dolls and clothes that were ever in the magazine and it will be fun to see them actually made up.
Hi again,
Yes, I’ve seen their website and their patterns and they are wonderful. I know why you bought 4 patterns….they are too cute.
Thanks Barbara,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, Barbara, you are a Bad influence!! LOL Guess what website I’m perusing now?!
I think I’m in trouble…..
What lovely Valentine dresses and some I haven’t seen- amazing! The red print on Elizabeth is a perfect Colonial style, love those big sleeve bows. The peach one of Cecile is gorgeous. I absolutely love the shirred detail on the sleeves and the piping.
Addy’s/Elizabeth’s frothy pink dress is exquisite and bonnet is stunning.
Thank you Laura,
I’m glad you saw a few new dresses today.. I’m glad there were a few surprises in the bunch!
Your favorites were the Colonial and Civil War dresses…how did I know you’d pick them? I just did!
Thanks Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne