Before I talk about that, I wanted to show you a few goodies I got on the way to the funeral Saturday. There is a little thrift shop in a town on the way to the St. Louis area, that we have stopped at before, but they have strange hours and it seems like we always miss when they are open. As we drove by, the parking lot was full and my hubby asked me if I wanted to run in for TEN MINUTES MAX! Sure!!! So I jumped out and went in and it truly was hopping in there… very festive and definitely celebrating Christmas already!
There were too many people looking at the clothes and shoes, so I headed to the back, passing the doll section. I did give it a glance and circled it twice before going deeper in the store. They have fabrics in there… Remember the plaid pink and blue dresses I made for Nellie and Samantha?
Nellie’s Blue plaid dress was called “Beaming in Blue”…
…and Samantha’s pink dress was called “Pink Perfection.”
Well, I bought those vintage sheer plaids at this little thrift store and was hoping to find something else this time. And I did… just a few pieces… I spent $5.67! They had a few Christmas fabrics I snagged… Here, I’ll show you…
I love the selvage on this red snowflake one…
Just in case you like the fabrics too, here are the other selvages…
The khaki and black print didn’t have any details on the selvage, but there were 2 yards of it, and I have something cute in my stash that goes with it…
Okay, now another thing… our neighbors have a Ginkgo tree on the very edge of their property, and if you look out our sitting room window, it looks like it belongs to us. One day last week I took this picture… it was magnificent this year… even brighter yellow than my picture shows… and then the wind came and the next day it was all gone… :o(
AND one more thing, if you missed the link that Dorothy from PA shared a few days ago, I’ve added it below. It’s only 6 minutes long. As a seamstress of doll clothes, I was intrigued every time the video gave us a glimpse of the dolls. They were incredibly dressed, sometimes even in suits with lapels, and pockets and buttonholes, etc. Very detailed! I think you’ll enjoy the story of the people who made them… some known and some the only legacy they left behind was the doll that survived.
Okay, now onto the hidden things I finished up this weekend. It was all about snaps and hand hemming Felicity’s dress.
I set my phone up and had it on voice command to take a picture when I said “Smile” so now you can see me sewing on those snaps on the back on her dress… Maybe one of these days I’ll show a video of how I do them. :o)
I put a placket in the back of the skirt section of the dress, so it isn’t open to the hem this time… and then sewed on 3 sets of snaps…
With the dress all cinched in at the back, it fits her very nicely now!
I hand hemmed the dress, just enough so it wouldn’t drag on the ground. You might notice my random sized stitches. I spaced then out so they only hit the brown sections of the dress, and now my stitches don’t show on the front at all.
She looks wonderful in it now that it’s finished…
She wanted to show her cape again with her hemmed dress…
I did consider changing the buttons since a few of you expressed they looked too big, or served no function, but I searched everywhere, online, Etsy, etc. and there are NO wooden buttons smaller than 9mm, which are what mine are, so I am going to leave them. The vote was split almost in half and my vote for them put them in the keep as is category. In person, I think the winner will like them. I guess whoever bids on this will presumably like the buttons.
Here is one more picture of the dress and cape all finished. I was playing with her hair tonight too… and a hat and some brown ribbon… Hmmm…
I will see you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
What lovely fabrics you found, Jeanne!! My favorite, of course, is the one with the snowflakes on it!! And that holly print…it’s no wonder it’s a Hoffman; the print itself is so crisp, and I’m sure it has a lovely hand–all Hoffmans do seem to be like that in that respect, I mean. I don’t know if you’re aware, but Hoffman prints are usually among the most expensive of the quilting cottons. So you truly did score on that one!
The Gingko tree is stunning! I had no idea they got that bright bright yellow before the leaves fell!
Felicity’s dress turned out lovely!! As you know, I’m not usually a “brown person” but I do like this one. I think the rust tones help make it look more “alive”. Now I wonder what will be next to complete the outfit?!
I cannot say enough about how beautiful Felicity’s dress and capelet are! I just love it, and am wondering what goes on her head now. Of course all proper Colonial girls and women always covered their hair! The browns, golds and salmon colors are the perfect combination for fall!
That Ginkgo tree is beautiful and reminds me the one our neighbor had who live across the street had. It was gorgeous for maybe one day, then, in a flash, it was bare! It seems like a lot of trees did that this year, and didn’t hold onto the color as long as they usually do. Maybe because it was a dry end of the summer?
I can’t wait to see what you have coming with your Christmas material and who will be the next model, but first I want to see Felicity in all her glory with a new hat! Love this outfit! (can’t say it enough!)
The ginko was lovely — I’m glad you got a picture. My ash turns a lovely gold, but the snow got it this year.
The Winter Song fabric would make a fabulous colonial Christmas gown. The light fabric might make a nice Christmas baking dress for Addy, who needs a turn, and Kirsten would look great in the red for a Mid-Winter dress. I didn’t make immediate plans for the khaki and black, but you did, so we’re set there. At some point we need a new regency dress,
Do you know what might be fun for spring? A short series of Kate Greenaway dresses for the RRFFs https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/kate-greenaway
or
https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/kate-greenaway
The pinafore girls are cute and the bonnet on the closest girl in the 3rd illustration is especially nice. (Clicking on the picture expands it — clicking again closes it.)
The section about Ruskin in the biography is a warning about taking advice. He was THE critic of the era, but the artist is the artist.
I’m wondering about fabric shoes and if they’d hold up. These look very lightweight. I have read that Empress Eugenie had quite small feet. She wore her shoes only once, then they were given to girls making their first communion. But doll shoes can’t last for only a few wearings.
There”s a Eugenie story that when she first attracted the attention of Napoleon III, he asked, “Which way to your bedroom, Madame?” Without missing a beat, she replied, “Through the chapel, Sir.” She was not extraordinarily beautiful, but she had taste and money, and lived in an era of beautiful clothes. In 1860 she became a patron of 35 year old Charles Frederick Worth, who, with her patronage, created haute couture and would eventually make gowns worn in courts around the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Frederick_Worth.
Here are a few dozen paintings of her. She not only found the perfect designer, she found a painter who would make her appear forever beautiful https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=winterhalter+eugenie&fr=yhs-trp-001&type=Y61_F163_200477_082620&hspart=trp&hsimp=yhs-001&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fb0%2F5b%2F67%2Fb05b67c7d7ffa5846de362191d4c49d2.jpg#id=205&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.mfah.com%2Fapp%2Fimages%2F03c4b94e-e085-4982-be72-03e890b3b597.jpg%3FmaxWidth%3D1600%26maxHeight%3D1600%26format%3Djpg%26quality%3D90&action=close
Eugenie was also brave and thoughtful. After an assassination attempt, she told rescuers, “We are fine. For us, this is an occupational hazard. See to the coachmen and guards.”
The dress and cape are beautiful, the way the “stripes” on the skirt are matched to the bodice are very artfully placed, kudos to you. That’s not always easy. If you do a hat with brown ribbon I think adding some of the rust color ribbon is essential, lol!
Have a good week all.
Glad you had 10 minutes to shop. 🙂 I found the beige and black fabric the most interesting. I’d like to see what you have that goes with it. I think it would make a lovely outfit.
Your yard is gorgeous every season. And how nice to have the neighbor’s tree so conveniently located.
We had sprinkles yesterday and more last night as well. Very welcome.
Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is coming so quickly. Definitely not ready for it at all.
Take care everyone.
What a charming dress! I love everything about it. Sadly I don’t have a doll for it. I think Felicity definitely needs a hat since I’m sure she will be leaving the house often in such a beautiful dress. I can’t imagine having to wear a hat every time I go out, but I bow to custom when necessary – as I did for years wearing a hat to church. Seems funny now when I see someone in church with one on.
So glad you finally found your thrift shop open. I have the same problem with the one here in town. She had two lovely dolls in the window for awhile and I wanted to see what they were but the shop was never open and I could find no hours or phone number to call. I guess thrift shops are open whenever they can get someone to “man” them. Sadly the one here in town closed down.
We went to our Goodwill the other day for the first time. We were eating lunch next door and David had some time to spare so he suggested we go check it out. We were both very impressed. At the one in Houston that Dionne goes to they just throw things into bins and it becomes a mad scramble to find anything. Ours is so organized and the store is so clean. I told Dionne to come out here when she wants to buy things. She often buys the grandkid’s coats at Goodwill because here a coat does not receive as much wear as other places. I often bought coats for our two that were bigger than they needed so they could get more than one year out of them and then I passed them on to others for their children. I’m planning on going back a few times before Christmas because they also had a lot of Halloween things but Halloween was over. I’m sure they will do even more for Christmas.
Spring here again but fall will be returning on Friday. It’s too warm here at the moment to even call it Indian Summer. The A/C went back on last evening.
Forgot to mention that I love the fabrics you chose and the one with the pictures on the edge sure has a lot of potential for using a part of the fabric that usually just ends up in the trash.
The dress is beautiful. Matching stripes can be difficult; nice job. I just noticed the little holes in the cape fabric match the dots between the stripes! Cool.
Many years ago I saw an exhibit of quilts which were made by Black ladies that dated from the Civil War Era. They were all made from scraps of fabric they had used to make clothing. They were amazing. I’ll have to try to find pictures I took then. The video was great. Thanks for sharing it, Dorothy.
All that fabric for under 6.00 what a bargain! Glad that store was open! The dress and cape are so pretty. Will be interesting to see what kind of hat will be next☺️ I agree those snaps and hems always take more time than you think?
I was getting some Dionne babies finished up and putting little booties on tied with tiny ribbon…took FOREVER.
Have a good week everyone☺️
Ok it did it again…added my comment to Barbara’s…this time I took a screen print before I posted. Will send to Jeanne
Love the gilded holly fabric and the beige and black is very pretty as well. The gingko tree is beautiful. There are a number of them here at the university and date to the late 1840’s and I always enjoyed sitting outside to study between classes and having the golden leaves fall all around me. I still walk through campus often when I’m just up the street walking through one of our little three block downtown shops or antique stores.
Felicity looks so pretty in her dress and I like that it has a placket instead of completely open in the back. Perfect colors for her -brown, rust, and autumn gold all of which I love in the fall.
I forgot to thank Dorothy in PA for the video link. I’m off to see it.
Dear Laura, I hope you like the video. I enjoyed seeing the dolls, well, all except the topsy turvey dolls. I find them a bit eerie. I have seen some in other places that have the wolf on one side and grandma on the other. That is really off-putting (laugh).
Dear Jeanne, I love the Christmas fabrics. Some little dollies and their mamas are going to be very happy in just a few weeks (laugh).
I love to see your “finds.” I absolutely cannot not find any “gems” in our local thrift shops. It’s probably just me (smile).
Thanks for sharing information about the Black Doll exhibit. I found the book online and bought it.
I am placing the link here to the United Federation of Doll Clubs calendar. There is much going on in the doll world!
https://www.ufdc.org/calendar/
There may be doll shows/sales going on near to where some of the Sofa Sisters live. The big convention is next July in Kansas City, Missouri.