HI everyone,
I am sharing something Dorothy in PA and the World, suggested. It’s a great idea… and I’ll share with you what she wrote…it’s pretty self explanatory.
(From Dorothy:)
I wanted to share an idea I had that would get the Sofa Sisters involved and keep you from having to create a new post every Monday through Friday. The idea/theme is a question, following your questions. Here is it: WHO IS ON YOUR SOFA?
The Sisters could send you photos over the weekend and you could use one on days throughout the week when you need a filler. It would be a fun way for us to get to know more about each other and give you a break.
Who Is On Your Sofa? Could be dolls, pets, grandchildren, husbands, even handmade throws (although that would be a what and not a who, I guess).
Here’s an example of what I mean.
On my sofa are Addy (American Girl), Arianna Renee (Kidz & Cats), Caroline (Kaye Wiggs Holly sculpt), Charlotte Noelle (in the pink dress – Little Darling – she is named after our own Charlotte), Zuleah (Iplehouse BID Erzulie sculpt), Merritt (Mary Hoyer), Safiah (Madame Alexander), and Satto (Adora).
I promised them all cookies if they posed nicely and they did.
How sweet your girls look Dorothy! They ARE posing very nicely so I hope they got those cookies!
So if anyone else wants to send some pictures of WHO is on your sofa, or chair, or bed, or settee, or on your deck, or on a shelf, or in a curio cabinet, or in a bassinet, OR IN A POOL, (that’s just for Barbara :o) ) etc., please send me some pictures and I’ll see what we come up with. It will be fun to see who is residing with you!
Thanks for the fun idea, Dorothy… I’ll include your pictures again when I get a few more!
See everyone,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful picture, Dorothy! I enjoyed seeing your girls. Is your Mary Hoyer a vintage one or the newer one by Lynne Saunders? I have several of the newer ones, and they have been fun to sew for, plus I’ve bought several of the outfits and accessories (back when she had a lady making those beautiful leather shoes for them!). I should get them out and take pictures of them one of these days, too.
I see you have other dolls peeking from behind the sofa, too!
Joy, I got the email from WrenFeathers, too, and plan to print off the pattern next time I’m at the library.
Karen, I’m glad to hear that your girls are interested in crocheting and sewing. Tell Marion for me, once she knows how to sew, she is no longer limited in what she can wear! I learned to sew when I was 10 years old, and now, 67 years later, I am still sewing! I most enjoy making clothes for myself and, when they were younger, the grandchildren, Of course, most of my dolls have better wardrobes than I do!! 😂🤣😂 If you have 4H clubs in your area, Marion, Rose, and the others, as the come along (minimum age is 7, I think) might enjoy that. I was a 4H kid, and these days it’s not just sewing, cooking and animals; there are many different areas for 4H involvement. I highly recommend it.
And now for some good news: I took Ron to the barbershop today (he was Way overdue!), and then we went to IHOP for supper with our friends. He seems to be walking better now than even a week ago–I think he’s getting more walking in at the adult family home than he was here, plus he doesn’t have to deal with stairs. He had quite a good day, and really enjoyed himself.
And to make the day more perfect…I sewed tonight!! AND found out that Diana is on her way, and I should have her tomorrow!!
Great news about Ron and a fun day for everyone. 🙂
Wonderful news about Ron!
Fantastic to hear about Ron. Hope things continue to improve for him.
Good news about Ron, Charlotte! Maybe he just needed more attention! Will you have Diana sitting on your sofa soon?
Dear Charlotte, hello. What wonderful news about your husband! It sounds like he is settling in where he is. And IHOP, yea! I love IHOP.
Yes, my Mary Hoyer is a newer playline doll. I have one other playline doll. I don’t have any vintage Hoyers. I didn’t know about the dolls until about two years ago, even though they were made here in PA. I would love to see photos of your dolls.
There is a Hoyer group that meets once a month on a Sunday via Zoom. Mary Lynne usually does the program. Let me know if you are interested in attending one of the meetings and I will put you in touch with the group leader who sends out the Zoom links.
Charlotte Noelle wants me to say hello to Auntie Charlotte.
Dorothy, I had absolutely no idea that you had all these beautiful dolls, and more! What a fun idea and something we all can easily do! So we post pictures of anything on our sofa?
The one thing that caught my eye immediately was the dress that Zuleah is wearing, because I have that exact same dress for my Betsy McCall! I love the smocking on the bodice and the lovely old fashioned print. It reminds me of the dresses we wore to school way back when!
It was so interesting to see how much bigger Addy is compared to the others. You have quite a variety of dolls there, and I wonder when did you start collecting? I don’t see a RRFF doll there and wonder if you have one. I seem to the the lone holdout for getting one, although I could be wrong on that!
Thank you so much for sending in this cute idea and I’ll see what I have on my couch!
Jeanne, hope things are getting better there! Are you getting ready for the “big day” next week?😊🎂
Another hold out on RRFFs…. I’m in the downsizing mode and can’t justify starting another size doll. Even if they are adorable!
Fun idea to see “Who’s on your sofa!” Looking forward to meeting everyone!
We Linda’s must think alike!
Hi Everybody!
I have been reading the blog…don’t worry about that! I hope everyone is doing okay. With me, I’m doing better. It’s just everyday is different and I feel different everyday and someday’s there are more things that trigger memories than others and I mean it has only been four months.
Anyhow, I LOVE ❤️ this topic and definitely want to do it! Good idea Dorothy! To Linda in St. Louis and Linda G in Minnesota, I also do not have a RRFF! I do however have a Girl for All Time, just one though and that is good enough for me! Maybe you guys will see her on my sofa!
Oh and for all you “Little House on the Prairie” fans, let’s remember Alice Garvey and the woman who played her for she went home to that big, great place we will all go to one day. She passed yesterday 8/24/2023.
Lastly, WELCOME to Linda G. In Minnesota!
I am very curious to learn about your doll collection and winters 🥶 in Minnesota!
Dear Linda, thanks so much for your kind words. I was just trying to think of ways we can help Jeanne.
Zuleah’s dress is made by Boneka. As you know, the company makes dresses for a ton of dolls. I love the style of Boneka’s clothes so my dolls have several Boneka outfits.
I joined the United Federation of Doll Clubs (UFDC) in 2013. Then I only had my childhood dolls (about 6 of them) and Satto, my Adora doll. Now I have about 120 dolls, the largest group being 8-inch Alexanders. In the doll world, this is a very small collection, of course. I was in a Zoom doll gathering recently where someone said she stopped counting her dolls when she got to 5,000.
I don’t have a RRFF doll. I have been admiring Jeanne’s Violette. I wanted to get Victoria but she was sold out by the time I got to the site.
So who’s on YOUR sofa?
Ah ha, another person with dolls on their couch! or sofa. ::) And I love that tight back couch. Beautiful. Not that the dolls aren’t adorable as well. And I spy some others locked behind glass doors. Will they break out soon so that they too can be shared with the sofa crew? I’d love to see them. 🙂 Dorothy’s idea is such a good one.
Just went back to see some posts from yesterday, and there was a very nice one from Anne in New Zealand. Take a look back if you can.
Dear Joy, thanks for your sweet words, especially about the sofa! It is new, about two months old. I moved at the beginning of the year and had to get a new sofa as the old one was a bit decrepit.
I have most of my dolls in the two curio cabinets behind the sofa. Some are on the TV cabinet. It’s in front of the sofa. You can see a few of the dolls in the reflection of the glass. I have four dolls in the bedroom and one here with me in the office.
I don’t interact with them as much as I would like but they know that I love them and they definitely bring me joy.
I am looking forward to seeing who is on your sofa but I am thinking you would have to send Other Person on an extensive store run to make that happen (smile). I am sure you will find a way, though, as you are so skillful in your capers!
I saw where Anne and Joy Lynne Carter commented after I stopped checking in yesterday, so I want to thank them for their nice comments about the swim party.
Dorothy, what a wonderful Idea. And your dolls all look so lovely and so well behaved. Definitely cookies for them. Someone asked once if I could post a picture of all my dolls. I was thinking this might be a good opportunity for that. I just have to decide the best way to do it.
Dear Barbara, I am looking forward to seeing your dolls. Do you have any that are PA made or have PA connections?
In our local doll club, we did a program last year called “You’ve Got A Doll In PA.” You will remember that our old state slogan was “You’ve Got A Friend In PA.” In our program, we featured dolls with PA connections. We are doing another program this year. It’s called, you guessed it, “You’ve Got A(nother) Doll In PA.
I am looking forward to seeing Who’s On YOUR sofa!
Dorothy, I’m not sure if any of my dolls have a PA connection. The closest connection I know of is I make a lot of their clothes using items from Home Sew and they are in Bethlehem. I was surprised to realize that my mother shopped there shortly after they opened when I was still in junior high. How can I find out what dolls came from PA?
Dear Barbara. I don’t think I have your email address. When things settle down a bit with Jeanne, I will ask her to share my email address with you.
Here are some dolls/doll people with PA connections: Mary Hoyer, Schoenhut Company, Kewpies/Scotties, Robin Woods, Julie Good-Kruger, Maggie Iacono, Terry Krugel, Lauren Welker, Sumiko Tokuhata, Marjorie Maninger, and Philadelphia Babies.
I just found this information in a Google search. The oldest continuously made cloth doll in America is named Polly Heckewelder. She was first made in 1872 by the Moravian Ladies Sewing Society in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania! I did not know about this! Wow!
If you go on the Historic Bethlehem, PA site, you can read all about it. There are some dolls for sale on Rubylane.
Dorothy, thanks for the doll information. I had no idea about the Polly Heckewelder doll. When I lived in Bethlehem my boyfriend went to the Moravian Church so I learned a lot about the Moravian people but never heard this. By the way the Hotel Bethlehem just got best historic hotel in America for the third year in a row. I used to pass that hotel all the time when I walked to church and never knew the amazing history of the hotel until just recently.
Yesterday just disappeared somehow but I’m so glad I looked back to see the swim pictures! Barbara you made a fantastic swim scene! What a wonderful group of dolls and swim suits. One cuter than the other and the way you posed them is fantastic! Using the shredded paper was so clever and teaching the girls to swim is a hoot😉 Thank you for going to all that work for us!
Glad you and Ron had a good day yesterday Charlotte!
Dorothy you are just full of good ideas! I’ll get a few dolls together on my sofa…maybe after the granddaughters wedding on Sept 1
Glad your hand is improving Jeanne… yellow shows improvement…is the pain better?
Dear Kathie, thanks for liking my idea. I am trying to make my little contributions here among the Sofa Sisters as your folks are all so talented.
Since I’m the non-cook, the non-crafter, the non-sewer, and the non-gardener, I have to jump in where I can (laugh). I know about writing, I know about dolls, and I know about Afternoon Tea. And I always have crazy ideas. Lucy and Gracie are my role models (laugh).
I am looking forward to seeing who’s on your sofa in September and wedding photos, of course!
Dorothy I’m so glad you don’t feel you shouldn’t be here because you don’t do all those things you said. You are invaluable to the Sofa Sisters. You keep us up on all the important events in Dolly Land. Not to mention coming up with some great ideas and making me feel that tea time is not a thing of the past.
Dear Barbara, hello. Thanks for your wonderful words. I definitely believe that I belong here. I think we all found our way to Jeanne’s Sofa for various reasons. I love learning from the Sisters and Jeanne, of course.
Be sure to read my new comments about Bethlehem, PA under your posting. You can definitely came some bragging rights (smile).
Thank you for the kind comments about my swim scene. Sharing this with my Sofa Sisters is my main motivation for doing it. It is a lot of work but worth it when I know others are enjoying what I’ve done.
What a fabulous idea, Dorothy! I too, had no idea you had so many lovely dolls. Why have you never shared them before? I see other dolls in the cabinets waiting to come out and play. Hopefully we’ll see them at some point also. Love the who or even what theme and as long as we are not limited to a sofa count me in. Looking forward to seeing all the Sofa Sisters creativity.
So nice to hear from you Anne. Prayers that you all recover quickly from the flu. Congrats on the new puppy. She will settle soon enough. Louis and she will probably become the best of friends once a little time has passed.
Dear Laura, I thought this idea would give us a chance to share our collections and interests as well as take some of the stress off of Jeanne.
I just used “sofa” as the focus because we are Jeanne’s Sofa Sisters (smile) but however you wish to share your dolls or other items would be wonderful.
Thank you for your nice comments about my dolls. I do have a varied collection but they are all modern dolls. My oldest dolls are two Door of Hope dolls probably from the 1920s. My most recent doll is the souvenir doll from the Madame Alexander Doll Club Convention in June. Her name is Beatrice, in honor of Madame.
I am looking forward to seeing your photographs.
Dear Jeanne, thanks for sharing my photos and going along with my crazy idea. I am looking forward to seeing photos of the Sofa Sisters’ collections.
Take good care of yourself. Prayers continue for you and your husband.