Today Savannah has been busy packing her trunk. She will soon be immigrating to Canada to live with her big sister.
Savannah Packs Her Trunk
Tag: Reproduction Izannah Walker Doll by Paula Walton
In Remembrance of Maxine
In February I finished a custom reproduction Izannah Walker doll for a very fascinating lady named Maxine. Maxine had seen my ads in Antique Doll Collector magazine and called me last August to discuss the possibility of ordering one of my Izannahs. We chatted several times, and by the end of the month Maxine had decided exactly how she wanted her doll to look. Maxine chose to place the doll on lay-away and requested a February 2013 completion date. During the months while I was working on Maxine’s doll she would call me to check on my progress and also to talk about dolls. She told me many interesting stories about her collection, dolls that she had bought and sold and people she knew in the doll world.
My favorite conversation with Maxine was the one where she reminisced about a friend of hers who had been the dress maker for the dolls in Maxine’s collection. She told me about meeting the woman, becoming friends with her, and about some of the amazing dresses she had created for Maxine’s doll’s. The most inspiring part of this story is that the last doll’s dress that Maxine had commissioned from her friend had been completed just a few weeks before the women’s death at “almost 100” years of age. Maxine assured me that the last dress was just as beautiful and well made as the very first dress she had ever ordered. I’d like to think that in the future someone will be able to say the same about me.
On Friday afternoon I received a call from Maxine’s daughter. She told me that Maxine had passed away, very softly and gently on Wednesday and that she was calling to tell me how much her mother had loved the doll I made for her. I was overwhelmed that this woman would take the time, in the midst of her grief, to call and thank me for providing her mother with such pleasure. It was an extraordinary kindness and a very singular experience…
Taking a Walk on a Spring Day
Miss “A” tried on her new dress and apron, then went out for one last walk around the farm before she packs for her journey to her new home in Canada.
BOTH NOW SOLD – THANK YOU FOR LOOKING Two New Dolls Available ~ Dressed in their Easter Sunday Best!
Two lovely young ladies, currently available for sale. Miss “A” NOW SOLD – Thank you for looking, dressed in antique “double pink” fabrics, with two curls in front of each ear and seven more along the nape of her neck and her dearest friend Miss “B”, wearing a madder brown dress and straw colored crocheted bonnet. Both girls may be purchased directly from my main website Paula Walton’s A Sweet Remembrance. Click here to read all about Miss “A” and click here for Miss “B’s” particulars.
A Note About the Easter Bonnets
Do you remember turning acorn caps into doll dishes and using handkerchiefs for dolly diapers and shawls when you were a child? My mother used to help me fashion doll clothes out of objects we found around the house. I’m sure that this is a long standing mother and daughter tradition since I occasionally come across antique doll clothing that children have made from little bits of this and that.
I was sitting in my studio, thinking about Easter bonnets, when my eye happened to light on a pile of crocheted doilies… Suddenly I could just see them turning into beautiful, lacy Easter sunbonnets! I loved the idea of recreating one of my childhood traditions and I hope that you are as captivated by the bonnets and the story behind them as I am.
Would You Like to Get to Know Miss “A” & “B” Better?
If you have any questions about Misses “A” or “B”, or would like to see additional photographs, I would be more than happy to accommodate you. Email me at paula@asweetremembrance.com or call me at 860-355-5709. Lay-away is available on terms to meet your budget.
Wishing you a very happy and joyous Easter!
SOLD All Dressed and Looking for a New Home & Someone to Love
NOW SOLD – THANK YOU FOR LOOKING For the past few days I’ve been sewing on clothing for this doll, that I’m affectionately calling “B”. I’ve been working on this doll for months, and for almost the entire time I’ve been thinking that she reminds me of a particular Izannah that I had seen somewhere… Yesterday I finally remembered exactly which one of Izannah’s dolls that “B” resembles. To me, she looks like the Izannah Walker doll at the South County Museum in Narragansett, Rhode Island. View the doll owned by the South County Museum here at the Izannah Walker Chronicles.
One of the magical aspects of pressed cloth heads is the way that heads made from the same mold are each unique. I am constantly filled with wonder when my dolls follow the same path that Izannah’s did. It is such a reaffirmation of the way I work to see that 170 years later I can take stockinette, cotton, and paste and turn it into faithful reproductions of Izannah’s dolls. *
Because the doll has a very time worn appearance and aged paint surfaces, I wanted to use special fabrics that would reflect and enhance the feel of this doll and help tell her story. I used antique natural colored linen for her pantalettes, chemise and petticoat. I added vintage white cotton waistbands to the pantaletts and petticoat because I wanted the color contrast that is often seen in antique wool/cotton baby petticoats. Her pantalettes have been carefully pieced and darned. It took much longer to make them this way, but it helps to preserve the illusion of a much loved family doll that has been well taken care of and preserved to be passed down through succeeding generations.
“B’s” dress is made from an amazing piece of madder brown fabric c.1850 that has never been washed. The color of the dye is so vibrant, with a crisp print and the original sizing intact. The dress has straight short sleeves and is trimmed with narrow velvet bands around the sleeves and skirt. It closes with an antique glass “china” button at the waist and a thin 1/8-th inch cotton tape drawstring at the neck. The dress skirt has been carefully darned and mended in two places and the inside of the waist band has a bit of contrasting fabric pieced in as a “make-do” detail. This is the ideal dress for a collector who loves early primitive cloth dolls and is a serious student of 19th century textiles. I’m strongly suggesting that this dress should not be washed to preserve the pristine documentary condition of the fabric dye and print.
We still have some snow on the ground here in Connecticut from Friday’s storm, so today I’m going to make “B” a pair of detachable long sleeves to help keep her warm on chilly spring days.
SOLD Sweet “B” may be purchased on my website A Sweet Remembrance. Please feel free to email or call me if you are interested in purchasing “B” and have any questions about her or would like to see additional photographs. Paula@asweetremembrance.com, 860-355-5709. Lay away is available in terms to fit your budget. All payments, including lay away, may be made through Paypal, or by personal check or money order. You may pay using your credit card through Paypal, even if you do not have a Paypal account. Free Priority Mail shipping, with full insurance and signature confirmation, to any location within the United States. 6.35% sales tax is charged on dolls shipped to a Connecticut address. Exact postage charged on dolls shipped to other countries.
Maxine’s Doll
I’ve finally finished Maxine’s doll! The last stitches are in place, her clothes are freshly laundered, and her photographs have been taken and are on the way to Maxine for her approval. I’m really pleased with the way she turned out, I hope Maxine is too! Due to one thing and another she took me 125 hours to complete, which is much longer than the 80 to 100 hours that most of my dolls average. I think that the extra time was worthwhile. I love the look of depth in her paint. It has a wonderful appearance in person that I wish I could capture with my camera, but I’m not that expert of a photographer.
Working Late
Another busy day… Annalise and Bess now have pantalettes, chemises and petticoats. Maxine’s doll is waiting for her arms and legs to dry while I work on her underwear.
Tomorrow Annalise, Bess and I will be picking out their dress fabrics. If you would like more information on my dolls you can read all of the details on my website Paula Walton’s A Sweet Remembrance, or you may call (860-35-5709) or email me (paula@asweetremembrance.com). Annalise will sell for $1300.00 when she is finished… or $1375.00 if you would like to order handmade leather shoes. Bess will be $1250.00.
If you are interested in either Annalise or Bess and would like additional photos, just ask. Lay-away is available, tailored to fit your budget.
In My Studio January 15th, 2013
It feels like I’m always rushing from one deadline to another. I’ve spent the past few weeks working on several new dolls for a photo deadline. I finished this doll today, just in time to rush her photographs down to the post office before they closed, getting them post marked on the very last possible day!
Actually this doll is one I had been planning to have finished before Early American Life came to our house in December. For some reason people always have the mistaken idea that I have shelves full of dolls, spun cotton ornaments and all of the other things that I make to sell. They imagine that coming here is like going to a secret hidden shop full of treasures, set inside the perfect 18th century New England farmstead… This is so far from reality ! 🙂 I normally don’t have any dolls here at all, unless there are one or two on lay-away. In real life most of my dolls get packed up and shipped just as soon as I get the last stitches finished. Plus doll making is messy, so my studio rarely looks tidy and there is a trail of thread and fabric snippits leading from the studio, across the yard, to the house, and into the parlor, where I sit in the evenings to do hand sewing. So part of my grand plan, when Early American Life asked if they could come photograph our house at Christmas, was to create three or four new dolls and a whole tree full of ornaments. None of them actually got finished 🙂 . By the time the retreat was over and I kept up with orders, then cleaned and painted throughout the house like a mad woman, there was no time left! So I postponed making this doll until my latest deadline instead.
Now that she is finished, she will be keeping me company in my kitchen. I created her for myself, incorporating all of my favorite Izannah details. I even added a third ringlet in front of each ear, like the ones on the lovely antique Izannah that was just up for sale on eBay last week. I doubt that I will ever be able to afford the $22,000.00 opening bid on the eBay doll, but I decided that I can treat myself to one of my own dolls.
Tomorrow is going to be another busy day in my studio, as I move on to more orders and deadlines, but for tonight I am relaxing and enjoying my new Izannah, with nothing more taxing to do than decide upon the perfect name for my newest friend…
If you should ever be in need of a companion to share in your doll adventures, I would be pleased to make you an Izannah of your very own. Call 860-355-5709 or email paula@asweetremembrance.com to discuss all the details of a custom made reproduction Izannah Walker doll.
* Did you notice the waived braid trim on her chemise and petticoat??? Read more about waved braid here.
Three New Dolls Available for Christmas – Meet Charlcie, Savannah and Susie Belle
12/12/12 NOTE: SUSIE BELLE IS SOLD. Wish her a safe and speedy journey on Santa’s sleigh, as he delivers her to her new home on Christmas Eve.
12/14/12 NOTE: SAVANNAH IS SOLD.
12/22/22 NOTE: CHARLCIE IS SOLD.
I have three new dolls that are available for sale, just in time for Christmas. All of them are featured in the upcoming Winter 2013 issue of Prims magazine. As many of you know, I don’t usually name my dolls, but I did name these three. You can read their story, along with a bit about how they were made and a some of my doll making tips in the magazine, which goes on sale January 1st.
Each of the dolls is fully dressed in clothing made from antique fabrics and lace. If you’ve been dreaming of a doll with her own antique trunk full of dresses sitting under your tree on Christmas morning, that can be arranged 🙂 I have an antique doll trunk for sale, which can be filled with gift certificates for custom made dresses. Charlcie, Savannah, or Susie Belle accompanied by the antique trunk and dress certificates would make a very memorable and touching Christmas gift. I am including a signed copy of Prims along with each doll. There is also a chance that these dolls will be appearing in Early American Life magazine next year. EAL was here on Saturday to shoot photos of our home for their 2013 Christmas issue. At this point I have no idea which photos they will choose to use in the magazine article 🙂
To purchase Charlcie, Savannah(SOLD), or Susie Belle(SOLD) please visit my website asweetremembrance.com. If you would like to add additional clothing, shoes or antique doll trunks to your order you may call me (860-355-5709) or email me (paula@asweetremembrance.com) I would be happy to talk to you at any time about my dolls, answer any questions you may have, or send you additional photos. As always, lay-away is an option on any purchase.
Some of My Work to be Featured in the Winter Issue of Prims Magazine
12/11/12 Update. An article about three of my reproduction Izannah Walker dolls will be in the Winter 2013 issue of Prims. The article about my bears will appear in Prims Spring 2013.
Articles about several of my dolls and bears are going to appear in the upcoming Winter issue of Prims magazine, available on January 1st. I haven’t see the magazine yet, but it looks like it’s going to be a great issue with some really interesting work from a terrific group of artists. Stampington Company’s magazines are beautiful, but a bit pricey, so I thought I’d share this tip with you. If you pre-order the Winter 2013 issue of Prims by November 23rd you can save $2 and get free shipping 🙂
Izannah Walker Journal 