Halloween is a very special holiday at A Tale of Two Hittys. It is the birthday of Mary Angela Dickens, granddaughter of Charles Dickens, and also the day that she receives her doll Kitty on her 6th birthday, in my fictional tale. This year Kitty is making plans for a very special party with her friends. She tells them to come dressed in costumes, but not to bring gifts. Instead, she will share a special surprise with them. MacKenna dresses as as a candy-striper nurse and brings her new friend, Sienna, with her. Sienna is dressed as a doctor. Maeve appears as Robin Hood. Mabel and Cleo wear their costumes…
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Meet Lacie
This month I took Kitty to a special “Afternoon Tea Time” event at the Ohio National Doll Show. The title was, “From Clay to AI, the Changing Landscape of Doll Design.” In the center of the table were special gifts for everyone courtesy of Rachel Hoffman and Virtual Doll Convention. Each guest received a t-shirt and boots for a 16” fashion doll and other trinkets. A small paper box shaped like a teapot held chocolate candy. Everything looked so sweet and appealing. The guest of honor was legendary doll designer, Robert Tonner. He had prepared a selection of fantastical images to showcase the potential of AI as a doll design…
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Kitty at Dutch Village
For her very first excursion, my 3D printed Kitty doll took a trip to the quaint, old fashioned “Nelis’ Dutch Village” in Holland, Michigan. Even though the tulips were no longer in bloom, it was still a fun place to visit. Kitty was surrounded by old-style architecture, reminiscent of the Netherlands from 150 years ago. The immersive and educational surroundings were a good fit for Kitty, and she learned a lot. Below are some highlights from her trip. See the classic Dutch canal houses in the background? “De Gouden Engel” (Golden Angel), an antique street organ from 1880, played music while dancers dressed in costumes of the Netherlands performed folk…
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3D Printed Kitty Doll
In Chapter 1 of my book, A Tale of Two Hittys, readers learn that the author, Charles Dickens, commissions a woodcarver to create a small wooden doll in the image of his beloved granddaughter, Mekitty. She instantly falls in love with her new doll, “Kitty,” who then comes to life. Mekitty begs her grandfather to retell the story about his encounter with the wooden doll named, “Hitty,” when he was on a reading tour in America. That is how my book begins. My two inspirations are the book, Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field, (see Who is Hitty?) and an antique paper mache doll named, “Kitty,” (see Meet…
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The Ginger Club
Kitty often gets together with some of her friends who like to cook. They share recipes and take turns hosting. And by coincidence, all of them have ginger (red) hair, so they named themselves “The Ginger Club.” Today is special, because the girls are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. They are also welcoming a new member, Kelsey, who recently moved to Maine. The girls gather in Kelsey’s new home for the meeting. Maeve gives Kelsey a housewarming gift. It is a treasured piece of heirloom Irish crochet lace made into a table runner. Here is a closeup of the lace. The thread is crocheted into intricate roses and pinwheel shapes. Kitty…
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Restoring Kitty
My antique doll, Kitty, had a unique experience when she was scanned by a CT scanner for the Virtual Kitty project (see Virtual Kitty). Unfortunately, the anti-glare spray used for the scan left a white haze on her face. Here is a photo of Kitty before and after scanning. I had trouble removing the haze. Finally, I decided to use “Mr. Super Clear,” which has a solvent that was able to dissolve the haze, leaving most of her face paint intact. But it also loosened the glue holding her shoulderhead onto the body. This was the push I needed to do a full makeover of Kitty. To practice techniques, I…
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Georgina’s Makeover
Georgina is a 7.5” tall antique wax-over paper mache doll with glass eyes. Her arms and legs are carved from wood. But her most amazing feature is her feet, which look a lot like Hitty’s and Kitty’s. It’s my guess that all three dolls were made around the same time, since the style is so similar. I named her Georgina after Georgina Hogarth, sister-in-law of Charles Dickens and Mekitty’s Great Aunt. Restoring Georgina When I purchased Georgina on ebay, she was in frightful condition. The area surrounding her glass eyes had lost its coating of plaster, resulting in a scary, wide-eyed look. Her face was dirty, and she had a…
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Virtual Kitty
You may be wondering what “Virtual Kitty” means. Compared to the original, physical doll, which you can touch and see, a virtual doll only exists as digital bits in a computer file. So why would I want to create a doll that doesn’t even exist in the real world? Because a virtual doll is the first step towards my ultimate goal of making the fictional version of Kitty a reality. I love my antique Kitty doll (see Meet Kitty), who inspired A Tale of Two Hittys. I really enjoy dressing her and taking photos of her with my other dolls, but her fragile nature means that I have to be…
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World Doll Day 2022
On World Doll Day, Max traveled to New Mexico to visit her good friends, Squash Blossom, who is one of the Diné (also known as Navajo), and Elder Hitty, who is a member of Zuni Pueblo. The Zuni people call themselves the A:shiwi (the People). Elder Hitty is carrying a leather pouch. What could be inside? It’s a beautiful Zuni Fetish beaded necklace. A Fetish is a small carving of an animal used for ceremonial purposes. These guardian animals give the owner special powers. Elder Hitty asks Max if she would like to have the necklace, and of course she says yes! Then Max asks Elder Hitty to tell her…
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Hitty Fabrics Part 1
UPDATE: July 2023 I can no longer find the website for My Fabric Designs! This is very concerning because I am not able to order any more fabric. When I find out what happened, I will post another update. I have disabled any links to their website as a precaution. I must admit that I have an obsession with fabrics: specifically, the fabrics used for Hitty’s dresses. Some of these dresses are fictional: they are described in the book Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field and appear in the illustrations by Dorothy Lathrop. Other dresses are real and belonged to the actual Hitty who now resides in the…
