Peggy Sue's Wendy the Good Little Witch Costume

Three more days in September.  It makes me both sad and excited.  Sad that the first 'ber is behind us and excited because my favorite month of the year, October, is just around the corner.  Nope.  It's not birthday month.  And it's not Christmas either.  Maybe some years it has been one or the other of those, but Halloween wins hands down 95% of the time.  

October is more than just the buildup to Spook Night, it about the changing of the leaves.  It's about the weather finally cooling down and the rains beginning, hopefully.  Today its sunny and 84 degrees outside.  Whoopie.  I've had enough of summer and dry conditions.  I know a lot of people would love to live in this Mediterranean climate, but the grass is always greener as they say.

We had that enticing and most welcome bit of rain a week ago, and for the next few weeks, it's all about shuffling about in dry oak leaves and dressing up my dolls in Halloween costumes.

Peggy Sue is the perfect child doll for Halloween costumes.  Because she's a child of the 1950's, her costumes are delightfully vintage and reminiscent of a time long ago.  A time of innocence.  One of not being very PC.  Whoops!  Did I say that?  Well, it's true.  This is just the way things were.  No need to wring your hands over it or start a march.  It was just that way and no one thought a whole lot about it as times were high with end of WWII, young people marrying, buying starter homes and starting families.  Back then it was possible to own a car and a home and be able to afford both.  But, yes, we've come a long way in the last 70 years...maybe.

Peggy Sue has a Woolworth's witch costume, a gypsy costume, and a mechanical man costume.  There were many more Halloween costumes drawn by Irma Wilde for Jack and Jill Magazine for the inserts, "Who will you be?  and What will you be?"  Of the choices I had, there was a clown (boring), a ballet dancer (double boring), and a fairy princess (so common).

The costumes I loved were the Indian, Chinaman, Hobo and Gaucho.  All boys' costumes, but I knew I'd be treading in dangerous territory with any of these, so I was perplexed as to what to do for Peggy Sue this year.  Those costumes were really cute, too.  What would Irma Wilde draw today? 

So, I changed tactics and decided I'd make a witch costume for Cissy. A big, beautiful, fancy good witch costume, and I began poking around on Pinterest for 1950's pretty/good witch costumes, and guess what came up?  Wendy the Good Little Witch!  I loved Casper the Friendly Ghost as a child.  I really loved it because it was about haunted houses, and improbable ghosting things, and that sweet little ghost Casper. 

I hadn't seen a Casper cartoon since the 60's so I started looking them up on the Internet and fell in love with him, and one of his close friends, Wendy, all over again.  What was Caspser's schtick?  

Casper was a friendly ghost who was always looking for a new friend.  He'd be walking along, maybe singing a tune and daydreaming out loud about finding a new friend, and run into a person, or more's the case, an animal.  At first the potential friend would smile and say hello, but within a second, their eyes would bug out, they'd get those spinning wheel legs and shout "A g-g-g-g-ghost!" and take off.  Poor Casper.  

He was also plagued by three very mean uncles who loved to do what ghosts are supposed to do, and that is haunt houses and frighten their inhabitants.  They'd also scare Casper and bully him miserably.  Poor Casper.  

But Casper had good friends on his side and one of them was Wendy.  She'd come to his aid with her friendly magic, and usually after he had tried to do something nice and screwed it up.  

Wendy and Casper were portrayed as young "children".  The first 

Casper cartoons were written between 1945 - 1959.  When I began watching them on Saturday mornings, this was The New Casper Cartoon Show.  The voices had changed from the originals, but the shows were still very sweet.  I loved how Casper could go through walls and turn himself into helpful things like a sheet to sail a boat.  I've had more fun researching and watching the old cartoons on YouTube and reading up on the history of Harvey Comics.

What I discovered in all of this is that Casper is still out there, only much updated of course, movies have been made, and in 1984 or 1985, Harvey Comics came out with Casper and Wendy ephemera.  Little figurines and ceramic tea lights and all kinds of cute things to take up space in the house that I have no business buying.  

Yet, Casper marketing was huge back when I was a child.  Another thing my mother kept me from learning about.  If it wasn't in the Christmas Sears Wishbook, it didn't exist.

It was in discovering Wendy the Good Little Witch that I stumbled upon Madame Alexander's 8" Wendy version.  And it came with a small version of one of the comic books.  Of course, I had to have it.  Seriously.  That's mine in the second photo up there.  By the time she arrived I'd already finished designing and sewing Peggy Sue's costume.  Good thing.  Because I would have been tempted to copy it.  This was MA's version.  Let me have my own. 

My friend, Heather, will recall me fussing about not being able to find a decent red knit, and this costume was what I needed it for.  The knit I used was something I had on hand which is mostly Lycra.  I used it in a red Christmas holiday gown for Grace Marie Fitzpatrick.  There was plenty to play with, although I would have liked the fabric to be a bit heavier in weight with more of a cotton blend.  What happened to that nice poly/cotton blend stuff?

Anyway, I created Wendy's outfit as a stretch romper with a cowl 

neckline, and a cartoon formed witch's hat.  Study the cartoons and drawings, and you might come away with an all-in-one hat/romper.  Madame Alexander managed this pretty well, but I went for the separate hat look.  It's a cartoon costume.  I was studying the older, green witches' costumes and knew for certain that they did not wear rompers with attached hats.  Their hats were drawn to blend into their dresses in many cases, so who is correct?  It's a cartoon.  An illusion.  Your mind tells you hat and suit, hat and dress.  Pick it apart like I do, and you'll drive yourself nuts.  

The bottom line is that I had a blast making this, and needle felting a Casper.  I haven't had so much fun creating a costume since...well...Mechanical Man last Halloween.  

I was telling a friend of mine that right now, what's most important to me, and what brings me the most enjoyment is nostalgia from my past.  And Casper the Friendly Ghost is right up there.

Here's Casper.  He has a really big, round head.  I was stabbing away at his little ghostly form and wondering why it just wasn't coming together.  I mean, what could be so tough about an all-white blobby cartoon figure?  Plenty if you don't get it right.  What helped was looking at the figurines that had been made of Casper from the 1984-6 collections.  I'm still wondering what brought this all about, but it must have been a feature film of some sort.  The 80's are sort of lost years to me and I certainly wasn't keyed into Casper the Friendly Ghost at the time.  Maybe I should have been.

Anyway, the figurines really helped.  It's been a while since I needle felted and made hands.  Luckily Casper only has four fingers.  Or three fingers and a thumb.  I know I've done better, but Casper was only meant to be a costume accessory and not an actual character, so I beg forgiveness.

That's pretty much how Peggy Sue came to receive a Wendy the Good Little Witch costume for Halloween this year.

Having way too much fun over here.  Cissy will get her masquerade party dress.  I'm just waiting for a shipment from China for some netting lace.  I have something else that will work if it doesn't get here in a couple of weeks.  You see, young women like Cissy, went to masquerade parties.  So did Barbie.  Remember vintage Barbie and Ken's masquerade costumes?  These will always be two of my favorite vintage Barbie costumes.

Attached are some fun examples of vintage Casper ephemera.  I have to explain the rubber Casper that looks like a carrot.  When you squeeze him, his eyes pop out.  Too funny.  I really love the lampshade.  I would love to have a room devoted to old tin and wind-up toys and lampshades like this.  Wouldn't that be fun?  And there's a sampling of my favorite comic book covers that I found online.  

For you, here are two little drawings you can save off and color just for fun.  October is simply the best in so many ways.  I love Halloween.  Let's keep playing dolls, reading good books and taking walks in nature.  

Here's to Autumn!  Melissa

Witch with seperate hat.

Uncles with "mean pills"

Stuffed Casper

Squeeze and eyes pop!

Casper Board Game

Jack in the Box

Puzzles

Halloween Costumes!

Ghost Ge-tar

Lampshade

 

Virgo - Birthday Doll 2022

Friday evening, and I'm taking a long, deep sigh and nursing a well-deserved hot cup of tea.  Well, actually it has gone cold, but such is the case with ever so many cups of tea.  I did it.  I completed my birthday doll.

For the longest time, I have enjoyed and admired this beautiful Virgo artwork that inspired this doll.  I wish I could tell you who the artist is, but all too often, artwork shows up on Pinterest with nothing but a description, and who saved it to a folder in their account. 

If you recall me going over in my mind what I would do this September, there was never a doubt that I wanted to create Year of the Rooster Gracie.  But a Virgo doll?  How in the world would I do that?  A dress of stars?  Grecian gown with sheaf of wheat?  All I knew was that I had to try.  I recall that Helen Kish did a couple of astrological sign dolls - and this I only know because I own one of them, and didn't want the  

other I saw on Ebay.  The doll was dressed in a romper of stars and silver platform shoes with a star cut-out.  I made her into Virgo by giving her a necklace with a Virgo charm on it.  Whoop-dee-do.  Big deal.  I like the doll though.  Especially her shoes.

But as I was in the stages of completing YRG, I became intent on finally making a Virgo doll of my own.  And this beautiful image of a young maiden during the harvest is just so ME.  Anyone who has met me and gotten to know me will concur.  Henley top, Bohemian style clothing, a bit rumpled but stylish, no make-up.  Me.  The longer I spent observing the details of this artwork, the more fascinated I became with it.  It is so unique.

I have done a fairly thorough search through the artworks of Virgo on Pinterest, and they range from overtly sexy to anime comic style.  The depictions of the twelve Zodiac signs have inspired artists for centuries.   They have appeared in illuminated manuscripts, and on medieval domed ceilings.  Today they show 

up on coin purses and throw pillows and hanging tapestries, and keychains and the novelty goes on and on.  Of all the images of Virgo I have admired and collected, this one resonates with me as a contemporary and thoughtful piece of artwork that describes the nature loving worker bee I am.

My earliest studies on the topic of astrology, and as I mentioned last posting, were with Linda Goodman.  I loved her wry sense of humor and no-nonsense way of describing the signs in all their finery but making sure not to skip a beat over what was swept under the carpet as harsh criticism.  Linda Goodman Sun Signs, and Linda Goodman Love Signs were dog eared books on my shelf.  I must have shared Sun Signs with someone, because it's been gone for years.  Love Signs, I have no use for.  But I greedily read through it as a young woman with each man I dated.

Excerpt from Sun Signs: "A Virgo woman can leave her husband for a man she met beside some faraway ocean, bear her love's child 

before the benefit of marriage and face a hostile world with her head held high.  That's not very maidenly or virginal.  There's a lot to learn about this tender, fragile little symbol of spotless womanhood.  For one thing, her spine is made of stainless steel."  I also got a kick out of, "The Virgo girl is annoyingly meticulous about small things..."  Or this one, "...and probably won't get wrinkled in middle age."  Haha!  Wrinkles present, meticulous as usual, except when I don't want to be.  And the rest? No comment.

The truth is, Linda Goodman writes a great and entertaining book on the Zodiac signs, and I have found 95% of what she writes, true and funny, and humbling to say the least.  

The stellar constellation of Virgo has origins in Babylonian society where it was associated with the goddess Shala, who was depicted holding an ear of grain.  To the Babylonians, this goddess ruled over fertility and the harvest, connecting Virgo to some of its earliest archetypal associations.

This connection to the harvest continues into Greek mythology, where Virgo is connected with the goddess Demeter, who ruled over the bounty of the earth and agriculture. There is also the connection to the Roman goddess Ceres, where she was the ruler of agricultural themes.  It is no wonder Virgo is the sixth sign of Zodiac beginning at the end of summer when harvest is commencing and ending right before the change of season with the Autumn Equinox.

In classical astrology, Mercury was assigned rulership of both Gemini and Virgo.  Virgo was thought to be the nocturnal home of Mercury, a conscientious and detail-focused earth sign.

Virgo also has its own Tarot card, as do all the signs.  The Major Arcana of the Tarot for Virgo is The Hermit.  This card depicts a wandering sage with only a lamp and staff to guide each step.  I am not an expert on the Tarot but love the artworks, of course.  It is fortune telling.  It is gypsy fortune telling.  Its mystical and wonderful, and if you're given a good reading, you can take it with you.  

I enjoyed working on this doll.  This is a 16" Maggie Iacono doll, the same one I used for Red Riding Hood last September.  While I enjoyed her as Red, I knew I wanted to do something more unique with her.  Maggie Iacono dolls call for unique, one-of-a-kind art doll projects.  She was perfect for Virgo.

Now that Monique Trading Company is gone, human hair doll wigs will be almost non-existent.  I should have bought every single one of them in every size just to have on hand, when the sale was going on.  I did stock up, but it got expensive.  Lucky for me, I had this human hair wig in size 7-8 for Virgo.

I deliberated long and hard over her Henley top.  You could see it as a white blouse, or a Henley knit, and knit was what I settled on.  The neckline is edged in the tiniest batiste, hand-made and hand-sewn bias tape.  Tiny beads give the illusion of snaps.

The embroidery on the top is of sheaves of wheat, fanning out from   

the opening.

The apron was the main attraction in this costume for me.  I studied the painting again and again until I could figure out just what kind of pattern was needed for the embroidery. 

Virgo is wearing a kitchen tea towel as an apron, economically tied about her waist with a "scarf" or sash to keep it on.  This is a farm girl.  A harvester.  She uses what she has on hand. 

The tea towel apron is embroidered with vines and birds.  The vines were sewn with two threads, and it was my intention to continue this way with the birds.  But two threads on the first bird came out looking like a fish.  Good grief.  So out the embroidery came, and one thread did the trick for outlining these delicate little birds.

This is the embroidery pattern I used for the birds.

Detail of the wheat embroidery at the neckline of the Henley top.

Virgo's skirt is a fully lined affair of tiny windowpane cotton.  The check pattern feels very rustic, while the delicate weave of white is ethereal.

Virgo's shoes are a sandal similar to those I made for my gypsy doll, Cassandra.  I contemplated making gladiator sandals, but the practical Virgo in me said they needed to be close toed as she'd be working the harvest in dirt.  

The braids in her wig began to curl naturally, and I allowed this.  I could have wet the wig and braided more tightly, but this doll was only "inspired" by the painting and not a direct impression.  I would never cut or trim this wig either.  

I loved the little grape leaves woven into the braid, and the length of the hair, the braids, provides her a more delicate look.

Virgo's crown of grape leaves from the harvest was the first thing I made.  Do the difficult thing first.  Each grape is needle felted.  I know.  But it had to be done.  I could have used beads, but that felt like cheating.  The grape "balls" were then sewn together, and the clusters assembled on the wreath or crown.

This project left me wanting to do more.  I'm on a roll again, and I'll stop only when the steam runs out.  I have the holidays to think of, and Halloween is my next favorite time of year. 

The Autumn Equinox follows three days after my birthday, and that alone is enough to celebrate!  It might even rain this Sunday and that would be the best gift of all.  How I miss the rain!  

I've included a few of my favorite pieces of Virgo artwork, or at least some unique pieces.  Also below is a beautiful artwork of the Autumn Equinox that I wished to share with you.  And two birthday cards just for fun. 

Currently we are picking apples and making applesauce which we freeze.  It is so delicious with meals in winter and reminds us of the gift the trees and earth have provided.  I'll have a piece of German Chocolate cake on Sunday.  And the plan is to make Orange Peel Beef for a special meal.  I love Chinese cooking, and this is one of my specialties. 

Enjoy the beautiful artworks below and wishes to you for the best of the 'bers!

Love, Melissa

Virgo and Mercury

Tarot, The Hermit

Nouveau - Just love this.

Morning Glories

The Autumn Equinox