Sarah Alice and James spent the afternoon cutting out Valentine’s for all of their dearest friends ❤
This afternoon James, Emma Blue, Isabeau and Sarah Alice gathered in the parlor to make Valentine’s for all of their friends ❤
The rest of the little cloth girls were down in the kitchen, with the door firmly shut, though occasional giggles could be heard, along with the delicious smells of sugar and chocolate…
SWEET JAMES is A RARE 17 INCH IZANNAH WALKER BOY WHO IS AVAILABLE FOR SALE. HE IS IN ALL ORIGINAL CONDITION & COMES WITH A LARGE HANDMADE WARDROBE. SEE THE FIRST PART OF HIS STORY ON PAGE 18 OF THE FEBRUARY ISSUE OF ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR. THE CONTINUING TALE OF JAMES’ AND HIS WARDROBE WILL BE IN THE MARCH & APRIL ISSUES. $46,000. I AM HELPING JAMES FIND A NEW HOME ❤ INQURIES AT PAULA@ASWEETREMEMBRANCE.COM 203-313-5973
The dolls and I wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day ❤
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.
All the little cloth girls and I were so glad that you could join us yesterday, as we celebrated the 205th anniversary of Izannah Walker’s birth! It was a joyful day in the doll’s very tall house! Today is much quieter, since there were plenty of English muffins left over for breakfast and quite a bit of cake for dessert too. The doll’s also received another birthday delivery from Mr. Twigg and his faithful horse and wagon. Thankfully this parcel was much easier to bring inside.
This evening’s after party is a chance to sit back, relax with friends and chat about all the tea party particulars. ❤
The little christening pincushions shown throughout the doll’s house.
The Little Christening Pincushions Shown Throughout the Doll’s House
If you have been curious about the small decorative pincushions that Sarah Alice and Isabeau were making you will be able to read more abut them in my upcoming article about the history of infant pincushions, titled Welcome Little Stranger which will be in the December 2022 issue of Early American. The article also include instructions for making some of your own. The all three versions pictured, as well as other larger pincushions are included in the article.
Baking for the Tea Party
Sourdough English Muffins
Yes, I did make really tiny sourdough English muffins from scratch, then cut and toasted them in a hot skillet! The jelly and jams that the dolls served at the tea party were also homemade, wild violet jelly made from the violets that I picked from my farmyard this spring, black currant jam made with currants from my garden, and peach jam made with peaches from a local farm. I added a generous pinch of cinnamon to the peach jam to make it taste like peach pie. If you’d like to make your own English muffins I suggest the King Arthur recipe, which is the one I use. I made my own sourdough starter using wholewheat flour. When I bake these sourdough English muffins I use at least 50% wholewheat flour. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-english-muffins-recipe
Prairie Stack Cake
Tillie Lamb’s Gingerbread Layers
This is the recipe that I used for the gingerbread layers of the doll’s latest birthday cake.
Rum Gingerbread
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
2- 1/2 cups flour
1- 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup molasses
3/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup rum
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Combine butter, sugar and egg. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with the molasses, water and rum. Pour into a buttered 9 x 12- inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. You may substitute buttermilk for the water and rum.
front side2nd side ~1 teaspoon nutmeg – 2 cups nuts ~ which I never add – 1 tsp. vanilla
Pumpkin Cake and Spice Cake
Here is the hand written recipe card that I copied from my mom’s recipe for Pumpkin Cake 40 years ago. The recipe for the spice cake came from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book that she gave me in 1975. I substituted raisins for nuts in the spice cake because the dolls and I like it much better that way.
Cake Frosting
Use your favorite cream cheese buttercream frosting ❤
Alphabet Cookies
Fun Fact
I had to open eleven out of twelve individual packs of Mini Alphabet Cookies to be able to spell Izannah! Surprisingly there were abundant “I”s and “Z”s. The letter that took the longest to find was “N” followed by “A”. I purchased the cookies at Aldi.
Settle by Seth Tudor
The Mysterious Delivery of the Large Wooden Settle
At the end of the birthday celebration the unseen Mr. Twigg leaves a large wooden settle at the front of the doll’s house. Mister Twigg is the little cloth sister’s neighbor who runs a delivery service along with his trusty horse and large wagon. Mister Twigg delivered my birthday present to the dolls. The settle was lovingly made by Seth Tudor, Tasha Tudor’s son. It is 1/3 scale and is a miniature version of a settle that was in Tasha’s house. He makes them in three different scales. This particular size will also work for American Girl’s dolls. The three drawers on the bottom are functional. I’m fairly sure that you can reach him through https://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/ , though I contacted him through the Take Peace Facebook group that I am a member of.
The little cloth girls and I will be painting their settle a custom color once the girls stop squabbling over exactly what that color should be!
Flowers
All of the flowers came from my gardens ❤
One Final Surprise!
The dolls were quite thrilled when Mister Twigg came again today to deliver a parcel. It was a lovely birthday present from their dear friend Kay, who often spoils them with holiday gifts ❤ Thank you Kay!
Thank You for being a part of our twelfth annual Izannah Walker Birthday Celebration ❤ ❤ ❤
It is my pleasure to introduce you to my two latest dolls, reproductions of Isane & Isabeau. Both made from handmade molds of my original antique Izannah Walker dolls.
It is my pleasure this evening to introduce you to two charming young Izannah sisters who are looking to venture out beyond the confines of the very tall house & find loving new homes of their very own. In addition to offering these sweet cloth girls for sale I also have one party dress for sale. ❤
How to buy any of the items for sale tonight ~ this is the IMPORTANT part, so please read this!
I try to keep buying my dolls as straight forward and easy as possible. In order to do that please read and follow these directions. All of my dolls are sold on a “first come” basis. Email me at PaulaASweetRemembrance@gmail.com , in your email specify exactly which doll you wish to buy . Yes this is a different email address than you used to purchase dolls before. I’ve added it so that purchase requests only will show up in the inbox. Be aware of how much the doll costs BEFORE you send your request to buy. You are welcome to ask questions, but please be 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, credit cards are also accepted for payment. Free priority mail shipping & full insurance to any U.S address. International orders ~ exact postage + $25 handling fee to help off set 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.
Both of this evening’s dolls have a special alphabet body covering or “second skin”. It seemed appropriate for autumn and the beginning of the school year. I’ve always been charmed by these illustrated letter prints, which are most commonly seen on antique china dolls. This fabric print is also some times known as an “educational print”, and if you search for them you will find quite a few different ones on the bodies of a variety of antique dolls.
DOLL A. Isane $1595.00 SOLD
Doll A Isane
This Isane is approximately 18 inches tall. She comes fully dressed in a handmade chemise, pantalettes, petticoat and dress. Her brown print dress has extra fullness in the skirt and two graduated growth tucks. The sleeves of the dress are also tucked. All fabrics, lace and buttons are antique. PLEASE NOTE I am offering this doll for sale now, but it will take approximately a week to ten days for her to ship. Perhaps you noticed that she has two left arms! Sadly this is not the first time this has happened to me. When I started sewing her together I made the startling discovery that she didn’t have a right arm! lol So I am going to have to make her one and multiple coats of paint are going to have to dry before I can ship her.
I try to keep buying my dolls as straight forward and easy as possible. In order to do that please read and follow these directions. All of my dolls are sold on a “first come” basis. Email me at PaulaASweetRemembrance@gmail.com , in your email specify exactly which doll you wish to buy . Yes this is a different email address than you used to purchase dolls before. I’ve added it so that purchase requests only will show up in the inbox. Be aware of how much the doll costs BEFORE you send your request to buy. You are welcome to ask questions, but please be 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, credit cards are also accepted for payment. Free priority mail shipping & full insurance to any U.S address. International orders ~ exact postage + $25 handling fee to help off set 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.
Doll B. Isabeau $1595 SOLD
Isabeau with “educational” print second skin
Party Dress $295
Made of antique fabrics in a classic mid-19th century child’s style, this party dress features extra fabric, a growth tuck, and contrasting fabric bands. It will fit my 18 – 19 inch reproduction Izannah Walker dolls as well as antique Izannah Walker dolls of the same size. The neck band is 12.5 inches, finished waist is 8.5 inches and the skirt length is 8.25 inches.
I try to keep buying my items as straight forward and easy as possible. In order to do that please read and follow these directions. All of my dresses are sold on a “first come” basis. Email me at PaulaASweetRemembrance@gmail.com , in your email specify exactly which dress you wish to buy . Yes this is a different email address than you used to purchase dolls before. I’ve added it so that purchase requests only will show up in the inbox. Be aware of how much the doll costs BEFORE you send your request to buy. You are welcome to ask questions, but please be 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, credit cards are also accepted for payment. Free priority mail shipping & full insurance to any U.S address. International orders ~ exact postage + $25 handling fee to help off set 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.
Thank you so very much for coming to see my latest offerings and for attending this year’s Izannah Walker birthday celebration!
Welcome! The dolls and I are so happy that you could come to this year’s party! They’ve assigned me the task of being the official greeter, since they are all rather busy at the moment. Just between the two of us, they are running a bit behind. It all started when Sarah Alice decided they should make something special for Izannah’s birthday…
Earlier this month…
“Isabeau you are so good at sewing! Would you be willing to help me make a special surprise for Izannah’s birthday party?” asked Sarah Alice. “Something pretty to decorate the parlor, that we could keep out all year long to remind us of our very own dear Izannah?” “I might be able to.” hedged Isabeau. “Is it really something we will have time for? The party isn’t all that far away” Sarah Alice assured Isabeau that she had the perfect project in mind and that if they worked together she was positive that they could have it finished in time for the birthday tea. “I don’t know if Izannah’s mother was given a christening pincushion when Izannah was born or not, but I think we should make her one now.” “Two hundred and five years later?” asked Isabeau very gently. “Yes” said Sarah Alice “It will be a wonderful way for us to show that we remember her and still love her.” “That is a lovely idea” agreed Isabeau. So the two sisters snuck away to the parlor, whenever they thought their other sisters were busy, to work on their birthday surprise.
Unbeknownst to Izabeau and Sarah Alice, Izzybelle had been peeking in the parlor window and listening at the door as the two sisters worked on their birthday surprise… I’m sure you must know just how little sisters are, they always want to do the very same things that their older sisters do. So you won’t be at all surprised to learn that Izzybelle started thinking about something special that she could do for the party.
Yesterday…
“Charlcie what kind of cake are you baking for the tea party?” asked Izzybelle in a very innocent voice. “Ismay and I have decided that it would be nice to make a pumpkin cake this year.” replied Charlcie. “Your pumpkin cake is very good, but do you think that it is special enough for a Grand Birthday Tea Party?” replied Izzybelle “Birthday cakes should be veryspecial!” “Don’t you think it would be much nicer if we each baked a layer of cake and put them all together, just like we talked about for Izannah’s 199th birthday party?” “Oh Izzybelle, I really don’t think we have time to do that now, since the party is tomorrow. You know that we are all very busy getting ready. Hannah and Eliza Jane are dusting everything, Zanna is trying to catch all the dogs and give them a bath, Sarah Alice and Isabeau are busy in the parlor and Emma Blue and Tilly Lamb are out in the garden trying to find enough flowers to decorate the house.” said Charlcie. Upon hearing this little Izzybelle looked so sad and disappointed that Charlcie began to relent. “You might go out to the garden and ask Tillie Lamb if she would have time to come bake a layer or two of her famous gingerbread. If, and only if, she is willing to add baking onto her chores, we might try to make a stack cake…” “Shouldn’t we all bake a layer? It would be so much more special if everyone made one!” wailed Izzybelle. “Absolutely not, that is completely out of the question! There is simply not enough time for that. Be happy that Ismay and I will each bake layers and that Tilly Lamb might.” said Charlcie quite firmly.
(The story, which I am very fond of, goes like this; each family invited to a wedding would bring one layer of cake, all of the layers were stacked together to form the wedding cake. I’ve also heard this cake called a prairie wedding cake and have seen reference to each family bringing a different flavored cake layer.
“Oh my goodness! We have layers of cake everywhere!” “It’s getting very late, I’m so glad we only have one more layer to bake!”“Oh no!” “What on earth is that bunny doing in the kitchen?” “You’re a very bad bunny, look what you made me do!”“Izzybelle you know that the bunny isn’t allowed in the kitchen!” “Well I had to put her somewhere, she can’t stay in the garden! She’s eating all of the tomatoes!”
Eventually very late last night after Izzybelle helped clean up the kitchen floor and was firmly tucked into bed, all the layers of pumpkin, gingerbread and apple spice cake were baked and stacked one on top of another …and if the stack seemed to artistically lean to one side everyone was much too tired to care.
It looks like all of the English muffins are almost toasted.
After such an eventful day, and an extremely late bedtime, I’m sure you can understand why the little cloth sisters are still putting the finishing touches on the tea party preparations. Oh! It sounds as if Charlcie has just finished toasting all of the English muffins and that Izzybelle is headed up to the parlor with the jam! They have finally gotten everything just the way they want it and are ready for guests. Let’s go join them in the parlor.
“What a wonderful party!” “I’m not sure if we’ve ever had a better one!” “I ate far too much cake…” “Zanna, would you please pass me another toasted muffin and the wild violet jelly?” “Does anyone else hear a horse and wagon coming up to the house?” “What?” “Are you sure?” “Well it certainly sounds like Mister Twigg and his delivery wagon.” “Are we expecting him?” “Maybe he’s come for the party!” “Yoo-hoo Mister Twigg!” “I think he is leaving.” “Zanna let’s go see if he left anything.”
“Why on earth would Mister Twigg leave this here?” “Just look at the size of it!” “How are we ever going to move this into the house?” “After we say good-by to all of our guests we’ll have to get the rest of the girls to help”
“You know Eliza, this is really quite a comfortable settle.” “It is indeed Tillie, though I’m still surprised we managed to get it in the house and up all the stairs!” “We never would have managed it if we didn’t have so many sisters…” “Wasn’t this just the nicest tea party?” “Yes, and this having this surprise birthday present delivered at the very end was such a treat!”
The dolls and I hope you have enjoyed celebrating Izannah Walker’s 205th birthday with us! This is out twelfth year for our annual virtual party. If you would like to look back at some of the other celebrations just type Izannah birthday in the search bar. For those of you who have attended before you may remember that I do always make it a point to have dolls available for sale as party of the festivities. This year I only have two, who are sweet wonderful dolls, both dressed in brown. I also have one party dress for sale. Some years I have more, but this has been one of those years. I’m sure you know what I mean, as we all have them! Times when everything seems to happen all at once… The good news is that there are dolls for sale today! Please return here at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time to meet my latest reproduction Izannah Walker dolls. The dolls and the party dress will all be sold on a first come basis.
If you would like to know more about what went into creating today’s party, read the recipes used for the food, and find out more about the infant pincushion that Sarah Alice and Isabeau made then you will definitely want to come back on Monday evening at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time for the After Party!
May is always a favorite month here in the farmyard! All of the flowers and fruit trees are waking up from their long winter naps, the birds are busily building nests, the greenhouse is filled with hundreds of tiny seedlings, and the little cloth girls are venturing out of the doll’s house to help with spring chores.
In addition to all of the normal cheerful activity here at Thyme Forgotten Farm, this May also brings some wonderful news!
I am extremely honored to announce that I have been juried into the Early American Life Directory of Traditional American Crafts for the 43rd time! ❤ The Directory issue will be out later this summer, and I will post more details then.
Another magazine related announcement that I know you will all be very interested in is the May issue of Antique Doll Collector will feature a wonderful article, Waiting for Izannah – One Doll’s Journey written by Laurie W. McGill.
In case this latest article makes you hungry to read more Antique Doll Collector articles about Izannah’s dolls and those of other female cloth dollmakers, here is a list of the ones that have previously appeared in Antique Doll Collector magazine, including the two articles I wrote for ADC. ❤
The last bit of very exciting Izannah Walker news that I have to share is an excellently researched blog post written by Kathy Duncan! She has unearthed some very interesting bits of Izannah Walker history that I found fascinating and that I am sure my fellow Izannahaphiles will absolutely want to read. Here is the link to Kathy Duncan’s blog Flimsies and Frippery. ❤ ❤ ❤
May Day
As some of you may remember, all the little Izannahs and I love May Day and generally try to do something special to celebrate. Yesterday was no exception. The dolls and I decided to enjoy a beautiful day and spend time working outside in the gardens. Sweet little Izzybelle is undoubtedly the most enthusiastic garden helper of all, but to be honest she has had her share of unfortunate garden “occurances”. You might recall the tale of Izzybelle and the Runaway Tomatoes
Izzybelle and the Runaway Tomatoes!
I’m sad to report that yesterday was unfortunately not one of Izzybelle’s better days in the garden. Let us just say that she is no longer allowed near the sprayer & the vinegar, and leave it at that. In the midst of all the chaos… erm excitement, the other dolls and I quite forgot to photograph our “celebration”.
Once everyone was all clean, tidy and safely back in the very tall house we settled down with our scrapbook and looked back at some of our previous May Days. Afterwards all the little cloth girls drank comforting cups of warm milk and went to bed early, as it had been quite an eventful day!
If you would also like to sit and remember May Days with us click on the links below and imagine that you are turning the pages of our scrap book with us ❤
Looking through our scrapbook and remembering past May Days
All of the dolls who live here at Paula Walton’s A Sweet Remembrance wish you a New Year filled with all good things! To celebrate New Year’s Eve the little cloth girls would like to share their holiday photo album with you ❤
We Wish You a New Year filled with Peace, Love & Contentment!
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.
It’s super simple, just message me through my facebook page 
Izannah Walker Journal 