A tiny little Christmas dress for a tiny little doll…

First up, a quick update about Charlotte, who broke her upper arm… here is the official diagnosis:

Acute proximal left humeral fracture present including a longitudinal comminuted fracture through the greater tuberosity and possible subtle nondisplaced fracture through the humeral neck without visible medial cortical step-off.
A vertical break 🫤 in her left arm… fortunately she is right handed. She said her one-finger technique was too slow to answer emails. I hope you’ll keep her in your prayers!

I mentioned in my last post, at the bottom of showing James in his new jeans, that I’d have a post about showing something besides jeans… so here it is…

I also told myself, the first doll that was mentioned by someone commenting, would get the next dress… well, Linda mentioned something about it possibly being Ten Ping, sooooo… here she is…

I love this fabric, but only had a small scrap of it, so I chose it for Ten Ping. It is a soft red with a kind-of muted olive green. I finished the dress this evening, but have “other” things to go with it…

I’m also “trying out” one of those little wigs I made from the porcelain dolls.

The white lining I used for the bodice showed along the edges when I turned the bodice, so I whipstitched a row of tiny stitches over the shoulder area. I put a crochet hook up inside the bodice so I wouldn’t catch the front fabric… it pulls the white lining in just a bit so it doesn’t show along the armholes and neck…

I’ll see what else I can get done for Ten Ping today…

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne

11 thoughts on “A tiny little Christmas dress for a tiny little doll…”

  1. Charlotte Trayer

    Well there is One little girl (my tiny Gigi) who is going to be Very excited if I let her even the Tiniest peek at your blog, Jeanne, and she really doesn’t need Two Christmas outfits (three, if you count the pink and silver one!), so I will have to be sure she is sound asleep before I read it each night!!

    That little wig is darling on ‘your Ten Ping, by the way.

    Although having functioning right arm/hand is very helpful for this Very right-handed person, I never truly realized how necessary the “other” hand was–for balance, even!–until now. I have a really hard time washing dishes, for instance, or making a sandwich. There will be no showers for awhile (oh, yes, the doctor said I Could, but how do I raise my arm to wash?!), so Ron will have to help me this time, I guess! I’m trying to gently lift my left arm a bit now and then, but it wants to cramp/spasm so I will have to hold it while he carefully washes my side. Ugh!

    Barbara asked about my dizziness: it’s something I’ve dealt with most of my life. No known cause but we expect ears, as both have rung continuously for over 45 years. I see my regular doctor next Monday so I will press for some more tests (once I’m healed up).

    I think someone asked about When at the shower I fell. Just before it started, actually. I was walking towards three of our grandsons, to ask for pictures of them together, and down I went. I could feel myself going, tried to catch the wall. I went down as my arm went up….(yes, I did get some pictures.)

    Eric called the aid car, and he and his wife stayed with me until they got me in the car. Later, Eric drove my car home and put my keys away (I was still in ER), and offered any help. Sweet kids!

    Thank you all for the many expressions of concern, the countless prayers, and even a lovely floral arrangement! I may not have been blessed with sisters, per se, but I have the best Sofa Sisters anywhere!

    1. Barbara in SE Texas

      Oh my gosh Charlotte it is so good to hear from you and know that you are doing the best you can. A few years ago when I had my rollover accident (air bags didn’t deploy but thank God for seatbelts) I actually walked away from it under my own power. But the acrylic roof broke and sliced and diced the back of my head and my right hand and arm. I am pretty much totally right-handed so you can imagine how I was having to rethink doing simple things. I was in the midst of taking piano lessons, something I had always wanted to do. Instead of quitting I took two weeks off and then went back still only being able to use my left hand so my teacher decided that was a good time to practice using my left hand to play. Also I convinced the insurance company that instead of going to therapy my piano lessons could serve as therapy and so a year of my lessons were paid by insurance.

      1. Charlotte Trayer

        Both of those things (focusing on left-handed playing and asking for lessons to serve as PT were brilliant, Barbara!

  2. Linda in St. Louis

    What a surprise to see that you are here, Charlotte, and I can once again “folllow” you in the morning! Oh gosh, that was a bummer to have that happen right before the shower! I too, have balance problems, due to losing my hearing as a child, but so far, have not fallen. Knock on wood! I am very careful though. So glad that now Ron can help YOU! My prayers are with you as you heal.

    Jeanne, Ten Ping is cute, but I much prefer her original wig. I think this one makes her head look too big for her body. When I think of Chinese people, I think of a more rounded head, and this one is kind of longish.

    The dress is darling, and I am thinking a little bolero or jacket is in the works? Hope so! A pretty, soft green would be just thing thing to make it festive and Christmasy looking! Thank you for taking my suggestion in consideraion!

  3. Joy in northern CA

    So good to hear from Charlotte. Looks like she will be building up her right hand typing muscles for awhile. Please take it slow and easy as we don’t want any more falls.
    Love little Ten’s dress so far. So nice to see the sweet beading detail and to not see the dreaded white lining. Great idea with the crochet hook.
    This cold thing here is getting old. Forgot to cover my porch plants last night, so hoping the frost fairy skipped our place.
    Must get into the Thanksgiving mode. Bringing the broccoli cheese dish and a corn dish which is similar to Jeanne’s, but with added chilis that cut the sweetness. We cheated a little the other day when we picked up a Costco pumpkin pie and encroached on the holiday. The two of us have managed to make a large dent in that giant pie. 🙂

  4. Marilyn in Colorado

    Linda’s right about the jacket. I bought groceries yesterday and got the to the porch and then had to come in and thaw out before I could go get them. It’s jacket weather. Or coat. Or fur coat — fake fur, of course.

    The dress is perfect for Christmas and Ten Ping. I love the beads. More holly leaves and bead berries on a jacket? I think the colors will be tricky to match, but, being Jeanne, you’ll probably have just the thing in your stash.

    The wig is cute, but the bangs are too short for Ten Ping. I like the style and will be interested in seeing this wig on another doll.

    The break in Charlotte’s arm sounds complicated and dreadful. It will heal and things will get easier. I’ve broken my hand once and my right arm twice, once very badly. As things got easier, I let my right arm “pretend” to do things. My right hand held on to the broom loosely while the left arm did the work. Things like that. Anything you can do is therapy. Some things can’t be done — no changing sheets for you for awhile. It’s possible to change pillowslips but not worth the effort. Reading is good.

    1. Charlotte Trayer

      Thanks for the encouragement, Marilyn. Today I rinsed some dishes with my left hand carefully picked up and resting in the sink!

  5. Barbara in SE Texas

    Ten Ping looks so cute in her new Christmas dress and I can’t wait to see what you add to the ensemble. I too like her original wig the best. Will you be making her some matching shoes? You do the tiny ones so well.

    Reading the full description of Charlotte’s break read like a horror novel. It was good to see her back on the sofa this morning. She was wise in choosing to sit on the far left where her arm would receive the least jostling. And, of course, she has plenty of “sisters” to attend to her every need.

    Still cold here but that’s good. When the temps go up and down as they often do at this time of year it messes with my head. Literally. My sinuses don’t like it at all.

    I finally got back in my sewing room yesterday and finished an outfit for Wren. I still had the shirt to make to go with her pants and tunic. Hopefully I will be firing up my new serger today to serge some areas on a jumper I’m making for my LD. It’s just simple serging but I need to start somewhere.

    1. Charlotte Trayer

      Barbara, if you like to prewash fabrics like I do, you can serge the raw edges before washing. this gives you time to adjust to the “feel” and speed of your machine. That’s what I do.

  6. Charlotte, It’s great that you are here! My mom has balance issues also due to having rheumatic fever as a child She’s fallen before on ice ets., but luckily no broken bones for either of us ever. I’m glad you have other people around who can help and that Ron can as well.

    Well, this is much better… Christmas dresses again. That’s such a sweet fabric and I like the little sparkly holly berries. Our neighbors down the street had Christmas lights on yesterday morning… so pretty!

  7. I MAY have mentioned this already, but hubby ALSO broke his humerus (along with dislocating his shoulder) in early August. He says it is/was? very painful. So sorry for Charlotte.

    The Christmas print is adorable! Love the touch of the beads to simulate holly berries. I’ll have to remember the inside whipping technique to take up the white lining.

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