Wishing upon a bright and shining star that your new year will be filled with health, happiness and great joy!
On this New Year’s Day my hope for each and every one of you is that 2016 will bring you a year full of peace, happiness, and well-being! May your days be filled with simple pleasures and quiet beauty.
My new year’s reflections upon the waning 2015 are filled with gratitude. I am so thankful that I am able to spend my days creating dolls and other works that I love. It brings me great happiness and quiet contentment to bring to life the Izannah dreams of such wonderful group of collectors and fellow Izannahphlies.
As a few of you know, this year has been a bit of a challenge for me. My father died during the summer and I have had Lyme disease for about 5 or 6 months. I am overwhelmingly grateful for the amazing graciousness, tolerance and understanding of everyone who has had a custom ordered doll or restoration work scheduled during 2015. You have been unfailingly kind and supportive when I have fallen behind on the scheduled completion dates for your dolls. Thank you!!! I am currently feeling better than I have for months and am so looking forward to this new year and being able to get caught back up on my work load. I love all of the dolls that are currently in my studio and I look forward to sharing them with you in the upcoming weeks and months! Happy New Year to all!!!
When last we saw our heroines they were bidding each other a tearful farewell and promising to correspond…“Look Izzybelle, Dimity has written to us!” “Be a good girl and I’ll read you her letter.”
“It’s time to get ready for trick or treating!” “What are you going to dress up as?”“Sadie wants to go trick or treating too!”“I’m going to be a cat, just like Sadie!”
“Emeline we are so happy you are going trick or treating with us!”
“Poor Sadie! She’s sad because she doesn’t have a costume too !”“We’ll share our treats with her!” “Hurry and get dressed”
The dolls and I hope you all have an enchanting All Hallows Eve ❤
“Thank you for coming to our party!” “We’re so glad you could be here.”“I’m going to miss you!” “Promise me you”ll write.” “I will!”“Good-bye!” “It’s been such fun!” “We’ve enjoyed having you stay here with us!” “Write to tell us you got home safely!” “Thank you for everything!” “This was the best party ever!”“I’m going to miss everyone.”“Me too!”“I’m sad to see them leave, but it feels so good to put my feet up!”“At least Lily isn’t leaving yet.” ❤“I may stay in bed ALL day tomorrow…”
“I’m just going to stay right here on the floor!”
WHAT THEY ARE DOING NOW
Anna is busy packing. She will be leaving here bright and early on Tuesday morning for her new home.Billie’s doll is ready for her dress fittings and will be leaving here very soon. Look for her upcoming farewell post.Sharon and I are still talking over the details of this young lady’s wardrobe. She’ll be happy to model it for you before she goes home. ❤Lily #1 has picked out her dress and jewelry and is patiently waiting for me to make them so that she can go home with her older sister. They plan to quilt together during the winter.Hannah #1 has found a new home! She will be helping me look through my fabric stash for just the right material for her dress. Once she is finished she will be going home just in time for Christmas. ❤Hannah #2 Is still available for sale and at this point you may still choose her clothing fabrics and styles. $1250.00 fully dressed, with free shipping within the U. S. ❤Lily 2 is also still available for sale. If you love early, worn and primitive then Lily may be just the reproduction Izannah you have been longing for… $1250.00 fully dressed, you may still pick out her clothing if you purchase her now.2 Izannah Kits finished and ready to mail – 1 painted & 1 unpainted. A full instruction book + patterns comes with each head. The unpainted head/kit is $200 and the painted head/kit is $375.Zanna & Izzybelle are having their tag sale through midnight tonight. (9/27/15) shop hereand Izzybelle is still to tired to move!
“Good Morning!” “Time to wake up!”“Come on sleepy heads!”“What time is it?”“Hannah, why are you up so early?” “We need to go out to the garden and pick huckleberries for breakfast.”“Huckleberry pancakes???”“Oh no Hannah!” “You woke up the kittens too!”“I suppose we might as well get up…”“I think Sadie wants huckleberry pancakes too!”
and so the dolls got up and walked out to the garden…
where they picked huckleberries…
carried them back to the kitchen…
made pancakes, and enjoyed the beginning of a wonderful day!
Jack eventually came out from under the bed… captured a few stray huckleberries and gaily chased them around the kitchen floor!
“Anna, give me your hand and I will help you up.”“Isabeau, can you give me a boost from behind?”“Plenty of room for two of us!”“When we duck down, will you shut the drawer?”“I’ve found my hiding place.”“If I bend my knees I think I can fit!”“Izzybelle, we can still see you through the glass.” “Find another hiding place.”“How about now, can you see me now?” “Yes, we can see you!” “No more glass doors!” “Find a new spot!”“I don’t think Izzybelle really understands how to play this game. Do you?”“and what on earth are those cupboards for anyway???” “Haven’t you heard? They are going to hang on the walls and be high rise efficiency apartments for the Queen Annes…” “I don’t think I’d like apartment living…”“I think we have found the BEST hiding places!”“I think so too!” “I’m all set, how about you?”” Yes, I’m all set too.”“Come on Lily, I’ll find us the perfect places to hide!”“You hide behind the bears…”“…and I’ll duck down beneath the other dolls.” “Just pretend I’m not here.”… giggle…“Hurry Isabeau, we need to hide!”“I am hurrying!”“Just don’t forget to let me out if Isane doesn’t find me…”“How about now, can you see me now?” “Is THIS a good place?”“How ever did she get up there???”“… 98 … 99 … 100!” “Ready or not, here I come!”
Zanna, Isabeau, Isane, Ismay and Hannah have been diligently piecing quilt tops, as birthday presents to send along with the young Hannahs and Lilys. Little Izzybelle has been their devoted helper.
Sunny, late summer afternoons are the perfect time for the dolls to sit under the hydrangea tree and sew.“I’m so glad that we managed to get all of our chores finished in time to work on our quilts!” “Oh yes. This is a perfect day to be outside!”“Izzybelle, would you please hand me a spool of thread?” “I just ran out!”” I like all of these palampore center medallions!”“Let’s see how the quilts look on the bed.”“Zanna, what do you think? Do you like it?”“This one looks good too!” “I’m glad we made two of these!”“One more to go!”“This one is nice!” “I was worried that we wouldn’t get them all finished in time!” “Let’s cut out backings to send along with the tops.” “Good idea!” “Can’t you just see Hannah and Lily quilting their quilts this winter.” “Maybe their new families will be quilters too!” “I hope so.”
One quilt top and coordinating backing will be included with any of the two new Hannahs and two new Lilys that are purchased this weekend ❤ The dolls and I want them to be warm and cozy in their new homes! One Hannah and one Lily have been spoken for, you may see the others here. Hannah #2 & Lily #2
Welcome to our birthday tea party in honor of Izannah Walker, an extraordinary doll maker, who was the first woman to receive a United States Patent for her doll making method!
The dolls and their guests have gathered in the front parlor, while I brew a pot of tea. This afternoon we will be serving a combination of Earl Grey, lavender and ground vanilla beans. I drink mine with a bit of sugar, Isabeau and Zanna prefer lavender honey in theirs and little Izzybelle likes her cup partially filled with warm milk and a heaping spoonful of sugar, then topped up with tea!
A large scoop of Earl Grey tea, lavender flowers and a pinch of ground vanilla beans… total bliss!“Welcome!” “We are so glad you could come!”“Have you met our dear friend Lily? She just moved from Toledo to Michigan and now she has come to pay us a visit.” ” Sharon’s doll is also visiting us. We are so happy she could stay for the party!”“Does everyone have a seat?” “I’m going to go get the tea. I’ll be right back!”“This is Sadie, one of our new kittens.” “Izzybelle, be careful! Don’t let Sadie knock you off of the piano stool!” “Don’t worry Isane, I’m holding on tight!”“Here comes Jack. He follows Sadie everywhere!”Jack very much wants to play with Billie’s doll, who is another one of our party guests.“Would you care for a Honey Tea Cake?”“No Jack, not you!” “Tea cakes aren’t good for kittens.”“Isane don’t let them get the cakes!”“That’s right Jack, go see Anna, she’ll pet you.” “Petting is much better than cake!”” Sadie, I’ll pet you too.”“Now that the kittens have settled down, would anyone like a cup of tea?”“Oh no! Lily did Jack knock your cup out of your hand?”“Don’t worry. Nothing broke and I have a clean cup right here for you.”Too much excitement! The kittens are all worn out and have gone off to take a nap…“I would really like that cup of tea now!” “And I’d like a bit of quiet, civilized conversation!” “Well I LIKE having the kittens come to tea! It makes everything so much more interesting!” “Hush Izzybelle…”“I know what we should do. Have you seen Joy Harrington’s article in Antique Doll Collector magazine? It’s all about the house she had made for her Izannah Walker dolls.” “You can tell Billie all about it when you go home to Kansas.” “I think next year we should ask for a house of our very own as a birthday present!”“Cake? “I don’t know anything about cake.” “Or falling teacups…” “You must be thinking about some other kitten.” “Yawnnnnnnnnn”
See? I told you that the girls loved Joy’s article about her doll house! If you would like to read the article too, it is in the August 2015 issue of Antique Doll Collector magazine on pages 43-48. Not only does it include wonderful pictures and descriptions of the doll house, but it also shows Joy’s fantastic collection of antique Izannah Walker dolls. It is such a treat!
The dolls, kittens and I have so enjoyed having you visit us this afternoon! We hope you will come back tomorrow and Sunday for new posts at 10:00 a.m. & 4:00 p.m. each day, as we party on!
And now, I don’t know about you, but I plan to brew another pot of tea, put my feet up and watch the dolls giggle and play on into the evening…
* Sharon’s and Billie’s dolls are custom orders, who will soon be traveling to their new homes. In the photos they are wearing borrowed finery. They will each be receiving their final dress fittings soon and will both have posts of their very own to show off their new wardrobes before they leave here.
** Lily is an antique Izannah Walker doll that is staying with me while she undergoes a bit of judicious restoration. She will also be featured in a series of upcoming posts that will chronicle her restoration adventures.
The dolls have taken over my kitchen to bake honey cakes for this afternoon’s birthday tea party. It’s time to get out the cookbook!
This is one of our favorite cookbooks. America Eats by William Woys Weaver. It is no longer in print, but if you search you may still be able to find a copy here or there…“Isabeau will you find the page with the honey cake while I get out the honey pitcher?”“Here it is, Honey Tea Cake.”
“Hannah, Isane and I will get out the ingredients, and you can measure them into the bowl.”“Alright, I can do that Isabeau” “Can you please hand me the flour?”“Zanna, do you think I should add some lavender to part of the batter?”“I think that is a wonderful idea Hannah!” “It will taste so good with the wild flower honey!”“Does this look like enough lavender?” “Or should I add just a smidgeon more?”“I love lavender! Let’s add more!!!”“Ismay, is the oven hot enough?” “I think the tea cakes are ready to bake.”“Yes it’s just the right temperature.”“These smell devine” “The first batch is ready to come out of the oven right now.”“Izzybelle, let the cake cool a bit so you don’t burn your mouth, and then you can be our official taster.”“Is it good?” “Oh yes! Everyone is going to love them. Maybe we should make more!”“Let’s hurry and get the last of these out of the oven. We still need to get the chairs set up in the parlor and change clothes before the guest start arriving…”
Please come back to join us at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time for tea. ❤
