HI everyone,
Thank you for all your kind words about Susette. I totally agree with you… she was a wonderful woman who had so many talents. It will take a long time for this to sink in for many of us. Linda sent me a poem from Instagram and I tried to get it transferred to my blog, but couldn’t. Then I finished reading the comments and saw where our very own Dorothy of PA and the World, had written a poem. Since she was the “inventor” of our Sofa Sisters, I decided to share it here, in case anyone missed it yesterday.
Angel Sister: a poem for Susette
(copyright Dorothy in Pa and the World 2025)
She exchanged her dress for other things
like a robe, halo, and angel wings
We’ll miss her words about her life
this mother, gran, and cherished wife
Her smile we felt but could not see
her heart was giving, open, and free
Our sofa now has one less seat
in the holy realm that’s no defeat
While worldly things we may hold dear
our angel sister has this to share:
the goodness in God’s promised call
a heavenly temple that awaits us all
God has a space on His sofa above
where Susette now sits enveloped in love
Thank you, Dorothy! How thoughtful of you to write this wonderful poem!
Joy sent me two pictures of a dress she just finished, and it was a good thing because I’ve had a few things on my plate lately and haven’t gotten much done in my sewing room… sewing or cleaning!
You’re sure to enjoy these… I think her doll is named Noelle, but not positive.
Here, I’ve sent along a couple of photos of the outfit I have finally finished. It could be for back to school, but I’m using it for the holidays. 🙂 And what do you think of the shoes with it? I absolutely love them. 🙂
Joy
Isn’t Joy’s dress for her Ruby Red Fashion Friend just the sweetest? I LOVE that plaid AND the pattern! Look at that collar… it’s PERFECT and I told her so!!!
Now, we have some pictures from Linda…
Boy, Jeanne, this was this something, trying to figure out who would wear what, then dressing them!
Here we go: Tap dancer, cowgirl, Grecian Princess and Tinkerbell! These are the 40’s girls.
Cecile is a showgirl and Kirsten a mermaid.
The modern girls are just in clothes that evoke A Halloween vibe, but cute nevertheless!
Molly’s table set for a party.
Felicity is a medieval Princess!
Of course, Linda included a picture of her decorated doll house!
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Thank you, Dorothy, for your poem about Susette. I had read all the comments from yesterday and saw it there, but I’m glad that Jeanne shared it here in case someone missed it yesterday.
Joy, that dress turned out so cute, and the collars are absolutely perfect!! Those small curves are hard to sew (and even harder to get them to match!), so I imagine you used really small stitches for more control, and maybe held your mouth Just So while you carefully maneuvered those curves under the presser foot!! 😄
And yes, I absolutely LOVE her shoes!! Wherever did you find them?
Linda, thank you for sharing your wonderful Halloween pictures. There is so much to see, I keep having to go back and look some more!
My Molly loves to be a cowgirl, too; her blouse is also red gingham, but her vest and skirt are a black and white “pony” print faux suede. She has red boots (which she loves!) and a white hat, too.
I love Kirsten’s mermaid costume! Was that an AG one from a few years back? I’m trying to remember….
I love the rest of the pictures, too. Molly’s table looks so festive!
Marika and I are planning another Halloween lunch, and bringing our dolls again. Stay tuned!
Dear Charlotte, thank you. I just wanted to honor Susette in some way and the poem made its way into my mind.
Thanks Charlotte on the dress. I only wish I knew how to change the stitch size. I just use the presser foot and lift it up and down and turn the fabric to do the small stuff. Guess I should Google it. 🙂 Glad you spotted a pair of Jeanne’s wonderful shoes too.
Joy, your machine should have a stitch gauge of some sort (old ones sometimes had a lever that went up and down, newer ones usually have a knob to turn). A little experimenting on scrap fabric should give you an idea how that works. If you don’t have the owner’s manual for your machine, I’m sure you could find it online, and that would answer your questions. Then you might also look for a chart that gives an equivalency chart, translating mm. stitch size to how many stitches per inch. For instance, as I recall, 2.5 mm. is 14-16 sts. per inch. For going around that small collar, I would take the stitch length down to 1.5 or even 1.0. I hope that helps.
Oh, of Course, those are Jeanne’s shoes! When I looked at them again, I recognized them. Duh!!
What a sweet poem, Dorothy! You always say you have no talent, but I now declare you our “resident poet”! You DO have talent!
Joy, what a darling outfit! I too, love that plaid, and yes, you did a wonderful job on that collar! The colors are perfect for Christmas, or whenever! Aren’t those Jeanne’s shoes she made? They certainly do dress it up!
Charlotte, Molly is wearing the AG cowgirl outfit that was made for Maryellen. It is such a nicely made costume, and of course, perfect for Molly.
Yes, that is an AG mermaid costume, from several years ago. In fact, it was a gift from Susette to me, so I thought I should use it this year. It is one of my favorites, and so detailed.
Thank you, Jeanne for including my pictures!By the way, Marilyn has been trying to comment, but she says after she does, her comments just disappear. Just so you know.
Dear Linda, thanks for your kind words. I do feel blessed for being able to write. I think of Susette sitting on the heavenly sofa with the other angels.
Tks on the dress. And yes those are shoes by Jeanne. Love them. 🙂
Dear Jeanne, thanks for sharing my poem. I am sure that Susette is looking down on us and smiling.
Yesterday’s news lingered with me all day. It was dark and gloomy but we did manage to get in a walk with just a few sprinkles. Then, as we were trying to make a beeline for home because I wanted to blow some more leaves off the driveway, our favorite pups appeared. That lifted the somber day as we gave them their milk bone treats. Winnie from next door and the two rescues from up the street with tails wagging. Made it home and holding an umbrella in one hand and blower in the other, I cleared the driveway just before the rain really started pelting. Leaf guy came down the street at 6:00 this morning so it looks good out there now.
I’m sorry to hear that Marilyn, is having trouble posting. Hope to hear from her soon. I read Dorothy’s remarkable poem yesterday which was a perfect ending to the tributes.
And today, it was wonderful to see Linda’s girls all decked out in their fun holiday costumes. What a perfect vignette with that Halloween sign in front. I love Kirsten’s mermaid costume and the showgirl is fun too. I really like the modern girls and the whole setting is exciting. They make perfect trick or treaters, and it looks like they are standing on someone’s porch waiting for treats. That hopefully, friendly, ghost is such a fun addition. How do you come up with these things? And Betsy’s dress is so sweet except for that scary spider climbing up the front. I bet that would freak her out if she knew. 🙂 The Halloween tablescape is delightful. So creative with the linens and other cute decorations. The kids will love it after their trick or treating rounds. Wow, what a fab outfit on Felicity. It’s lovely. And last but not least, my favorite dollhouse ever. It would be very scary trick or treating at that house. 🙂
More rain expected today, but then back to sun and more deck work after it dries out. I’ll be painting the other sides of the rails I managed to get done late Sunday and stored them under the overhang where it is dry. Time for another cat food run to Target today. I’ll be looking at holiday decor too. 🙂
Thanks Jeanne and Linda for sharing the fun photos.
Dear Joy, thank you for the nice comment.
Thank you, Joy! How do I come up with these things? I just use the things that I have, and plan it all out a week or two before I start dressing the dolls. I always wanted to be one of those people who decorated store front windows, things like that are what I really would love to do. However, it doesn’t pay the mortgage! 😊
I got the ghost at Michael’s just last year, and you should see what it is standing on, jello boxes, and soup cans, which thankfully you can’t see!!
No worries about Betsy being scared out of her wits not knowing a spider is climbing on the front of her dress, because it is just embroidered and she knows about it!
Thank you so much for all the compliments! It was fun to do and I’m glad it gave you such pleasure!
You’re right about the mortgage. My grandfather attended the Chicago School of Design and received a degree in window decorating. He was able to get a job here at a local store. In fact, I have a picture that made the local newspaper of one of his window displays. But, when the depression came along, he lost his job like so many others and ended up getting another laying linoleum floors for a furniture company owned by some Danes like him. Not quite the creative dream he probably had, but it helped pay the bills. 🙂
Thanks for the low down on where to look for things. And so glad that Betsy’s spider is a design. 🙂
I forgot to mention that .Felicity’s costume is American Girl’s Medieval Princess costume from more than a few years back. I believe Laura has one too.
Joy, that dress is so adorable. And I noticed the perfect collar too. I love your choice of fabric and contrast. And the shoes look great with it. I see what you mean that it could be used for back-to-school or holiday. I have an advantage on my machine that helps me do curves fairly easily. When I lift off the foot pedal my pressure foot lifts off my fabric. Not much but enough to allow me to maneuver whatever I’m sewing without having to raise the needle. When I do the curves on a collar I usually do three or four stitches and stop and adjust the collar, do three or four more until I come to the area that is easier to adjust and then I can sew easily until I reach the part with the tighter curve again. Shortly after I bought my machine I did the collar on a dress for an 18″ doll. I was amazed at how well the collar came out. I had always had problems with it before.
Dorothy in PA and the World, your poem was amazing. It made me cry it was so beautiful. You always say you are without talent but you contribute to the sofa in so many ways, like keeping us up-to-date on dolly happenings and wonderful poetry. And telling us all about your wonderful dolly tea events, etc. You have much value on the big sofa.
Linda, your displays are always pure joy to see. Your dolls are always so appropriately dressed for any season or event. Your props are so wonderful and your settings so detailed I have to look at them again and again to make sure I notice everything. What is the table topper with the bats and Jack-o-lanterns? The only downside is every time you show an outfit on Betsy my Betsy goes online to see if she can find one like it. She usually can’t which can be a good thing for me, but I know she’s not going to stop trying.
I keep hoping every year that I will get into dressing my dolls for Halloween but time gets away from me and I don’t. I have several dolls who have Halloween themed wearing attire but few have costumes even though I have many patterns for costumes. Maybe next year. It took me about five years to get the pool made and some time after that before I got the swimsuits made in order to do that photo shoot.
Dear Barbara, thank you. I am blessed to be able to write as you know I am a non-cook/crafter/gardener/sewer (smile).
When it comes to cooking and gardening we are on the same page. I don’t do it if I can avoid it. But I do love to write but not poetry, which you do so well.
Thanks, Barbara! At first I was stumped about your question about the table topper with bats and pumpkins, but after looking at it, I guess you must mean the placemat on top of the black and orange kitchen towel I put on Molly’s table. It is a Halloween place at from Kohl’s that I got several years ago, and the towel too! They also had a Valentine placemat similar to that with cutout hearts that I have for Valentine’s Day setups.
I had Betsy’s dress for about 5 or so years from some woman on EBay, but I can’t remember who she was or if she still sells. It is a very nice dress and pinafore, nothing cheaply made about it, something like Jeanne would sew. I’m happy to have it.
Those dolls of yours must have the patience of a saint!
Again, thank you for the compliments!
I thought it might be a placemat but not knowing the size of the table I couldn’t be sure. You do find some lovely things for your Betsy. And yes my dolls have unlimited patience but David says not. He says he hears them in the sewing room at night fussing because it’s taking me too long to get working on their new outfit.
Thank you on the dress. And great info on sewing on he curve. Most of my problem appears to be that I can’t see the edges any more so I need that white paper underneath while sewing. Has worked pretty well. 🙂
I’d love to see your Halloween outfits.
Good morning dears. goodness, I am still in shock. I went back though your blog to read so many of Susette’s perky comments from the past.
she will be terribly missed
Dorothy, your poem is beautiful, so inspired by a happy lovely soul, safe in the arms of Angels.
Linda, I love your Halloween costumes. The girls look so happy to pose. I used to have a Tinkerbell doll when I was a tiny tot. I do not remember much of it.
I love the casual Halloween attire, nice for dress up day at school… these days.
So many lovely pictures!! I love the doll house too, great scene set up! All of your photos are delightful.
Yesterday I sewed a few blocks for the Under The Maple Tree quilt along
and also did a few chores. It is getting chilly here in the western part of Northern Virginia.
Dear Rosemary, thank you for your nice thought. I can imagine Susette sitting with the angels.
Thank you, Rosemary! Yes, my girls are happy to pose in their Halloween finery if it means they get candy afterwards!😊
What an absolutely lovely poem, Dorothy in PA. I did see it yesterday, but thought I would wait until today to comment. I’m glad it was reprinted today. You have a wonderful talent for writing poetry.
Aww, that jumper and blouse is just so pretty on Noelle, Joy. The collar is absolutely perfect. Jeanne’s red shoes are a wonderful complement and I love her little box of pinecones for sale.
I knew you would be dressing your girls soon for Halloween , Linda. They certainly have a lot of fun costumes from which to choose. Sara is a darling Tinkerbell and the mermaid costume that Susette gave to you is just amazing. I like that Halloween sign with the black kitty. Molly looks ready for a fun party. Everything is great. You always put together such wonderful and detailed scenes.
Yes, I do have the Medieval princess costume you have on Felicity. That, and the Wood Fairy, are the only two I absolutely needed.
I’m sorry Marilyn is having problems commenting. Hopefully, she will be able to soon.
Thanks so much Laura. Noelle, does like the outfit. 🙂 I think I picked up the pinecones at Walmart last year on their clearance. Today, at Target, I found a couple of little frames and trinket dishes. The frames are perfect doll size and have holiday theme in them, but they can be opened and something different added for another look. And the little dishes are perfect for doll dishes. I chose the ones with tiny skiers, but there were others. Love those dollar items. 🙂
Dear Laura, thank you. I have been writing poems my entire life. I thought Susette should have a tribute.
Thank you, Laura! I certainly do have a lot of costumes and never get to use them all every year, so I try to rotate them. Some haven’t been worn for awhile, so they their day in the sun, so to speak!
The wooden Halloween sign is something I picked up while we were on vacation in Branson several years ago. I’m always thinking of things I can get for my dolls when I go shopping, it seems! It does pay off!
Who gets to wear the two Halloween costumes at your house? You ought to take a picture of them dressed up to show us. I love the Wood Fairy costume, but the price on EBay is way too high for me now, if you can find it.
The Medieval princess goes on Gilead (my custom Nellie with 33s wig). I do have a picture of that from the year before last I could send to Jeanne. The Wood Fairy typically went on Felicity or Evangeline (Samantha), but I think now it would also look darling on Shiloh (Marie-Grace) because of her delicate heart shaped face. I haven’t had that one out in quite a few years so I’m not sure which under the bed box it is in. If I can find it easily (six boxes to go through) I will take a picture of that one as well. If not, I will share it when I do as it could be for spring or summer also.
Yes, the Wood Fairy is considered rare for some reason and very expensive. It is my favorite costume PC/AG ever made.
What a lovely blog today. Dorothy your poem was lovely, I didn’t see it yesterday so thank you for reprinting it Jeanne.
Joy, your little dress is beautiful. So beautifully made, and I love the shoes. My poor Sara is desperate for some new outfits but she has to wait a bit longer.
Linda, I always love your photoshoots. They are always so creative and each one is so different.
Marilyn, I commented the other day but when I checked back the next day it wasn’t there, I am not sure what happened either.
I am busy with an order for two baby (machine) smocked dresses. The first one is for Christmas and is green and red plaid and the other is bigger and is in pink. I’d like to hand smock them but I would be doing it for free since no one here wants to pay for my time!
The weather is gradually improving, it is two steps forward one step back at the moment. We had 27C (84F) on Friday then on Sunday it dropped to 13C (56F)! I am not complaining though, Christchurch was an isolated oasis with heavy rain and flooding in a lot of the country. We had some showers but that was all. It is supposed to be19C today so not too bad.
Have a good day everyone
Thank you on the outfit. I think your Sara deserves sweet little smocked dress. Love smocked dresses on the Ruby Reds. Maybe when you have more time. 🙂
Thank you very much, Anne! It sure makes my day when someone from halfway around the world likes my scenes!
I hope yu share pictures of the smocked baby clothes yu are making! I just love smocking on little girls dresses!
Dear Anne, thank you for your kind words. I am happy to be able to share my poems as my little contribution to all of the wonderful content that the rest of the Sofa Sisters share.
Dorothy, what a lovely poem you wrote in honor of Susette. It is so beautiful and the words are just perfect. Thank you for sharing it with us. We will miss her.
And Joy, I love love love your outfit! The style is adorable and the green, red and white plaid is my perfect, especially accented with the green collar.
And Linda, it’s always a treat to see your girls in the scenes you create! Your girls, divided by eras, look all set in they’re costumes for Halloween! Each scene is so much fun to look at. You always do a great job on your sets!
Thank you Jeanne, Dorothy, Joy and Linda for sharing with us all!
Oh, thank you, Paula. Noelle, does like the dress too. 🙂
Thank you so much, Paula! I enjoy setting everything up and also enjoy bringing it all for the sofa sisters to enjoy on the blog. Dear Jeanne is so generous enough to show them too!
Yes, my dolls are divided by eras, it works out better for me, both in setting up scenes and then too, figuring out what they should wear. Their clothes are also stored according to their eras, which make it easier to find what I want.
Dear Paula, thank you for liking my poem. I have always enjoyed writing and reciting poetry. This poem is my little blessing for Susette.