January 19th                                  

Dear Friends of Paula Walton’s Izannah Walker Journal & A Sweet Remembrance,

As I sit here writing to you from snowy New England, looking back on 2023 and forward toward 2024, we are already more than half way through January… I hope you all had warm wonderful holidays!

I know it may seem that I have been a bit absent lately, as I certainly didn’t make as many dolls in 2023 as I have in previous years. Creatively 2023 was a bit of a different year for me. I’ve written magazine articles for years and years, since the late 1980’s, but I’m fairly sure that I may have written more at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 than I ever have in such a short period of time. I also spent a substantial amount of time last year working on a rather challenging restoration of a wonderful antique Izannah Walker doll.

Some of the infant pincushions I created for my article in Early American Life’s Christmas 2022 issue, along with the covers of the February, March, and April issues of Antique Doll Collector that had my lengthy three part article about James ❤

While I do enjoy writing articles and doing restoration work, my true passion is doll making, and I have to admit that I have missed it! In fact, truth be told, I get a little cranky when I have trouble squeezing in time to do at least a little dollmaking. As I’m sure many of you know I live on just under 10 acres, which is the remaining remnant of an 18th century farm. The property contains my late 18th century home and three large antique barns. I am the chief caretaker of the house, barns, acreage, gardens, and all the newer studios and buildings. Thankfully my sons do give me a hand with some of the really heavy lifting, which makes it possible for me to (mostly) keep up with everything that has to be done.

I actually had a lot of plans and new dolls underway in November and December, but life got in the way. I wound up catching RSV, which is still lingering after almost three months. There have been a lot of viruses going around this winter, so it’s not surprising. I’m definitely OK, and certainly over the worst. I keep thinking it is going to go away, but it has just stayed put, like a very unwelcome guest. I made it through all of the holiday preparations, and family things (with lots of sanitizing and drugs) but have to admit that was really pretty much all I could do.

I still have Christmas decorations up all over the house. I’ve only taken them down in one room, and that was because I had to hang balloons, streamers and birthday party banners in there. LOL!

I am finally back to making dolls, quite a bit slower than normal, but that’s OK! It’s just such a joy to be creating! Since I’m working around my fatigue and the weather (we have snow and very cold temperatures) I’m not making any announcement about when the next dolls will be ready. What I can tell you is that I will be putting them up for sale one by one, not in multiples. Just as soon as each one is ready to find their new home I will be sending out emails to those of you on my “New Dolls” email list and posting the date and time each doll will be for sale on my Izannah Walker Journal, my A Sweet Remembrance website, Facebook and Instagram.

SNEAK PEEKS & UPCOMING DOLLS

I currently have a very sweet Hannah that is almost finished. I’m in the midst of making her a rather large wardrobe and anxiously waiting for her arms and legs to dry out in the frigid painting studio…

At the moment she has one pink dress finished and I am more than half way through making her blue dress… I’m also seriously considering a white dress with a tiny delicate black print and an apron to coordinate with all three dresses. I may have to scale back, but I hope not, as I am thoroughly enjoying sewing for her!

The next dolls that should be coming up after Hannah are all larger 20 inch dolls. I really try to rotate the different dolls I make, as I have molds for 18 heads ❤ Currently on my painting studio table are a lovely Tilly Lamb and some very sweet Isadoras, plus a brand new doll ~ a reproduction of my newest Izannah family member Emma Blue ❤ At the beginning of this newsletter I mentioned the doll I restored last year. As I was working on her I kept thinking how familiar she looked… The more I looked at her the more I was convinced that she must have been made from the same mold that Izannah used to make Isadora! I got out my Isadora mold and made a head so that I could compare the two. Side by side, other than the difference in the wear, aging and various over painting, they really looked like the same head. What particularly interested me is that I had always felt that Isadora’s head was a bit large on an 18 inch body, but that is the height of the original Isadora that I made my mold from, so that is the size that I have always made her. Since the wonderful, extremely well loved, doll I restored was 20 inches tall, I decided to make a 20 inch reproduction Isadora! I do sometimes see antique Izannah Walker dolls with the same heads on different size bodies. After so many months of working on the restoration of Isadora’s “sister” I actually fell in love with her very time worn appearance, so I may play around with adding a bit more “age” to an Isadora or two, for those of you who also find old, time worn, and well loved endearing.

Thank you all for your interest in my Izannah Walker reproduction dolls! I love being able to share my historically accurate reproductions of some of Izannah’s amazing work with you. I hope your 2024 is off to a great start and that you have an wonderful year filled with all the things you love the best, and dolls ~ lots and lots of dolls!

Paula