Hi everyone,
I’m going to continue the October doll outfits because I’ve had a slight mishap… It’s the easiest thing for me to do… just add some pictures and a few words…
Yesterday I had some pain in my ankle and thought it was just some varicose veins breaking… well this morning, it was awful and I knew something was wrong… having had blood clots before several times, I knew the tell tale signs and I had them… So we went to the ER and sure enough… I did have them… they aren’t the deep vein thrombosis clots, but are in the superficial vein, called the Saphenous vein which runs closer to the top of your skin. They go from my ankle to my knee and are super painful and stingy and my foot is swollen! I was just put on aspirin for now, to break up the long string of clots before they form into a bigger one, but they want me to see a vein specialist…
So I’m okay… don’t worry, but I just can’t sit for long periods of time… Tomorrow my hubby is supposed to get his staples out, so I’ll do my best to walk around when I can… my hubby asked if I wanted the walker from upstairs… I told him not just yet, but I have been hobbling around looking pretty goofy in the house. I’m hoping tomorrow is a better day…
So now Henny Penny and I can share stories with each other about our hurt legs… :o)
Okay, all that said, to let you know I won’t be at my sewing machine for long periods of time… and I’m going to write my blog… ten minutes at a time, then ten minutes resting my leg…
First, I wanted to comment on how many of you were in plays and dramas, directing or singing or acting… it must be something that goes along with loving dolls… Doll lovers must be Drama lovers! :o)
From October 2021 you’ll find these pretty Christmas dresses for the Ruby Red Fashion Friends…
Here is Julie from October, 2020…
Here is Kirsten in “Hello Fall” from October 2020 as well…
Here is one more dress from October 2020…called “Welcome Fall” and it’s modeled by Lian AND Betsy McCall…
Now let’s move onto 2019… and see who was modeling for me in the month of October…I’ll end with these for now… because I want to show several pictures of these dresses. I designed the pattern and absolutely LOVED the way they turned out.
I think you can tell those were favorites of mine…
Well, that’s it for today… maybe I can finish up the 2014-2018 October dresses tomorrow…
See you then…
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne
I’m so sorry about your blood clots! I’m thankful you had it checked out right away, though–I can tell you, blood clots are nothing to fool around with. Ron had them after his back surgery (2008, I think), not from the surgery but from the month of almost total inactivity in the month preceding it (waiting for Medicare to agree to pay what the clinic or hospital wanted), because “I HURT!!!” About a week after surgery, his ankle was swollen, we checked with his doctor who sent him to the ER to be checked out–and he ended up back in the hospital with THREE pulmonary embolisms!! Within 10 minutes of finding out what he had, he had gotten moved to the front cubicle of the ER, someone was pushing IV heparin, someone else started an IV heparin drip, and a third nurse was putting in a heparin lock, in case they had to inject heparin straight into a vein again. That was one scary lesson for him to learn, about moving even if his back hurt!! He was in the hospital several days that time, and on one form or another of blood thinner for many months, which meant frequent trips to the doctor to have his clotting times checked.
Well, it’s easy to choose a favorite this month, too–Lian’s pretty purple outfit! But I also love the Christmas dresses, particularly the red plaid one.
Barbara, I have a 19″ Gotz doll, and as I recall, they can wear most of the 18″ clothes except slacks. I think the chest, waist and hips are about the same on both. Of course, the 19″ one will fit things a bit differently–the waist of a dress will be a bit higher on the body, for instance, and long sleeves might be a bit short.
Fun reading everyone’s memories about dance recitals. My son took ballet when he was 4, along with his little friend from preschool, Megan. They just took lessons the one year, and were in the recital, where the older students danced Sleeping Beauty, and Daniel and Megan played the king and queen in just the opening scenes. All they really had to do was promenade in and sit on their thrones for a bit, and then promenade out. So cute!
Thanks for the info on the 19″ Gotz doll. I sort of suspected the fit might be the case. But while my 18″ doll has tons of things to wear, I will be sewing for my new Gotz doll. I have so many beautiful fabric pieces that are too large scale for my smaller dolls so it will be a chance to use some of these. Your son and his little friend being the king and queen sounds really adorable. Andrea started dancing at the age of 3. Her first recital all she did was stand in one spot on stage, but then most of her class was doing that or wandering about aimlessly. It was hilarious. That year a dance teacher came to the daycare so I signed her up. The next year the daycare took them to a local dancing school. She was a little more familiar with what to do that year but at one point the dancers were in a line across the stage and had to sashay right and then left. Problem is half went one way and half the other and when they sashayed back they collided with each other. Too funny. But it really didn’t top the little girl in another class who was dressed as a bunny complete with furry mittens who was so nervous she wet herself and then reached down with her furry mittens to try to stop it. I hear people say they wouldn’t put their kids in dancing at such a young age because it would be wasting money. While I wanted her to have the stage experience I found from my point of view her doing it was priceless. Not to mention all the cute pictures along the way.
I am so sorry you have to deal with blood clots, Jeanne! That is good you got it checked on! I was wondering what it was like to know if you have a blood clot, so I know what to watch out for. My mother has had pretty bad varicose veins and had them stripped, so some would die, I think, but they got worse again. I haven’t had much of a problem with veins, thankfully.
One time I saw an older Gotz Hannah doll at a thrift store, but I didn’t know who she was at the time. She had a darker tone of skin and was wearing a hair net. She was beautiful and after that I wished I would have gotten her. I also like the Gotz Mila doll, but chances of owning her are pretty slim for me.
Another thing I wanted to comment on was one time I got to be a firefly in a school play. It was about a frog who wanted to fly away to places she never seen before. Also, have been angel for the nativity scene without any lines. In first or second grade I was a mouse for “First Grade Roundup”. My brother wore a beard and was the main character for Stone Soup for my First Grade Roundup. Fun times.
Nice to see all the dresses, Jeanne 🙂 Hope things go well with the staples!
Sounds like you’ve had some fun stage experiences. I wished I’d had some when I was young. I was terribly shy and it might have helped. When my son was a senior in high school he and his Sunday School class were in the Christmas pageant. They were the angels. I love seeing that picture of my grown son with wings and a halo. He was/is such a great person it actually fit him perfectly.
resting and more resting. Gosh how scary. It is very smart you went to get it checked at the hospital. I hope that resolves!!
I love the doll show. The dresses are really pretty. The fabrics are lovely.
I can’t pick a favorite but… well, I like the Ruby Reds. Also anything that you embellished bags and jackets, looks so sweet.
I just remembered I was in one “play” in 7th grade. I was Persephone in some Greek mythology lesson – I do not recall any of that except the girls in my class smothered me with make up and said I looks beautiful 😛
Well, very glad that you went to the ER and had your leg checked out. So, guess walking a lot is a good thing. 🙂 Hope George, is having the staples out locally so you don’t have to do the drive to SL. Anyway, glad you will be able to see a specialist. Hope it is sooner than later.
Kind of on edge around here this morning as oldest grand is having his knee surgery right now. He’s 13 almost 14 and had a player on the opposing soccer team hit him in the knee a couple of weeks ago. He had an MRI and has a completely severed ACL, so surgery with a cadaver replacement part is the only way to repair it. He’s in surgery now. He’ll have to miss two days of school, but fortunately, they have next week off for fall break, so that is working out perfectly. We’re so sorry for him. He’s sensitive and very kind. We have a new Lego set, some space thing, for him to work on while he heals. 🙂
I loved seeing all of Jeanne’s dresses. I really do like the one using the special pattern that Jeanne designed. Everyone is beautiful. I wonder if that pattern can be reduced to fit one of the Ruby Red’s? That would be a wonderful dress for them as well. With so many holidays approaching, a special party dress for them would be perfect. 🙂
We ended up at 103 yesterday, so today, it looks like we’ll be in the high 90’s. So some relief. Nice and cool this morning though and it looks like the poor plants have survived. More watering to do soon.
Prayers for your grandson and so sorry for his injury. I know you are on pins and needles. Nothing like a new Lego set to raise his spirits. My grandson, Skyy, who turned 14 the end of July loves them but the one thing we are discovering is that the older he gets the more expensive the sets get. In reply to your comment yesterday, I have two Natterer dolls, Romy and Valentine. I love them. They have such expressive faces. And I love hearing the stories of your stage experiences, both as an actor and director.
Dear Joy, Prayers for your grandson that the surgery is a success and he heals quickly. That is quite an injury for someone so young. It’s nice he has something fun to construct to take his mind off of things.
Apparently from an update, the surgeon came out about 9:30 and said that the surgery went well. And that he is going to be very tall. Guess they can tell from the growth plate or something. Anyway, we always suspected that he would be tall as he has the Danish genes from my side of the family and he looks like a Dane. 🙂 He may be on the way home now, haven’t heard further, but so relieved to hear that all went well.
Thanks to everyone for their kind comments.
That is good news Joy. That must have been a painful and scary injury for a 13 year old. Thankfully they heal quickly at that age.
Good thing you acted right away. Blood clots can cause many problems, hopefully you will be able to return to all of your activities soon, with plenty of rest. Chasing hens might have to wait. In the meantime I am really enjoying the photos of all the October outfits.
I think the dance, theater, and dolls connection may have to do with costuming and playing a part. I do dress the dolls around a season, theme or story. I wasn’t in drama but my daughter performed in most of the musical productions in our city during her childhood and youth. Thanks to Madame Alexander I have been able to find a doll for each of her roles and display all of them for at least part of the year.
Speaking of dressing dolls for a theme, Sissy’s Meadow Tia is featured on pg. 32 of the October issue of “Dolls”! That Halloween outfit is adorable on Tia right down to her “spider web” shoes.
Joy, 100 doesn’t sound right for October! It was 87 here in North Carolina yesterday. The leaves want to turn but it is just too warm. I can’t fathom the suffering in the western part of our state. I lived in South Louisiana during Katrina and many of the changes have been permanent. I don’t know how those mountain communities will recover because so many roads and bridges were washed away. Many business owners had no flood insurance because they weren’t in a flood zone. The extra cost of the insurance is prohibitive without subsidies. Helicopters fly overhead all day long headed to search and rescue.
I hope the rest of you are starting to enjoy some autumn weather.
No autumn weather here but last year on Halloween it was quite cool for the Boo Bash here in town. I dressed for it but the rest of my family still thought it was summer I guess because they were glad when it was time to go. I was totally enjoying myself. At last I could breathe. I was going to ask how you fared during Helene so I’m glad you mentioned it. I have been contributing to whatever I can to help out. I have some favorite charities I trust, and I always buy Tide laundry detergent even though it is more expensive to contribute to “Loads of Hope” where they go in with a trailer of washers and dryers and do laundry for the people in disaster areas. I know that I can handle just about anything if I can be clean. We used to do wilderness camping and I always insisted on being near water in some way. One time it was a pipe coming from a rock connected to water from a mountain stream. Boy was that cold.
I know all of your help will be appreciated by those that have lost so much. That is good to know about Tide. Although many still have a home at least a million are without electricity.
So sorry to hear about your blood clot problem Jeanne. You are right staying on top of the problem. After David’s knee surgery he had to take blood thinner shots. Evidently they can be a real problem after knee surgery. Thankfully Jason was good at giving them, so he came over daily and gave David the shot. My cousin had knee surgery and they didn’t give him the blood thinners and he ended up with a serious blood clot problem.
I love all the dresses but I agree with Joy that the pattern you created is so lovely it needs to be available for other doll sizes. It is exquisite.
I’m sure you will continue to take good care of yourself and see the specialist so you can get back full time to doing what you love. Making beautiful doll clothes for us to drool over bid on.
So sorry to hear about your blood clots, Jeanne. Do you wear supportive hose while sitting? That would probably help.
What a lovely dress show. The khaki one on Samantha is one of my absolute favorites.
I love those three on the RRFFs, especially the plaid on Rozen. Kirsten looks so sweet. I really love that outfit on Lian mainly because of the matching dress ruffle under the jacket collar.
Somehow I missed all the stage talk. I did take ballet for a year and enjoyed being in the recital that year. I also was in our church’s Christmas plays and a couple plays we had at school.. My daughter was also in our church’s Christmas plays starting in preschool. One year she had the lead with a large singing role which she loved.
I think the Samantha outfit everyone is complimenting you on is one based on a picture I sent and thought you might copy. It gave you endless trouble and I felt guilty for years, so I’m very happy it’s a favorite. George preferred the blue one, which I managed to win. George apparently likes blue a lot. So does Nelle (my Nellie). She especially likes the high lace neck. Very turn of the century. My paternal grandmother attend business school in about 1906, so she got to wear those high collars. In summer, the young women at the school (in very warm Nebraska) unbuttoned their top collar buttons and their sleeve cuff buttons and turned the cuffs up. She said, “My, how they talked about us.” I don’t think she minded. Years later, she liked Elvis Presley and then enjoyed seeing the “gypsies” (hippies) that flocked to Boulder. She was herself always dressed to ladylike perfection.
On the blood clots, I got mine from wearing those elastic topped non-slip socks they make you wear in hospitals. Long hospital stays, in both cases. If you have heavy legs, keep the stockings folded down so the elastic is not tight around your calves.
My dad a a blood clotting gene. He learned that damp heat helps. A dampened towel and a sun lamp speeds healing.
Oh no, blood clots! Jeanne, thankfully you will have them take. Care of and won’t be getting them again. My mother was prone to blood clots, but thankfully, I am not because my blood will not clot. I bleed very easily! My leg was very swollen and sore when I had one of my two knee surgeries, and they thought it was due to blood clots, but was just water. Also I hope George has a successful staple removal.
Oh my, those outfits you have made! I would think you feel so proud of yourself Whe you go through these and know YOU made them! I just love that last one, and remember all the trials and tribulations of making that dress! It is one of my very favorites, especially the beige one, which is so elegant looking!
Hi Jeanne…sorry to hear that you’re going through one of those “bumps in the road” so to speak with the blood clot situation. Seems like as we age, we go along just fine for quite a while and then “boom”….here comes another bump in the road. I’m dealing with a “clogged-up” ear since August, followed my PCP doctor’s advice of eardrops, etc., and ended up seeing an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor (ENT). I thought perhaps I was going deaf in the one ear, but he diagnosed Serous Otitis Media: eustachian tube dysfunction with conductive hearing loss in the one ear. He performed a Myringotomy in his office, which is a small hole made in the eardrum (with topical anesthetic) and the inner ear fluid build-up is suctioned out. The hole heals closed after a couple of weeks. Used antibiotic eardrops for two weeks afterwards, and my hearing had returned to normal. And then “Boom”…my hearing is plugged somewhat again…not as bad as it was, but I may need to return to an ENT doctor. Such an annoying interruption when I just want to craft and sew ensembles for my Ruby Red doll collection, and work on my snowmen and Santa figures for Christmas gifts this year!! I guess we just have to deal with what comes our way and keep moving!
I had my gallbladder removed in May, had an ERCP hospital procedure done a week after that surgery, developed sepsis while I was in the hospital for four more days and then pleaded with the doctor to be able to go home to recuperate! You do NOT rest in the noisy hospital setting and all that it entails! So while on broad-spectrum antibiotics at home, I rested and gradually returned to my art room and sewing machine….my happy place!! I am sooooo ready for some normalcy and less frequent “bumps in the road”! Another “small bump” recently….I was weeding out the mulched areas next to our front porch a week ago and had applied ant spray directly onto my feet, sandals, work gloves….saturated them actually….and accidently stepped onto two fire ant areas that I didn’t see. Had nearly 30 sting bites across both feet and some on my forearm where they climbed off of my work gloves! Soaked my feet in a bucket of cold water mixed with baking soda for nearly two hours that first day, took Tylenol for pain, and applied Aveeno anti-itch lotion for days, and had to use icy-cold chill packs for a couple of days. And the blisters are now starting to fade after a week. I didn’t get to completely finish with weed-pulling but at least the bushes and decorative tall grasses are trimmed to an even height. My son-in-law applied fire ant powder to the ant pile areas but I am not weeding there again until I apply fire-ant killer to the entire mulched area! And maybe purchase tall rubber gardening boots!
I have this saying which I printed out from online and posted by my computer:
I’m not always up for seizing the day. Somedays, I just poke at it with a stick and hope for the best.
I just loved seeing your Ruby Red doll dresses and the hair bows and little plaid hat, and decorated Christmas packages! I sewed many outfits for an AG doll when my Granddaughter was a little girl, but never like the fine period dresses you have posted! I have kept my collection of AG size doll patterns and many are period styles but my Granddaughter just grew up faster than I could sew! Of course, I worked full-time then too and now find I have the time being retired. She is turning 21 this week and is in her last year of college and working on her dietician clinicals, and I said to her I wish she still needed a doll with some outfits, and she responded with how she missed her days of dolls and doll clothes!
I have purchased a few Pemberley Threads16 inch doll patterns and reworked the sizes to fit my Ruby Red dolls….and found some of the sweetest tiny fabric prints and colors from The Fabric Shack to turn into the 1830’s dress and bonnet looks. Having trouble pasting a photo onto this posting….any suggestions?
Elizabeth, you need to send pictures to Jeanne directly to her email address for pictures. Ask her for it.
Those fire ants can be horrendous. My first experience with them was shortly after moving to Texas. I was sitting down on a golf course and manage to sit next to a pile of them. Having come from the northeast I had no clue about them. I was going nuts trying to get them off me. Then another time I was standing outside my apartment talking to a neighbor when I felt something around my legs. I thought it was mosquitos. I looked down and my feet and bottom of my legs were covered with them. They do that pheromone thing. After they get all over you they get the signal to bite – all at once. By the next day my legs were swelling so I went to the doctor. He gave me a shot and I had to drink a soda bicarb solution for a few days. I do not handle biting and stinging insects well. A normal mosquito bite on me becomes a large welt and feels like a fire ant bite. And I’m not fond of bee strings but I’m not afraid of them so they leave me alone. Fire ants don’t even think of leaving you alone. But one thing that has worked for us and is cheap to use is diatomaceous earth. It actually abrades their exoskeletons. Since it is natural it is harmless to anything but insects.
Hi Elizabeth,
You can send the pictures to me in an email… then I’ll show them…
Blessings, Jeanne
Yikes, ladies, those fire ant stories are scary! I have not run into them, but the ticks have been bad this year. I have had several trying to live on me and some have succeeded, until I find them.
Jeanne, I am so sorry about your latest bought with health. You are always in all our prayers, here, and we will add the latest problems I am sure.
I love your beautiful outfits but that one on Lian has always been my favorite. The fabric choices are perfect and I love the little collar on the jacket, such a sweet touch! Keep us posted about you and George. I hope you get some relief soon!
Sissy, you mentioned that I was brave in taking dancing as an adult. Actually it was a lot of fun and the class was pretty large. Several of us had children taking at the same dancing school. At one time when Andrea, Sean and I were all in different classes David had a family member in nearly every dance in the recital. I danced up until two days before my daughter was born and two weeks before my son (he was heavier and my corset would no longer fit). I added it all up one day and realized as an adult I had taken 20 years of dance.
Dear Jeanne, oh my goodness! We are going to have to wind you in bubble wrap to keep you safe. Please take care of yourself.