Hi everyone,
Charlotte sent some pictures of what she has been working on and where she went with her dolls… I hope you enjoy her pictures.
Dear Jeanne,
I thought it might help to have some pictures to show. So here are a few for you.
The first one is the pot of snapdragons that a lady from church gave me, to thank me for playing for church all the time. They were in a yellow pot, and so pretty. I had mentioned them on the blog here, and got some good suggestions about repotting, etc., so the second picture shows the results of the repotting. Since I took that picture, I have deadheaded three of them, and I think the fourth needs it now, too. I think I’m seeing some new growth among those I have deadheaded, but no new buds yet!!
Then today my girlfriend Marika and I met for lunch, and that always means dolls! I took a couple of pictures of our dolls standing together. The left-hand doll is my Rose, who is a Magic Attic doll. As you see, she is the same height as an AG doll, but has a slimmer, all-vinyl body. They had some of the nicest clothes and accessories for that doll but eventually Marie Osmond’s doll company bought out Magic Attic, and they were never heard from again.
Anyway, Rose is wearing purchased t-shirt and skirt, and the “ballet” sweater I made for her. It was a pattern from Clotillde, as I recall, and I started it years and years ago, and then put it away, sidetracked by other projects. This spring, I finally finished it. It has ties that wrap around (and a slit in the right side for the left tie to go thru) and tie in a bow in the back, or a knot in the front.
Next to her is the “modern” version of Felicity, who is the size of the Wellie Wishers. I really didn’t expect her to be so nice and so cute, nor did Marika, so we were pleasantly surprised!
The doll on the far right is, I think, a Truly Me doll which Marika uses as her Felicity. She is wearing one of the new Hill House fashions from the AG company, which replicates Felicity’s original “meet” dress print. It came with the matching headband and coordinating shoes. There are similar outfits using Samantha’s, Addy’s and Kirsten’s prints in modern styles; I checked the web site tonight.
While we were eating, we noticed some ladies at another table, and two of them were looking our way! Later on, one of them came over to take a closer look, and we talked dolls for a couple of minutes.
In addition to all our doll talk, I showed Marika a couple of other things I’d made, and she showed me a few pictures from her daughter’s wedding. Her daughter is 43, and got married for the first time just recently! It was a small wedding, but lovely, from what few pictures I saw on her phone. She said they are still waiting for the “official” pictures to come.
All in all, it was a pleasant time! Charlotte
Here are a few more pictures from Charlotte,
Hi Jeanne, here are two pictures of the last quilt I finished. This is called a “stack and whack” and it was a popular way to make quilt blocks about 25 years ago. You stack six identically-sized squares of different fabrics, precisely matching sides and corners, make one slightly curved cut thru it, then cut each “half” into three sections. Then you rearrange them so each block will have one piece of each of the six fabrics in them. Then you sew them together! It’s good to choose coordinating fabrics; as you see, I went for bright colors! It’s a good size for a crib quilt, and big enough to lay on the floor and put baby and a few toys on it for tummy time. It was fun to make, and “only” took me about 25 years to finish!!
Thank you Charlotte,
I appreciate you sending your pictures!
Blessings, Jeanne
Thank you for sharing my pictures, Jeanne! I’m so glad they helped you out. I will try to check back in the afternoon and reply to any comments and questions as they arise. I will be at church for about 2-3 hours after lunch, though. We have our prayer service at 1, and then I always stay and work on my music for a while.
In reading thru what I wrote, I realize a correction is in order (this is what I get for sending things at 3 in the morning!). In the first paragraph about the dolls, I said that Rose “has a slimmer, all-vinyl doll”, and I’m sure you realize that should be a slimmer, all-vinyl BODY!! Sheesh!!
And about the quilt, the first picture shows a little of the backing fabric. I don’t remember where I got it–it was in my stash, so I could have bought it but it’s equally likely I picked it up on the “free” table at sewing guild at some point. At any rate, it worked with the colorful blocks, and should work pretty well if the quilt is used on the floor, as it won’t show the dirt too much!
As to yesterday’s comments:
Rosemary, if you find out where to procure a magic wand, could you please let me know? I think I could really use one around here, too! Those “clutter piles”, you know….😂
Joy, I hope you and other person were able to get the new A/C unit figured out and perfectly balanced so it will drain properly.
Marilyn, thanks for reminding us all that we sometimes need to take breaks, particularly those who are “doing” on a regular basis. My girlfriend once said to me, it’s like on the airplane, they always tell you, in case of emergency and the oxygen masks drop down, put your own on First and then you can help others! So, Jeanne, it’s “oxygen mask” time!
Barbara, I’m glad to hear the PT is helping to strengthen your body. It’s amazing to me how regular exercises, even when you can’t do much yet, can help so much over time! I found that out when I broke my arm 3-1/2 years ago, and was using a pulley to help raise and lower it, a little at a time. It was a big deal when I could raise my arm to shoulder height; now I can set my hair on the back of my head!
Thank you for the lovely and fun pictures, Charlotte! I love snapdragons and used to have them in my yard. I think I may get some for a pot as you are doing. I love that you have a friend to go out with you with the dolls. They are so cute I am not surprised that someone came over to look. Your quilt is just amazing to me. I love all the colors and pieces you used, just beautiful. Thank you for sharing such nice photos!
Thank you, Sissy! Yes, I love snapdragons, too–I remember playing with the flowers and making their “mouths” open when I was a little girl in Michigan. Mom always planted them. So when someone on this list suggested I repot them in a bigger pot outside, I did just that. Here’s hoping for some more flowers in the near future! I’m no kind of gardener at all, so giving me plants is kind of dicey! 🙄😂
Marika and I have been doing “doll lunches” since pre-pandemic, so quite a few years now. We used to go over to the AG Place at Alderwood Mall on Halloween, with our dolls in costume, and have lunch at their little restaurant there. The pandemic brought that to a screeching halt, sadly, and we had to choose somewhere else to eat. Now we go out about 3-4 times a year, and always bring a doll (or two!) along. We do often get nice comments when we do.
I’m glad you liked the quilt. It was really fun to put together.
Charlotte, the sweater you knitted is beautiful! I love the style. Even though it took forever and ever, the result is perfect!
Thank you so much, Rosemary. I enjoy knitting, as well as sewing, and I don’t know why I procrastinated so long to finish Rose’s sweater! I am glad to see that it fit her perfectly; I must knit fairly close to gauge, as I rarely check it at the start of a project (shame on me, I guess!).
It’s so nice that you and your friend meet together for lunch and bring your dolls. have I been in the room. I would’ve definitely gone over and talk to you about the outfits and the different dolls that you have!
the doll on the end with the long black hair I am not familiar with the company that makes her, but she is very pretty and the outfit you have on her is really adorable on her.
And your plant is really lovely. I’m sure it’ll perk up a little bit more once it’s adjusted to the big pot now.
Thank you for sharing your pictures! I always love to see everyone style’s dressed and I’m going to send a picture of my new Ivy Lang doll.
Thank you, Paula; we do enjoy our time together. We’re almost the same age, and have a number of things in common. She is Much more disciplined in her doll collecting than I am, though!
Rose was one of I think five in the Magic Attic series. As I recall, there was Allison (blond), Megan (redhead) a brunette (whose name escapes me at the moment), Keisha (A/A), and Rose. They were friends and, as the story goes, would go up into an aunt’s (I think) attic, try on clothes from old trunks (clothes included some of the fabulous outfits you could purchase for the dolls) and were magically transported into the scene. I think they each came with a key to the magic attic, too. May not have all the details quite right but that’s basically it, I think. They are very well-made dolls, and their clothes and accessories were beautifully done.
I am already seeing some new growth on the plants, so I guess I haven’t killed them yet! 😉
I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of your Ivy Ling!
I love ballet sweaters and yours (I mean Rose’s) is so pretty. I was wondering what happened to the Magic Attic dolls. Your quilt is very nice. I’m still dragging my feet in the quilting arena although I have all that I need to begin, definitely when it comes to fabric. I guess it’s just that so many of my dolly daughters are always crying out for new threads so I do that instead. Thanks for the positive note on PT. I have to remind myself I just started because some days I don’t feel like it’s helping much. But I do see tiny incremental changes, I’m just still not able to walk on my own comfortably. But I’ll stick to it and continue after at the gym.
Thank you, Barbara. It really wasn’t too difficult to knit (although there were lots of decreases to form that V neckline!). Yes, I was really disappointed that Magic Attic got sold and then that they just disappeared after that. I think I read that in a doll magazine (that they’d been sold, and to whom) one time. I don’t know if they had planned to bring them back at some point but apparently it never happened, which is a shames.
Well, I got into quilting in the late 90s; I hadn’t done much sewing for a year or so, and I was in Pacific Fabrics one day. They were starting a new quilt group, and all you had to do was make one quilt block a month. So, I thought, this might be a good way to get my sewing mojo going again, and I started going. Long story short, I participated in a number of block exchanges and round robins, and ended up with a number of quilt tops (or blocks for them), which are still waiting to be finished, plus this one, which we started as a group project–someone had made one and taught the rest of us enough to get our fabrics cut and rearranged, and I think the sewing started. And then I started making cloth dolls, and eventually back to garment making. I just have too many hobbies!!
Ron never understood the value of PT, and it wasn’t until after I showed him what it had done for my arm that he realized maybe he shouldn’t have quit after two sessions (in the past)! 😂 He did try it again, but by then he had just gotten too frail, and really couldn’t do much any more.
Your stack and whack quilt is perfect. I love the colors and it is really fancy. Perfect borders.
Thank you so much, Rosemary. It really was fun to make!
I have a MA Rose doll as well! Still in the box. I don’t actually remember purchasing it though.
I have 3 daughters – all grown now, but when they were young, one of my sisters went to one of the first Madison Children’s museum annual sale, which took place not far from where I grew up. She (my sister) purchased a Pleasant Co. Samantha for me/my oldest daughter. They were MUCH more affordable that way. Magic Attic dolls were less expensive, so I bought a MA Megan for my middle daughter, and evidently, I bought a Rose for my youngest daughter, but never gave it to her??? I really can’t remember. At any rate, I can across it again a year or so ago. She’s very pretty, AND my mom’s name was Rose. I’m thinking I should donate it my church for their annual auction – possibly with some additional handmade clothes.
Well, Jane, it’s nice to know that I am not the only one who buys things and puts them away to be given “later”–and then forgets them! It got to be a standing joke around here at Christmas for a while: my son would look at me and ask, “well, mom, what did you forget to get out and wrap for us This year?!” 😂
What a lovely idea, to donate your Rose for the church’s annual auction (and that Rose was your mother’s name)! If you are going to make clothes for her, do check the patterns against her; her body is slimmer than the American Girl dolls. As I recall, there were two or three patterns from one of the major companies made just for Magic Attic dolls; you might want to check and see if you can find them on ebay. That would help a lot, if you don’t have to be adjusting patterns in your sewing.
Tonight I suddenly remembered the name of the fifth doll in that series, the one with brown hair: Heather. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what it was! I should have remembered; if we got a girl, we were going to name her Heather, after a friend’s daughter.
Your snapdragons are just beautiful, Charlotte! That’s a good idea to put them into a pot rather than digging in the ground, which is really hard to do as you get older! Tell me about it!😊
What a fun time you must have had with Marika! Your dolls look lovely, and you did a wonderful job on that ballet sweater! However, it would never do here, because the high yesterday was 94 and the heat index was 104! I love those soft pastel colors of her skirt, and notice she has a lavender top, in your favorite color!
I really like the new Hill House collab for the AG dolls, but find those outfits a bit too pricey for my pocketbook! I do remember having dresses like that when I was young.
I have a question for you on that smaller new Felicity doll. Is that one of her outfits, or something from another company? It certainly is cute! While my 18 inchers have plenty of outfits, I do need to fill in some things for my smaller dolls. That is a cute option!
What a beautiful quilt you made! So colorful and cheerful!
Well, I just found out that the clothes on the new little Felicity doll, are what she comes in, so my question is answered. I guess I have to get the doll for the clothes! That is the end of that!
Thank you, Linda. I’m with you on the digging in the garden thing. I have my son do it if it needs doing! It’s just too hard on my knees to be kneeling for any length of time at all, and then there’s having to get back UP again!! 😂 I have to plan ahead on that!
I am debating on the Hill House fashions myself. I rather like the Kirsten print, although Addy’s stripe is nice, too. We shall see….
I see that you did answer your own question on the smaller Felicity. Yes, it’s her own outfit, and even came with that cute little purse!
Thank you; I’m glad you liked the quilt. Sometimes I second-guess my fabric choices, but have kept in mind that this is supposed to be for a baby, so bright and colorful (and even a little Loud!) is okay!
Hey, Y”all, we got too late when we got home yesterday to send any news. Being in the water again was so wonderful for my spirit. I didn’t try to work as hard as before and neither did Peyton but we are working up to our usual workout. That sickness really got to us.
I have to put in my Poor Pitiful Pearl story. When I was in my first year of college and went home to Christmas my mom gave me the doll. She said I must take it back to school and have it a reminder to make myself look nice all the time. It was a girls school and she didn’t want me not to bother getting myself up because there were no boys around. I never was the fancy girl she was and she tried to hard to make me like her.
Anyway, I loved Pearl and when I went with my parents to a cocktail party at their friends home I dressed Pearl up in a lovely doll dress I had and took her along. Every one loved her. Unfortunately, a couple years later my niece loved her so much I gave her away. I don’t know what happened to Pearl.
So glad that you are back in the pool! Keep up the good work. 🙂
And I loved your Pearl story. I’m glad to hear of someone who liked little Pearl. I’ve talked so much about her that I should probably look into getting one myself. Ha ha
I’ve always heard “you are what you wear” and I guess that made the difference for Pearl. I never had one but always thought she was cute and would have loved to dress her up so she didn’t look so homely. We had a little girl that lived across the street from us when I was growing up and my mother always used to say she was so homely she was cute. Since we lived there a while I saw her grow up and she actually grew into her looks and was pretty.
I loved your Pearl story, too, Sissy. Like you, I was never a fancy girl, but neither was my mom, really, so that was okay. I wore a little makeup, but couldn’t stand how nail polish felt on my nails, so now and then I would try it and remember, and pick it all off!!
Ron’s mother, though, always was dressed to the nines, and with makeup and nail polish, etc., even when she was in her late 80s/early 90s (she was 93 when she died). I was fortunate to have a wonderful mother-in-law, and she was very dear to me.
Good morning dear ones.
Jeanne, I hope you and George are managing just wonderful and George is improving.
Charlotte, Thank you for sharing the dolls for your adventure out and about to lunch with Marika. What a fun time, and of course it is great to see others interested in such lovely things. Your dolls look great.
I do not understand the “smaller Felicity” doll. Is this something new by AG?
I hope you have a lovely day today Charlotte practicing your music.
Your snap dragons are superb.
Yesterday was A DAY! I drove around town getting stuff done, then went to the house and indeed stuffed my pants edges and long sleeved fleece top with dryer sheets and especially around my neck! Then I ventured out in to the back yard (Oh gosh, I need to go back and do some weeding and Joy, I also have out of control mint, it was potted once, then there was a stretch of neglect on my part due to current events and the mint spread through the holes in the bottom of the pot!!!)
I got the camillia cuttings and the forsythia. I am not sure if Katherine the new neighbor is feeling better. the good thing is that if these cuttings die, oh too bad, but I can get more.
I went to my third class of tai-chi. It is nice. It is not difficult but you do spend a lot of time in the squatting position. We did a lot of fun challenging things. I do think often (as with all exercise classes) “oh I can do this myself with a youtube video”, and that is very true.
I will go to a few more classes, mainly because I have my very own adorable neighbors here too, and we can walk home, my house is right across the street, and diagonal across another, from this smaller club house. I can see my little house from the club house!!
I do have scoliosis. Apparently it is “common”, whatever. I would like to consult a spine doc about it’s current condition and what cautions I should take.
I have created a monster in little tiny Princess my cornish rex kitty of 8 pounds. She is grey and black. Very huge eyes and adorable satellite dish ears…. and she is addicted to outside.
Hubbs and I might be sitting inside the house doing our own thing, and she is out there calling for us. in and out, in and out. Very silly.
I hope all of you have a productive day, try not to huff and puff too much. It is realllllly humid outside today (on the screened porch) and we are supposed to get a few rain drops.
So much love to all of you. Be brave.
Rosemary, my mom had scoliosis and I have it too. Hers was much worse and as she grew older you could tell when she walked. Mine only makes my pants leg one longer than the other. When I was wearing dresses to school Mama would make the dress bottom even. When I taught school and it was time to tell the fifth graders what scoliosis was they would take me with them to show how I was a bit out of wack and show them that it was not so bad. The word itself was scary for them.
Well, we share the mint! I’ve been fighting it for over fifty years now. It was along the fence when we bought the place. I’m going to conquer it before I croak! 🙂
Good luck Joy. Just be glad it is not poison ivy or some other horrible thing. I am grateful for that. Still, I feel very bad when this happens.
I warn others now all the time with my gardening mistakes.
I think that is my mission in life – to serve as a warning 😁
Thank you for your kind words, Rosemary.
I don’t have it in front of me, but as I recall the new smaller AG Dolls (yes, they are a new thing) supposedly represent granddaughters (or great, great-great-, etc.) of the originals. A part of each of the smaller doll’s costume is a modern take on the original “meet” outfit. In the case of Felicity, a miniaturized replica of her original “meet” dress is the fabric of her top, for instance.
Good luck with your battle with the mint. In our yard, it’s blackberry vines (which grow wild everywhere) and ivy! Ron’s long-ago ex planted it, and it has just spread and grown all over. A year or to ago our son and some friends dug a root out and it was huge! I don’t remember if it was an ivy root or a blackberry one.
These days, it’s against the law to buy and plant this kind of ivy outside, as it has become so invasive!
There are some inspiring comments about exercise today. Many thanks — it’s too easy to just give up.
Poor, Pitiful Pearl is on Ebay — and not cheap but they look in remarkably good shape. And someone on Ebay may decide to sell the Felicity outfit that Linda admired — or an Etsy seamstress might duplicate it. Worth watching for.
And Charlotte is showing old projects that she finished — at last and beautifully.
It seems to me that there’s an underlying message here, and that is “Never give up.” There are a lot of tiresome things going on now, but there always are, and we keep coming through. Never give up.
Thank you, Marilyn. I think a combination of things–being widowed and turning 80–made me realize I am probably Not going to be able to keep doing stuff for another 30 or 40 years 😂 and if I wanted things to be done, I’d better get started! I have two more quilt projects lined up for summer sewing now. Stay tuned!
A big thank you to Charlotte, for sharing today. Jeanne too. Charlotte’s snaps look so colorful and great in the pot. I have found it hard to find them around here anymore. I guess they aren’t as popular as the common flowers mostly available. I might have to order some seeds.
So nice to see the doll comparisons and information too. I wonder if some of the latest smaller AG doll clothes might fit a Ruby Red or a Siblie? I’ll have to check it out. Anyway, I really enjoyed seeing all of the dolls.
And the quilt is a masterpiece. I love the colors. I think that it would make a lovely wall hanging and not just for a baby. Thanks so much for the great pictures today, Charlotte.
Interesting day yesterday. Had errands first and a quick trip to Trader Joe’s. Back and had to connect with the tree place. That done, it was too late for a walk or work on the AC because it was in the sun and so hot. But, we did drive to the other house to play with Coco. Frederick, a tuxedo cat there, appeared as well. He in front and Coco in back. Don’t know what happened, but I hope all went well with them although, I have my doubts. We had to leave and then picked up milk at the local market. Then, a quick trip out to Kaiser to get our Covid booster shots. I had an appointment, but other person didn’t. But, they got him in too so we’re good until fall now. Back home, the shade had appeared so back to work on the AC. Mostly, other person fooled around trying to get the unit to lean towards the drain. Frustrating. And I was out in the yard digging out more mint returning to help lift the unit in or out as the install continued. Callie Cat was right there either watching me dig or right by us watching our every move of that AC unit. She is so interested in anything new. Funny cat. Then, we both started to have some shot effects. Sweating and other person had a little stomach ache. But, nothing harsh really. We had the unit in but still not with the foam insulation in place. Kind of like back to where we were the day before. Crazy. So, I stuffed the towels back in the holes so Callie Cat wouldn’t stick her head into the dining room once again, and we gave up. We still had the garbage to take out but I had already dumped the yard can full of mint in the big can, so all we had to do was roll it and the other cans out to the curb. That done, we were too.
Today, no shot effects except slightly sore on the arm. So, back to work this morning. 🙂
You are so welcome, Joy. And thank you for your nice comments.
I think snapdragon seeds are still available, so you definitely could get some to start. I’ve always liked them myself, but since I’m no gardener, I haven’t really bothered to try planting them.
Oh, gosh, I didn’t think to measure Marika’s new smaller Felicity; I wonder if anyone online has posted anything about comparisons between her and the Siblies? That would be good to know. I think they are probably close enough that patterns could be adapted anyway, but it would be nice to have the actual measurements.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the quilt.
I hope today was the day you were finally able to get your new A/C situated and properly leveled!!
Thank you for sharing the pictures, Jeanne and Charlotte! It is fun to see the dolls and to see what the smaller Felicity looks like. Lucia (one of my daughters) has the Rose doll, too. That is great you finally finished your quilt, Charlotte! The red patches remind me of American Girl Josefina’s skirt. 🙂
Thank you so much, Karen. I’m glad you enjoyed my pictures. I hadn’t thought about that as to the red patches on my quilt, but you are right, they do kind of remind me of Josefina’s skirt.
I’m glad to hear that Lucia has Rose, also. I had one of the others, too, at one point (Allison, I think–it’s been a Long time ago!) but I much preferred Rose so I let Allison go to someone else.
I forgot to mention that the snapdragons are beautiful.
Jeanne, I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong but I’m not able to contact you. I tried sending my message on your contact site. But it says it’s an error.
I wanted to send some pictures for you down the road if you need some.
Thank you!
Hope the sofa sisters have a great day!
Thanks Jeanne for posting Charlotte’s wonderful pictures. I forgot to mention I loved her snapdragons. Hope things are improving with George and you are taking care of yourelf.
Charlotte, your snapdragons are lovely. I have a few in my garden that are self-set from when I planted them years ago. They have all come back red though.
It was lovely having a friend to meet up with your dolls. I think most of my friends think I am mad!
I loved your quilt, Stack and Whack was very popular about 20 years ago here. Love the backing too. Sam and I pick up a lot from the free table at guild meetings. I really need to sort some of my stuff that I don’t use. Do you have anyone in mind to give the quilt to?
It was really cold here this morning, 0 degrees C and was -1 overnight. I didn’t miss this at all last year when I was in UK for the winter!
I will photograph the doll today. She doesn’t have any clothes on I’m afraid and her body looks pretty dirty, is there any way to clean it? I will photograph the top of the head showing the glue, I wonder if there is any way to remove it?
Stay cool everyone, I will try to stay warm, not looking forward to the power bill
So sorry for the cold in NZ. Here it is 93 and still climbing. But, we have the AC going. Yay! And I’m not putting the power bill in my thoughts, yet. 🙂 Tonight, we have a high wind warning and dangerous fire conditions. Not looking forward to that at all.
Thank you so much Anne. I’m hoping these snapdragons will self seed, too, and I’ll have some again next year. I think eventually flowers revert to whatever color was in their genetic code originally. I remember when I was a girl, our neighbor had tulips in all kinds of colors, while all the ones in our yard (panted years before we moved there) were yellow, and that’s what mom told me (although in the 1950s I don’t think we really knew about genetic codes yet!).
I’m sure I have a few friends who think I’m a bit mad, too, especially if I mention changing their clothes for holidays!!
I really don’t have anyone in particular in mind for the quilt. If my grandson and his wife should have another baby, I might give it to them, or possibly even donate it. Babies seem to come in bunches–when I was young, for a while all my friends were having them, and then my younger cousins were, and so on. (Said younger cousins are mostly grandparents themselves now!) Or it may be I’ll donate it. I haven’t decided yet.
I’m sorry about your chilly weather. I know it’s coming on winter there, so I guess it’s to be expected. Here, we are trying to get summer, but in the Pacific NW, that is an iffy thing at best, and doesn’t usually Stay summer until after the 4th of July! The other day it was only 59 and rainy. Today, mid 60s and partly sunny. By Monday? 90!!!
I will look forward to seeing pictures of that doll. Do you know what she is made of? Some materials, such as hard plastic and vinyl, can be gently washed. Others, such as porcelain and composition, can not.