AG Trading Cards: Meet Molly

This trading card features an illustration from Meet Molly. 

It shows Molly and Susan dumping laundry out of a window onto Ricky, Jill and two others. 

I am not going to name them here because it would spoil the question on the back of the card!

New Doll Releases

There are a lot of new doll releases out there now! Thank you, Toyfair 2017!

There are three dolls from different lines that I am really excited about. Although I have posted about them separately, I thought it would be fun to look at them in one post.

First of all, obviously, Nanea. She's gorgeous, it sounds like she has a really interesting backstory, she is culturally diverse, and she has a new face mold! AG did a stellar job on her!

Then AG is releasing a new Korean doll, Z Yang. Z is short for Suzie. She makes stop motion videos.
Z is the first Asian AG doll who is a main character in her own right. I am so happy that they are making her. I don't know if I'll be getting her yet. Nanea is my first priority.

Next is Bex from A Girl from All Time. She is SO pretty. I love her and Nisha.
I am trying not to start collecting for another doll line, because honestly my first and last love is always American Girl. If you aren't AG, you're gonna get neglected by spells at my house.
But I love Bex, and I already have patterns for this line of dolls. It's so hard to resist!

Also, there is Aya from Hearts for Hearts. I love her. I love her story of being a Syrian refugee. It is one that many people need to hear. She is lovely, and she is unique in the Hearts for Hearts line.
She is definitely coming home with me! I am so proud of Hearts for Hearts for making this doll.
You can see pictures of Aya here. I don't want to steal someone else's photos by posting them without permission.

Then there are the AG Contemporary Characters, Tenney and Logan. I do not like them and will not be getting them.
I do not like their unrealistic story line, and I do not like that they stole thunder from Gabriela as Girl of the Year.

I especially do not like that AG used Kaya's face mold for Logan. It implies that there is something masculine about her. That can be very hurtful to Native girls. Kaya is so sweet and pretty.

What dolls are you most excited about?

Patterns for Caroline Abbbott- War of 1812

Caroline is retired now, but that doesn't mean she can't have new clothes!

On Pixie Faire:

Dollhouse Designs Georgiana 1812 Regency Gown

Flossie Potter Sisters Doll Clothes

Karen Lorraine Designs Regency Style

Keepers Dolly Duds Double Cape and Bonnet

Keepers Dolly Duds Regency Pinafore

Thimbles and Acorns Bib Front Regency Dress

Thimbles and Acorns 1808 Grecian Renaissance Dress

Thimbles and Acorns Wrap Front Regency Dress

Thimbles and Acorns Palestrina Petal Reticule

Thimbles and Acorns A Piece of History Dress

Thimbles and Acorns Regency Foundation Garments

Thimbles and Acorns Three Straw Hats

• On Etsy:

Carpatina Regency Dress and Spencer

Carpatina Regency Redingote and Bonnet

Dolls at Heart Camila Regency Dress

Dolls at Hearts Camila's Regency Petticoat

Dolls at Heart Designs Camila's Regency Spencer Jacket

Dolls at Heart Regency Dress

Dolls at Heart Regency Evening Gown

Hint of History 1812 Day Dress

Jen Wrenne Regency Pattern Set

Mother of Nine 1808 V Neck Dress

Mother of Nine 1809 Regency Dress and Coat

Mother of Nine 1810 Regency Dresses

Mother of Nine Regency 1811 Summer Dresses

Mother of Nine 1812 Regency Dresses

Mother of Nine Day Dress

Mother of Nine Regency Feather Tail Spencer

Mother of Nine Regency French Empire Dress

Mother of Nine Regency Underdresses

Mother of Nine Regency Early 1800 Dress

Mother of Nine Regency Ruffled and Pleated Dress

Mother of Nine Tear Drop Hat and Poke Bonnet

Pemberley Threads Elinor Dress

Pemberley Threads Elinor Dress Sleeve Variations

Pemberley Threads 1815 Emma Morning Dress

Pemberley Threads Jane Bonnet

Pemberly Threads Marianne Spencer Jacket

Pemberley Threads Regency Chemisette Pattern

Vintique Designs Regency Ensemble

The Pleasant Company patterns for Josefina, especially the one for her Christmas dress, might also be utilized for Caroline.

Melody Goes for a Walk

I bought Melody in December, when AG was having a pretty epic sale on the historical dolls.

For a relatively low price, I bought a bundle that included Melody, her coat, her holiday dress and her dog. 

Here she is all dressed up in her coat for the winter!

Hearts for Hearts doll Aya

Hearts for Hearts is releasing a new doll, and she is amazing!

Her name is Aya, and she is a Syrian refugee. You can read about her here.

Her story is a heart breaker, and I think it will be a great one to share due to current events.

She is also gorgeous!

Hearts for Hearts is re-releasing some of their dolls that already exist, including Lauryce and Tipi.

Here is the story about the re-releases.

I am so excited!

Sadly, the word is that she is tentatively scheduled for 2018.

AG Trading Card: Meet Addy

I am featuring one of the Pleasant Company American Girl trading cards.

I plan for this to be a recurring feature on this blog, 

This card is from Meet Addy. It shows Miss Caroline answering the door to Addy and her mother.

Pattern Review: Vintique Designs Regency Ensemble

This is a dress I made several years ago, before I had a blog, so now I am featuring it here!

This dress is made from the Vintique Designs Regency Ensemble.

It's a very beautiful dress. From what I remember, it was easy to sew and follow the directions.

This shop only has two doll clothes patterns for American Girls. The other is the Vintique Designs Elegant Outerwear pattern, which includes a pelisse, spencer and bonnet.

They are worth checking out, give them a look!

More Our Generation Accessories

I was getting spring fever, and decided to go to a Target that is way out of my way. Actually, where I live, they are all out of my way.

Anyway.

I was lucky!

 I found three sets.

One is the retro Game Night set. I think it will be easy to print out more Bingo cards that look more historical and cool to go with the tokens.

Bingo is a big family tradition. I want Melody's bingo set, but the whole set is just too expensive for me. American Girl needs to figure out a way to promote their brand and stop angering their fans, because Our Generation is definitely offering competition.

This also offers an affordable alternative to Rebecca's Bedroom accessories, which includes dominoes. That set is just so cute though, be still my heart.

Welcome back, Felicity!

Today, Felicity Merriman is back from retirement.

Felicity is my First Arrival, and I am so glad that she is back.

Patterns for Felicity Merriman- Revolutionary War Patterns

Felicity is coming back TOMORROW!

There is great rejoicing among the American Girl community!

Now, what can we sew for her?

New AG doll: Nanea Mitchell!

American Girl just shared pictures of a new historical doll!

Meet Nanea Mitchell from the 1940s!

Nanea is on the far left in this picture.

She is thought to be a historical doll from Hawaii in the 1940s.

This is so exciting! She is gorgeous. I was never a Molly fan, so I am very happy to see a new historical from that era. Especially one that adds diversity to the American Girl line!

She has a new face mold too!

Eeeeeee. She's so pretty! I love her!

What a wonderful Valentine's Day surprise!

She will be available this fall!

I am happy that Lissie is coming back, but I am super super excited about Nanea!

Pattern Review: Wren Feather's Melody Meet Dress

Wren*Feathers has a pattern for Melody's Meet Dress here. It is labeled as "April's Halloween Dress," which makes it hard to find on a search, but I guess it keeps AG's copyright department from going after her.

American Girl Trading Cards

This blast from the past comes to you via my parents' attic.

American Girl trading cards! Who knew this was a thing? If you are a newer fan, you may never have heard of these. I am an older fan, and I had pretty much forgotten that they existed.

Vintage Doll- Howdy Doody

My dad got this Howdy Doody for Christmas when he was three years old! He has taken very good care of Howdy Doody so that, although he is fragile, he still survives.

He is, in fact, 65 years old.
I thought it was exciting when my dolls Anne and Felicity were old enough to vote- Howdy Doody is old enough to retire!

After showing my mom's dolls, you didn't expect me to show one from my dad, did you?
Although Howdy Doody is arguably a puppet.

Still, it may explain why my dad supports my doll collecting.

The Howdy Doody Show was a popular television show from 1947 to 1960. Maryellen definitely would have watched this. Maybe her friend Davy had a Howdy Doody puppet too!

You can watch the show on Youtube!

Howdy Doody has sat on the top of a bookcase in the living room for my whole life. I expect him to survive for a long time to come.

Doll Wardrobe Styles

As a little girl, I loved dresses and fancy clothes. I didn't wear them that often, so my dolls had my fantasy wardrobe.

That was, honestly, how I fell in love with Felicity. She had the fanciest, most beautiful dresses that I had ever seen, and I wanted all of them.

Patterns for Molly McIntire and Nanea Mitchell

Molly is one of my least favorite AG. I just never bonded with her personality. I owned the doll briefly, but sold her so that someone else could get her for Christmas after she retired.

But I still like the clothes of the WWII period, as well as being interested in the history of the period.

I am sooo excited that Nanea is coming out! Now I can sew all the gorgeous 1940s clothes for her!

New Free Pattern series from Wren*Feathers

Just when we couldn't love Wren Feathers and her free patterns any more, she does something even more awesome!

She is doing a free pattern series for Black History Month, and doing dresses based on different children's books!

This week, the pattern is from the 1930s. It is based on Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper. I haven't read this, so I put it on hold at the library.

This is SO AWESOME! I love children's books and dolls. This is a wonderful combination!

The link is here.

Patience Rides a Horse

One problem with the American Girl horses is that they are not really scaled well for the dolls. They are too small., or the dolls are too big, whichever way you want to look at it.

I understand why this is, because the horses are already quite large!

It turns out that the Patience dolls look much more realistic with the American Girl horses!

Vintage Toys- Missouri History Museum

I was lucky to be able to visit the Missouri History Museum, which was having an exhibit on the toys of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

It was so great! I went with a friend and her parents, who remembered many of the toys there fondly.

1950s Christmas tree with appropriate toys underneath

I focused on the dolls of course, but I took many pictures of non-dolls as well.

This is going to be a long post!

I did my best to note names of toys and get decent pictures, but did not always succeed.