Lots of nights when I'm in the teeny tiny sewing room, instead of sewing, I pick up one of my sweet dolls. Last night it was this one...
Lucky me when I pulled her from a toy bin at a thrift store.
Like most Zaph dolls, she has a beautiful face and soft silky hair that feels real.
She is 11" tall. Just the perfect size to sew for. I made the little pink flowered dress.
Would you take a look at this sweet, dainty little baby's slip...
It is so delicate and I love the ruffle and lace and the tiny buttons on the shoulders. Another thrift store find.
There's just something about little baby sweaters, slips, and booties that I cannot resist...
like Hattie's sweet clothes.
On the subject of dolls, I have been working on a doll for my cousin Patty. I've posted about Patty before. She is the cousin who gave us the beautiful antique cupboard. Another neat fact, Patty and I are first and second cousins. Her mom and my mom are sisters and her dad and my dad are first cousins.
Anyhow, cousin Patty and I are the same age, well, she is a tiny bit older than me; almost a year. :) So waaaay back many many years ago Patty got this doll for Christmas. A boy baby doll...
Meet Danny Lloyd...
Over the years the doll's body had become ragged and worn. It was quite a surprise when the mailman delivered the doll to me with a note from Pat asking if I would give my best try at re-covering her treasured doll's body.
well, I hardly knew where to begin, but I did give it my best try.
not perfect, but the best I could do. Do any of you remember this doll from the late 1940's or early 1950's?
Patty would like to dress Danny in a vintage baby boy's outfit but I haven't found one yet, but did pick up this soft little outfit at the thrift store.
We have been blessed with two days of sunshine which helped dry things out some. But once again we have three more day of rain coming in, starting tomorrow.
Here it is bedtime once again, so I will say goodnight. Thank you for visiting.
Love,
Henny
The dolls are just beautiful dear Henny. I love dolls too ... that fabric of your first dollies dress, I have that very same sweet fabric. She is gorgeous & has the most lovely face. So pleased to read you have had some sunshine.
ReplyDeleteThank you Julie. Our sunshine lasted for two days. :)
DeleteOh my your babies are so sweet! I want to just come and hold them. I have enjoyed the few days of no rain. Love you bunches!
ReplyDeleteWish you could come and hold them. Hope you are enjoying your baby doll.
DeleteYour Zaph dolly is so adorable. I love the baby's slip you found. I have to restrain myself from starting yet another collection ( of adorable baby clothes). No more room.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't show a 'before' picture of Danny Lloyd but you sure did a great job making him look like new. I wish I had the dolls I had when I was little. Never thought I'd want them; how wrong I was!!
Thank you Granny Marigold. I hate that I didn't take a before picture of Patty's doll. I always forget to do that. There are so many things that I would like to collect too.
DeleteAdorable dolls, all of them. I love the way Hattie looks as though she could snatch her hat off in an instant, she looks such a character! I think you have done a fine job of restoring Danny Lloyd. Stitched with love, he will be good for a few more decades.
ReplyDeleteI was not one for playing with dolls, but when I see the fun you have with them, I almost wish that I had been.
Thank you Elaine. Patty was pleased with how Danny turned out, at least I think she is. :)
DeleteCute dolls, I can see why you love them so much. I used to knit clothes for my granddaughters dolls,even underwear. We have our last day of sunshine today for a while, a few days of rain is on it,s way to us. It will be sewing in the main in day time and knitting in the evening. I am sure that you will have lots to keep you busy too.
ReplyDeleteHey Pam. Occasionally I will see a knitted doll outfit at a craft show. Bet your doll clothes were beautiful. We enjoyed two day of sunshine and now the rain is back and is supposed to be around through the weekend. :(
DeleteThey are beautiful. I loved the slip that you found too. Always fun to find treasure at the thrift store.
ReplyDeleteOh, it is fun to find these treasures. Thank you!
DeleteDolls...Facts...
ReplyDeleteThe earliest dolls were made from available materials such as clay,
stone, wood, bone, ivory, leather, or wax. Archaeological evidence
places dolls as the foremost candidate for the oldest known toy. ...
Stories from ancient Greece around 100 AD show that dolls were used by
little girls as playthings....
Ancient and Creepy Doll Head Discovered in Prehistoric Child Grave Joins
World's Oldest Known Toy Collection. Archaeologists in Siberia have discovered
a Bronze Age child's grave containing some of the oldest toys known to exist
anywhere in the world....
Think about what a doll symbolizes to you. ... In fact, many people associate
dolls with fertility, so depending on how the doll appears, it could symbolize
a desire to have children or fear of having children. For other people, dolls
symbolize a desire to return to the innocence of childhood...Amen!
´*•.¸(*•.¸♥¸.•*´)¸.•*´ ´*•.¸(*•.¸♥¸.•*´)¸.•*´ ´*•.¸(*•.¸♥¸.•*´)¸.•*´
Thank you Willie. The doll facts are interesting. Dolls today are so beautiful, but there are some creepy ones out there too.
ReplyDeleteThank you Angela. Me too!
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job repairing Danny. I bet he will last through a couple more generations of little girls’ love!
ReplyDeleteThank you Cynthia. I hope he will hold up. I haven't forgotten you.
DeleteZaph dolls are some of my favorites in my doll room! I need to go in there and 'play' soon...it's so relaxing and fun! I love the little flowered dress you made for her too. And the cute baby clothes you find in the thrift stores are perfect for our dolls. What size is this little boy doll that you've worked on? You did a great job!! I'll check back for your answer here later. Thanks so much for visiting me and giving me your support. I'm sorry about your daughter's blog...did she start a new one? Hugs, Diane lavender dreams too
ReplyDeleteThank you Diane. Had no idea how beautiful Zaph dolls are until I found this one. I'm glad you like dolls too. The boy doll is 19" long, has a chubby body and a small head. Growing up, I don't think I would have wanted a doll like this one. The crying face would have bothered me. Yes, my daughter did start another blog, but she doesn't post much. Her life has totally changed since those days. She posted about gardening, homeschooling four children, and living in a big very old home. Her new blog is still amothersjournal.com but totally different. Thank you for the nice comment.
DeleteHI Henny the dolls are lucky that you find them and clean and dress them up,you make them look like new,i love how you dress them up xx
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you Sheryl. I've always loved dolls.
DeleteThose vintage bay dolls are precious and you did a fabulous job of re-making Danny's body. I always treated my baby dolls like they were real babies...no throwing them around or mistreating them...and they always had to be "comfortable". I was convinced that they had feelings too. :)
ReplyDeleteDebby, you are so sweet, I can picture you treating your dolls that way. I was just like that growing up. My dolls were real! It bothered when one of my friends would say, "let's play dolls". When mama would come to tuck me in at night she would walk by my doll cradle and make sure my dolls were tucked in too. It's no wonder I'm this way. :)
DeleteI think you did a great job of it! Patti is going to be happy! The pink flowered material of the dress of the first doll...I think I have had some of that material at one time or another.
ReplyDeleteI would not have the slightest idea of how to recover a doll like that. Well done.
ReplyDeleteHi Henny. Yes, you'd be pleased with the recent sunshine after all that heavy rain- to dry things out - especially for your farm goats and chickens. On Dolls- I have a little 'Rogart' Sailor Doll with sleeping eyes- I obtained him from England and he is very old though in superb and as new condition- as is the cardboard window box...very fond of this male Sailor doll. Best Wishes. KEV.
ReplyDeleteYou did a wonderful job restoring your cousin's doll.
ReplyDeleteVery sweet post.
Connie :)
Sorry, I didn't know that the comment above would not say who I was . . . Connie of Craft Home Cottage. I'm having a problem with my blog. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.
ReplyDeleteLooks to me like you did an excellent job fixing that doll! And that baby's slip is breath-taking. My grandmother had a trunk of her mother's linens. To think everyone used to dress in such fine workmanship.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job of the doll's body! The little blue pants you found are sweet, I hope you find a top to go with it. I've got to say that the easter egg fabric looks almost 3D!
ReplyDeleteI think you did a fine job mending Danny. He looks ready to play with another generation. I love your little doll and her dress. That fabric looks VERY familiar, and I think I sewed something for myself years ago in that, not sure what. We had some sun also this week, got things going in the garden! But now I see we have snow in the forecast for Tuesday. Snow? Yikes!
ReplyDeleteWell done my friend. You do a fantastic job.
ReplyDeleteThink Spring :-)
Carla
Looks like a perfect job to me!
ReplyDelete