Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite pictures from this year! 

Here is hoping that next year will be a wonderful one for all of us.

Reindeer Pajamas

Oops, I didn't post for a month.

That's mainly because it's winter, it's dark out, and that means all my pictures are bad, so why bother?

Sigh.


I just changed Jess into last year's reindeer pajamas, and they are super cute.

They are also very tight on her, even though she is not a chubby doll.

Sigh.

I am hopefully going to change a few more dolls before Christmas.

Jess looks so adorable, she is egging me on.

Faux Button Jumper 4

I just had this pink fabric lying around, so here is another Faux Button Jumper from the Forever 18 Inches pattern.

Yeah, I was running out of energy to make T-shirts to go with the jumpers a bit, so this jumper got paired with Tipi's original shirt.

This outfit looks very spring-like to me, even though it is fall.

Surjan looks pretty in it. Surjan is just a lovely doll.

Felicity's Wardrobe: Felicity's Nightgown

Now this is a piece of clothing that isn't featured very often... Felicity's nightgown.

The American Girl Company would not make a piece of clothing like this today. It's very simple.

Most of the historical night clothes that they make now incorporate color in some way and have short sleeves.

But its very simplicity makes it seem authentic to me. When you have to sew complete wardrobes for a family of five by hand, you would want night clothes that are easy to make and to launder.

The set comes with the nightgown, a night cap, and leather mules. The night cap and slippers would help you stay warm at night.

Here is a better look at the cap:

The leather mules do a surprisingly great job of staying on her feet.

Someone on an AG forum asked once about the construction of the arm seams on the nightgown.
I did not have it on hand at the time to check, but I can show you now:

There is a triangle sewn in the armpit. Interesting!

The nightgown closes with a drawstring. While I am sure this is historically accurate, it has occurred to me that this is not good for small children. It would be all too easy to accidentally yank the ribbon out of its casing, and then you couldn't tie it.

This nightgown is very similar to the nightgown made by A Girl for All Time for their Tudor Doll, Matilda. I suspect that the basic style did not change for quite a while.

I am glad I have this in my collection, but I admit Felicity never wears it.
She has too many pretty dresses to wear instead.

Faux Button Jumper 3

Here is another jumper made from the Forever 18 inches pattern.

This one is blue, and it's the first one that has a pattern on the fabric.

The print is maybe on the large side of the scale, but I think it works.

Also, this jumper and the red one together will be cute for the Fourth of July.

 I really like Tipi's meet outfit, especially the shirt, but this one is cute too.

She is happy to have a change of clothes.

Blue is my favorite color, so it's not surprising that I use it in doll clothes a lot.

This jumper is actually lined in pink. I think it adds a cute touch, although obviously you can't see it when she is wearing it.

Faux Button Jumper 2

Here is another Faux Button Jumper for Hearts for Hearts dolls made from the Forever 18 Inches pattern.

It's really cute too!

Here is my blog with the first jumper.

After that first jumper, I stopped adding packets. Pockets in doll clothes are always amazing, but I am bad at getting things straight.

I felt that the risk of adding crooked pockets canceled out the added cuteness of having pockets.

I am super happy to have Rahel out of the outfit that she came in.

I love Rahel, but I think her outfit is pretty much a stereotype, and it bugs me.

I cut her plastic necklaces off, and then discovered that they actually unsnap in the back. Oh well.

They would never lie flat, and that annoyed me, too.

14 Inch Brownie Uniform

I found that Walmart.com had a variety of 14 inch doll clothes for sale.

Some of them are very obvious American Girl knock offs, which is kind of funny.

Anyway, I could not resist the 14 inch doll Brownie uniform. I looked at the Junior uniforms too, because I consider my Hearts for Hearts for be more of a Junior age level than Brownies.

However, the Brownie uniform was somehow much cuter.

Aaaand it's adorable.  The patches are embroidered on for realism, and the whole thing is just so cute.

This is a more recent Brownie uniform than the one I had as a Girl Scout. I admit it is cuter.

I would like to have a tiny version of the older Brownie uniform, just for nostalgia's sake.

Anne posed with Mosi. Normally, I don't think that the scale of American Girl dolls works well with Hearts for Hearts. The size difference in the hands is huge.

But the Girl Scout uniform adds a note of similarity that helps with the discrepancy in size.

Mosi is kind of like a mini Anne, anyway, with brown eyes and black hair with bangs. Too cute.

My doll sized Girl Scout collection is growing!

Nanea's Wardrobe: Nanea's School Dress

I have loved Nanea's school dress from the moment I saw it.

It's a really cute dress with a subtle tropical print, ruffles and a V neck.

The shoes are cute too, but they look uncomfortable for walking in. Your feet would get slippery and slip around, and the ankle ties would bite into your legs.

Nanea looks adorable in this dress.

I think that the dress is a must-have from Nanea's collection.

Kaya's Wardrobe: Kaya's Winter Accessories

I just added Kaya's Winter Accessories to my collection.

I wanted this for several reasons:

I live in a cold area, and Kaya needs to stay warm.

I have noticed that these tend to sell for more money on the secondary market than they do new, and they are still available from AG!

And also, I fell in love with some pictures that Maggie at American Girl Collectors took of her Kaya wearing them in the snow.

It may look sunny in these pictures, but it is pretty chilly, and Kaya is happy to have warm clothes to wear.

If you are not aware, the winter accessories include gloves, boots, and cape and a hood.
I did not really realize that it came with a pair of fur lined moccasins!

There are a lot of small pieces to lose, so that's another reason to buy this direct from AG.

This picture of Kaya and Steps High is the CUTEST. They love each other.

Fun fact: Kaya is riding Steps High in my living room right now. They look so good together.

I am really happy to own this wardrobe staple, and I look forward to taking more pictures of it when it snows.

Melody's Wardrobe: Melody's Birthday Outfit

I wanted Melody's Birthday Outfit as soon as it was released. I rarely buy anything the minute I see it, however. I finally added this to my collection!

 Bo was happy to join Melody outside to show off her new threads, but he was pulling at the leash too hard.

I love everything about this outfit. I love it when they make clothes that are appropriate for cold weather.

My mom is a couple years older than Melody, and she had to wear skirts to school year round, so even though her legs would be cold, this is appropriate for Melody to wear in fall and winter.

The skirt is cute, the turtleneck is cute, the tights are cute.

My only complaint is that I wish the shoes weren't white, and I wish they didn't close with elastic. Elastic always give out eventually, so I don't like to see it n doll clothes that can last a very long time. Ditto for the skirt, really. Sigh.

But this outfit is so cute. I love it!

Felicity Climbs a Tree

It is November, the leaves are beautiful, and Felicity is outside climbing a tree.

Good thing I had my camera with me!

Happy Autumn!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I hope that you have a frightfully good one!

I didn't get costumes made for all the dolls for Halloween. Nor did I expect to.

But I am proud that SOME of them have costumes made in time!

The American Girl dolls

The Hearts for Hearts Dolls

All the dolls!

Pattern Review: McCall's M9011

I found McCall's M9011 pattern at Wal-Mart, on clearance because of some slight water damage.

It has a lot of different patterns included, including a doctor's coat, a nurse's uniform, a rain coat, and a magician's outfit.

I thought that the magician's jacket would be perfect as a ringmaster's jacket.

I had just exactly the right amount of red faux velvet to make the jacket on hand.

I am going to say, this is not my favorite thing I ever made. I don't really think it turned out.

I made a few errors, but also I just don't think the patterns fits as well as it could.

Also, I am not as experienced in sewing with faux velvet, so that made it harder to sew the curves in the pattern.

Since I don't have a doll sized Big Top, I decided to pose Ellie with Penny as if she is teaching her tricks to perform in the circus.

It does have coattails in the back, as a proper ringmaster's jacket should.

Well, not everything in life can turn out perfectly, so this jacket will keep me humble about my sewing skills.

I am definitely not going to make any of the other patterns that were included with this.

Ellie is happy to be a ringmaster for Halloween, anyway!

Felicity Meets Kathleen Ernst

Yesterday was the Edgerton Sterling North Book and Film Festival in Edgerton, Wisconsin.

Author Kathleen Ernst was there signing books. She also did a presentation and received the Sterling North Legacy Award for Excellence in Children's Literature.

I got to go, and Felicity went with me!

Kathleen Ernst is the author of the Caroline books, and also of Felicity's newest book, Gunpowder and Tea Cakes.

So I got to have Ms. Ernst sign books for me, take a picture with Felicity, and attend the lecture that she gave.

There is a joke in the Muppet fandom that Muppeteer Karen Prell is the meanest person in the world- because actually she is the nicest person you could ever meet. (No, I haven't met her. I wish.)

The same could be said about Kathleen Ernst, and for the same reason.

I was kind of nervous about bringing Felicity with me. I think maybe the first words out of Ms. Ernst's mouth were, "Thank you for bringing her!"

(Maybe not the first words- but the ones I remember very clearly."

I told her that I wanted to attend her lecture, but was sort of unsure about it, because of my hearing loss, and I might leave early if I couldn't hear. She was so kind about it.

After the lecture, she took the time to come up to me and ask if I had been able to hear. She even remembered my name.

It was SUCH a great experience.

This is not the first time I have been to one of Ms. Ernst's signings, but the other signings were for her Chloe Finderson book series, so I did not being Felicity. You can read my blog post about meeting her last year here.

I am very sad to hear that the publisher for her Chloe series is going out of business and that she needs to fins a new publisher for Chloe.

I also took the time to go to Sterling North's childhood home. He is known for books such as Rascal, which I don't think I have read, but now I plan to!

The house was very enjoyable, and they had printed sheets for a self-guided tour, which was great with my hearing loss.

The house had a loved feeling to me, and the quotes from the book Rascal definitely made me want to read it!

Here are the books that she signed for me: Death on the Prairie, Gunpowder and Tea Cakes, and mini Meet Caroline.

I love mini books and am so excited to have a signed mini books! I miss when all of the mini books were paperback.

This was a great experience, and I would encourage anyone who has a chance to attend a Kathleen Ernst book signing to go for it!