The Dolls & I Are Thrilled To Announce That I Have Once Again Been Named One of The Top Traditional Craftsmen for 2025 by Early American Life Magazine in the Catagory of Toys and Dolls

October 20, 2025October 20, 2025 paulawalton1 Comment

I have been juried as one of the top traditional craftsmen for 2025 by Early American Life magaine in the catagory of Toys and Dolls. This is the 45th time, in the course of 24 years, that my work has been featured in their directory, many years in more than one catagory.

My packet of Directory signs and tags arrived about a week and a half ago, and my personal subscription copy was in my mailbox last Thursday. If you are a subscriber to Early American Life and haven’t received your September 2025 issue yet, it should be delivered soon. (Yes September 2025, they are running a bit behind.) If you would like to place a subscription, or read more about the magazine their website is www.earlyamericanlifemagazine.com

These are 5 the images that were submited to the judges.

Zanna, ever the budding entrepreneur, pointed out that my directory listing should actually include ALL of my Izannah Walker doll’s names too ~ since they play such an important part in my reproductions of their younger sisters! I assured her that I considered all of them to be beloved staff members of A Sweet Remembrance and offered to share signs and tags with her when she and Hannah are ready to open their Wish Emporium ❤

postscript~ In case you have been wondering about the 6 new reproduction dolls that I am currently making I have had to take what has turned out to be a rather long break, due to catching a prolonged bout of the flu, and my responsibilities as head family costume maker. ❤ ❤ ❤ Halloween is approaching ever closer and 10 year olds grow up all too fast, so it’s important to keep family childhood traditions..

Antique Izannah Walker Dolls · Celebrations · Izannah Walker birthday · newsletter · Studio News · Work in Progress

A Sweet Remembrance September 2024 Newsletter

September 17, 2024September 17, 2024 paulawaltonLeave a comment

Oh my goodness, half of September has already passed, and it is just slightly over one week until my annual Izannah Walker Birthday Celebration on September 25th! Has your summer felt as if it has simply flown by the same way mine has?

As always spring and summer have been incredibly busy here. There are more warm weather projects that cry out for attention in and around my 18th century home, barns, and surrounding land (that I affectionately refer to as Thyme Forgotten Farm) than I can ever fit into a single year. Currently there is wood repair taking place on the lower level of the tack barn, and much needed window work in my office, to replace the rotting 20th century windows there with antique window sashes and reconstruct appropriate window surrounds. Most of the repair work to multiple garden gates and garden structures has been completed, as have almost half of the new stands for my herd of antique carousel horses. My weekends have mostly been spent being a grandma, and fitting in all of the must do summer traditions. Childhood is so fleeting that it’s important to make time for special moments…

Studio News

A lot has been going on in both of my studios too! I’m very pleased to tell you that I have been named one of America’s top traditional craftsmen by Early American Life for 2024 in the category of Toys and Dolls. This is the 45th time in the course of 24 years that I have been in their directory. I’ve been listed in the categories of Clothing and Accessories, Textiles or Needlework, Miscellaneous, Toys and Dolls, Miniatures, Santas, Other Holidays and General Christmas. I’ve been juried into the Directory annually from 2004-2024 plus 1996-1998, many years in more than one category. Thank you Early American Life!

Out in the studios I’ve been doing much needed cleaning and sorting, plus working on exciting new things, some of which involved my carpenter. Obviously I have also been making dolls too, because I always try to have some for sale as part of my Izannah Birthday Celebration. Plus I have been designing a few new spun cotton ornaments! I dearly love making spun cotton figures, but haven’t been able to fit them in between everything else for a long time.

All in all it’s been a really wonderful summer. I hope yours has been too!

My Online Celebration of Izannah Walker’s Birthday 207th Birthday

On Wednesday September 25th I will be hosting an online celebration of Izannah Walker’s Birthday featuring my collection of antique Izannah Walker dolls. Come visit www.izannahwalker.com to see how my little cloth girls celebrate their maker’s birthday.

Now that you’ve read a bit about what is going on in my world you probably won’t be surprised that I don’t have the exact time decided yet for when the birthday celebration post will be live, and when the dolls that are going to be available for purchase will be posted. I will be prominently posting information about both times, closer to the 25th, on www.izannahwalker.com , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ASweetRemembrance , and on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/asweetremembrance/ . I’ll also send out an email to everyone who has signed up for my “New Dolls” email mailing list with times and other details.

This year’s celebration is going to be a little bit less involved than past years, yet still a very enjoyable event, so I’m apologizing for that in advance. Between all the construction interruptions, and a highly possible case of Lyme disease, I’m not working quite as quickly as I usually do. The good news is that the dolls and I have some other fun celebrations and doll releases planned for October, November, & December! We hope you’ll join us as we fill the remainder of 2024 with Izannah parties.

Wishing you a lovely autumn!

Paula

www.izannahwalker.com

www.asweetremembrance.com

postscript ~ If you wish to be removed from this mailing list please reply to this email with the

word Remove in the subject line of your reply. Thank you

P.p.s. I hope you all got to see the wonderful original Izannah Walker doll that Withington Auction sold online through auctionninja.com on Friday 9/13. She sold for $43,500.00 plus an 18% Buyers Premium. In case you are wondering, that isn’t the record price paid for an Izannah Walker doll. If you haven’t seen her, go take a peak https://www.auctionninja.com/withington-auction-inc/product/18-izannah-walker-cloth-doll-1180990.html She is an amazingly sweet doll!

Celebrations · Holidays · Izannah Walker Reproduction Doll · Work in Progress

A Dollmaker’s Diary ~ December 5th… Saint Nicholas Eve

December 5, 2021December 5, 2021 paulawaltonLeave a comment

Sunday, Saint Nicholas Eve

The little cloth girls gathered boxwood sprigs from the garden and beeswax candles from the pantry, which they fashioned into an Advent wreath that they adorned with handfuls of madder dyed cotton ribbon.

Dear Diary,

Today, once again, holiday preparations have been underway in the doll’s house. I can hear all of the sweet Izannah sisters chattering gaily, rushing around their house preparing everything just so on this 5th day of December. The dolls are clearly just as excited about this Christmas as they were about each of their very first ones, now more than a century and a half ago… This afternoon they cleaned and tidied their kitchen, adding boxwood sprigs to the mantle over the hearth. As dusk began to fall, they lit two candles on their Advent wreath, which they made using clippings from the garden and a great deal of madder dyed ribbon. Afterwards they carefully lined up their shoes by the fireplace so that Saint Nicholas could fill them with treats when he comes to call in the middle of the night…

Meanwhile, as the dolls have been keeping themselves well occupied, I have been steadily working away. Yesterday I painted deeper shades of color on the six new little doll sisters that I am slowly bringing to life. The poor dears are now in their “ugly duckling” phase, where I fear only a mother could love them. So gawky and awkward looking, with their inner beauty hidden away by translucent coats of streaky, uneven looking paint! It is a time for courage, and faith that everything will be alright in the end.

After all six were painted, I very quietly tip-toed out the door (so that I wouldn’t wake the napping little cloth girls) and walked through the farmyard to the sewing studio. I spent all the rest of Saturday sewing arm, after arm, after arm!

Today I was back to painting, and am happy to say that all of the new dolls are looking somewhat better with the addition of another coat of paint! They still need many more very then coats of their “flesh” tones before I will be able to start painting their features and hair, but such care is well worth the time involved.

I dared not step away from the doll’s house today, as I knew the sisters would be lighting candles! I hope to be able to trim and turn all of the many arms this evening, and perhaps I will even be able to stay awake long enough to begin stuffing and stitching a few fingers! Though I should try not to stay up too late, as the dolls will no doubt be up exceedingly early in the morning to see what Saint Nicholas has left them!

Until tomorrow dear diary…