Old Sister ( Miss Martha ) and Junius

This is Old Sister. Her name is actually Miss Martha. The other Old Sister is  Miss Janiece and I will post her picture tommorrow. I included Junius in this post. I have been working on about 7 dolls and they are nearing completion, so I thought I would begin putting up their pictures. Martha has had a bad time. Her maker, ( who I will not mention ) made her the most HUGE ENORMOUS GIGANTIC nose ever seen on a doll, so she had to undergo many operations to correct this. She still bears some scars, but is pretty all the same. She is about 22" tall. and her head is molded cloth and is painted in oil. Her dress is made from a old big dress I found at the flea market. It's a thin voile material. I have learned that if you make a serious boo boo on your doll, it can be better to antique the scars,  instead of trying to hide the fault. Junius is about 19" tall. Molded cloth head, and painted in oil with a lambskin wig. I tried my best to get the expression of the black doll that was owned by Richard Wright. They have that sweet upturned mouth. I also gave Junius side parted hair. this was not any harder than going straight across with the lambskin. I am still learning how to do the wigs. He does have a good head of hair. I cut down a baby shirt to fit him because of the collar someone spent alot to time making and putting in fancy french knots. I made his pants, which are a little to tight. All in all, I think things turned out well. Junius does have a sister too and hopefully I can put up her picture tommorrow. Hope you enjoyed seeing the dolls and seeing how lucky these two dolls are to have actually made it to completion. Many of their friends have not been so lucky.

New small black dolls

I made two small black dolls ( 11 1/2" tall ) for some sweet girls in Mississippi.  These are my first small black ones. They have  lambskin wigs, which are a thin, thin pelt less than 1/8" high. It was perfect for these little dolls. Luckily I happened to have a old vintage apron, as the girls wanted red dresses. The material is very faded, but I thought it was a good choice. I learned more about working with the pelts this time, as you only have so much natural edge. I had to cut close to the hair to try to get some fringe for the forehead. You really need a natural edge around there. It takes time to get the hang of this, but I'm learning. I hope the girls will like their dolls.

Annabelle

I have been working on this doll for quite some time. She is affectionately known to us as ( my favorite ), which i guess is mean to the other dolls, as they are just as sweet in their own way. I found on the Hwy 11 Flea market which runs from Meridian, Ms to several states aboove us, this material for her dresss and bonnet. I just loved it and it's so nice to work with. It is perfectly faded and has a few tiny holes but nothing to keep it from being sound. I made her pantyloons, slip, chemise, from plain cotton fabric that has an old look and feel. The underware has been aged to a old look, but just mellow enough to look like real old garments.  The outfit is not perfect, but I think it's beautiful. It might have a few small places that look worn as it would be with age. The sewing is not perfect, but I think everything turned out real good.

Olive and Mamie June

Here are two dolls that have been in the works for a long time., you know how you put some back time after time to work on other things, well, the doll in blue is Olive. she has undergone alot of aging. I know Izannah's didn't wear this type of pinafore, but it's vintage and it matched her dress of feedsack material, so she got it. all the cloth in her outfit was recycled from other old clothes. the next doll is Mamie June. She actually has a new dress that has been aged. Her apron is a vintage hankercheif. Underware is all new cotton,  aged to a nice patina. I am satisfied that I have done all possible to make these girls as good as I can. they are both very sweet and  primitive. these dolls don't look like Izannah's, but they are nice old looking dolls.

4 dolls finished.

I finished 4 dolls. 2 big and 2 little. the little ones have already been posted, but I put these up to show their size.

Teeny Tiny Dolls

I made some small dolls. They are about 11 1/2 " tall.  They were fun to do, and it doesn't take as long. They are still a lot of work.

My Favorite Girl

Here is a doll I have been working on for awhile. I like this one. Alot of dolls are cute, but I think this doll is beautiful, Not because i made her, but just a combination of things. I see through my photo that her right eye needs a little adjustment, it hikes up a bit, but that should be easy to fix. These pictures were taken with flash camera and the curls don't show up as dark as they are, but I did get them straighter. It still just amazes me that just  because you use a mold of the same doll, it doesn't mean you will get the same doll, you will probably never paint the same face the same way twice, not to mention the mold will change some too. It's just a surprise every time. Sometimes a good surprise.

New Izannah Doll

Hi, I hope everyone is doing good. the warm weather is here and it makes more work. I made this doll awhile back, but have been working on her hair and coloring. I think I now am satisfied with how she looks. I haven't picked out a dress color yet, but have some good choices. I am finally getting a handle on the curls. I finally know how to do them.  Hooray for me. It has been such a struggle. I also have been working on some small IW's. They are about 11 3/4" tall. I have had to redo alot of parts, because they were to small or to thin, but I think they are coming along. They are alot of trouble, but the big ones are too. I hope we all will have a good summer to continue our doll making. Time is the main thing we need and not to give up, but to continue on, even when we don't seem to be able to make the dolls we want to. We can make them, We can make them, We can make them. Never give up!!!!

2 more sisters

Here are 2 more sisters.

Martha's New Dolly

Here is my new doll I just finished. Dolly is about 20" tall. all cloth. barefoot with simulated sewed on feet. ( this is optional if you don't want to make the foot seperate and then sew it on, you can do the stitch work to look as though the foot has been sewed on. )  It is really up to the maker how true to the original antique doll you want to go in their construction, the only departure I made in this dolls case was the feet, all other aspects of her are made like Izannah Walker dolls are made. She wears her cotton dress of  brilliant white with matching bonnet.

Black Izannah Walker Style Cloth Dolls

Two Black Izannah Walker Style Dolls I made during December.

Izannah Doll

New izannah doll with her blue dress. She does not get a apron. I really didn't think she needed it. She is going to a very sweet lady I know,  who already has Mary, that I made awhile ago. She wanted a sister for her. I have sent her a standard dress pattern, so she can make her dolls lots of dresses and clothes.



2 Izannahs, The same but different

Here are two new Izannahs. they came from the same mold, but look very different from each other. The way a head comes out of the mold changes each doll some. If you repair flaws in the cloth face, naturally, the face shape changes a little bit. Most faces will need some repair work, so it's not a bad thing, because it gives you a chance to get a doll with a different expression and a slighty different look. I'm still surprised how cloth and glue put into a form, and a little painting and TLC can transform into something beautiful. My favorite part of the doll making is the painting. It's the part that changes a plain white head that looks like a space alien into a real little person. The paint brings out what was hidden from our eyes. It goes around curves, across the high and low places on the dolls face, it gives deepness and soul to the eyes, a sweetness to the mouth , a soft blush to the cheeks that is so endearing. I hope I gave these two dolls all these things.

Group doll picture

Two new Dolls