The Lovely Doll Company
 
I don't seem able to resist this guy....
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He's the Big Bad Wolf of Little Red Riding Hood fame, made by the Freundlich Company, an American firm which produced composition novelty dolls from 1929 until 1945, when the company filed for bankruptcy.

The dolls are generally unmarked and were known more for their character than for high quality. Yet the charm endures. Here's an ad from the 1934 Sears Catalog selling the set:
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And here's a pic of the set that recently sold on ebay for $533.00!
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But my desires do not stop here... it was this little guy that got me started down this wolf path...
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It's Loopy the Wolf! And the most adorable Steiff puppet I have seen. And he's only $75 :D

The Problem is, once I start, where will it all end?? I can resist... I can resist...
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I am touched and amazed when I see people putting their love and effort into something to give away for free, for the joy of making someone else happy. I just added this site to the links page, Doll Dress Patterns. I found this site through Ann's Blog, Small Sewing. It has the original American Girl patterns produced by the Pleasant Company before Mattel. And the patterns are available for free, in PDF format. Almost makes me feel ashamed of myself for wanting to sell email vintage patterns on this site... I just need to figure out a way to make a little cash : ).
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In a word, yes. Read on for details.

My first adventure in cleaning Dy-Dee was a disaster. I had read some directions in Barbara Hilliker's book, Dy-Dee, The Complete Collector's Book, and went straight at it. Ok, tepid water, keep the body weighed down and the head above the water line, and let the doll soak for a few hours. Got it.
I lovingly weighted her body down and propped her head up, and went on to other things. Three or four hours later I came back and... what I thought was my almost perfect, just dirty, Dy-Dee now showed fine crackling along her tummy, back, arms and legs. But I did it right! I followed the directions so carefully! I went back and reread the directions.... soak for a few minutes...oohhhh.

First lesson: Read the directions, calmly, twice.

Since then I have been cautious about soaking, preferring to use terry cloth and diluted Dawn dish washing liquid in a bowl. Rub doll with soap mixture, wipe with a clean cloth, rinse in the sink with running water, dry and try again. For the little places between fingers and toes, I've used a baby toothbrush (the softest I can find.) The dolls have gotten cleaner, but still show some of that gray grime that comes with time.

A few weeks ago I was perusing Barbara's book again when I came across advice given by Nicholas Hill, an organic chemist and expert in the preservation and cleaning of dolls. He wrote that the ONLY products that should be used on old rubber dolls are diluted liquid dish detergent or diluted Formula 9-1-1.

I've heard good things about Twin Pines of Maine, Inc and the products they make for dolls. They advertise Formula 9-1-1 as cleaning old blood, smoke, crayon, chewing gum, food stains, grease, lipstick, tar, tape and sticker residues, wax and most other soils out of vinyl dolls. Also excellent with "time grime". Ok, if Nicholas Hill says it's safe, and he doesn't want you putting almost anything on dolls, I'll go for it. I ordered a bottle. ($14.95 + shipping for 8 oz, but it goes a long way.)

Today I tried it out, and yes, it works! Much better than Dawn. My mold 3 Dy-Dee is much, much  cleaner. But it won't remove the green coloring along the hairline of my Tiny Tears or that deep blue blotch on the thigh of my well-loved Victoria doll. In other words, it's not much for stains.

They have another product called Remove-Zit that they claim will remove ink, magic marker, mold, mildew, fungus and food stains from dolls and vinyl action figures. Based on the performance of Formula 9-1-1, I'm willing to give it a go. But for those of you who, like me, read something and then quickly run off to try it, BEWARE. Remove-Zit also removes paint, like those used in doll's facial features. I'll report back after I've tried it.

*I know pictures would help with these articles. I'm trying! It's just hard to get it all done and still have something new to share : )
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I have been working for the past two weeks to make this a real web site. I plan on writing blogs about my adventures in doll buying, cleaning, and life in general... but I still have a bit more to do on the site before I can relax!

Mostly I have to get those vintage patterns up so I can make a little money... but money never motivates me as much as conversation does... such a girl I am! :D

I hope you are all enjoying the resources on this site. It is a joy for me to share what I have with you. I hope you will feel comfortable contributing your resources too (especially pictures of doll clothes and suggestions for good links). If you have something you would like to share, write a comment and I will get back to you right away.

I am so thankful there are other people to share my love of vintage dolls with!

Dy-Dee Hugs,

Ellen

PS I have gotten Twin Pine products in the mail (for doll & clothing cleaning) and I am just trying them out today. Will report my findings as soon as I know them.

PPS! I am getting a Dy-Dee bunting in the mail!!! I have wanted one for so long, and this one is just about my favorite. I will be sure to share with lots of pics when it arrives- in a week or so. Thank you, Doreen, for selling it to me! (I begged and begged
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Welcome! 12/01/2010
 
Hello to everyone who loves vintage dolls!

I am adding this so there is a place for you to leave a comment, request, etc. More soon...

With a Dy-Dee hug,

Ellen
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