I hope everyone is ready for the Christmas doll dresses to continue…I’m hoping to crank them out as quickly as I can.
Want to see the next dress? Well, the “start” of the next dress…
I found a small scrap of this beautiful print and love how elegant it looks…
…and Bailey is so excited she was picked off the dolly shelf to model the next Christmas dress…
She is so fun to pose…
I got the main part of her bodice done…
…one more…
After our Thanksgiving dinner Saturday, Rebecca asked me if I could work on her dresser top cover she wanted me to make.
We found this dresser alongside the road a few years ago and it was in very nice condition as far as structure goes. It just needed to be sanded and re-stained.
She has been asking me to make a protective cover for quite a while and just recently found this pleather embossed/tooled fabric that she was hoping I could use.
It turned out pretty well and she LOVES it!! Works for me!
I laid the right side of the fabric down on the dresser top and took pins to mark for box style corners. I stitched them and when it was turned right side up it was snug on the top of the dresser. Think of it as a shallow lid on a box. Then I stitched along the long edges so it laid down along the front edge.
Well, that was my weekend… hope you had a nice one too!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, that fabric is perfect on Bailey! When I first saw it I thought, a gold skirt would be nice with it, something rustly like taffeta, or swishy, like chiffon! But perhaps you are using the same fabric for the skirt, and can use gold in some other way–a belt, or a petticoat that peeks out underneath her skirt, or gold lace thigh-highs (if you have gold stretchy lace…)
What a clever way to make a cover for Rebecca’s dresser! That Pleather is perfect for that, and something I would never have thought of. I’m old-fashioned, I guess–I use dresser scarves!
We have a very hyped-up little girl in our house tonight–Gigi keeps asking if her new outfit is here yet! I’ve tried to explain that it will take a few days after Auntie Jeanne mails it before it will get here, but of course, like most little ones, she’d like to have it “now”!!
Of course she would. Will she be modeling it for us? I’m so glad you (I mean Gigi) won the bid.
Good morning, Jeanne! Well, that first picture has me puzzled, since there is nothing about it, and I can’t figure out if that is your actual Thanksgiving dinner with George on Thursday, or the Saturday diner with the kids. I see barbecue chicken, so maybe Thursday? Anyway, looks good!
Bailey is so cute in that short hair! And the material is just perfect for Christmas without being too overly Christmas, if you know what I mean. I love that rich red, and Bailey sure knows how to pose to show off her charms! Maybe a glittery hair bow, or sash or something to add to the ensemble! Can’t wait to see the rest of this one!
And now the beautiful cover for Rebecca’s dresser! What can’t you do?? It looks perfect! So it is a permanent solution, not temporary?
Charlotte, you will have to show a picture of Gigi in her new outfit!
Interesting, as I too briefly saw the dinner picture, but now it has disappeared. ??
Congrats Charlotte and Gigi on the new dress. Can’t wait for pictures.
Linda, guess what I found on Ebay? The wonderful dress one of your girls was wearing. The brocade silver/blue one that my girls absolutely loved. They have been reviewing your photo and pointing it out to me. Hope it fits. 🙂
Bailey looks very pleased to be the recipient of the next dress. Love the fabric.
I like the new leather look protector top on Rebecca’s piece. And does the pleather have backing? Wouldn’t want the plastic to stick to the dresser top. Does the piece have all of the drawers? Sorry for the curiosity. 🙂
Think this will be another leaf day as an empty can awaits.
Thanks Joy, I was going back to the pictures and wondered if I had missed the picture completely. Glad I am not completely doolally!!!!
HI Joy,
Yes, the dresser has all the drawers… she just took them out so she could move it away from the wall for me… it’s quite heavy with all her stuff in there. I’ll have to check on the backing of it… but I don’t recall it being anything that would stick to the top of the dresser.
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
Good morning, I’m actually here right after the early birds, but still hours behind them. 🙂
*********** MY FIRST COMMENT IS HAS ANYBODY HEARD FROM
DOROTHY IN PA AND THE WORLD?? Know her in real life? I was thinking about her yesterday and then went back in the posts. She hasn’t commented since November 3rd. She missed Joy’, Linda’s, and my dolls and scenes and I know she would have commented on all of those as well as that lovely Thanksgiving dress Jeanne made for Maryellen
I feel very remiss in missing that she’s been absent over three weeks.
Bailey looks so cute in that little blonde pixie cut wig. Another sweet holly print is perfect for Christmas and I see you were a good mom and gave Bailey panties from the get go. LOL So glad you will be cranking out Christmas dresses as fast as you can. The more Christmas cheerfulness, the better. It i essential to have a Victorian/Edwardian and Civil War one in the mix, at least IMO.
Rebecca’s dresser top looks very nice and that was a clever way to fix it up.
I love dresser scarves as well, Charlotte. They suit my painted bedroom suite from the 1920’s with it’s painted roses and sprays of flowers. I have an embroidered one my grandmother made as well as a number of ivory filet crochet ones of flowers and squares.
One she was in the middle of when she died and I was going to leave it unfinished. Later I changed my mind and finished it. We must crochet at the exact same tension and stitches because I have no idea where her last and my first stitch was. She did teach my how when I was eight, so I guess I shouldn’t be to surprised.
Charlotte, yes, please share a photo of Gigi in her new dress. I though she might jump in there and push the bid button.
I was getting worried about Dorothy in PA and the World too. I have her e-mail and was planning to check in with her. I hope she hasn’t left the group. She is so knowledgeable about so many things and keeping up with important dates we need to celebrate. She’s my link to PA and I miss her.
You have her email, Barbara? Oh, that’s good. She had told Jeanne she could share it with me when the doll convention/ Jane Austin stuff was going on, but I think things got busy then and it was accidentally forgotten by both of us..
I always enjoyed her sense of humor and yes, the dates to celebrate and knowledge..
Please let me know if you hear from her. I think I would have noticed sooner if life wasn’t what it is now. I don’t think she would just leave. She commented the day Jeanne showed Maryellen as a guess who I got..
Oh, Joy, you mean the beautiful dress that Ivy was wearing? I got that just by luck also on EBay and it is really a beautiful dress! Very well made ! It is especially hard to find, so lucky you! 🙂
Yes, that’s the one! It was listed not by the title, but guess others too figured it out, so there were lots of bidders. We’re excited. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing your cute dolly pics or we never would have even looked.
Bailey looks adorable! How big is she? I had thought all the meadows were tiny. Apparently some are 18 inches tall?
HI Julia,
Bailey is 11″ tall… some of the Meadow dolls are 18″ tall and Mae is 16″ but the Dumplings, which is what Bailey is called is 11″.
Thanks for asking,
Blessings, Jeanne
Love the Holly print you chose for Bailey’s Christmas dress. Holly was my mother’s favorite Christmas decoration used in many ways. I’ve become partial to Holly prints in fabric and I must say, your Christmas choices for fabrics, while not all Holly, are always so beautiful for Christmas outfits.
Bailey is so cute and it is neat that she can pose in any way.
Her hairstyle is becoming to her sweet little face too.
Hoping Charlotte will show Gigi in her new dress too. I’m sure Gigi can’t wait to receive it.
That’s a great idea to cover a dresser. It looks like Rebecca is maybe working on the dresser in some way?
I, too, am embarrassed that I hadn’t noticed that Dorothy in PA has not commented in a long time. I hope she is well and busy.
The family picture must have disappeared before I saw the blog, too. Looking forward to seeing it. Love the holly fabric as well as the style for the new dress. How clever Rebecca is to think of using that great fabric for the dresser cover. No need to worry about setting something on it and leaving marks.
Hello everyone, For the last three weeks I have not commented but read the posts. Unfortunately, the virus – Freaker – has caught the whole family. Best regards.
The dinner picture never showed up on my computer. Now I’m curious.
I love the fabric you chose for Bailey’s dress. Can’t wait to see the completed outfit. So far the Christmas dresses are fetching. I need to get started making some for my girls. They’ve drawn names in anticipation of me getting around to it. Bailey reminds me so much of a school friend of my daughter’s. Her name is Racheal and she had the cutest smile that always made me smile. She’s married now to a wonderful man and has five children. I check in with her Facebook page every now and then and she still has that contagious smile.
I hope Alina’s family is back on their feet now. Keeping them in my thoughts and prayers.
I read an article in our small town paper today and I really feel the need to share thoughts on this. It was a story of teaching during COVID. We hear so much about teachers who refuse to teach during this, or want something in order to return to work. We seldom hear the other side. We just figure the other teachers are just doing what they’re paid to do without thinking just what that means these days. The teachers in our town have been back teaching full time since August. They have been amazing, constantly adjusting to situations they’ve never encountered before. Some teach in person full time, some teach remotely full time, and some do both. One teacher interviewed has 16 in-person students and 10 virtual, so she has to adjust her lessons to encompass both groups. She gives tests on the same day to both groups to lessen the chance of cheating by giving the kids time to Google the answers, but all the teachers agreed that cheating was not really an issue.
The teachers are available to students and family members in the evenings leaving little time for personal family time. They have said that in a lot of ways this has made them better teachers and they have developed an amazing team while sharing thoughts and ideas to do the job to the best of their abilities. Some wear face shields so that the children can see their faces, making things seem as normal as possible. Seems to me they are doing better than the best they can do. They said the kids are doing amazingly well with all this too.
Rebecca’s dresser top is very nice. I would have never thought of doing it that way. Very pretty and very clever.
Pretty cold here today. Yay!! The wind chill this morning was in the 30s. The sun is out now, but it’s still pretty cold. Beautiful day.
Barbara, I used to teach, and can’t imagine how today’s teachers are managing! Teaching both virtual and in person class, all the while wondering if someone in my classroom is contagious and then taking that back to my family, would worry me no end! The same can be said for doctors and nurses, but of course the job is different, but the worry is not. They deserve all the respect in the world!I would think that after doctors and nurses,
teachers would be next in line for the vaccine.
I too wonder where Dorothy is. Hope she is just busy.
Hope your family all recovers Alina.
I feel bad that I didn’t notice Dorothy hadn’t posted. I really hope she is Ok.
The first wave of the virus hit us here in our winter, usually the flu season. Apparently very few people actually had the flu this year which is remarkable. They have put it down to the mantra that health officials have been telling us all through the pandemic. Wash your hands, stay home if you are sick and , of course, lots of people wearing masks.
Jeanne, looking forward to seeing Bailey’s new dress. She is pretty cute.
The Garden Party market went well, we had lots of people through. I made just over $300 (NZ) so that will help out at Christmas. I thought I would have a more restful week this week but Helen is doing another market next Monday at the rest home where her mother is and has asked me to help. I sold out of a lot of my stuff so need to make some more. I also promised a Christmas cake for the raffle at Patchwork on Saturday, I think I will have to simplify the design a bit though. Haven’t made the cake yet! Fortunately it is a very simple recipe only has mixed fruit, water, a small amount of melted chocolate and flour and spices. No eggs, and no sugar. I have a couple of friends who are gluten, dairy and egg intolerant so usually make one each for them with gluten free flour. I’m not sure if you girls in US actually have fruit Christmas cakes. I have a feeling you don’t but it is a very long tradition in UK and of course here as well. Not many young people like it these days though so it will probably die out with the next couple of generations.
Duh! after living here in the Southern Hemisphere for 45 nearly 46 years you would think I would remember the seasons but my default is still Northern Hemisphere. The first wave hit in late Summer early Autumn (Feb/Mar), we were out of lockdown in early winter but still managed to keep Covid and the Flu at bay. Time will tell if we get the second wave in our winter, at the moment we are in early summer.
Ok…so I’m not crazy…I don’t see a thanksgiving pic on today’s blog. I saw the one where you took all the food to that darling family.
The. Faux pleather top is just what it needed. She will have an original for sure. Easy to keep clean too.
Love, love the little Holly top…so you mean it has to have something else for a skirt? That will be fun to watch for. There are so many colors that would be cute….velveteen would be pretty too.
Trying to do on line Christmas shopping…it is harder than you think. Another thing is if you find what you want and order it the delivery is well into Dec….everything I have ordered has eta of Dec 11 or later….for free shipping that is. BTW not all Amazon has free shipping. If it is another 3 rd party dealer selling thru Amazon it oftentimes is not free. I backed out of 2 orders for that reason .
Lucky Charlotte…I’ll bet you can’t wait for that cute dress! I ordered a Gigi and tryin not to get too excited because it will be such a long wait. I’ll need advice from you Meadow Mommies about patterns and sizes for sure😉
I spent almost 2 hours trying to find the exact kind of yoga pants my granddaughters wanted…I would find them and then they would be out of their size or black was all gone.v
HI Kathie,
Just wanted to tell you, the Gigi that Charlotte has is the same size as Ten Ping… Gigi is her friend…she’s not a My Meadow doll like you just ordered… Ten Ping and Gigi are from Ruby Red Galleria…
Oh, and by the way, I got your check for the mask and your wonderful Ultrasuede pieces… I LOVE THEM…that lavender is divine!
Also the little book on Ten Ping… I’m going to sit down tomorrow and read that story. I read it once before, but want to read it again…
Thank you SO much!
Blessings, Jeanne
Bailey is so cute in that wig. The poses are so natural and the joints are so well done. The new dress color is so becoming to her.
I’m glad someone has Dorothy’s address. I’m hoping she doesn’t have COVID. No one needs that — I know very few who have had it and the lucky ones say the after effects last far longer than we expect.
Ask what you can do for your country? Do your best to stay well. Our governor and his partner are among the recent victims. Neither is showing symptoms, but they are self-quarantining to prevent spreading the problem. The governor has been very pro-prevention — I hope they come through it ok.
In times like these having the blog to cheer us up is especially welcome.
Interesting, as I thought of Dorothy in the middle of the night a few days ago. Hope someone is able to get in touch with her.