A Letter from Ireland

Dear family,

My flight to Ireland (AYE-er-land) was pleasant. (Not every knitter gets to fly in The Writer's knitting bag.)

I wore a plastic bag to protect myself from the rain, because they have a lot of rain in Ireland. I'm a doll, and I don't want to get water inside my head, because it could make the inside of my head moldy. Real children should never wear plastic bags over their heads. Real children don't get moldy insides of heads, so they don't need it, and real children need to breathe. You can't breathe with a bag over your head, so it's dangerous. It's good I don't need to breathe. 

We flew over some land covered with snow and then the ocean. The Writer held me up to the window, so I could see. 

The writer said Ireland is close to another country called England. She said that was where the English language started. (I knew that, of course. I read a lot.)

The sun was shining when we landed in Shannon, but it was raining by the time our ride reached the hotel. I was glad I had my boots and umbrella. 

Shannon is the town where one of the main airports in Ireland is located.

We went hiking in one of the big parks. We could hear a cuckoo bird calling from a long way off. It sounds just like the little bird that pops out of the clock in the hall to tell us what time it is. There were lovely yellow bushes everywhere. The Writer said they were gorse bushes. (Gorse rhymes with horse.)

We took a ride in something called a jaunty cart. It's a nice way to travel, and it doesn't go very fast. That gives you plenty of time to look around. A horse, not a gorse, pulls the jaunty cart. (A gorse doesn't do anything much besides sit there and look pretty, so a gorse pulling a jaunty cart would be really slow!) There were lots of jaunty carts on the road, so we decided that a lot of other people had the same idea we had.

I discovered that there are a lot of sheep in Ireland. Sheep make all that yummy wool, which is where a lot of knitting yarn comes from. I think sheep are my favorite animals, other than cats, of course...and dogs...and horses...and goldfish.

We have been seeing the sights, too. That's called sightseeing (SITE-see-ing). Sightseeing is when you go to places you have only read about. 

Ireland has some great castles you can visit. We went to see Blarney Castle. It was built in 1446, which was 574 years ago. That's a long time, especially in doll years. It was built long before there were dolls like us.

Of course, one of my favorite things about the trip was visiting the wool shops. Those are what we call yarn shops.

The writer told me I could buy something, and she would pay for it. I picked out some nice yarn to bring back with me.

This is the yarn I picked out. It will keep me busy for a while.

The pubs in Ireland are very nice. The word "pub" is the short name for "public house." That's a place where human people go to eat and drink. It's like a restaurant (REST-uh-rahnt) or a cafe (keh-FAY). They have drinks for grownups, like wine and beer, but they also have drinks for everyone, even children and dolls, like tea and soda. You can even get milk!

When you drink a toast in Ireland, you say, "Slánte" (SHLON-shuh), which means "health." To drink a toast, you gently touch your glass or cup to someone else's and say "Slánte." 

I've been pretending to drink the lovely local tea with milk. I have my tea with something called "soda bread." It's tasty. I like the kind that's brown best. Sometimes it's still warm from the oven, with butter on it.

Some people bring musical instruments to the pubs and play for everyone. 

Sometimes people get up and dance (or pretend to dance, which is easier for me). I watched the human people dancing and pretended to dance the way they did.

Ireland has a special holiday we also have at home. It was St. Patrick's Day. That's when people in Ireland celebrate (SELL-uh-brate) the man who brought the Christian religion to Ireland. That means they do special things to remember him, like have a party or a parade. There are people of all religions in Ireland, but a lot of them are Christians. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated every year on March 17. Everyone wears green. I wore green almost every day anyway. I knew I would need green clothes in Ireland! People keep telling me I look Irish.

Much of Ireland is very green. I think green must be their favorite color. It is an island, so it is surrounded by ocean. Sometimes the ocean is green, but often it is blue.

The seaside towns are so pretty, and there are lots of boats. 

Some of the people who live close to the ocean make a living catching fish. They catch the fish to eat or to sell to other human people to eat. (Don't read this part to Cleo!)

Today is our last day, and it has been very exciting! We stopped in a pub for tea, as we have done every afternoon. It was raining (again). When we came out, the rain had just stopped and the sun had come out. There was a real rainbow!

I've heard that leprechauns hide their pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, so I went to look. The part of the rainbow that touched the ground ended by an old fence. I was very surprised to find a pot of gold-colored yarn!

That was not what I thought a pot of "gold" would be. I wonder where the leprechauns hide their other colors. I didn't take any, of course, because it didn't belong to me; it belonged to a leprechaun. (We shouldn't take things that don't belong to us, and besides, I am a guest in their country.)

Our return trip may be delayed because of flight cancellations (KAN-suh-LAY-shuns). That means the airline couldn't fly as planned. The writer said that she can ship me home in a box, but it may take a couple of days. That's OK, because my new knitting wool will keep me cosy. See you soon! (If The Writer's flight is cancelled, we may have the house to ourselves for a while.)

Love and XXX,

Mandy

P.S., The Writer says not to worry if she can't get a flight home just yet. She will stay in Ireland and work on the stories by email with Mariah. Mariah and Billy can decide what photos to take. The Writer will come home when she can, but we should please stay out of trouble!


Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats from KTL
Cleo: Herself

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook and More Classic Tales Untold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Author's page on Amazon. 

Royalties (net proceeds) go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don't get free shipping elsewhere, buy from Book Baby. Half of the price goes to charity (specific information available upon request). Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2020, 2025 by Peggy Stuart

A Letter from Ireland

Dear family,

My flight to Ireland (AYE-er-land) was pleasant. (Not every knitter gets to fly in The Writer's knitting bag.)

The plastic bag was to protect me from the rain, because they have a lot of rain in Ireland. I'm a doll, and I don't want to get water inside my head, because it could give me silver eye. Real children should never wear plastic bags over their heads. Real children don't get silver eye, so they don't need it, but you can't breathe with a bag over your head, so it's dangerous. It's good I don't need to breathe. 

We flew over some land covered with snow and then the ocean. The Writer held me up to the window, so I could see. 

The writer said Ireland is close to another country called England. She said that was where the English language started. (I knew that, of course. I read a lot.)

The sun was shining when we landed in Shannon, but it was raining by the time our ride reached the hotel. I was glad I had my boots and umbrella. 

Shannon is the town where one of the main airports in Ireland is located.

We went hiking in one of the big parks. We could hear a cuckoo bird calling from a long way off. It sounds just like the little bird that pops out of the clock in the hall to tell us what time it is. There were lovely yellow bushes everywhere. The Writer said they were gorse bushes. (Gorse rhymes with horse.)

We took a ride in something called a jaunty cart. It's a nice way to travel, but it doesn't go very fast. That gives you plenty of time to look around. A horse pulls the jaunty cart. (A gorse doesn't do anything much besides sit there and look pretty, so a gorse pulling a jaunty cart would be really slow!) There were lots of jaunty carts on the road, so we decided that a lot of other people had the same idea we had.

I discovered that there are a lot of sheep in Ireland. Sheep make all that yummy wool, which is where a lot of knitting yarn comes from. I think sheep are my favorite animals, other than cats, of course...and dogs...and horses...and goldfish.

We have been seeing the sights, too. That's called sightseeing (SITE-see-ing). Sightseeing is when you go to places you have only read about. 

Ireland has some great castles you can visit. We went to see Blarney Castle. It was built in 1446, which was 574 years ago. That's a long time, especially in doll years. It was built long before there were dolls like us.

Of course, one of my favorite things about the trip was visiting the wool shops. Those are what we call yarn shops.

The writer told me I could buy something, and she would pay for it. I picked out some nice yarn to bring back with me.

This is the yarn I picked out. It will keep me busy for a while.

The pubs in Ireland are very nice. The word "pub" is the short name for "public house." That's a place where human people go to eat and drink. It's like a restaurant (REST-uh-rahnt) or a cafe (keh-FAY). They have drinks for grownups, like wine and beer, but they also have drinks for everyone, even children and dolls, like tea and soda. You can even get milk!

When you drink a toast in Ireland, you say, "Slánte" which means "health." To drink a toast, you gently touch your glass or cup to someone else's and say "Slánte." I think you say it like "SHLON-sheh." At least that was how it sounded to me.

I've been pretending to drink the lovely local tea with milk. I have my tea with something called "soda bread." It's tasty. I like the kind that's brown best. Sometimes it's still warm from the oven, with butter on it.

Some people bring musical instruments to the pubs and play for everyone. 

Sometimes people get up and dance (or pretend to dance, which is easier for me). I watched the human people dancing and pretended to dance the way they did.

Ireland has a special holiday we also have at home. It was St. Patrick's Day. That's when people in Ireland celebrate (SELL-uh-brate) the man who brought the Christian religion to Ireland. That means they do special things to remember him, like have a party or a parade. There are people of all religions in Ireland, but a lot of them are Christian. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated every year on March 17. Everyone wears green. I wore green almost every day anyway. I knew I would need green clothes in Ireland! People keep telling me I look Irish.

Much of Ireland is very green. I think green is their favorite color. It is an island, so it is surrounded by ocean. Sometimes the ocean is green, but often it is blue.

The seaside towns are so pretty, and there are lots of boats. 

Some of the people who live close to the ocean make a living catching fish. They catch the fish to eat or to sell to other human people to eat. (Don't read this part to Cleo!)

Today is our last day, and it has been very exciting! We stopped in a pub for tea, as we have done every afternoon. It was raining (again). When we came out, the rain had just stopped and the sun had come out. There was a real rainbow!

I've heard that leprechauns hide their pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, so I went to look. The part of the rainbow that touched the ground ended by an old fence. I was very surprised to find a pot of gold-colored yarn!

That was not what I thought a pot of "gold" would be. I wonder where the leprechauns hide their other colors. I didn't take any, of course, because it didn't belong to me; it belonged to a leprechaun. We shouldn't take things that don't belong to us, and besides, I am a guest in their country.

Our return trip may be delayed because of flight cancellations (KAN-suh-LAY-shuns). That means the airline couldn't fly as planned. The writer said that she can ship me home in a box, but it may take a couple of days. That's OK, because my new knitting wool will keep me cosy. See you soon! (If The Writer's flight is cancelled, we may have the house to ourselves for a while.)

Love and XXX,

Mandy

P.S., The Writer says not to worry if she can't get a flight home just yet. She will stay in Ireland and work on the stories by email with Mariah. Mariah and Billy can decide what photos to take. The Writer will come home when she can, but we should please stay out of trouble!


Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats from KTL
Cleo: Herself

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook and More Classic Tales Untold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Author's page on Amazon. 

Royalties (net proceeds) go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don't get free shipping elsewhere, buy from Book Baby. Half of the price goes to charity (specific information available upon request). Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2020, 2024 by Peggy Stuart

Soft, Warm and Fun To Make

Mandy was organizing her yarn on the big table in the work room when Charlotte and Mariah came to see what she was doing.

They were interested in the yarn. They were curious.
"Yarn is interesting," Mariah said. "It's so soft and squishy." 

"But it's strong, too," Charlotte said. "What is it made out of?" she asked, pulling on a strand of yarn.
"It's made of wool," Mandy said.

Mandy explained that wool comes from sheep. The dolls thought about sheep....
The sheep they imagined were toy sheep, because they had never seen real sheep. They imagined the sheep were pretending to be grazing in a pasture, because that's what they knew real sheep do.

"The wool is their hair, only it's called fleece," Mandy explained. "It's what keeps them warm outdoors when the weather is cold."

She brought one of the make-believe sheep up on the work table where the two dolls could see it. "This one looks the most like a real sheep," Mandy said.
"His fleece doesn't look like yarn," Mariah pointed out, picking up one of the balls of yarn.

"That's because it's still on the sheep," Mandy explained. "This sheep's fleece is white." 
"Did the fleece for this yarn come from pink sheep?" Mariah asked.
"No," Mandy laughed. "Sheep come in some colors, like shades of black, brown and grey, as well as white, but white wool can be colored later with something called dye to make it pink or other colors."
"Feel how soft he is," Charlotte said. The girls all put their fingers into the fleece. It was soft.
"This wool is real," Mandy explained, "because this toy sheep was made with real sheep's fleece."

"The first step in making yarn is to give the sheep a haircut," Mandy said. "That's called shearing the sheep. Sheep farmers do this in the spring, when the sheep doesn't need its warm coat anymore."
"That's nice of the farmer," Charlotte said.
"Farmers take good care of their animals," Mandy agreed. "After the fleece, the sheep's coat, is off the sheep, it needs to be washed, then spun into yarn," she continued. "Some people who make yarn like to spin it just the way it is. Others like to comb it, to get all the fibers, or hairs, going in the same direction and to remove pieces of grass and dirt that didn't come out when it was washed. Sometimes they use a machine to do that, but we can do that with hand carders." Mandy lifted two big brushes up onto the table.

"They look like dog brushes." Charlotte said.
"They are a lot like dog brushes," Mandy agreed, "and like dog brushes, the bristles, the little wires that stick out, are sharp, so we have to be careful when we handle the carders."

"So then you spin it? How do you do that?" Mariah wanted to know.
"Spinning twists the fibers together into a long strand. This makes the yarn stronger and keeps the fibers together." Mandy replied. "People can use a machine that runs on electricity if they need to make a lot of yarn, or they can use something called a spinning wheel. People sit and use their feet to make the pedals go up and down while they control the wool with their hands as it takes the wool and twists it. Veronika and I can do this, but it takes two of us, because we are so small. We can't reach the pedals and hold onto the fiber at the same time. Maybe we can show you sometime. We can also use a tool called a drop spindle," Mandy went on, showing them what looked like a top with yarn on it.

"It's a slower way to make yarn," Mandy explained, "but it's easier for dolls our size, especially with this small one of Veronika's. You use one hand to start it spinning." Mandy showed them.

"Then, while it keeps going, you control the wool with your hands," she went on. "You sort of pinch it and try to keep the same amount of fiber going through your fingers all the time."

"Then, before the spindle reaches the floor," Mandy said, "you stop spinning and wind the yarn onto the spindle. We think it's fun to spin to make yarn."
Mandy showed the girls another drop spindle that was larger. It had arms on it.

"I think it's interesting that making something useful can be fun," Charlotte said.
"Lots of things that are useful are fun to do," Mandy agreed. Then she went on. "When you have enough yarn made this way, you can put two or more strands together if you want. This is called plying. It makes yarn that is stronger and thicker. You can knit with the yarn, or make fabric for clothes another way, like with a hook or weaving on a loom."
"Are there enough sheep in the world to make everyone's clothes?" Mariah wanted to know as she and Charlotte put the balls of yarn back into the basket.

"Sheep make wool, but we can make clothes out of other kinds of fibers" Mandy explained. "Some fibers come from other kinds of animals, but people also use fibers from plants. They even use fibers made by insects. Cotton (KAW-tuhn) is the most common," Mandy said, "Cotton comes from a plant. It's what cotton balls are made of." She showed them a cotton ball.

"People have even learned to make fibers from chemicals, too." 
"It's very interesting," said Mariah. "What fun that there are so many different kinds of fiber to make clothes out of!"
"My favorite kind of fiber to knit with is wool. It's pretty, it's warm even if it gets wet, and I think sheep are cute."

Just then, Billy came in. He was wearing the sweater vest that Mandy had made for him. 

"I love my new sweater vest, Mandy!" Billy exclaimed. "It's so soft and warm. I'm going to wear it to school tomorrow with my new shirt. Some of us are having our pictures taken for the yearbook, so I was trying everything on."
"Billy, you look very nice," Mariah said.
Charlotte nodded her head to show that she agreed. "That's a very nice outfit," she said.
"I'm glad you're here, Billy," Mandy told him. "I was just explaining to Mariah and Charlotte about different kinds of fibers for clothes. You can help me. Come up here for a minute." 
Billy climbed up onto the work table. Mandy pointed to Billy's new vest. "What do you think this vest is made out of?" she asked the girls.

Mariah felt Billy's sweater.

"Wool!" she said.
"How do you know it's wool?" Mandy asked.
"Because it's soft and warm-looking," Mariah said.
"It looks knitted, too, and Billy said you made it," Charlotte added. "We know you like to knit with wool."

"That's right, of course," Mandy laughed, "and his shirt and pants are made of cotton. His socks are made from something called nylon (NYE-lawn). That's one of the fibers people make from chemicals. It's very strong."
The dolls were amazed that Mandy knew so much about fibers, but Mandy knows a lot about many things, because she studies.

"This was very interesting," Charlotte said. "I should go do my homework now, though. I love that we have learned about one more thing dolls can do for fun but that's useful, too."
"Yes," agreed Mariah. "Thank you for explaining about wool, Mandy, and thank you, too, Billy for taking most of the photos for us," she said. "I especially liked how you used your tripod. You set the timer on the phone and ran to the door, so you could pretend to be just coming in!"

"We do a lot of pretending in these stories, don't we?," Charlotte said. "Now we should do our homework for real!"

Then all the dolls went to do their homework.


Cast--
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz or Classic Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to a charity that supports pediatric cancer, such as CURE Childhood Cancer or St. Baldrick's Foundation
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.

Copyright © 2019 by Peggy Stuart