For the past few months I’ve been working on an excessively romantic project. From time to time I receive very sweet calls from husbands who want to do something special for their wives. Before Christmas I was contacted by a very thoughtful gentleman in the midwest who wanted to give his wife a custom made doll. He wanted her to be able choose exactly how she wanted the doll to look, so with a little plotting and planning we decided that he should present her with a gift certificate for Christmas that would allow her to plan a special reproduction Izannah Walker doll. Our original scheme called for the doll to be ready in February in time for his wife’s birthday, but during the planning stages after the New Year, Cindy the recipient of our joint endeavor, told me that there was no hurry. So she and I took our time sorting out all of the details for her doll and coming up with a very complete design plan. I loved that fact that this doll has been a family affair, with Cindy’s daughters helping her choose the fabrics and styles for her doll’s dresses.
This project is now coming to a close, as I finish the last touches on Cindy’s Christmas doll. Tomorrow I will be sewing yards of black velvet ribbons onto her second dress and fashioning her leather shoes. Cindy asked that I make her doll look almost new, with just a few hints of age, as the doll will have years ahead of her to age gracefully on her own.
It was such a nice afternoon that I couldn’t resist taking a few photos of Cindy’s doll to remember her by, since she will soon be leaving here on her journey to her new forever home…
Izannah Walker Journal 
Hi Paula,
What a darling story and sweet Izannah… the story of the family’s involvement is so precious and gave me goosebumps. What a precious family heirloom this little girl is going to be! Charlotte
Charlotte,
Thank you! It has been such a treat to make this doll for Cindy. I just hope that the doll lives up to all the love and thoughtfulness that was the driving force behind the gift.
By the way, Rick definitely made my “romantic husbands” list too! 🙂
Paula
Hi Paula, this doll is so lovely. Her clothes are perfect. I’m very fond of the red dresses myself. She will be a wonderful heirloom to hand down in this family.
Fondly, Mary Goddard.
Thank you Mary! Her second dress, which I am just finishing now is pink and black. It’s hard to pick, but at the moment I’m very enamored with her red dress too! You can’t go wrong with red 🙂
Paula
Hi Paula – just wanted to add my thoughts, too, along with Charlotte and Mary, that I think this doll is very sweet and I just love the red dress! Very stunning on her! I’m sure the pink and black dress will be wonderful as well, as you know I love dresses finished with the black velvet ribbon! Cindy will just love her! Once again, an amazing doll Paula! Love, Susie
Susie,
Thank you! Cindy actually loved the dresses on the doll Denny bought you for Christmas so much that she chose both of the same styles for her doll’s dresses 🙂 The pink and black is the same dress you have and the very last large piece of that fabric that I have. I’m hoping that I have just enough left to be able to make a bonnet out of the scraps in the future. The red dress in this post is the same style as your embroidered white wool one. It’s pretty amazing how different it looks in the red! I have to say that I love both the white wool and the red print, so I’m looking forward to trying that sleeve in some other fabrics too to see how it will look. It’s been raining here for the past two days, but it’s finally stopped so I’m going to go out and take some photos of Cindy’s doll in her second dress before it pours again.
Love,
Paula