Kirsten Larson: Welcome Home!

***Poppets & Posies 100th Post!***

I have wanted a Kirsten doll since 1996 when I was introduced to my first Pleasant Company catalog. As a Danish/Norwegian girl myself who grew up in Minnesota, I absolutely loved her Swedish/Scandinavian inspired design touches and her midwestern pioneer storyline. And I loved her quirky looped braids even more. Even though I purchased many of Kirsten's outfits throughout the years, I never ordered the doll. Then her archival was announced in 2009 and I decided to let her go quietly.

Until today!

Kirsten is a charmer even still secured in her box. I do not know her exact production year, but this NIB Kirsten was probably originally bought after her archival announcement in 2009 and kept to be sold at a much later date. 

Her apron is crisp and pristine and those braids will never be quite that perfect ever again. Sigh!

This is not news to Kirsten Larson fans, but the boots with her meet outfit are rudimentary at best.

One last loving look! Once she is out of the box she really joins my poppet family!

Kirsten!

So why now some may ask. I had hoped for Kirsten to reappear out of the archives as part of the BeForever line, but with Maryellen arriving the end of August 2015 and the announcement of a new (not previously archived) 2016 BeForever doll, the best I believe I can reasonably hope for is a return of Kirsten in the fall of 2017. Or never.

Never is too long! Actually, another big reason for this leap is that I've collected the majority of Kirsten Larson's collection and while I have had other dolls stand in to wear some of her outfits, I wanted to finally unite the collection with the doll who inspired it.

A closeup of her perfect braid and ribbon for posterity--and reference for when I inevitably mess up her hair.

I am pleased with the short hairs on the back of her wig. Plenty of coverage and an even feathered pattern.

Her pantalettes are edges with eyelet. But take a gander at those galoompus boots!

Shall we revel in these galoompus meet boots for a moment before they are removed from her feet and never worn again? Vinyl, shapeless, an awkward seam up the center of the foot, no finished upper edges, a lazy hole punched for the laces, and a flimsy moccasin-like sole. Added to this list of frustration is that these "boots" do nothing to help stabilize her while standing. I will quickly be putting Kirsten's black lace-up boots on her feet.

As reviews go, the Kirsten Larson doll is an A+++. I don't care about the meet boots, they are easy and relatively inexpensive to replace with her black lace-up boots.

Finally, here at Poppets & Posies all our poppets are given their own name. A happy and enthusiastic welcome to Kristianna!

Waiting for Grace: Meet Sari

Happy Saint Lucia's Day (December 13th). My poppet Ingabritia is holding Sari, the doll from Kirsten Larson's collection. 

In Kirsten's Surprise, Kirsten is finally reunited with her beloved rag doll Sari on Saint Lucia's Day. Sari had been packed in a giant trunk for the family's trip overseas from Sweden to their new home in America, but the trunk was not immediately brought to their temporary home at Uncle Olav's farm.

The Sari doll body is made entirely of cloth and soft batting and is very light and squishy. Her face is made with a few simple stitches of colored thread and her hair with braided yellow yarn.

While the dress hems are sewn, Sari's shawl and bottom edge of her apron are left unhemmed and the loose edges made to look like fringe. Her shawl appears to have been glued into place (I do not want to pry it up to look underneath for any stitches). For these reasons this rag doll is best as a prop or display rather than heavy play.

While Sari's cloth body is a light off-white color, her feet are made in a contrasting red fabric, giving her the appearance of wearing red stocking or red boots depending on your imagination. This feature alone delights me to no end for its simplicity as well as for its range of open interpretation in play.

The Sari doll is an easy to overlook accessory from Kirsten's world, especially considering the original price in the Pleasant Company catalogs was $16 for this tiny cloth doll. However, that price looked like a bargain after questing for a Sari doll in pristine condition this summer. Since the face is hinted at with so few stitches of the embroidery needle I was particularly interested in finding a Sari with a symmetrical face and eyes. 

I love this little piece of Kirsten's world because of how the story of Sari captures the love of a girl and her doll. It was never a matter of how expensive or fancy the doll was--Kirsten played with real dedication even with her substitute straw doll--but about the story telling and bond created through playing together.