If I could only have 2 dolls, my Huret would be one and my Sustrac mignonette would be the other. Like my Huret, this doll required the sale of many other dolls to save up enough to buy her. Although unmarked, in his Mademoiselle Mignonette, Poupee de poche, Francois Theimer attributes this distinctive doll to Fernand Sustrac. Sustrac applied for a patent for the doll’s articulation on February 7, 1877. … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: August 2014
Unlike the popular cliche, I don’t “hate to say I told you so”. But in this case, I regret that I was right (see How Do You Doll Show?). The September Gaithersburg doll show has been cancelled. Many years ago, when I sold my wares at the show, many dealers complained that the September show was their worst show. Since I didn’t find that to be true for me, I … Continue reading
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Dress 3 is done. I’m not sure about the ribbon belt, though. I’ll decide later. In this tutorial, I will show you one way to add a skirt to the basic dress and how to sew lace to lace. To make it, I started with the bodice and finished it like the basic pattern, except for the bottom edge, which I left unfinished. There are several different options to finish … Continue reading
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Supergirl is on vacation with her parents this week. I had plans. Silly me. I forgot about reality for a minute. Of course, reality slapped me in the face. Over the weekend, though, I conquered my mini table saw. All it took was a crosscut sled. When I was buying the wood to make the sled at the hobby store, the cute, nerdy cashier asked me what I was making. … Continue reading
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Earlier this week, I said that I would try to get to sewing this week. Oh well (sigh). SG and I made fairies to give to some of our friends. We took a trip to DC with DH. I met with a dear friend for a long, chatty dinner. I learned that my affinity for power tools does not extend to table saws. I own and can operate my scroll saw, band saw, … Continue reading
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I’ve been busy, but I don’t have any finished work to show for it. Supergirl and I have had a few adventures. One day we went to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA with my daughter. On another, we drove to Alexandria, VA and rode the water taxi across the Potomac River to the National Harbor in Maryland to ride the Capital Wheel (ferris wheel). Both were … Continue reading
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If you search on eBay for Kestner in Dolls, you may be surprised by the number of dolls that come up. Some of them were not really made by the Kestner firm; this is especially true of the all bisques and small dolls. In 1998, Jan Foulke’s Kestner King of Dollmakers was revised and republished. What followed was a spate of “Kestner” dolls flooding the market. If Kestner was King, then … Continue reading
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My doll collection contains caucasian dolls almost exclusively. Why? I have owned and sold many black dolls, but so far, none have made the cut for my permanent collection. Since bisque dolls during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were made predominately in France and Germany, they reflected the population. When ethnic dolls were made, they were often made as novelties and were of poor quality. Several firms made limited numbers … Continue reading
