Dolls

It's another beautiful day here in northern Kentucky. That has nothing to do with dolls but I just wanted to start out on a positive note.

I've written about my dolls before, but I finally found pictures of what my mother called bashful dolls. They weren't really bashful dolls, but because the head was turned a little downward and you couldn't get a right-in-the-eye look at the face, I suppose that's why she called them bashful.

So, I've included pictures of three of those dolls which I had (finally found them on-line) and you will notice the pretty dresses. Each dress had a snap in the back so removal of the clothing was very easy even for tiny fingers. Under each dress the doll had on a pair of pantaloons. the shoes were painted on.

These are not samples of the dolls I had, but actual copies of the dolls I had. I especially loved the one on the left with the dark hair. Her dress was such a pretty blue.

I learned to sew by hand when I had these dolls because I wanted more clothing for them. Mother would give me scraps of material and I would design and sew dresses, vests, even slacks for these dolls. I loved them and collected them for several years. I had more than three in my total collection because I would get one for my birthday and one for Christmas -- two per year. And I probably got them for five years.

I do recall that I saved money so I could buy one that had a Scotish outfit.

I don't know where they went, I suppose I threw them away when I became a teenager, or gave them to some child in the church whose parents couldn't afford toys. Perhaps my sister inherited them and then they were given away. I do know that both my sister and I took very good care of our toys (dolls) because we received such nice gifts so rarely. The dolls cost $2.98, which may not sound like a lot of money, but you have to remember that back in the "old" days, you could buy a loaf of bread for 10 cents, and a pound of American cheese for 39 cents.

I certainly have very fond memories of those dolls.