Yes, this blog has certainly been neglected recently. However, as you can see I have been busy with other things. Firstly, I'd like to introduce you to two of my recent arrivals ~ this little gal is another Gotz Happy Kidz by Hildegard Gunzel who's name is Clara. She is from the 2016 release, and she arrived on the 29th March, just three days after Katie. I am so pleased with these dolls, they are so much better IRL than I ever expected of play dolls.
I am particularly proud of this set, the pattern (11 Back to Basics School Set
Sorry about the hair across her face in the next photo, I didn't notice it until I cropped it, but I thought it too nice not to post.
Now this doll below is a real disappointment. Her face is very pretty, but when I unboxed her the smell of the vinyl was ***** awful . . . a bit like pungent vinegar, and the smell took ages to dissipate, UGH! Her joints are loose and the stringing is uneven which makes her very difficult to stand. Then when she sits, one leg stays straight and doesn't bend at the knee like it's supposed to. I wasn't that impressed by her shoulders either, she's built like an Olympic swimmer!!
She is a Hape Kidz'n'Cats by Sonja Hartmann, who I have called Julia. I think Sonja should not have given the making of her dolls to Hape, if they are all going to arrive like this one, they are going to disappoint many Kidz'n'Cats followers.
I had pre-ordered a second of these dolls (Isabel) but have since cancelled it and ordered a completely different doll . . . but more on that when she arrives.
Clara is lovely ! And so is your knitting, you chose such pretty colours of yarn. Reminds me of the days when all my dolls wore hand knitted clothes. I still have most of the woolies my mam knitted for my dollies. My brother still bemoans the fact that his action man was the only one to have knitted underpants !! 😁
ReplyDeleteIt's a pity about Julia, will you keep her ? She is pretty but I can see how chunky she is compared to Clara 😊xx
Thank you Carolyn, I really enjoy knitting dolls clothes and I'm fortunate to have a good selection of yarns to work with. Action man in knitted undies certainly paints a pretty picture, lol!
DeleteI think I will, but her hair is also fine and fly away, so I can see her becoming an experimental doll . . . probably cut the hair off first and replace it with a wig. Unfortunately I won't be able to do much about the shoulders, but perhaps I can balance them witha fuller skirt.
Hugs,
X
Hello Sandy,
ReplyDeleteIt is great to hear from you. I think we can all relate to being busy and the blog taking a back seat. What wonderful dolls! they are a great addition to your collection.
Big hug
Giac
Hi Giac,
DeleteThank you, it's good to see you back posting again too. I think I am going to come to a grinding halt soon, even with the doll room reorganised I am fast running out of space. :)
Hugs,
X
Clara is adorable! I really like your knit, it suits them perfectly :3
ReplyDeleteJulia is cute, too, but I'm sorry she came with such smell =S I never handled vynil dolls of such size, so I didn't knew it could happen.
Can't wait to see the new doll, though!
Thanks Musume.
DeleteWell I certainly wasn't expecting it as I have many vinyl dolls and none ever smelt as horrible as this one. Though I did have one resin doll that was almost as bad.
New doll has arrived and I will post photos soon.
Hugs,
X
They are both really cute, but what a shame that Julia came with such a strong smell. That definitely doesn't sound pleasant :(
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing about your new preordered doll, though!
Hi Nikki.
DeleteI was happy with the look of both dolls as they are quite pretty but in different ways...so yes it was a shame about Julia's pong! She's not as bad now she has been open to the air, but there are other features about this doll that are not quite what I expected.
Hugs,
X
I really find both the faces of these dolls very sweet and realistic. The eyes are really lovely. They have a real 'life' to them I feel.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you were disappointed in your second doll. That's very strange about the vinyl smell. I've never experienced that with my vinyls but I can imagine it would be a huge shock. Is there any way you can fix the posing issues? I guess these dolls can't be restrung like resin dolls?
Thank you Alasse.
DeleteYes, I agree, they do have nice eyes and are pretty dolls, but now the smell has dissipated I have other things to tackle with Julia.
I don't think I can restring her, well I haven't yet figured how, but I will try fixing her knee joint. I am also going to cut off all her hair and give her a wig. There's nothing I can do about her shoulders though, so I'll just have to live with that.
Hugs,
X
Hellou there!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting to cute dolls home, they are lovely. Sorry to hear that Julia came with a strong vinyl smell. And I agree with you, when it comes to her shoulders, rather wide compared to the rest of the body.
Your knitting is so beautiful and love the colors. Clara looks so cute in her outfit!
Happy weekend! Hugs!
Thank you Niina.
DeleteIt's always nice to receive new dolls, but not so agreeable when they smell. I am still coming to terms with the shoulders, hopefully the right clothes will offset that a little.
I'm pretty pleased with how Clara's clothes turned out, they do seem to suit her.
Hope you are having a happy weekend too!
Hugs,
X
Congrats on your new arrivals, but sorry to near the quality isn't what you expected!
ReplyDeleteI hope your new preorder will be more exciting!
Thanks Irene. Hey I guess they can't all be perfect. :)
DeleteI cancelled the pre-order and just ordered a different doll who arrived yesterday.
Hugs,
X
Your knitting is so pretty!!! I admire you so much~ Clara is very pretty! and ready for the cold days :D
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't have a great expericen with Julia, but her face is really pretty, I agree :)
Thank you Alejandra, it's pretty simple knitting though and I'm sure you could do it too.
DeleteIt's funny but I wasn't even thinking of the weather when I knitted Clara's outfit, but it will certainly get her through the cold days ahead.
Not to worry, Julia will be dealt with (one way or the other) and hopefully come up trumps. :)
Hugs,
X
I love Clara, I actually used to have her! This is my favourite of the Gotz Happy/Classic Kidz face sculpts, and I still have three of this face! I only sold Clara because I wanted my three to have brown eyes. Your Clara looks lovely in her warm weather gear, I have to keep reminding myself that you are 'down under' and soon moving towards winter.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Kidz n Catz, it's very disappointing to hear that there are still problems with these dolls. Is she from this year or last? I thought they'd improved them this year. I only have one of these, an Elise from 2013 I think it is. I customised her and really like her but she has loads of problems with her joints and her original hair was just awful.
I do agree with you though, the Gotz play dolls are great, and so much better than the KnC ones.
x
Hi Sharon,
DeleteYes Clara is a lovely doll and I must say the Gotz dolls are really well made, much better than I expected. That's funny, I chose her because she didn't have brown eyes and I wanted all of mine to be redheads. Clara seems pretty happy she's warm, though I am not looking forward to winter one bit!
I heard from Maxine, and she said the fault is in the mold. That really surprised me, you would think if they knew about the problems, Hape would have fixed it before going into their new production. She was pre-ordered this year and amongst the latest arrivals. Maxine also said she hadn't heard of any smell problems before, so maybe Hape changed the vinyl, who knows??? I wasn't over the moon with the hair either, there is no part, it all comes from the centre of the head and it's so fine it's quite a problem to style. I've certainly learned my lesson and will never buy another KnC!
Hugs,
X