Has it really been 8 years since I started this blog? I look back over my earliest posts. Some things have changed a lot since then. Others have not.
At the time of writing most of my dolls are still stored in boxes while we figure out how to jam two collections into two rooms. Naomi has teddies and other toys as well as dolls and it is going to take careful planning to be able to display everything.
Our fashion dolls and their props are taking up an ever increasing amount of space. These are the ones that we play with, redress, photograph and so on so they don’t need display space so much as a storage area and a flat surface where we can set them up temporarily. We have bought a trestle table for this purpose and when the displays are set up it will go into that area with chairs for us to sit at. The vintage fashion dolls will go on display in a cabinet or on shelves and be brought down when we want to play with the Dream House or Fashion store or any of their other bits and pieces.
One thing that has not changed over eight years is my disenchantment with playline Barbies. I even look back on the earlier Fashionistas that I originally turned my nose up at with some nostalgia. I don’t think this is going to change a lot because while I agree that it’s nice that Mattel has brought in more diversity to its playline the fact is that I don’t like that many of the dolls. I don’t want dolls with weird clothes and hairstyles. I don’t find them attractive. If I don’t like a doll’s expression I generally won’t buy it and modern dolls often just look blank to me.
I am not part of Mattel’s target market. I realise that. Still I probably have enough Barbies now to just buy one now and again when I see one I like.
When I do buy dolls now I spend way more than I used to. I like vintage fashion dolls and I now want to concentrate a bit on getting vintage or at least reproduction outfits for them and completing outfits I already have. The cost of the tiny items that are usually missing from outfits is pretty high but I get them when I can. Last year, as you recall I bought one of the Kid Kreations Sindy dolls. I would have liked two but I’m not completely mad. I knew I could only afford one and chose the one I liked best.
Sleeping Pretty 
Vintage No. 5 Ponytail Barbie 
Sindy in Winter Holiday. 
Sindy with “Ringo” 
Grown Up Tammy in Pretty Precious. 
My original Palitoy Tressy modelling a shift dress and double breasted coat. 
Titian Skipper in Schooldays skirt and blouse. 
Skipper in Flower Girl
I know that I haven’t been as active on the blog this past year as before. I try never to miss Fashion Doll Friday but even though I have had more time on my hands I haven’t written as many posts as I used to. Of course I used to write a lot about the dolls that I fixed up for the Op Shop and I don’t do that now but otherwise I’m at a loss to explain why. I don’t want to stop. Perhaps it’s normal after so long to slow down a bit. Many of the blogs that I used to read when I started don’t seem to be around now.
However, I am not going anywhere. Literally, I’m not going anywhere. I am never moving house again. Ever! As we start to get the displays set up I will probably feel more motivated to write about what is happening. I don’t see myself buying a lot more big dolls unless I let some go because I don’t think there is going to be room for many more. I don’t want to have dolls in boxes that I never see forever. I know some people rotate their collections. That doesn’t really appeal to me, not with the big dolls so I may have to decide which ones I want to keep collecting. I would never part with my childhood dolls or the vintage ones of course. Who am I kidding? Nearly all my dolls are from the sixties or earlier. I won’t part with my Metti and Netta dolls either, as they are a bit of SA history even though I never played with those as a child. Anyway, I won’t make any decisions about that till we’ve got the two rooms sorted out.
A Netta baby with rooted hair and straight legs. 
This is the Bindi that I remember from childhood 
Metti Bindi bought in Ulverstone at the doll show around 2000. 
Ideal Baby Crissy 
Transitional Posie Walker 
Two Scottish dolls by Roddy. 
Roddy dolls 
Roddy Dolls 
Theresa with her Raggedy Ann doll made by my mum. 
Here are Caroline and Christine .the BND walkers. 
Marilyn, my Pedigree Walker 
Knitted dress 
Penny home for Christmas. 
Celluloid doll made in Japan 
Wendy is probably a celluloid doll from the 1920s made by Royal Celluloid co. 
Celluloid baby John 
Princess Elizabeth made by Palitoy in the 1930s. 
Our Shirley Temple comes home.
My goal for Year 9 of this blog is getting back to doing more posts about non fashion dolls, including paper dolls and dolls houses and answering readers mail more. I know I have been shocking in this area and I’m very ashamed of that.
Thank you to all those long time readers who have stuck around even though there hasn’t been as much going on in the blog as previously. I hope that when I write Blogiversary #9 I’ll have a lot more to talk about.
Dolls, Dolls, Dolls 
Happy Anniversary! Maybe a future post could be on your handmade doll outfits,Sewn, crocheted, knitted how many you have or a fashion show of them ( if it’s not too huge of a collection!).I know I’ve asked a few times about your handmade items. Does your sister make any of her own doll outfits? I love looking at what others make for their dolls. I admit to hoarding any doll patterns I could find ever since I started buying dolls for my girls in the late 1980’s. The magazine Crochet World published regularly doll crochet patterns for different types of dolls from the 1980’s ( probably earlier than that) till 2000 ( I think). They certainly don’t have any in several years, due to lack of interest. I enjoy your blog very much, maybe because we’re about the same age. I will enjoy your blog any time you post something, so thank you for it and keep the posts coming!😊
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Thanks Helen . I might do something on the outfits I make at some stage. I don’t really make a lot as others can sew much better than I can. I wish I could crochet because there are some great patterns for fashion dolls. I do knit more for the larger dolls especially the babies. No, Naomi doesn’t sew or knit. She is the artistic one. Her hobbies are drawing and painting.
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Happy Blogiversary. Eight years is a long time and you should congratulate yourself for it. We all have slow downs, or at least I do. It’s a time to consolidate and do ether things, but I do hope you manage to keep going in some way. I’d be really interested to see the older dolls as it was my era too. I didn’t have many fashion dolls then, just a tall teenage doll, about 18”, and the Tressy. I don’t think I ever sewed for the tall doll but I did for the Tressy. The paper dolls are fascinating. I have one or two of those myself. Lots of luck with sorting out and housing your collections. Do have lots of fun too. Take care, Trish S.
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Thanks Trish. We’ll be here in some form. I love blogging too much to stop.
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Thoroughly enjoyed this update, quite heartfelt. I like Helen’s response as I was going to ask similar – about outfits, bought ones but particularly the made ones. And I have just started collecting paper dolls and as an aside Peggy Nisbett ones, so interested in that also. Will keep reading whatever you write. Keep it up when you have time though as long as you enjoy it.
I have very similar background, parents migrated to SA, Elizabeth in early sixties, we moved onto Gawler, then I moved to Westlakes for a short time before moving to Sydney in the late 80’s. I came back to SA, to be back with the family 3/4 years ago but reside in beautiful Victor Harbor. I was lucky to have spent an extended holiday many years ago in Tasmania where I would have loved to live! Do you ever get back to SA?
Regards, Sharon
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Small World Sharon, what primary school did you go to in Elizabeth? Ours was Elizabeth Grove. The last time I was back in SA was 2016. I’m not sure when I will get there again but when I do go it won’t be in summer :-).
We now have a whole cabinet filled with paper doll books so will certainly try to do more on those.
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Congratulations on your eighth blogiversary! I think moving house and figuring out how to store and display dolls in a new space must be exhausting. Not to mention the emotional effect of the worldwide pandemic. I’m happy if you even just have time to do a weekly post. The Fashion Doll Fridays are a bright spot in the week. Sadly it’s true that in many cases the older dolls and doll clothes were of better quality than what is churned out nowadays. The vintage dolls/outfits you’ve included with this post are charming. I think we all reach an age where we reassess our doll collections and are more picky about what we add rather than feeling a need to accumulate lots of new things. It comes down to loving and enjoying what we already have. I hope to enjoy your blog for many years to come; I’m sure you and Naomi have many treasures we haven’t seen yet.
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I think that we are both going to be more selective about the dolls we buy in future as we have to think about space. I think I have let go nearly all the dolls that I can now so any new ones coming in will be special..
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Congrats! Though I came late..I’m in for the duration. Seems like you have put your hook artistry to some of your donations back to the Op shop in days past. I used to knit but not to patterns, and though I often crochet its by size or scale not too planned .I like crochet-knit as I use a larger needle. I love almost all doll the new ones included. Nothing gets wasted..they are good enough for older heads w/ broken bodies, and clone or homemade clothing, if they are cheaper than a dollstand they will do. I like the paper dolls because they document memories almost as well as photos, and save on storage.I love doll houses,miniatures,teddy bears,themed collections and rotating displays.So much is going into storage as I retake pictures.I lost, but I can track some dolls I have because I saw them on your blog first.God bless you and Naomi for all you do to keep these blogs fascinating AND fun!
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I do kind of miss fixing up those Op Shop dolls. Most of them were not dolls I’d buy for myself but I liked being able to make them look better . I hated the idea of a perfectly good doll going in the rubbish just because it had a few marks on it . I also disliked putting dolls on the shelves for sale with untidy hair and no clothes. I hoped that if they looked nice they would get treated better.
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Congratulations 🥳 on your blogiversary! That’s a wonderful achievement and you have definitely been one of my inspirations!
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Thanks Wendy. My birthday is coming up and Naomi tells me that I should get at least one blog post if not more out of what she has got me. She never tells me what she’s getting me. It’s part of the fun.
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Exciting! ❤️
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Fun! I was spoiled for my 60th birthday (coming up in a few weeks) I got 60 ann. Ken and Gay Bob & Billy. I have wanted many iconic dolls but these grail dolls were hard to find in my price range. My husband often surprises me ,a few years ago he bought a Shirley Temple at a swap meet for $25.Even if the dolls are clones each one has it’s own personality and value.My favorite thing so far was the book Doll Junk by Carmen Varricchio. You and Naomi have been so great in keeping us focused on the things we are thankful for and can enjoy at home. I have Loved seeing your blog, and Planet of the Dolls and West Enders and Flickr/You tube A Thousand Splendid Dolls, and most lately Rachael Hoffman virtual doll conventions ..etc.. All things dolls including your blogs and Facebook doll groups are the way to be more social when social distancing. I can never under value your great ideas and sharing your combined collections!! God bless you gals, again for all you do!!
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Thanks Laurel, luckily for us our hobby is something we can do at home and there is always something different to do or think about doing. As most of us don’t have a doll club in our town or even know other collectors in real life most of us had made those connections online long before the pandemic struck. I think it’s been a lifesaver for many.
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* ALSO..your past blogs to see past dolls/etc..as a reference..and Naomis doll houses/Benee figures for ideas/diplays. I will always tell people abt. your blog because it is where my Tammy and Sindy collection Began.
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I have a special place in my heart for my Sindy’s and I’m glad that they inspired you to start collecting them.
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Congrats! Your entries are always interesting, your blog is a constant through my online doll blogging/reading years, for me it belongs to the “classics” of doll blogs. 🙂
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Wow Linda! I never thought we’d be considered a classic but I guess 8 years is a long time in blogging terms.
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Congratulations on 8 years, that is amazing and we all love to read your posts. On the subject of home made clothes, My cousin recently gave me her childhood Tressy and Sindy (1960s) and some fabulous homemade clothes that my Aunty made for them. I remember her also making dolls clothes as a christmas present for me when I was a child. I wish I still had them. I’ve just knitted a load of clothes and did a photoshoot. A man at work has two nieces who love Barbie and I gave him some of the knitted clothes I’d made. He and his nieces were really pleased. It’s hard to get separate outfits these days, many dolls but no outfits!
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Those older clothes lovingly made by mums, grans and aunties are hard to beat.
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