Paula Walton’s doll-making notes
The dolls are overjoyed that one of their older sisters has come to join the family of Izannah Walker dolls that lives here with me! This very early example of Izannah Walker’s work has spent all of her long life in Rhode Island. She is from an estate in Coventry, RI, which is about 31- 1/2 miles from Central Falls, Rhode Island, where Izannah Walker lived and worked; and 35 miles distant from Bristol, RI where Izannah was born.
― Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat
Today is a cool rainy day, much too wet to garden, with persistent downpours that make the walk out to my studios seem very uninviting. So I’ve decided that it would be an excellent morning to sit next to the fire and share photos of my own adventures in wonderland… On Saturday baby Cloe came to stay with us while her parents went out and about. It was the perfect time to play dress up with the Izannahs and explore a bit of their new house!
Cloe and Lily #2 whiled away the afternoon playing in the kitchen of the doll house, with a brief intermission for Cloe to change her dress. ❤
The rain has stopped, the sun is out and my story has come to an end. Please come back soon to see more photos of Lily #2. She will be ready for sale this week, just as soon as I finish her petticoat and pantalettes. If you just can’t wait for her sale post, you may contact me with questions about her by emailing paula@asweetremembrance.com or calling 860-355-5709 during business hours.
Other upcoming blog posts will feature an in-depth focus on my restorations of two antique Izannah Walker dolls (Lily pictured here and Emmaline), and a complete tour of the doll’s house. I hope you can join us here at http://www.izannahwalker.com for both.
I’ll be posting more photos from Saturday’s photo shoot with Cloe on my A Sweet Remembrance facebook page.
Last week I got a call from Early American Life to tell me that I have been selected for inclusion in their 2016 Directory of Traditional American Craftsmen! Such great news!!! Even better, they asked if I could ship a doll to Locust Grove in Louisville, Kentucky for the directory photo shoot. After I said “yes”, reality set in and panic ensued… Both dolls that I’d entered in the directory competition had been sold, so I needed to finish another doll from one of the same molds ASAP. I was already working on this Hannah for Carole, who readily agreed that Hannah could make a side journey to Kentucky before traveling to her new home. Thank you Carole!!! Earlier today I started Hannah off on her journey by escorting her to UPS. When she returns here after her trip, I’ll do the fittings for her second dress, then send her off one last time.
Yesterday I had to hurry through my photo shoot with Shirley’s doll, due to the setting sun and fast approaching evening. So today I took a few more photos. 🙂
I’d like to introduce you all to Shirley’s doll. She is a custom doll, made from my Isabeau mold and is slightly smaller than Isabeau, at 17 – 1/2 inches, as requested.
“Dear Diary,
I’m sorry I haven’t written for a few days. It’s been such a busy weekend! Our dearest friend Emmaline has come to visit and we are having such fun.”
“Every day we all walk out to check on the progress of our new house…”
“Good night dearest diary. Love, Isabeau”
I’ve just finished a very special reproduction Izannah Walker doll for Pamela. I was fortunate enough to get to meet Pamela at the 2014 UFDC convention, where we had a great time chatting and planning all of the details for this doll. She is made from my mold of Anna, an adorable little antique Izannah Walker doll that belongs to my friend Mary.
More cloth dreams… My winter issue of Doll News arrived today and low and behold there is another article in it about the UFDC special exhibit on American cloth dolls at the 2015 convention! So while the winter winds blow and rattle all the old windows in my house, I plan to snuggle in my bed under a mound of hand pieced quilts and read more about all of these glorious cloth dolls and their makers. Sweet cloth dreams are sure to follow… Sleep tight!
American Women Dream in Cloth… don’t you just love that title? The January issue of Antique Doll Collector magazine contains this very intriguing article, about the special exhibit on cloth dolls that was at the UFDC convention last summer. It was the perfect reading for a cold and blustery winter’s day.
So while the baby napped, this American woman filled her head with daydreams of glorious cloth dolls, both past and future…
Sadie and I are both looking forward to next months issue so that we can continue our cloth dreams by reading the second half of the article. 🙂
All of the girl’s were thrilled to receive a letter from Hannah Grace! . She said that keeping busy helps when she is lonely for her friends and family in CT, so she has begun working on a few projects.
Hannah is trimming photos of her loved ones to fit in her locket. She is planning to go shopping for ribbon this weekend so she can wear the locket and keep the pictures close to her heart. Hannah wants to share her quilt top with Mr. Ginger and plans to finish quilting it later this winter.She also has a small embroidery project she wants to work on and is in the process of choosing colors.
What a busy young lady!!! Now all of the doll’s are clamoring about starting winter projects of their own…
Izannah Walker Journal 