Kathy Bates
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What Do YOU Think Of When You Hear The Number 101..?
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I confess, I have over 100 Once-Loved Dolls already at my house, just waiting their turn. In the lulls between when a fresh face comes to my door (which are frequent), I’ll peek inside the bins where they raucously play as they wait their turn.
This time there was an unusual hush when I lifted the lid. All the O.L.D.’s contained therein looked at me with shining eyes and pointed their fingers downward. Curious, I set them aside one by one to see what – or WHO – they were pointing to.
“Hello!” I said to the naked little girl. “I remember you! I repaired your lip! That was a long time ago…” I could feel the eyes of the rest of the girls upon me. I glanced around before I looked back at that naked little girl, to the cheers of all the other dolls. “Would you like to be next?”
Thus begins the description of Louella De NICE, also known as O.L.D. No. 101. You can see her adoption page HERE. Our Louella is SO nice, the other dolls – who just as desperately would like their turn – spoke up on her behalf. Or at the very least, pointed.
And lucky for Louella, every time I happen upon fabric that is mainly black and white, I’ve toyed with the idea of doing a doll entirely in black and white. And what better time to do it than on the number 101, as in “101 Dalmatians”?
And isn’t it lucky for me that just like black and white are opposites, Louella’s personality is the opposite of Cruella De Vil’s?
Not to mention how much I love these little 13″ composition dolls, and it’s been so long since I’ve had one. Why, in the first 20 dolls alone there were THREE of these girls!
O.L.D. No. 1 (ONE!). Carol Jane
O.L.D. No. 7. Harriet Peabody, dead ringer for Hazel Twigg.
O.L.D. No. 20 Annie Oakley
So I’m glad that this sweet little girl is finally getting her turn.
GOOD…
…VS. EVIL.
I confess, I had to make the second outfit in secret, because JULIE.
It’s no secret that I’m very, very slow. And I have unrealistic expectations of what I can accomplish in any given time. Julie helps to keep me in line by trying to sprinkle reality into my world. But she gave me a bunch of vintage wool sweaters that she’d purchased at thrift stores over the years, and I desperately wanted to give Louella a second outfit with a vintage cream one, complete with a little embroidery! So I DID IT. Without telling Julie! But you know what? Julie likes the second outfit best!
I have a new plan of attack to try and battle my slowness. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that I like to watch movies over and over as I sew, kind of a background music for me. I’ll watch the same movie for months on end. Well, now I have a unit of measure for the hours I work! I’m currently watching “Misery.”
No, no! I’m not some dark and evil person, who enjoys watching innocent authors hobbled in the middle of the night! I’m just a fan of dark humor and Kathy Bates excellent portrayal of this well written character.
Even Louella’s watering can is black and white.
Anyway, “Misery” is 1 hour and 47 minutes and 29 seconds long. So if I work four “Misery”s a day, that’s about eight hours! Another favorite, “Phantom of the Opera” with GERARD BUTLER is about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Three Phantoms would about do it! So far so good. Not that I was slacking off before, but now I can think to myself, “I’d like to get these buttons sewn on before Annie Wilkes spills the soup and loses her cool for the first time.” GENIUS. Har.
Hey! Michelle also happens to have one of my 13’s! This little Viking was one of my favorites. They all are, really…
Three cheers for the alumni of the Rolfe Community School! They got together and almost, almost won Mary Lou the vintage Cheerleader. I imagine there will be another Rolfe-themed doll in the future.
However! The person who won her is a faithful Hazel Twigg-er that we haven’t seen in a little while…Michelle E. of Hudson, Colorado! THANK YOU, Michelle!
And with that, I leave you! Pick GOOD when you can – unless there’s a little dark humor involved….You’re my favorite!
Annie, Annie, Annie! Oy! Oy! Oy!
O.L.D. No. 20 has had a slight delay in production. I tend to get carried away with the outfits I make, and this girl is no exception. Therefore, there’s a gap between No. 19, Piper and No. 20, whose name happens to be Annie.
Sometimes a doll’s outfit is influenced by her name and Annie is no exception. But, which one? I can think of several famous Annie’s. Is it one of these three?
LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE
The era’s about right for composition dolls: the 1930’s.
In one of my favorite movies, “A Christmas Story,” Ralphie finally gets his Orphan Annie decoder ring and the eagerly awaited secret message is, “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.” ‘member that?
This girl is an orphan! I’m partial to orphans, since most of my dolls happen to be orphans too.
Little Orphan Annie is a popular enough character to have made it both onto the stage and film, let alone comic strips and radio. That might make her more appealing to the adopting public out there.
And her clothing! She has that cute red dress, as well as other charming clothes that are a mix of prints. It’s no secret that I love clothes of that decade. Maybe it’s Little Orphan Annie!
ANNIE OAKLEY
The role of Annie Oakley in “Annie Get Your Gun” helped propel Ethel Merman’s career and contained the song, “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” Ethel’s signature song.
Could it be Annie Oakley? Not the usual kind of style I work with. Attractive in a masculine sort of way, and a fascinating woman to boot (see what I did there? Boots? Cowgirls? Comedy GOLD!).
And she’s a real person! Also portrayed on stage and on film. Maybe it’s Annie Oakley!
And lastly, well, we ALL know I’m partial to THIS particular character…
ANNIE WILKES
Annie Wilkes from Stephen King’s “Misery”!
She, um, has a unique style all her own. Why, I’ve always been partial to jumpers!
And she could come with LOTS of accessories! Let’s see, a knife, a sledge hammer, some matches, lighter fluid, a heavy old typewriter…
Or maybe it’s none of these! Time will tell. Our Annie goes up for adoption on Sunday November 2nd at 6:33 Iowa (Central) time.
In the meantime, you’re my favorite!
Misery Loves Fantasy
A lot can happen in your mind when you’re working alone. Before I started watching Downton Abbey when I worked (and slept), I used to watch the movie “Misery” over and over. It may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but Kathy Bates’ performance is nothing short of genius.
As with anything you’re super familiar with, it all becomes noise and allows your brain to wander. Along the lines of the 2113 Antiques Roadshow scenario (previous post), another fantasy came to mind: What if I had a number one fan? One who wasn’t pleased when I temporarily decided to stop sewing and start writing….?
Sometimes, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
D5 Creation