Those of you who follow Paula Walton’s A Sweet Remembrance on Facebook and asweetremembrance on Instagram are probably aware that I have been working on a reproduction of my antique Tillie Lamb. She’s been very patiently waiting for the last few weeks for me to work on her wardrobe in between tree cutting crews, birthday celebrations, egg hunts, and shopping expeditions to estate sales and flea markets.
I’ve just finished making the last few stitches! She will be available for sale this coming Monday, April 15th, at 12:00 noon Eastern time (11:00 am Central, 10:00 am Mountain, and 9:00 am Pacific).
This very special reproduction of my antique Tilly Lamb comes with a small wardrobe of two dresses, a pinafore apron, and a tiny collection of accessories.
She will be posted, as always, here on www.izannahwalker.com and sold on a first come basis. I hope you will be able to drop by on Monday to make her acquaintance.
❤ 2/24/2024 ~ I’ve been putting together class books for two new students, and also made 2 extra copies. If you have been wanting to take the class this is a great time to get immediate shipping on the class materials and a chance to start your Izannah Walker dollmaking journey at the same time as a few other fellow students. Online support for this class in a private Facebook group is included as part of the class.
All of the directions for making a heart pincushion like Hannah’s are below ❤
A Charming Heart Pincushion from The American Girl’s Book
If you have been looking for a Valentine’s Day project, let me suggest this heart-shaped pincushion from the Amusing Work section of The American Girl’s Book; or, Occupation for Play Hours by Miss Eliza Leslie, Boston: Munroe and Francis; New York: C.S. Francis, 1831.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the book, it became a childhood standard whose immense popularity resulted in 16 editions in its first 23 years alone. The final paragraph of the introduction to the book states, “The author of this little book has not aimed at compiling a juvenile encyclopedia. – It is simply an unpretending manual of light and exhilarating amusements; most of which will be found on trial to answer the purpose of unbending the mind or exercising the body, and at the same time interesting the attention.”
A Heart Pincushion
“Cut two pieces of linen into the shape of a half-handkerchief. Sew them together, leaving a small open space at the top, and stuff them very hard with bran, or wool. When sufficiently stuffed, sew up the opening and cover the pincushion with silk, sewed very neatly over the edge. Then make two upper corners of the pincushion meet, and fasten them well together. This will bring the pincushion into the shape of a heart. Put a string to the top. Emery bags are frequently made in this manner. Pincushions should always be stuffed with bran, wool, or flannel. Cotton will not do.”
1. I started this project by cutting out a 7 inch square of linen and of red polished cotton for the pincushion and a 2-1/4 inch square of canvas (I picked canvas over linen to keep the emery from seeping through the weave) and a 2-1/4 inch square of red polished cotton for the emery. I didn’t have any red or pink silk on hand, but I did have some lovely vintage scarlet polished cotton. You may certainly cut to triangles like the original instructions advise, or you may decide to simple fold a square, like I did and skip sewing one seam. You may also change the size of the triangles/squares until they meet your preference.
2. I folded my squares into a triangle and sewed along the edges of the linen, leaving an opening for stuffing, then turned them right side out. I repeated this step with the polished cotton, leaving quite a large opening in one side so that I could insert the linen triangles after they were stuffed.
3. Stuff your pincushion firmly with wool. I find bran very difficult to come by, and Miss Leslie was absolutely correct in stating that cotton will not do, because it is quite difficult to stick pins into something that is firmly stuffed with cotton. If you are making an emery, it is easiest to pour the emery into the opening using a small baby’s spoon. Sew the openings closed after stuffing.
4. Slip the stuffed triangles into the decorative outer covers and sew the opening in the seam closed with matching thread.
5. Stitch two points of your triangle firmly together and put a string or ribbon through the top. I chose to use silk ribbon that I dyed to match my scarlet fabric.
I hope you enjoy making these little pincushion for yourself or your dolls ❤ They also make lovely Valentine gifts.
These photos and directions are part of a long post that I wrote for my Paula Walton’s 18th Century Home Journal, If you would like to read the rest of the post click here ❤
I’ve finished all of the dresses & underpinnings for the rather sizable wardrobe that comes with my latest Izannah Walker reproduction doll! She may still get an apron if I’m not totally worn out after spending tomorrow being a grandmother
Either way, apron or no apron, she will be available for sale on Monday evening at 8 p.m. Eastern time here at www.izannahwalker.com .
As always with all of my dolls she will be sold on a first come basis. I hope you will be able to stop by and meet her!
It’s been a beautiful cool, sunny autumn day at the doll’s very tall house, as all of my little cloth Izannah sisters celebrated the 206th birthday of the extremely talented woman who made them.
There were many scrumptious things to eat, which they all agreed looked even more delicious when served on their new set of china. As I am sure you can imagine, sweet little Izzybelle was very excited to see what their shared birthday present was! The sisters thought that receiving their very own pair of tiny dolls, that look very like much like they do, was a wonderful gift. Their birthday dolls were made by Lolly Yocum of Laurelleaf dolls.
Since Hannah, Sarah Alice, and Isabeau did so much baking for the party on Saturday, Tilly Lamb and Charlcie took over the kitchen today to bake blueberry jam cake, and set out the pies and shortbread for the party.
Meanwhile, up in the bedroom Sarah Alice was trying her best to get Izzybelle to stop trying get an early glimpse of their birthday present, and to keep her neat and tidy for the party…
Eventually Izzybelle was persuaded to tie her sontag, straighten her dress and stop trying to peek into the parlor. Then Sarah Alice hurried her downstairs, before she could get into more mischief…
At long last all the the party preparations were finished. The little cloth dolls gathered around to parlor table to sing Happy Birthday, light a birthday candle for their beloved dollmaker, and feast on far too many sweets… (I didn’t try to stop them, because after all such a special day only comes once a year and they deserve a special treat).
Thank you for joining us for this year’s birthday party! We hope you have enjoyed it ❤
Good Evening and welcome to my studio! Tonight I am offering my three latest historically accurate, handmade reproduction Izannah Walker dolls for sale ❤
Please Read ~ I’ve always tried to keep buying my dolls as straightforward and easy as possible. I started out 13 years ago simply saying that the first person to email me and request the doll would be its new owner. Simple and right to the point… What could go wrong? LOL ~ As I found out quite a few things could! There have been a few “hiccups” along the way… So in order to be courteous to other buyers and to keep everything polite, simple, and easy please read and follow these directions. They will allow me to mark the dolls that sell “sold” as quickly as possible, collect the buyer’s payment and shipping information right away, and just generally get each doll on his or her way to their new home as quickly as possible. Plus it will also let everyone else know exactly what dolls are still looking for their new homes. Thank you!
In a perfect world I would have the time, money, and energy to completely redo my website and have automatic inventory control that would allow me to list one of a kind items. Until I win the lottery, and that magical day happens, I appreciate your patience with my current selling policies. Thank you!!!
All of my dolls are sold on a “first come” basis. To purchase a doll email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com , in your email specify exactly which doll you wish to buy . Please be aware of how much the doll costs BEFORE you send your request to buy. You are welcome to ask questions, but please note that asking a question is not the same as making a commitment to buy and will not “hold your place in line” if someone else asks to buy the doll. Checks or money orders are preferred, Paypal is also accepted for payment. Free priority mail shipping & full insurance to any U.S. address. International orders ~ exact postage + $25 handling fee to help offset the extra time required for international shipping ~ check with me to make sure your international address is one I ship to. No shipping to Russia.
The three little Izannahs looking for homes to call their own this evening are a 16 inch reproduction of Izzybelle, a 17 inch reproduction of Lizzybit, and a 17 in reproduction of Lily.
Please note* * * The lighting is less than perfect tonight, due to all the rain and heavy clouds currently here in Connecticut. The dolls all look so much prettier in person ❤
Lizzybit ~ SOLD
Lizzybit is 17 inches tall. She is dressed in the style of a mid-19th century child. Her dress is made of antique fabric and with an extra full skirt. Underneath she wears split pantalettes, a chemise and a petticoat. Her second skin is made from antique white glazed cotton, which is old store stock that had never been used. Her painted black boots have a blue band around their tops. She has a row of painted ringlets at the nape of her neck ❤
Email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com if you would like sweet Lizzybit to join your doll family! Checks or money orders are preferred, Paypal is also accepted for payment. Free priority mail shipping & full insurance to any U.S. address. International orders ~ exact postage + $25 handling fee to help offset the extra time required for international shipping ~ check with me to make sure your international address is one I ship to. No shipping to Russia.
Lily is 17 inches tall. She is dressed in the style of a mid-19th century child. Her dress is made of antique fabric and with an extra full skirt. Underneath she wears split pantalettes, a chemise and a petticoat. Her second skin is made from antique white glazed cotton, which is old store stock that had never been used. The back of her hair is painted with ringlets at the nape of her neck ❤
Email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com if you would like sweet Lizzybit to join your doll family! Checks or money orders are preferred, Paypal is also accepted for payment. Free priority mail shipping & full insurance to any U.S. address. International orders ~ exact postage + $25 handling fee to help offset the extra time required for international shipping ~ check with me to make sure your international address is one I ship to. No shipping to Russia.
Izzybelle is 16 inches tall. She is dressed in the style of a mid-19th century child, with one of my very favorite details, a “make-do” sleeve made from a similar yet different fabric! Her dress is made of antique fabric and with an extra full skirt. Underneath she wears split pantalettes, a chemise and a petticoat. Her second skin is made from antique white glazed cotton, which is old store stock that had never been used. Izzybelle has a row of soft little ringlets painted at the back of her neck ❤
Email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com if you would like sweet Lizzybit to join your doll family! Checks or money orders are preferred, Paypal is also accepted for payment. Free priority mail shipping & full insurance to any U.S. address. International orders ~ exact postage + $25 handling fee to help offset the extra time required for international shipping ~ check with me to make sure your international address is one I ship to. No shipping to Russia.
Today is the day I will be posting the schedule for my annual Izannah Walker Birthday Celebration, so be sure to check back here to my Izannah Walker Journal later today, or visit my business Facebook page Paula Walton’s A Sweet Remembrance or asweetremembrance on Instagram
The class is now 13 years old I can’t believe how fast the time has flown by. When the class first came out my class member help site was on Ning… for all of you who were early members I’m sure you remember how crazy and chaotic that eventually became when Ning kept repeatedly announcing, and then retracting, that they were shutting down all of their small users. If you used the Ning site you will also probably remember how chock full of information it was, most of which was sparked by class member’s interests and requests.
In recent years the class member support has moved to a private facebook page, as new members have purchased the class. I know that most of you long time members don’t really need much in the way of help these days… You’ve mastered the class and no longer need to ask questions, but just in case you have missed chatting with other dollmakers who are working on reproduction Izannah Walker dolls, or if a stray question or two has popped into your head, you may still ask to join my Izannah class help group! Once a student, always a student. It’s super simple, just message me through my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ASweetRemembrance to let me know you’d like an invitation to the group, be sure to INCLUDE THE DATE YOU PURCHASED YOUR CLASS, and that’s all you have to do.
Activity on the class member support page ebbs and flows. Sometimes it is very quiet and then suddenly it will pick back up again. At the moment there are a few new students who are eagerly waiting for their class materials to arrive.
Twixmas! Isn’t that a grand word? I read it the other day and thought that it was an incredibly apt way to describe these days in between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
The dolls and I had been planning a particularly special post for Christmas, but unfortunately we woke on December 24th to incredibly low temperatures and ice! The ice was actually on the inside of the studio windows!!! It was that cold! So regretfully our lovely Christmas greeting has been postponed until next Christmas…. Instead we are wishing you a happy, joyous, peaceful, wonderful Twixmas and sharing images of the infant pincushions that I made for my article in the December 2022 issue of Early American Life! https://www.ealonline.com/subscriptions/single_issue.php?id=2212
STUDIO HAPPENINGS ~ I realize that new releases of my reproduction Izannah Walker dolls have been few and far between lately. I have somehow fallen back into an unexpected spate of writing commitments. I used to write magazine articles rather frequently, but haven’t written any for a few years until recently. I’m currently in the midst of writing a fascinating two part article about a very special doll that I think you will love! The other exciting thing here in my studios is that I am part way through a rather challenging doll restoration. With all of these interesting projects happening at once, there hasn’t been much time left over to make dolls, but that will certainly change in the coming months, and I will get back to creating some very special reproduction Izzys. ❤
…
I hope you enjoy looking through these images of my reproduction infant pincushion designs ❤ If you would like to try making some for yourself, directions and patterns are included in my Early American Life article Welcome Little Stranger.
I can’t believe how fast the time has flown by. When the class first came out my class member help site was on Ning… for all of you who were early members I’m sure you remember how crazy and chaotic that eventually became when Ning kept repeatedly announcing, and then retracting, that they were 
If you used the Ning site you will also probably remember how chock full of information it was, most of which was sparked by class member’s interests and requests.
Izannah Walker Journal 