A Doll A Week 30/52: Lydia Belle Raikes

This is Lydia Belle.  She's a Hitty friend by Raikes that came here via eBay on March 16, 2005 in a fancy purple dress in a wooden box.  They called her a Southern Belle.  In today's picture, she is wearing a new dress and apron I made earlier this month.

Lydia is a very serene, peaceful girl.  She loves to read romances, and her favorite is Gone with the Wind.  She also likes to take garden strolls, and sip mint tea from a shady bench.

A Doll A Week 29/52: Julie

Please meet Julie!  She is the new kid here.  Mini Molly and e-mail friend Connie helped me pick her out at the American Girl store in Atlanta.  I never really cared for Julie until I saw her in person.  There was something about her that just grabbed me.  I think she's the only brown-eyed blond in my doll collection.  Her hair is soft and silky and her face mold is different than my other AG's.  I researched Julie on the American Girl doll forums and found out that her birthday is only a few months earlier than mine!  We are the same age, but she's trapped in time at 8 years old in the 70's.

Before I went on vacation, I went to Savage Mills during my lunch hour to buy fabric for the American Girl Fans Message Forum at "And Sew It Goes" (a great quilt shop).  I picked out this fabric in Moda's Sweetwater line because I thought my daughter would like it (I hope to make her dolls a few dresses, too) and sometimes Emily likes to time travel to the 1970's.  I had no idea that I'd end up bringing Julie home with me!

So, for my first Saturday at home after returning from out trip, I spent the day sewing.  Both girls got new dresses.  I wanted to photograph them right away.  It is so hot outside my camera lens fogged up and a lot of my pictures didn't turn out. The heat ndex today was supposed to get to 108 to 110 F.  The sun is making the dresses look a little faded paler than they really are.  The thread that I used for the trim on Julie's sundress was called Raspberry Pie - doesn't that sound good?

Stay cool!
Jen

Mini Molly and Ginny's Road Trip

 Mini Molly was all set to head out on a great adventure.  She needed to look around to find somewhere safe to ride.

Hitty Ginny claimed the cup holder for her seat!

We were heading for Florida, but went around DC and into Virginia to take a route through the Shenandoah Valley and Mountains.  Almost as soon as we reached the mountains, it began to rain.  Sometimes it was just a drizzle, and sometimes it poured.  Sometimes it felt like we were in the clouds!

After spending the first night in Charlotte, North Carolina, we visited the Carowinds Amusement Park.  It was hot, so after riding a few rides we stopped to have a cold water and plot the rest of the day.

We loved the Peanuts theme!

 Good Grief!  It was hot and we were really worn out after riding just a few rides.  We were lucky to be there mid-week - not much of a crowd at all.

 

That afternoon, we drove to Alpharetta.  We ran into rain before we reached our hotel. The next day we went to the mall to meet one of Jen's web pen pal friends.  They had such a great time seeing each other in person, shopping at the American Girl store, and eating lunch together.  Even their husbands had a nice visit. It was hard to say good-bye.  We wished that we could be neighbors so that we could get together all the time. Here's a picture of us with our new friends:  Moon and Elizabeth at the California Pizza Kitchen.

That afternoon, we drove through Atlanta and headed for Florida.  We got to see the Olympic Torch!

The next day, we had to go to an appointment, but we were lucky to not have to do any other tests or procedures, so we went exploring.  And it rained some more.  Check out Molly's neat tee shirt and shorts from Jen's friend!

We discovered a new place to visit:  Paynes Prairie Preserve - it is a Florida State Park.  Right after we paid the entrance fee and started to drive back to the visitor's center, it began to rain - AGAIN!  We waited in the car for the rain to stop for a long time, but eventually Jen and her husband decided to use the golf umbrella and make the hike to the visitor's center.  It was probably 1/4 mile.  When we got about half way there, the thunderstorm came right over us!  The park ranger was really surprised to see us come in!  We had a nice visit with him, but we (Mini-Molly and Ginny) stayed in Jen's purse.  We weren't sure how a retired Marine would feel about us posing for photos with the artifacts.  We did learn a lot about alligators, sink holes and other Florida animals and nature.

Before heading home, we spent a day at the Magic Kingdom.  It was so hot and crowded that we didn't get any pictures though, which was a bit disappointing.  We all agreed that the next time we make a trip to Florida, we are going to try a cooler part of the year when there are fewer tourists there!

This was the rainiest adventure we've ever had! 

A Doll A Week 28/52: Lily

So, this is Jodi's sister, Lily.  She is a Bambicrony Kumi (v. 1).  She arrived very shortly after Jodi - April 19th, 2007.  She loves pretty dresses, but she loves her hair the way it is and refuses to change it.  She loves playing with dolls and having tea parties.  Her favorite color is blue, with pink coming close behind.

A Doll A Week 27/52: Jodi

This is Jodi.  She is a Bambicrony Roko (v.1).  She came to live her April 2, 2007.  At first, we thought her name was Lily, but we later found out that she was just missing her sister.  She is named after the main character in the Yada Yada Prayer group book series, but is not Jodi Baxter.  She loves to try out new hairdos and outfits - she's probably worn more different hair styles and colors than any other doll that lives here!  She also loves playing with the younger children and cuddling stuffed animals.

A Doll A Week 26/52: Patsy

This is Effanbee Patsy.  She is 13" tall and has probably been here about as long as Hitty Rachel Raikes.  She only has a few outfits, but I love her 1930's style.  I made this dress for her using a pattern I found in a Doll Reader magazine.  It was one of the first doll dresses I'd made, and I really wanted to do a good job.  I love how it turned out - perfect for summer!  Patsy is a quiet girl and is always happy to make do with whatever we have.  She was one of the first in our family to think about recycling, but her idea was to save every little piece of string or paper in case we needed it for something later!

Hoping everyone has a wonderful Independence Day!
Jen