Hip Hip Hurrah! Hip Hip Hurrah! Felicity is going to be the next model! She’s as excited as I’m guessing some of YOU are! It’s been a while since she graced my cutting table and she’s very excited.
I bought this pretty fabric last summer when a quilting shop I LOVED decided to close! Boo Hoo… They had more Colonial and Civil War prints than I could use in a lifetime… but I did buy a few fat quarters and this was one of them. It’s a pretty brown and gold and salmon (yep, there’s that color again!) striped print and looks VERY nice on Felicity!
I had her original Meet dress that was stained so I took it apart back in January and made this dress by laying the cut apart pieces on the fabric and using them for a pattern.
I decided to “finally” make a paper pattern from those pieces of her cut up dress and this new brown striped dress is the result of my “new” pattern.
I had some vintage lace that I used on her sleeves and around her neckline.
Then I had to decide on what color ribbon to use for her sleeves… I sent these pictures to my sisters and they both picked the same color… then I asked my hubby what was his choice and he picked the same color as well… You’ll see what color won out!
This was the color chosen to accent the sleeves…
I hope you picked the rust colored ribbon.
Remember all those antique buttons I bought at an Estate Sale?
Well, I decided last night to put a few more of them into the “catsup” soak and see if they could be made useable… They were pretty dry and crusty looking before… both front and back… no charm to them at all! I wanted something interesting for Felicity’s new dress…
And this is what they came out of the catsup soak looking like…
I used my jewelry polishing cloth and rubbed and rubbed and rubbed until many of them began to shine…
My hubby told me he has a little buffing wheel on his Dremel tool… so I might give that a try on my buttons. :o)
Now I have to decide which one I want to use on the front…
This is Rebecca’s choice… it’s abalone and changes colors with the light…
I know some of them look sliver, but they aren’t… I only picked ones with gold tones…
…and I know this one is pretty big, but I loved the design in it, with the gold floral of the dress…
Well, this post should make all you American Girl ladies happy! It WAS nice to see Felicity’s smiling face again!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Nice to see Felicity again, Jeanne!! And her dress is going to be lovely, I’m sure (spoken as a non-brown person, but still…)
The lace you chose is likely hand knitted; I have some similar lace here, that my great-aunt made, probably many years before I was interested in knitting. As I recall, it’s made on very fine needles–probably 00 (double-aught) or 000 (triple aught).
I’m glad the rust ribbon won out. Even though it’s nothing like the grosgrain or velvet ribbons probably available in Felicity’s time, it’s the best by far, color-wise. Really, very pretty.
Those buttons turned out beautifully!! Who’d have thought ketchup would do that!!
Yes, that last button really is too big for Felicity. But the one immediately above it is really perfect, in my opinion. It echoes the flower shape from the print, and just just “sings” with that fabric!
Had an enjoyable lunch with my girlfriend today, and I did take some pictures of our dolls!! Will send them along another night–I need to get to bed now.
Really looking forward to seeing your pictures.
I’m so happy that Felicity won out as the next model, Jeanne! It’s due time for her, but I wasn’t really sure if you still had her, since it’s been awhile since you have made anything for her. You also have sold some of your AG dolls, and I wasn’t sure which ones.
I love the pretty lace on that material, and the rust colored bows too! While you went to a lot of trouble shining up those buttons, and did a wonderful job, I actually like the lace around d the neckline unadorned, more than with a button. I would rather have a necklace with a hanging pendant. Of course, things are not set in stone there, and you always have surprises up your sleeve that make things turn out wonderfully. Felicity will look just beautiful for Thanksgiving no matter what you decide on!
Nice to see an AG dress. They are always fun especially when it is a period dress. My mothers favorite color was brown so she would have LOVED this dress and style. Joy’s idea of a button on a ribbon at the neck might be a way to hide the place where her head joins the fabric body….or maybe not🤔 Your button collection is amazing…. Are they all antique or repros?
Thanks for all the cleaning methods Joy.
What an easy doll delivery this time Joy🤗 Is she a Paola Reina (sp?) I really like mine…they are such good friends with the Little Darlings😉
Have fun doing your magic accessories Jeanne.
Why my comments sometimes end up on another post is a mystery to me. Any ideas from you that are better at technology ?
Sorry Linda🫣
Hi Kathie, do you always post from the “Share your Thoughts! Post a Comment box at the bottom of the page? I think you may be accidentally hitting the “Reply” that is to the right of someone who has already commented and this time you happened to choose Linda. 🙂 That’s all I can think that is happening. Not a big deal.
As you will see my comment will show up under your name because I deliberately hit the “Reply” to the right of your comment.
Thanks for that…except it has happened like three times. Now I always make sure to use “Share your thoughts”. And I’m really sure I did today. I must be doing something weird 😳
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Linda!!! 😸🥳🍁🍂🍨🎂🎈🎁
Happy All Saints Day to you and all the Sofa Sisters!
Oh Laura, you blew my cover! But thank you so very much! Being born on All Saints Day keeps me wanting to be my best!
A late thank you for the great photos from Susette! I love the dolls on the stairs, but the costumes are gorgeous. The Sari reminds me of some sari silk a friend of my mom’s gave me when I was in my 30’s. It was pink and gold. I made an evening dress from it.
Jeanne, I did pick the rust ribbon, too. I love the fabric and I know the rest will be lovely. The change in the buttons is amazing! I agree the big one looks too big! However, seeing in person is more accurate, I am sure. Looking forward to the finish as always.
I am working on some Thanksgiving things for my dolls. We had the “tree guys” yesterday and I have to make some money!!
Oh that ketchup. Has Jeanne tried vinegar and lemon juice? And a little salt added. Much less mess. Or, my favorite for cleaning brass and other unlacquered metals, ammonia. Works so well on old brass handles. And there is no rubbing required at all. The tarnish disappears in minutes. On any places that might need further work, fine steel wool works perfectly. By the way, the mild acid in the tomatoes is what does the cleaning. ) And it is best not to get any acid on shell jewelry. Can etch and eat it. 🙁
The new dress colors are lovely on Felicity. I do like the chosen ribbon color with the fabric as well. However, the ribbon is a modern take. Perhaps, some ribbon the same color but less shiny? Not a fan of the buttons on the lace. Perhaps a button on a choker? or hanging from a thin black silk cord? Looking forward to seeing the skirt. Love this pattern and great fabric.
Well, Halloween is over, and I’m still working on orange and black things. Time to move on to something else I think. 🙂
I forgot to add, that I had an interesting doll delivery yesterday. We were not home when the mail arrived. I was expecting a package aka doll, but figured that the mail person would leave it as usual. Unfortunately, our regular guy doesn’t work Monday, so the package was not there when we arrived home. I had the kick it under the bench idea in mind. Grabbed the mail, and there was the dreaded package not delivered note which I carefully stuffed in my pocket before other person reached the top of the steps. Now what? Read the detailed checked off boxes and after a quick drive around the neighborhood, couldn’t find the truck. Darn. So, the best option was to drive to the main post office and pick it up there yesterday. So, I told other person I was going to CVS to look at Halloween stuff, for next year. Drove to the post office downtown. Not too crowded at 9:10. Gave them my tag and figured that they would probably tell me that they didn’t have the package and to have it delivered the following day. Well, she went to look and came back with the familiar box. Yay. Had to sign on their machine. It finally took my John Hancock, and I zipped to the car. Put the package in the back under the blanket. Had no idea when I could retrieve it. Then headed home. Road work going on everywhere. As I pulled into the driveway, other person’s truck was not there. I had asked other person to pick up the milk at our local small shopping center while I was gone, but guess he waited for awhile before leaving. I had a break. I had no idea if other person was heading back or not. I opened the back of the CRV and listened for cars. Hearing nothing, the coast was clear. Grabbed the package and pushed the tailgate closing button and ran down the walk and up the thirteen steps to the door where I hid the package in front of me while I fiddled with the keys to open the door. Dropped the keys. Ah! Finally, got the door open and no sign of other person. Whew. Inside, just walked to the back and put the box in a good spot for opening later. Can’t wait. Hoping to open my little girl from the Czech Republic soon. 🙂
Nice and easy doll delivery, Joy. Congrats on Patrice. I love her outfit with the ribbon design.
I would love to see Patrice too, but she’s still in the box. No time today, but I sure hope to free her soon. 🙂
I definitely like the third button up the best. I really like the fabric. I like browns. As for the ribbon color, if rust is a choice that will always be my pick. Don’t know why that is but I’ve always liked rust. This will be a lovely outfit I’m sure.
Went to the Boo Bash last evening. The grandkids had a great time and looked so cute in their costumes. When they went to trunk or treat Saturday it was in the 80s and Azure would not keep his adorable clown costume on. Last night it was cool enough he didn’t mind. Jaiden brought a friend along. I was in my glory because the evening reminded me so much of Halloween in PA when I was growing up. The sun came out late afternoon and the temp rose to 60 degrees but when we went the sun was going down and the temp dropped some down to the upper 50s. Sad to say though that for those who grew up here in southeast Texas that is cold. Some gave out their candy as quickly as they could so they could leave before the sun went down and it got really cold, which it never did by my estimation.
Some of my family members were fussing too. Even David thought it was a bit chilly. I guess being raised in the northeast and being born in late December made a difference for me or maybe I’m just hot natured like my grandmother was. I always said you could grow orchids in my grandfather’s bedroom and hang meat in my grandmother’s. She would have her windows wide open in the dead of winter. I just had on one of my winter tops with a lightweight mock turtleneck under it and a pair of fairly warm slacks. I gave Jaiden my jacket to wear since I did not need it. This was the first time I have been able to stay on my feet for a long time since I hurt my leg three years ago and I did well for the whole hour and a half we were there. I’m a little stiff today but used my rowing machine this morning and I’m planning to walk at the park this afternoon because the high for the day is 61 and it’s sunny. A perfect day to be outdoors.
So glad to hear it’s been four years since we started praying for a good outcome for our sofa sister Marilyn. What a blessing for her and her family that she is doing so well. Definitely answered prayer.
Yay!!!! I love to see Felicity modeling. I knew she hadn’t been up in absolute ages. Colonial (along with Edwardian and Civil War)are my favorite clothing eras. That material is just perfect for her with her coppery red hair and the minute I saw the ribbon choices I thought the rust was the absolute winner and it was. The crocheted lace around the collar and sleeves is beautiful. Can’t wait to see what all is coming with this one.
Forgot to comment on the buttons. The one above the final Too big one is my choice. I mimics the floral design of the dress perfectly.
That blue flowered dress was one of my favorites so I’m happy to see it’s being reborn again. I like the octagonal brighter gold button best. It seems to bring out the gold color in the fabric just a bit. The rust ribbon is perfect to me. Looking forward to seeing more. How are you at making plain slippers for AG’s?
I’m glad Joy was able to get the delivery handled with no problems, just a little anxiety.
I’m going with Dorothy on the gold button. I also like the gold ribbon on the sleeves. I like celebrating the last sunny days of fall and the warmth of Thanksgiving.
I didn’t know about the catsup trick. That’s neat. I’ve used salt and vinegar on copper — that works, though scrubbing is also necessary.
I am glad to see Felicity back as a model. Will she get a Williamsburg hat?
Oh WOW! Those buttons turned out FABULOUS!!!