When Will I Get Finished!

I really wish I could complete a doll more

 quickly, but hand sewing just takes hours

and hours!  I have been busy with

other things and can't seem to devote as

much time to doll making as I would like!

She finally has a simple embroidered

 face, some hair & a little

 wooden "Make Do Doll" tag.

I plaited some wonderful hand

 dyed brown wool into 

 a long row & hand stitched it to her head,

with a little bun in the middle.

She's not complete without all

her undergarments.   A simple chemise,

pantalettes & petticoat from cotton

muslin. These have been tea

 dyed (my hubby's PG Tips) and look much 

lighter in the photos.

I chose a simple pioneer style dress made

from  maroon red and tan cotton.  It's soft

like flannel.  Her apron is tea dyed

osnaburg.

Her dress has 3 hook and eyes.

I decided against shoestrings,

and hand stitched fingers.

Not a single button could be

spared for her,

 she's a simple make-do doll.

She is in need of a bonnet & she has

her eye on one of the primitive

baskets.  Then she will be done!

Teeny Baskets & Brooms

I am always on the lookout for handmade

   accessories that are period appropriate for my dolls. 

 Not an easy task.  I was surprised & delighted

 to receive these wonderful primitive baskets from my

 dear friend Teresa.

  She gathered the materials for the baskets in the

 woods at "Hard Cracker Farm" where she lives with

her husband Dave.

Teresa demonstrating primitive basket making
at Silver Dollar City.  Thank you Teresa, but .....
I will not enjoy parting with them!

-------------------

I attended a historic arts show at Arrow Rock,
Missouri a couple years ago and met a young
apprentice broom maker.  She liked my dolls, and
 I liked the brooms.  Long story short,
 The Widow Perkins now resides with Miss Emily.
 &  I have handmade Ozark
 brooms......doll size!

Emily has done a beautiful job & the

size is just right.

 I'm sure the Dolly's are looking forward to

 using these fine brooms!

A doll body almost finished......

I have almost finished a basic body for another doll.  I dyed a small amount of homespun muslin a faded dark brown for her high top shoes. 

For her body I chose a medium weight utility cotton and a striped cotton for her stockings.  I have lightly tea stained these fabrics with my Hubby's PG Tips tea.

She'll need a simple face, some hair & little shoe laces.

Oh, she'll need clothing too........

St. Valentine's Paper Castings

The new year has begun and I am trying to get my projects organized.  A large task with so many things whirling around in my head.   My camera and computer had to be replaced........too many new directions for this old gal to remember!  I have finished castings of all my Valentine's hearts &  will add St. Patrick's, Easter and Whimsical Animals soon. (I haven't added the hangers yet)  I hope to have all my Brown Bag Molds added to the Paper Castings Page in the coming months.  I am also working on a couple of dolls, hand sewing isn't the fastest!! 
 Busy, busy, busy.............  

Victorian Heart

1984

Tulip Heart

1989

Hummingbird Heart

1992

Basket of Hearts

1992

American Folk Art-Tulips

1992

American Folk Art-Pennsylvania Heart

1992

Cupid

1983

Lace Heart

1988

My Mission For 2012

 As the new year starts I want to re-state my mission as a doll maker. This helps me to stay true to what I love to do.  I enjoy sewing by hand, I love the feel and look of natural fabrics, I am an avid history buff, especially our early American pioneer history. Those three things brought me to cloth doll making. The pioneer cloth doll made at home was intended to be a toy for a child.  It would have been made with the best sewing skills and made for someone special, so when I make a doll I think of it in the same way as my ancestors.  A doll should be played with, dressed and undressed, hugged, told secrets & be a child's friend.  Every time I make a doll I sincerely hope it gets played with.  Even when one of my dolls is purchased by an adult collector, I suspect their inner child "plays" with that doll!  Some of my dolls have a "mildly" aged look accomplished by using PG Tips, my husbands favorite English tea, it's natural and not harmful to children.   My dolls are "new" American pioneer dolls made the old fashioned way.   I hope they become naturally aged by the process of play, and eventually become a treasured family heirloom.

In the new year I would like to focus on making more Butternuts. They don't represent individuals from my local history but are more reflective of the simple doll probably made by the Ozark pioneers. 

I have a few ideas for Little Missouri, she's eight years old now, and will be taking on more responsibility around the homestead.  She will be getting a new best friend, Leander Kathryn  Butternut.

I would like to have more posts on how I make my dolls, sewing techniques, etc.

I am also giving some thought  to making a couple of Father Christmas dolls.



"Make Do Dolls"
The doll of and Ozark pioneer child would have been made at home by the loving hands of a  Mother, Grandmother or favored Aunt. As unique and creative as the imagination and sewing skill of the maker, these dolls were fine examples of a pioneer woman’s ability to “make do” with the few materials at hand. To my knowledge none of these early Ozark dolls survived the loving attention of their little owners nor the passage of time.............


Like the pioneers I sew my dolls by hand. All that you see on the doll and their clothing is sewn by hand with needle and thread and are my own design. I use 1800's reproduction print fabrics, linen, muslin, cotton and wool. Buttons are antique or vintage bone, shell or wood. Lace and shawls are hand crocheted or vintage finds. Hair is wool or wool yarn & sometimes they have no hair at all! They are stuffed with wool roving. All clothing is removable with hook and eye or tie string closures.  Dolls that have an aged look are tea stained with PG Tips tea, natural and not harmful to children.  Each doll comes with a special wooden tag and is signed and dated on the body.



Thanks to every one that has visited my new blog!!!!!
  I love to hear from you.