This sweet, tiny poupee spoke to me at a doll show, so I had to own her. She stands only 10 1/2″ (26.5 cm) tall. At first glance, I thought that her fine cotton dress was old/original. But the lady who was selling her told me that a friend of hers made the dress. It is a beautiful reproduction and was both machine and hand sewn. One day, though, I … Continue reading
Yearly Archives: 2014
Merriam Webster defines provenance as: “the history of ownership of a valued object or work of art or literature.” As doll collectors, we rarely get to know anything about the provenance of a doll we purchase. We have all been told questionable stories of a doll’s history. How often has a dealer told you that a doll is from his or her “private collection”? But who owns the provenance of … Continue reading
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I didn’t take a nap yesterday afternoon. I got started on the 17th century fairy costume for my Bru (see My 17th Century Bru Fairy). This is my inspiration. I will be creating the costume from the inside out, starting with the smock. The smock is like a long-sleeved chemise made out of linen. One of my doll friends found some very fine, antique linen yardage at a flea … Continue reading
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Today, I just can’t get myself going. I stayed up late last night finishing the new Stephen King novel. It is a beautiful hot summer day in my back yard, but last week the mosquitos arrived for their summer stay. They love me. I don’t love them. So, I’ll just tell you about my weekend. I left the doll show last Saturday feeling rather sad. There were loads of empty spaces for … Continue reading
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Not being a fan of rules, I sure seem to have a lot of them when it comes to costuming my dolls. And I have a lot fewer of them than many more stringent historical costumers. The antique doll costume police may not agree with my rules, but I’m okay with that. When I decided to write my list of do’s and don’t’s, it made me rather sad to have so … Continue reading
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Today, I’ll show you how I decorated my doll’s dress, then share some ideas for how to finish yours. I am going to use lace and metallic trim. When I added the lace to the slip I found the right side of the lace. Well, if your lace has a directional pattern like mine, you don’t have to analyze it again each time you use it. Just compare the pattern … Continue reading
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After showing in and attending doll shows for more than 20 years, you’d think I would be tired of going to them. Nope, I still love to attend. Living in the Washington, DC area has its doll perks. We have the Eastern National show in Gaithersburg 4 times each year. And one is coming up this weekend. When I first became interested in doll collecting, there were many more doll shows. … Continue reading
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In my collection, I own several dolls that are not in the two main categories I collect: fashion and all-bisque dolls. My interest in tiny and small dolls extends to small bisque-head dolls with composition bodies. One of my favorites is my Kestner 143. What a face! She wears a sweet, almost smiling expression. For many years, when I was looking at a group of antique dolls at a doll show … Continue reading
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Well, we’re almost done. Today, I’ll provide you with a basic pattern for a “french-style” dress and show you how to make it. Next week, in the final lesson, I’ll give you different ideas on how to embellish the dress and suggest closures. I have added a Tutorials menu heading to the top of my blog and created a rudimentary directory with links to all the Beginning Sewing Lessons. Soon, I’ll add … Continue reading
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Last month I told you about my 17th century embroidery on-line course, Cabinets of Curiosities (CofC). Well, I got the first lesson on May 1, and expect lesson 2 next week. The first few lessons are about the history and anatomy of 17th century embroidered caskets, so I don’t have much to report on that front except that I’m getting more and more excited to get started stitching. Since I … Continue reading
