A Visit to the THE ROSALIE WHYEL MUSEUM OF DOLL ART

September 21, 2011November 23, 2024 paulawaltonLeave a comment

Last month, while in Kirkland, WA for a family wedding, I had the chance to visit the Rosalie Whyel Museum in neighboring Bellevue. Sadly the museum will be closing in a few months on March 1st, 2012.

If you can get to the museum before it closes, do so! The collection is wonderful. The highlights for me are the two Izannah Walker dolls, a lovely pre-patent doll dressed in red wool challis, with a trunkful of belongings and a tiny 13 inch patented doll with the molded shoulder-plate. The wooden dolls are also amazing, especially one 24 inch George II era English wooden from 1750-1760 with a large original wardrobe of superbly sewn garments.

The day following our museum tour we headed over to Rosie’s Too , which is a second, off site, collectible doll shop owned by the museum. I found a cute, tiny black bisque baby doll and an antique chemise just the right size for one of my Izannahs.

If you can’t visit in person, the museum sells a book entitled The Heart of the Tree, which chronicles their 2002 exhibit of the same name. It’s a lovely book and I didn’t mind paying the $49.95 cover price, but I do wish that it included the fantastic 24 inch 1750-1760 doll that I mentioned above. I had to make do with buying several postcards of her and her wardrobe. They also sell a small paperback souvenir book about the museum called Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art Opening Our Doors to You for $11 or $12, which has a nice photo of their pre-patent Izannah. I did not buy their larger book “THE ROSE UNFOLDS”
RARITIES OF THE ROSALIE WHYEL MUSEUM OF DOLL ART Volume One. It wasn’t so much the $79.95 price tag as it was the size and weight of the book. I just couldn’t face dragging it around Washington, then on to California and finally back to Connecticut 🙂 I may have to break down and purchase it a some point, because it does have large lovely photographs of both of their Izannah Walker dolls.

You can also find photos of both the Rosalie Whyle Izannahs in the article “Izannah Walker – Godmother to Cloth Doll Makers” by Susan Hedrick, Soft Dolls & Animals, Summer 1998 and a photo of just their pre-patent Izannah in “Early American Stockinette Dolls: Part 1- Izannah Walker and Martha Chase Dolls” by Judy Beswick, The Cloth Doll, Fall 1998.

If you would like to read more about the museum there is a nice article on page 14 of the July 2011 issue of Antique Doll Collector.

Other Types of Doll Making · Stray Comments

What’s a Birthday Party Without Clowns?

July 6, 2011 paulawaltonLeave a comment

These are my two new 1930’s clowns. They were a birthday surprise yesterday from my husband! I was quite impressed with his shopping abilities 🙂 He bought them in Springfield, MO when he was on a recent trip to watch baseball and visit friends.

I love the fabrics, which are mostly novelty prints. The clown on the left is made from a silk or rayon sock and the one on the right from yo-yos (quilting yo-yos – the little gathered circle kind, not the toy on a string). I can tell already that they are going to be best friends with all of my vintage sock monkeys. 🙂

Other Types of Doll Making · Painted Cloth Doll Making · Where to Shop

Doll Town

February 26, 2011February 27, 2011 paulawaltonLeave a comment

Doll Town is a new website opening Sunday night February 27th at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The idea behind the site is for a large group of doll artists to come together in one place and offer their dolls for sale to collectors. The woman behind the site is Jane DesRosier.

Please come join me and a host of wonderful, creative doll makers for the grand opening tomorrow. I have two dolls available for sale on the site. I hope to see you there!

Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll · Other Types of Doll Making · Stray Comments

Heads Will Roll (or at least wobble around a bit)

October 27, 2010November 3, 2010 paulawaltonLeave a comment

After being gone on vacation for slightly over a week, I’m now back home and back to work with a vengeance. Currently I have six new heads that I’m working on. One of them, and the rest of the doll to go along with it :), is already sold. I also have a stack of bodies in the works and I’m busily stitching away on three dresses and two straw bonnets. I’m not sure if I’m energized after my trip or just in panic mode because I’m behind schedule!

Either way, my vacation was excellent. I flew to Omaha, NE, to visit family and to meet up with my sister and 13 other female friends for a road trip to Arkansas. Once in Arkansas, we shopped for two days at ten craft shows. Two of our favorites are War Eagle and Belle Vista.

moravian-doll_3894 — New Moravian Church Doll

moravian-church-doll-500 — Antique Moravian Church Doll

My shopping was somewhat limited by the size of my suitcases and carry on luggage. You’d be amazed by what you can cram into a suitcase if you really try! Some of my finds were even doll, or at least sewing, related. I bought a fairly recent Moravian doll from an antique mall in Omaha and I purchased lace and some fun sewing themed necklaces in Arkansas. I also bought many, many other things… Even a wood pecker bird house, which did fit into my carry on suitcase.

Other Types of Doll Making · Stray Comments

Even Doll Makers Need a New Dolly Now and Then

April 16, 2010 paulawaltonLeave a comment

I did something recently that I haven’t done since 1975. I bought myself a new doll. What??? I can see all those puzzled looks on your faces. You are thinking, “Is this woman nuts? She’s a doll collector. She buys dolls all the time. What the heck is she talking about?” It’s very true that I do buy quite a few dolls, but they are all old dolls and the operative word here is new.

The last time I bought a new doll for myself was when I was first married and saw two tiny dolls dressed as infants, which came with a frilly baby carriage and cradle. I could just see those little dolls sitting on a nursery shelf!

The dolls never made it out of their boxes. I stored them in a closet, patiently waiting for a baby girl. Instead I had three boys whose nurseries had primary rainbows, brown teddy bears, and Peter Rabbit (separate nurseries and different themes). Eventually I sold the tiny frilly dolls on eBay, where they found a good home. After all, by then they were over 25 years old and collectibles!

This time around I bought the new doll just for me. She is a replica of a Queen Anne style wooden doll. I love Queen Anne woodens, and I’ve gone so far as to price antique ones. If you have done that too, then you know why I haven’t purchased one yet. To be honest, I pretty much love most things carved from wood. I have a real soft spot for carousel animals, Noah’s Arks, ships figure heads and of course wooden dolls. I already have numerous carousel animals and arks, so wooden dolls just had to be next.

I bought this doll from Kathy Patterson. Her reproduction Queen Anne dolls are the most authentic ones that I have seen. If you would like to be amazed, go visit her blog babesfromthewoods.com. Caution: only do this when you are completely alone, as drooling may occur!

To top it all off, not only is Kathy extremely talented, she’s a genuinely nice person too, and I hear that she has a great studio to work in! Kind of makes all your little green envy monsters stir, doesn’t it????

Other Types of Doll Making

Look for my article on Common Linen Dolls in Early American Life Christmas 2009

November 22, 2009November 23, 2009 paulawaltonLeave a comment

If you are looking for a fun cloth doll project to make with kids over the holidays, I have a great one for you. Check out my article about Common Linen Dolls on pages 67-69 in the Christmas 2009 issue of Early American Life magazine. The article comes with patterns and instructions as well as a bit of history concerning these pocket sized dolls.

The dolls first appeared in print in The American Girl’s Book written by Eliza Leslie, published in 1831 (numerous reprintings followed). The American Girl’s Book is a wonderful collection of games, amusements and projects for girls. If you ever have your chance to get your hands on a copy, hold on hard and fast! I wanted one for many years before my husband was finally able to locate a copy for me (the internet is a wonderful thing – and so are the many used and collectible book sellers that religiously post up their inventories).

I’ve made these dolls with kids many, many times and they absolutely love them. In September we held a Colonial Family Day at the museum with lots of demonstrations and hands on activities. Making Common Linen Dolls was by far the most popular station. That’s saying a lot when some of the other choices were churning ice cream (and eating it), stuffing scarecrows, dipping beeswax candles and bobbing for apples.

My poor volunteers that were helping the kids make dolls were totally overwhelmed. The room they were in was so crowded you could barely walk through it. Little girls with a needle and thread in their hands were bent over linen everywhere you looked.

If your favorite child is a bit too young to sew their own doll, make one for them. These dolls are wonderful toys for very little children. As we all know, cloth dolls are the best!

Due to space considerations, Early American Life edited and condensed my instructions. That’s a very common occurrence when magazines print how- to craft articles. Any of you who have one of my patterns know that when it comes to instructions, I am a firm believer in the more the merrier! 🙂 If you buy the magazine and want to make the dolls, but feel you need additional help, just contact me and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Other Types of Doll Making

Moravian Style Cloth Doll Class

July 13, 2009July 13, 2009 paulawaltonLeave a comment

Moravian Church Doll 500 As I’ve mentioned previously, the museum that I’m the Director/Curator of has a Moravian cloth doll in it’s collection. In December I’ll be teaching a class at the museum on how to make a doll like the one owned by the museum. While it isn’t an Izannah type of doll, I thought some of you might still be interested in taking the class anyway. It’s a charming, well made cloth doll that has of lot of very nice details.

Moravian Style Cloth Doll. December 12, 2009 10:00-4:00

Come join us for a creative, informative day of sewing. Learn to make a cloth doll in the style made by the Sewing Circle of the Moravian Church. The pattern for the doll that students will be making in this class is based on the Moravian Rag Doll (1950-18) that has long been a resident in the Knapp House “Toy Room”. This cloth doll has painted features and is traditionally dressed in either pink or blue gingham. Participants in this class must know the basics of machine sewing. A list of materials and equipment to bring along with you will be sent upon receipt of your registration. Tuition includes the doll pattern and a printed cloth face (either for reference or for you to use instead of painting).

Tuition: $80 for members, $89 for non-members.

The Class is being held at the museum, 6 Aspetuck Avenue, New Milford, CT. A minimum registration of four students is necessary for the class to be held.

Registration Form