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Long before Kaya could see the waterfalls on the river ahead, she began to hear their voices. She and her family were riding over hot, dry plans, so the murmur of running water was a sweet promise. But as they rode closer to the river, that murmur grew into a powerful song, like many men drumming.

Kaya made her way through the many villages crowded along the shore. She saw people from the coast trading dried shellfish, shell beads, cedar-root baskets, and canoes. People from the south had brought bowls of black stone and baskets of water-lily seeds to trade.

And the people who lived in the midlands, like Kaya's people, traded elk and buffalo robes, kouse and camas cakes, and horses.

Kaya Shows the Way talks about how in the summer, many bands of Nimiipuu travel to the river to catch salmon and trade with all the other people who are there to do the same. It's where Kaya will reunite with her sister, Speaking Rain, every summer from now on. Speaking Rain has chosen to spend part of the year living with her parents and siblings, and with her adoptive Salish mother White Braids.
So many changes have happened in Kaya's life since the day she earned the nickname Magpie! Friends have come and gone, and Kaya's heart has broken or healed each time. But wherever she goes, and however she grows, home is always close by.

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IT'S KAYA'S BIRTHDAY EVERYONE SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST GIRL OR ELSE

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Meet Singing Bird!

To nobody's surprise, Singing Bird's clothes in her illustrations are not accurate to her culture's dress for the period. I spent a few weeks searching for examples of 1850s Dakota clothing, looking at museum sites, labeled/dated photos, and artwork from the time period and location. I found a few written sources to work with as well and drafted patterns based on that research. I decided to make everything in faux suede because that is what I had on hand. The sewing took about three working days.
I wanted to also stay true to the character she's intended to be, which led to having to take a few creative licenses with the decoration on her clothes. I used the illustrations as a starting point for the beadwork. Her shoes are a more accurate moccasin shape with the long tongue and the laces, but I copied the beadwork design from the illustrations and also used that on her belt.

It was hard to tell from her illustrations if the black and red beads are necklaces or beadwork, but there is only one necklace shown in the shadow on the one picture so I decided to use them as sewn beadwork. Rather than a fully beaded yoke, I kept it simple, just the two rows at the neckline. I gave her two rows of beaded tassels on the front and back of the skirt.

The beading took another six working days. I used 1575 #11 seed beads, 104 #8 seed beads, 22 carnelian beads, and 22 bone beads. 1822 beads total on the dress and shoes. Plus another 14 dyed quartz beads and 67 dyed howlite beads for her necklace. If I had make a fully accurate outfit, it would have been so many more than that. I might make her another fully beaded outfit with deerskin at some point, but that's a long-range project. I'm still pricing materials and tools for that, but also making tiny moccasins in faux suede with sewing thread about did my fingers in; deerskin and sinew may be beyond my skill level.
Eventually I will make her doll and her pouch and its contents too. For today, she and Kirsten played together for a few minutes before we had to come inside so nobody melted (August afternoons in Florida are brutal!)


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American Girl Website: Fun for Girls!
I was bored and took a trip through the wayback machine today 🎀💫
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Robecca Steam redesign! ⚙️💙
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“kirsten shouldn’t have bangs because it was an unpopular style back then” well have you considered that maybe she wanted them. maybe she just said fuck it and went snip snip on her hair. maybe she thought they were cute. maybe she was right. maybe her lil bangs are fucking adorable. maybe
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After three days, I have finished my attempt at recreating Samantha’s New York City school uniform from Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004).
For the dress, I used the Simplicity 7998 sewing patterns (dress D). I couldn’t find the correct color of plaid fabric, so I just picked up a flannel shirt from Walmart to cut up and called that close enough.
The pinafore in the picture is from Samantha’s play dress and pinafore outfit, but maybe I’ll make one specifically to go with this outfit at some point.
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“He’s stung by a bee! Poor Caro! Hold him tightly, Peter!” Kirsten said. 🐕

Someone else had tried to climb the tree already. Someone else was after her honey! 🐝

For a moment Kirsten couldn’t get her breath. This was the first bear she’d seen up close. 🧸

Kirsten pinched Peter’s arm. “Hush, Peter!” She said. “We might not even have enough money for what we need.” 🍯

“You’ve earned a special treat today, Kirsten,” Papa said. 👒
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My dear brother or sister or beloved enby in Pleasant, you cannot simply slap Samantha's name on every single outfit and list it.
Although I really, really want the "Samantha Parkington of Today" line to exist.
#oh you don't remember the short story where samantha travels to the future?#to china town to celebrate her clearly chinese heritage?
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Samantha's Paper Dolls, Day 4
Here is Samantha's holiday outfit, complete with her handmade snowflakes and her gingerbread house!
The mini book pages discuss Samantha's frustration with preparations for Cornelia's visit derailing her plans, as well as the Christmas traditions of Americans in Samantha's economic class.
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Nellie 🩵
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I can’t begin to describe how much I love this display in particular at the Chicago AG Place. I was pleasantly surprised to see Historical girls getting acknowledged considering marketing and releases have all focused on collabs and TM. But as a girl who grew up loving the movie first and foremost and later the original stories, they actually took the time to capture who Kit is. Every detail reflects an aspect of her story and or the things she likes. From the chicken feed scattered at her feet, the typewriter and camera that match the doll’s original collection and her passion for journalism, the hobo symbols hanging behind her, the baseball memorabilia. Considering they still exclusively sell the BeForever stories that were chopped remains of what once was, it was so refreshing to see Kit treated with the thought her character deserves.

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