DON’T FORGET:
If you are interested in Kirsten’s “Swedish Sweetness” set, or if you just want to watch, it ends this evening on Ebay. You can see it by clicking the picture at the right side bar or you can click HERE.
I received an email from a reader yesterday and April was commenting on getting new dolls this week… well, she told me she hadn’t gotten him last week, but she had taken him out of the box just this week, so that counted to me… Let me introduce Shermie to you… She said she trimmed his hair and added a sprinkling of freckles across this nose…She’s ordered another boy AG doll, a blonde, so Shermie will have a friend! Isn’t he adorable? I’m sure April made the overalls, but she didn’t say…
She has 7 grandsons and her late husband had 4 tribes of American Indian in his blood line, so she said the new AG boy she’s waiting on might get a darker wig… :o)
She also sent some pictures of what she spends her time doing, since the death of her husband… Here are some of her creations… I think you’ll enjoy them…
The first 3 are composition dolls she has restored… from the 1930’s and 1940’s.
These next three are all made from Luminaria patterns…
This next dress duo is from a Keepers Dolly Duds pattern…
This dress is from a Dolly Wears pattern and the next one is her own design…
Ivy is modeling a dress made from a Lee and Pearl pattern and the sundress with the bolero is her own design…
This next pleated skirt set on Ivy is one she designed…
She couldn’t remember who the designer of this camo set was, but she said you can find it on Pixie Faire…
The pink dress was made for doll it is on, 18″ Patsy composition doll…
This dress came from Pixie Faire too, but she wasn’t sure from who…
This little cutie is wearing a dress from Luninaria, called Carrots…
She told me this next dress was her own design for this 1905-1915 Ten head doll with a leatherette body.
This next doll is modeling a dress from an Eden Ava Couture pattern…
Here is one from a Farm Cookies pattern…
…and this last one is one of her own designs…
Well, that’s a great way to find out that April loves to sew and we got a nice preview of several different pattern designers too! Thank you, April…
Well, that’s it for me…
See you Monday,
Blessings, Jeanne
First of all, I checked a bit ago, and your latest creation has FIFTEEN bids already!! Can you say “bidding war”?! But how wonderful for you. I think you really hit it out of the park with this one, Jeanne. And perhaps people are newly interested in the historic dolls again, now that the first 6 have been re-released!
April, congrats on your “new” boy…(well, newly out of the box, anyway!). Shermie is sure a cutie! And thank you for sharing all your pictures!
I loved seeing all the beautiful outfits you have made for your dolls, and your restoration efforts, also. I think of the outfits you’ve made, my favorites are the pink Luminaria dress, Ivy’s pleated skirt outfit, and the “carrots” outfit–that last one makes me think of either Anne of Green Gables or Little House.
I was also interested in seeing (in the background) how ORGANIZED your sewing space is!! All those little drawers and cabinets!! It would take me forever to do that in my sewing room. Tonight I did get a start on some of my laces (a la your post on the subject a while back, Jeanne!) and I didn’t realize I had THAT much stuffed into that one box!! Yikes! I am weeding out some that I’m sure I’ll never use, also, so that should help.
Wow, Jeanne, Kirsten’s dress is really making a splash! I will say that there is a dearth of anything for Kirsten out there and I am finding out the hard way! If you check her original outfits on Ebay, you come up with some very expensive things, and not that many. I think these Anniversary dolls are making people notice these dolls again, and of course, want to dress them accordingly. Unless I get my sewing machine out again, Kirsten is in for some slim pickings, although I do have about 5 outfits of hers that I bought at reasonable prices long ago.
April, how talented you are with dolls and sewing! I wonder, is this a new thing for you, or have you always loved dolls? Those earlier dolls you have fixed up look so familiar to the dolls I played with back in the dinosaur ages!
Your new boy doll is adorable and I love the camo outfit too! Little boys CAN be fun to dress, just not in ruffles and bows like the girls. How about getting a little sandbox for the two boys to play in and model their clothes?
Sometimes I wish Charlotte would write after me, since she takes the words right out of my mouth! 🙂 Don’t worry Charlotte, you and I seem to think alike and you say it first!! I too, notice the neat background of April’s sewing space!
I especially like the “Carrots” dress too, the colors and print of the fabrics are beautiful! I could see Kirsten wearing that one! And I have to mention that pink dress on the Patsy doll! it looks like one that I had on my Patsy doll from long ago!I’m just wondering, do you sell doll clothes or are they just for your own pleasure?
It certainly is fun to see what talents your readers have and how they spend their time, Jeanne, and thank you for sending all those wonderful pictures, April!
Thank you for the style show, April! Such ‘eye candy’ to wake up to, today! Seeing your own designs in encouraging, also! I have ‘ideas’ that I’ve never *tried* – you sure had success with YOUR ideas! congratulations!
Bids keep coming in for Kirsten. No wonder. She’s so sweet, and the dress will make such a wonderful addition to her wardrobe at someone’s house.
Always fun to have a guy dolly in the mix for outfits and photos. April’s doll Shermie, looks like a fun one to have around. I’m extremely jealous of her sewing room shown in the background of her great doll fashion show.
Little Luca here has been moping around since I took away his computer privileges. I just caught him heading out into the yard with some scissors. I hope there are a few roses left when he’s done gathering a bouquet for Stella. 🙂
We’re off this morning to pick up a free emergency frequency radio. Those in each evacuation section of town will receive one. Everyone is trying to be proactive for the coming fire season.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
What an amazing collection! And to think that April has sewn all that variety of doll clothes for so many different types of dolls! And designing them too. I noticed the great fit on the camouflage overalls right away. She has that strange-shaped AG bottom very well tailored. Santa brought a large composition doll for my Christmas in probably 1943! Of course, sadly, it’s long gone. The second baby doll is so cute. I’ve seen a picture of Wren holding a baby doll and think she’d love this one depending on the size. She might dwarf Wren. What a cute pose!
Another favorite is of course the Carrot-dressed doll. What brand is she? Is Ten head a brand or type of doll? What beautiful hair and expression she has. I’m getting the impression that April has a doll hospital and sews professionally. It’s wonderful to have this interest when faced with missing the loving partner of a lifetime. To have a workroom that is so large that it can hold all the storage pieces and have it so well organized is a blessing as well. It sure makes for an amazing post and thanks so much for sharing such treasures with Jeanne’s followers.
What a cutie Shermie is and I love his camo outfit. I don’t have any boy dolls around since My Buddy moved out when Sean did. I always loved sewing for my son when he was little but not so much for boy dolls which is why I don’t have any. I was thinking once of buying Skyy an AG 18″ boy doll and I would sew for him, but lately he has been collecting stuffed Sloths so I’ve been buying those. He’s getting quite a collection and I just got a new one for him from Build-a-Bear for his upcoming birthday. It is really cute and so soft. He’s got all shapes and sizes.
I loved seeing all of April’s pictures and her beautiful creativity. I have some of the Luminaria patterns but have not made them up yet. I have the “Nancy Drew” suit and plan on making that for my LDs for fall. Maybe I’ll make one for each to see how many fabric combinations I can come up with. Wonderful job of restoration on the older dolls, April.
I was straightening up my fat quarter stash yesterday. It got in a bit of a disarray when I was digging through it to make Easter dresses. I have a lot of fat quarters that are not good for doll clothes, even for the larger dolls but I was planning on making some cute purses to sell at the church Fall Festival in October and many would be good for that so I can hopefully reduce my stash somewhat. I desperately need room to buy more lolololol.
Here in southeast Texas we’re turning our thoughts to the rapidly upcoming hurricane season. Joy is turning hers to fire season. Hopefully we will end up having nothing to worry about, but what a good idea to have an emergency frequency radio.
Congratulations on what is likely to be a very successful auction for Kirsten’s sweet outfit. I will try to remember to check in later to see how it’s going. The last few minutes can be a real nail biter, especially if you are participating.
Barbara we should have a competition to find out who has the most unused patterns lol. I might win that
April, thank you sew much for sharing! Shermie is a real charmer. Those are really cute outfits for boys, that you don’t usually see. I think I see a surge in camo fabric sales coming. Lol
April, thank you for sharing all the photos of your dolls in their cute outfits! I like your AMG boy’s haircut. He looks cute in his outfit. Hope he gets a friend eventually. I haven’t thought about getting a boy doll. I guess I’m too into the girls’ clothes and accessories.
All of your dolls are very pretty ones. And it looks like you do a bit of doll renovations or repairs besides sewing? Your hobby area is really nice – those cabinets with the little drawers are perfect for storage for small items.
I too love the Carrots outfit and the plaid skirt Ivy is wearing. It was fun seeing everything.
The AG boy doll is such a nice addition to their line. Every girl likes to have a brother or a boy friend an his camouflage outfit is so cute on him. I love all the different patterns you have used… so many different styles and are they cute or what? My fav is the pink one on Patsy…nice job!
Congratulations on Kirstens dirndl! It is just a classic.Enjoy your company🤗
Shermie is very very cute. I’m working on a doll version of my son. Maybe I’ll finish one day!
Thank you so much, April, for sharing your lovely doll collection. Shermie is a cutie.
Your composition babies are adorable and so sweetly dressed. What a beautiful array of outfits you have made for your AG dolls. The long dress on Maryellen is very elegant.
I love your “Carrots” outfit. She could certainly be an Anne of Green Gables doll. I would love to know what brand she is, so very pretty. What an organized sewing room you have.
I enjoyed seeing everything.
It was lovely seeing all of April’s dolls and their outfits. I have at least one of those patterns that came from Pixie Faire Freebie Friday, I haven’t used it yet. I suggested to Barbara we have a competition for who has the most unused patterns. If it was all patterns and not just doll ones I don’t think anyone could beat me I have so many. Always full of good intentions when I buy them. I can’t bear to get rid of anything and people put some great stuff on the free table at guild and I can’t bring myself to leave it there. lol
I loved seeing Shermie, Sam would like us to get a little boy but I haven’t done that yet. I really loved the ‘Carrots’ outfit very definitely a look of Anne of Green Gables. Laura I remember having the composition dolls too when I was small all those moons ago. Unfortunately they either go broken or I left them outside in the rain and then they became very deformed!
I am so tired, I had to get up at 5am to take my foster daughter to the airport but I have Caitlin staying with me again for a few days and she had a video on very late. It wasn’t very loud but I found it disturbing and it woke me up at 1am and it was really hard to get back to sleep, I was still awake at 3.30 but think I dropped off just after that. It is Church this morning so can’t go back to bed.
April has a lovely collection, more impressive since they were made rather than purchased. Like everyone else, I think the Carrot outfit is extra special. I’ve never seen Kaya look so happy. Mary Ellen’s dress looks like a Jeanne Marie — lovely fabric, lace, and a cameo. The camouflage outfit is the one I envy you the ability to make most. It’s an inspiring collection.
Hi everyone,
I have been painting today, so no individual comments…but wasn’t it fun to see all of April’s doll outfits?
I’m liking that Carrots dress too and those camo outfits…makes me want to get a boy doll just so I can buy some camo fabric and make it into something fun like April did…
I emailed April to let her know I was showcasing her pictures, but I haven’t heard from her yet… some ladies only get the posts through their email instead of clicking on the title and being taken to my actual website where you can leave comments. I told her if she wanted to see the comments she could click on the title…
I worked on something for Stella’s outfit last night and I think you will love it!!! :o)
Well, I better go…lots to do…
See you tonight. Maybe!
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi All and thank you for your comments. It keeps me going. My new normal is to do what I can in the house or outside then at night I sew till late. No one demands my time now. I miss that. I have sewn since I was 9. My mother did professional self taught upholstery but she could sew a tailored outfit that was spot on professional. HER mother had a tailoring shop in San Diego and she traveled the world and did dress design and taught sewing. I used to love seeing her sewing room. It fascinated me. My sis works at a dry cleaners as their Alterations department then comes home to sew. I guess it is in the blood.
I have always loved dolls and have well over 100. I used to have to sneak in the new ones. Not anymore. Shermie’s buddy came today. His name is Jake. I am waiting on fabric to make him a Carhart type outfit. I have embroidery machines and my sewing covers 3 rooms. One room is just fabric. I was blessed with the most precious of men who took good care of me. I have much to be thankful for. So to occupy till HE comes I sew and think of better times.
Hi April,
Thank you for chiming in and letting you know more about you… I (we) hope you’ll become a regular on here and join in on all the fun we have… (We do have fun, don’t we, ladies?)
It does sound like sewing is in your blood, and your mama’s and your grandma’s and your sister’s! Sewing is a fun hobby and it does keep us busy and occupied for the time being.
Thanks so much for sharing your sweet doll outfits… I’m betting a few of my ladies on here have already bought a few of the patterns you suggested…
Have a wonderful rest of your weekend and we’ll see you Monday,
Blessings, Jeanne