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!

Hearts for Hearts Doll Mosi

I bought Hearts for Hearts doll Mosi.

I think she is really cute.

However, respect needs to be used when portraying Native Americans, and I feel that the company made some iffy choices here.

Straight out of the box, I took that stupid plastic blue feather off. There is no reason for it, and it just plays into the who Native American stereotype thing.

Next I took off her Thunderbird danglies, because the Thunderbird is a sacred animal.

I also replaced her tunic with a long sleeved T-shirt that I made from the free Liberty Jane T-shirt pattern.

There she is!

I think the pale blue shirt matches the grey striped leggings better than the red tunic that she came with.

I like her much better this way.

Here is Mosi in the box. It showed the prototype, not the actual doll. I wish they had changed this with the re-release.

The side of the box said something that really bothered me.

It says, "Like all Hearts for Hearts Girls, Mosi's fashions are authentic to her culture."

This is so stupid! Native Americans wear normal people clothes. Apart from her feather and Thunderbird earrings, Mosi is not wearing anything that is special to her culture, and I think she is better off not wearing those for sensitivity reasons.

I always thought of Hearts for Hearts outfits, like Consuelo's and Lillian's, to be creative reimagionings that combine the traditional wit the modern. I don't think anyone is real life wears exactly the clothes that they were, and this is a very stupid claim to make, especially on a Native American doll.

Some people have complained that Mosi is marketed as a generic Native American, instead of a particular tribe.

It is true that there are many different tribe with different traditions, and that they should not all be lumped together.

However, there is a reason behind this.

There is a law that says tribe names cannot be used without the permission of the tribe on items for sale. This protects the tribe and allows it to control its image to some extent.

Hearts for Hearts did not have permission from a specific tribe to use their name, so Mosi HAD to be marketed as a generic Native American..

Mosi has the same face mold as Consuelo.

She has a different hair style, slightly darker hair and eyes and different eyebrows, lip color and face up.

I think they are different enough to justify owning both. Consuelo has a more serene facial expression, and Mosi looks slightly worried. It is very cute.

I was surprised that Mosi's hair is curly and comes in a ponytail. It is cute and I like it, but you would never guess from her stock images.

You can read another review of Mosi by Nethilia on the Toybox Philosopher.

I like Mosi a lot, but I think her Native American heritage should be handled with care.

Felicity's Wardrobe: Felicity's Work Dress

Here is a Throwback Thursday for you: Felicity's work dress.

I love this dress. I know that no one is going to open the catalog and buy the work dress first thing.

The first dress I bought for Felicity was in fact her Christmas dress.

I like the work dress for several reasons, though.

I like the colors. It's a very subtle pattern, but I think it's a very pretty shade of green and the other colors harmonize nicely with it.

I also liked the sense of realism that it gave to her collection. It makes so much sense that Kirsten and Felicity and Addy needed work dresses. They didn't have washing machines, so they needed to keep their nice dresses as clean as possible and not get food or dirt on them.

The work dress came with several pieces: a mob cap, an apron and a shawl.

The mob cap has a green ribbon to match the dress.

Here is a back view

This is not the most glamorous item in Felicity's wardrobe, but I do love it.

1918 Girl Scout Handbook for Dolls

Windstar of Jinjia Mixed Goods has outdone herself this time.

She made a pattern to create the original 1918 Girl Scout handbook.

According to her, at this time the requirements for girls were the same as for boys.

The book has printed pages inside that describe the different Girl Scout ranks and the merit badges that girls could earn.

The book is super detailed. It has pictures of the merit badges and more.

I was very glad that I did not have to earn the Morse code badge! It sounds very difficult.

I am SO excited to add this to my collection of doll books!

This book is not currently listed on her etsy shop.

If you wish to purchase the pattern to print and create this mini book, you can message Windstar through her shop on etsy, Jinjia Mixed Goods.

Pattern Review: Forever 18 Inches Faux Button Jumper

Forever 18 Inches Faux Button Jumper for 14 inch dolls was  a Freebie Friday a couple of weeks ago.

I wanted to try it out, but the pattern is JUST for the jumper. It does not include a shirt to wear under it.

So first I made the free Liberty Jane T-shirt pattern for Hearts for Hearts dolls. I lengthened the sleeves so that it would be warmer for autumn weather.

Then I made the jumper.

It's really cute! Here is Hearts for Hearts Consuelo modelling it.

You can choose whether to make the jumper lined and whether to add pockets.

I made both of those options. It would be faster if you skip them.

The jumper turned out really cute! I am happy to have more clothes that my Hearts for Hearts dolls can wear.

Doll clothes rarely use a combination of dark colors like this- at least not the ones made by doll companies- but I think it looks great.

Consuelo can put her thumbs in her pockets!

I did make several mistakes in this pattern, but none of them were unfixable. Next time I will know better what I am doing.

Overall, this is a relatively easy pattern and a good addition to a doll wardrobe.

We are the Girl Scouts

I have been meaning to do a Girl Scout post for some time. Years, actually.

I have two different Junior Girl Scout uniforms that I wanted to compare. 

Then I got some Girl Scout cookies made by Pippaloo, and I really had to make this post!

Anne and Kanani are wearing the Girl Scout uniforms.

Anne is wearing the Girl Scout uniform made by American Girl, back when it was the Pleasant Company.

 I have a great fondness for this uniform. It has lots of pieces and is very authentic.

Back when the Pleasant Company started the Girl of Today line, you could write in and suggest outfits that you wanted to see offered. I wrote that I wanted a Girl Scout uniform!

I never heard back, but as you can see, they made the uniform.

I am probably not the only one who suggested it, and I am sure they had other factors in making the uniform, but it still makes me very happy.

Kanani's uniform is off brand. I believe it was made by Emily Rose doll clothes.

You can see the original post I wrote here.

An identical uniform is for sale here.

Both uniforms have good points. The insignia on Kanani's uniform is much larger, but it is embroidered.

That makes it look more  like real patches.

The insignia on Anne's uniform is printed, but I think it looks more in scale.

The tab on Kanani's shirt in particular looks loo large and a bit awkward to me.
You actually can't see the tab well in these pictures, because it is hidden by her hair.

The worst thing is that the skirt for the Emily Rose brand uniform is too tight, and there is sort of a gap in the back. I can just barely get it to snap closed on Kanani.

The cookies by Pippaloo are gorgeous. The detail is amazing.

I was also amazed at how small they are!

You can easily tell which cookie is which.

Even Tagalongs and Thin Mints are distinguishable. That's amazing when they are both round, brown cookies.

I am so happy with the doll sized Girl Scout items that I own.

This is a really special part of my collection, and there will likely be more posts on the subject in the future.

Simplicity Pattern 8819 for 14 Inch Dolls

Cupcake Cutie Pie Couture has a new Simplicity Pattern, number 8819.

I am excited about this one, because this pattern is for 14 inch dolls!

That means it fits Hearts for Hearts, Wellie Wishers and Glitter Girls.

There are fewer patterns out there for this size, especially ones issued by big pattern makers like Simplicity.

It looks like a pretty versatile, classic dress too. It would make some cute Christmas dresses!

I will pick this up as soon as there is another pattern sale at Joann's!

Lottie Doll Kid Activist

I love the Lottie Doll Kid Activist!

This really adorable doll is inspired by real life Mari Copeny aka "Little Miss Flint."

I love her hair! Her tiara! Her passion!

The doll is currently on pre-order with guaranteed delivery by Christmas.

My Lottie Doll Mia may need a friend.

Apparently, this doll is named Meg. I like it. Maybe she can stand in for Meg from A Wrinkle in Time also.

I think she is coming home for sure!

Thimbles and Acorns Minoan Wrap Skirt

I have made the Thimbles and Acorns Mioan Wrap Skirt before.

I gave that outfit away. Here is the blog post with the pictures and more information about Minoan art.

I made it again, in time for Zia and Amelia to be Minoan girls for Halloween.

I used the same fabric again, but this time I made two different outfits by reversing where the colors are used.

I will say that dressing up as a certain culture for Halloween is not always a good idea.


Here is Amelia:

And here is Zia:

They both look pretty adorable!

Wednesday Addams Dress

Happy October 13th!

When thinking about making Halloween costumes, Wednesday Addams was one of the first things that jumped to my mind.

It turns out that the Addams Family TV show started in 1964, so it makes a perfect costume for Melody!

I used two Keepers Dolly Duds patterns for this dress.

I used the Simplicity 8314 pattern for the main dress and the Supplemental Collar pattern for the collar.

I did lengthen the pattern piece for the sleeves and make my own pattern for the cuffs.

I am getting more confident at altering doll clothes patterns!

To be exactly like the 1964 Wednesday Addams dress, I need to add a row of buttons down the front of the dress.

I don't have any on hand, so I left them off for now.

I think it's a cute and easy Halloween costume!

Fall clothing

The dolls are changing into warmer clothing for fall.

Jess added a jacket and a pussy hat over her sundress.

She doesn't want to take the jellies off yet, though!

Kit put a sweater on over her dress.

They both look much warmer this way!

Fall is here!

Hoodies Galore!

Here is a group picture of my Hearts for Hearts dolls wearing the hoodies I have made so far from the Requiem Art Designs hoodie pattern.

Aren't they cute?

There are so many cute possibilities to make with this pattern!

Welcome, Nanea!

I have finally added Nanea to my collection!

She is a cutie!

 Today was the first day it hasn't rained in a while, so I hurried to take pictures.
But it was so warm and humid that condescension on the camera made some of the pictures blurry!

In any case, Nanea is lovely and I am glad she is here.