It all started 4 years ago, in 2007… When my eldest daughter was about 4 years old, one of her favourite films was a Russian fairy tale “Morozko” (“Father Frost”). The main heroine in that film is a very sweet and kind girl Nastenka (or Anastasia). My daughter dreamed of having a doll that would look just like her. And I dreamed of a doll I could make clothes for! It took me quite some time searching on the Internet for a doll with long brownish hair without bangs that would look at least a bit like a Russian beauty. And I managed to find her!
When I bought this doll in 2007, there were only 4 Carpatina dolls: Emma – a gentle romantic girl with red hair and green eyes, Julia – a Spanish looking beauty with brown hair and brown eyes, Isabella – with blond hair with bangs and blue eyes and Ana Ming – an Asian beauty. As you may guess, I chose the first of them, Emma. And she was immediately renamed (of course!) and became Anastasia. Unfortunately, Emma and Isabella are now discontinued. But there are new dolls instead: Veronika, Zoe, Erin and Kohanna, though I must confess I like them less than the first 4 girls. But tastes differ, of course.
So, Carpatina doll… She is 18″ (46 cm) tall and has all-vinyl body. She is a so called slim doll (like Magic Attic and EuroGirl dolls), her waist is 22 cm (about 9 inches). Her eyes can close. Her hair is Kanekolan wig.
Three years passed. And I found myself choosing another doll for my daughter – for her 7th birthday. Somehow I again returned to the dolls I’d started with 3 years previously – American Girl dolls. I still had the same desire to make clothes for dolls and these seems to be perfect as there are so many books and patterns available for them! It happened so that my daughter chose a different doll from the one I fell in love with, so – finally! – I decided it was time to buy a doll for myself! It wasn’t an easy decision as there are so many people who are convinced that adults shouldn’t love and collect dolls! But here she is, the doll from which my collection started! She is a My American Girl doll #43. I named her Amalia.
