First of all, thank you to everyone who bought a dress from me this past year, who complimented the dresses when I was making them, who was a cheerleader at the sidelines when the auction was ending, and those who “tried” to win one, but unfortunately were outbid. May this year be kinder to you as you try again! ;o)
Let me tell you a few thoughts about the dresses I made this past year… there were the fun times and the not so fun times when I was making them. Just because I’m an experienced seamstress, doesn’t always mean things go smoothly or without mistakes… I had my fair share of both!
Let’s just start. I thought up a few things to comment on…
Cutest Dress: This category had to go to Bailey in Precious in Pink and Navi in Happy Holly Days! I generally make several little embroidered felt jackets, but Bailey got the only one this year!!
Some people think Navi is too sad looking, but I think of her as more inquisitive… Here are a few of my favorite pictures of these 2 girls…
Best Use of Color:
I picked these two dresses, “Swedish Sweetness” and “Spring Chic” because I think the dolls looked so sweet in the colors next to their skin. I had just received Sara and was thrilled when this pretty floral looked so nice on her pale skin.
Most Fun to Make Accessories for:
I certainly enjoyed myself on Stella’s “Farmer’s Market” outfit. I could have kept making things, but finally stopped… I really had fun putting this one together… from her hat to her flip flops!
The Doll Outfit my Hubby Liked Most:
My hubby was like a lot of you and picked Emmie in “Christmas Sparkle.” He’s a lover of the color blue so it wasn’t any surprise to me that he chose Emmie in this sweet set…
Most Dainty Dress:
Emmie won in this category pretty easily. She has such innocent features and when mixed with this Liberty of London, very fine cotton print, it was a no brainer that she was the winner. Incidentally, this was my hubby’s second choice… (see, I told you he liked blue!)
Best Photo Shoot:
This belonged to the Ruby Red Fashion Friends trio of Christmas dresses:
Outfit That Gave Me the Most Trouble:
Julie’s set was supposed to be a simple, easy to make 70’s rendition, but it ended up taking several redo’s before I got it right.
Outfit That Took me the Longest to Get Right!
I enjoyed making Rozen’s “Summertime Sweetness” romper, but it certainly took me some time to get the pattern right. I was determined and it paid off in the end…
Dress/coat That Surprised me the Most:
When I discovered this vintage pattern I had for a chubby baby doll and revamped it into a coat for Sara, I was pleasantly surprised… probably as much as you were…
My Three Top Doll Dresses!
First I had to ask myself, if I could only keep one dress, which one would it be?
Which one did I enjoy making the most?
Which dress did I enjoy seeing coming to life the most?
Which dress turned out just as I was hoping it would?
Which dress captured the beauty or even the sweetness fo the doll wearing it?
Which dress won my heart from the very beginning of making it?
My top 3 choices were Addy in Winter Elegance, Monkey Business and Victorian Charm.
My Number one Favorite dress of 2021 was Rozen in Victorian Charm. I just loved this set from the moment I started making it and it surpassed all my hopes for turning out like it did. I’m a big fan of red and plaid and capelets and bonnets and black trimming the red, so it was bound to win! :o)
Well, that was my take on last year… Now I need to get started quickly on 2022 so I’ll have LOTS of pictures for next year’s voting! :o)
I hope you enjoyed looking at them again.
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
That was fun, to recap the various outfits (and trials and tribulations with some of them!). My husband’s favorite color is blue, also, so I imagine he would concur with George!
I was happy to see “Monkey Business” among your top three, because it was among My top three, also! And I do LOVE that purple coat/dress of Sara’s–another of my favorites, as I recall.
Face it, you had a lot of winners this past year–it was hard to choose!
2021 wasn’t such a great year for everyone but your doll dresses, coats, playwear were fantastic. It. Was fun to see all of them and fun to see your favorites and why. When you think of all you had on your plate this year it was amazing you accomplished as many outfits as you did!
HI Kathie,
It WAS a busy year for me, but there’s ALWAYS time for sewing… and I hope there always will be! :o)
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Thank you Charlotte,
I’m glad you enjoyed the slide show of my dresses and the comments I made about some of them… It was tough for me to even decide… and I could probably pick a different one again and again. It’s a hard job, but someone’s gotta do it! :o)
George strayed from his color blue for his 3rd choice. He picked Sara’s gold dress, Christmas Berries. He just loved the way it looked on her. Go figure! :o)
Thanks Charlotte,
Blessings, Jeanne
Is there an Honorable Mention for choosing the same three that you did, Jeanne, even in the same order? Yes, I did! That was sure fun! You really do need to look into writing a book. Please put me on the list for a signed copy.
HI Susette,
I double checked and you were the only one who guessed the ones I did! So yes, I guess you’ll get an Honorable Mention!!! :o)
I wish I could snap my fingers and have a written book… I’d love that almost as much as you!
Thanks for being a loyal reader, Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
New Year! Will you be going back to finishing the flooring? or the front porch/step? Around here we replaced another motion light yesterday. This will be the second that has failed recently. Fortunately, they were both very old, but anxious with the new ones as they don’t seem to hold up nearly as well anymore. Planned obsolescence as they say. 🙁
I finally finished the Christmas dresses for the RRFF kids. I guess now on to Valentine’s Day or maybe St. Patrick’s. With the amount of time it takes me, maybe I should concentrate on spring and Easter. 🙂
Congrats on a great year of outfits. Can’t wait to see the first dress of 2022.
HI Joy,
Yes, the floor is definitely on the list of things to get finished… along with hemming my curtains in the sitting room.. yep, they still have pins in them, as well as LOTS of other unfinished projects…
Congratulations on finishing your girls Christmas dresses… just look at it as being WAY ahead of the Christmas rush for this coming Christmas! :o)
You’ll see what I’ve been up to tomorrow! :o) Maybe even tonight!
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, Your Doll Dresses of 2021 were an escape from the trials of a difficult year. It is pure joy to own a Jeanne original. Through your posts I was also introduced to RRFF as you created Rozen’s Let It Snow and Sara’s Spring Chic. Just when I thought doll collecting on a limited budget was no longer possible they showed up on your blog. Thank you for sharing your talents and for all the sisters who share their dolls and adventures!
Debbie
Thank you Debbie,
Watching me sew was YOUR escape this year… ME, SEWING, was MY escape so many times this year! I can get lost in my sewing room when I’m involved with a sewing project.
Thank you for sticking around when it’s easy to just get lost in what’s going on around us everywhere. I’m glad you found some quiet and peaceful escapes here with the rest of us!
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, all of your creations were over the top to me! I would have been so happy to own just one of them, and wonder if or how many of these outfits were won by your blog followers or just other people? I do see that Sally did win one of the, and lucky you, Sally!
It was fun going through the year with you and commenting on the outfits as they were being made!
HI Linda,
I’ve never taken notes of how many of my doll dresses actually go to the Sofa Sisters as opposed to ladies on the outside. I might have to see this year what the percentage was…
I’m glad you enjoyed reading my commentary of the dresses I made this year.
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Seeing more pictures made me rethink my votes. I forgot that the purple coat had a purple dress or that Farmer’s Market had a skirt. You had an even better year than I thought, and I thought 2021 was one of your best. And that’s just doll clothes — it doesn’t count major work on the house and a wedding.
HI Marilyn,
When I look back over my doll dresses and the projects we managed to get finished, I guess I have no excuse to say I had a bad year… It was more productive that I even recalled! Let’s see if I can duplicate it this year! :o)
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Yes, Lolla was over the moon seeing her outfit chosen as one of the cutest. I think Navi has an adorable face. I think inquisitive is a good word for how she looks.
I love all your category choices. Only picking three out of the whole year was difficult, but I do keep second guessing my choices. I forgot Farmer’s Market had a skirt too and various tops and that Monkey Business had a jacket. I did make a try for several of the outfits but lost out pretty quickly in the bidding process. Maybe in 2022.
Oh, sorry, Barbara! I thought Sally won Lola’s dress! So you were the lucky one! Accept my apologies!
HI Barbara,
Well, I’m glad I picked Lolla’s dress set for the first one in my line up! I had no idea Lolla was down in the dumps… but I hope this helped today! :o)
It was so hard to show case some of the sets because there was so much more to them than just what could be seen in one picture.
Maybe 2022 will be kinder to you! :o)
Thanks Barbara,
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi everyone, sorry I have been MIA. We left Christchurch for our holiday in Dunedin on Sat so didn’t have a chance to look at the blog then and there didn’t seem the opportunity since.
First off, thank you for the kind comments about the cake. Animals are not my forte and I only had Ashley’s two soft toys to try to copy. Still she was happy and that is the main thing.
We have had quite a good time here, unfortunately not quite as good as we had hoped. The weather hasn’t been too cooperative not much sun and rain Monday and Tuesday. Very disappointing when I was watching the cricket from Christchurch (not much else to do when it is raining here) and it was 26 C there! It didn’t help that my son’s car has had a problem, the first time when we were booked to go to the museum for a special presentation and the car wouldn’t start. In the end we had to call a taxi. We arrived about 4 mins late but we had rung and told them the problem and they held the doors for us! He had roadside rescue and they came out when we got back to the cabin but (Murphy’s Law) this time the car started. Yesterday Sam took the girls to the pools and the car worked ok. She had to move it then for some reason and it stopped working again. When she came out it worked and Russell had said it might be the battery so she took it to a local parts shop and it stopped working again. Road side rescue couldn’t get it to go again and thought it wasn’t the battery but the starter motor so they towed it to a repair place and they will try to fix it today for us. The weather forecast is for sunshine this morning and heavy rain later! Ah well we have lots of games so will be able to keep the children occupied. Either that or they will stay in bed (probably their preferred option)! Poor Russell feels really bad but he shouldn’t it is just one of those things.
Jeanne, I really enjoyed looking at the photos of all the lovely outfits you made this year. Like everyone else I had real trouble choosing and I was one of the ones who picked four instead of 3 but I did choose two of the ones you chose in my 4. I am amazed you made so many in between all those other things you have been doing like weddings and renovations!
(We won the cricket by the way, In 3 days rather than the 5 days it was supposed to take. It would have been much better if they had won the first Test last week but they managed to lose that last week.)
What a fun read, I must read it to my husband as he will enjoy it too. Sometimes these car just don’t know when to behave. I hope it gets better for thr rest of your holiday!
HI Anne,
I looked at your Panda and tried to figure out how you did that, but I was at a loss, so I just decided to leave it alone… You are very talented when it comes to cakes! VERY talented! Keep it up!
Well, it sounds like between the car issues and the weather, your trip has been a little problematic… I hope you get to the real issue and can get it taken care of.
My hubby got a call this morning from a friend who said his wife was stuck at the hospital and couldn’t get home. He had to go rescue her, take her home, then take her hubby and go buy a new car battery. Hopefully theirs will be solved. Hope yours is fixed soon too!
I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures of my doll clothes this past year. I’m just like everyone else… I like to see them all together too! :o)
Thanks Anne,
Blessings, Jeanne