when i was a little girl, i collected paper dolls. some i never played with, but these gingham girls were my favorite. i spent hours dressing them and making them talk, i wore them out. their little necks are barely attached to their thin bodies. i didn't understand what gingham meant then, but i have been thinking about the things i loved as a child and i haven't changed much. something in me has always adored the simplicity of early america. fields of flowers, white picket fences, gates with fancy latches, front porches with rocking chairs, fishing holes, mercantiles, school bells, gobstoppers in glass jars...yes, i was a HUGE little house on the prairie fan.