Another View

Please Meet: Izzy ...

Meet Izzy ...

She stands a full 18" tall

She wears her hair up in a bun.


Her dancing shoes. (She's hoping to attend a ball soon!)

A view of her hips/leg sockets before attaching her legs.

Here she is after felting, stuffing and sewing up.

Here she is next to Samantha, an American Girl doll ... this is to get a better idea of how big Izzy really is!

Well, I worked a lot longer on perfecting Izzy than I had expected I would. She went through many transformations. I tried several faces that looked more like the Izannah Walker dolls, but they just didn't suit her. So, I finally came up with this face, which I think is a little like the face on Bangwell Putt, my favorite doll in a book called The Journey of Bangwell Putt by Mariana.
What do you think of her? I hope you like her. The pattern will be available soon.

Izzy in Progress!

"Izzy," my knitted/felted version of the cloth and wooden 19th-century Izannah Walker doll, is coming along nicely! This is the biggest doll I've ever designed, she measures 18 inches after felting!

Here are Izzy's pieces before felting. (above)

And here are the pieces after felting. They've just been taken from the washer, rinsed, stuffed and shaped.

I used Galway 100 percent wool yarn for the "wooden" parts ... the feet/bottom part of the legs; the hands and bottoms of the arms; the shoulders, neck and head. I used Paton's classic merino in aran for the "muslin" body parts.

Many of the dresses I've seen for the Izannah Walker dolls leave the shoulders bare, as was the style of the day. Of course, that will be my next project ... knitting and felting an appropriate dress for her. Perhaps she should have a string of pearls or beads and some earbobs, as well!

I am planning to make her hair also the style of the day: parted in the middle, pinned up in the back, with ringlets around. She should probably wear some sort of ornament in her hair, also.

After she dries, the fun will really begin! Stay tuned!

Oh ... and for more information on Izannah Walker, try these links: Laurel Leaf Dolls

Izannah Walker Chronicles and the Izannah Walker Journal

Look at the Addition Now!

Move-in date for my dad is on or before September 1!!!

Izannah Walker Dolls

Some dolls are scary. There. I said it.
Come on, you know the ones I'm talking about. Those old, wooden dolls just have a creepy look to them. The porcelain and china dolls can be really frightening. I've always wondered what it was exactly that attracted people to collect them.
One day, while searching the web, I stumbled upon photos of Izannah Walker dolls. At first glance, these dolls are incredibly scary, in my opinion. Of course, they were made over a hundred years ago and those that have survived may not be in the best condition. They do not, I believe, actually have "short" hair, as I thought at first. I think their painted heads actually had been styled in some sort of a period hair style that had ringlets around the face, hair parted in the middle and probably swept up into some sort of a bun or twist. Now, this is just my best guess as a complete newcomer to the Izannah dolls. I am at once rather frightened by them and intrigued at the same time.
While I am working on a couple of long-term projects that I must keep under wraps for now, I think I'm going to try my hand at making a knitted/felted Izannah reproduction!
Here is a great place to learn a little about the dolls and the woman who invented them. Go here

A Great Movie for a Summer Afternoon ...

A friend of mine and I went to the movies this afternoon ... just a spur of the moment ... at 1 p.m. "Want to see the 2 o'clock show?" YES! For once, we both could get away! And it certainly sounded like a movie we both could appreciate (my friend helps take care of her elderly mom) ...

"Mid-August Lunch"

The film is in Italian with English subtitles and is only 1 hour and 15 minutes long. I'll just post a link here and you can read the review and watch the trailer for yourself. BUT let me just say it is about a son who takes care of his elderly mom ... and then is pressed into service to watch three other elderly women. It's a really sweet film and great for a summer afternoon ... only it made me miss my Mom all the more ...

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/455357/Mid-August-Lunch/overview

Unwanted Mocha Has a New Home

I was at Starbuck's today and someone didn't want the Mocha that had been prepared for her. Evidently, the order had been taken improperly. The woman didn't even want this poor Mocha even after her order had been corrected. "You can have this one, too," the clerk offered. "No," the woman replied forcefully, picking up her new coffee and making her way to the door.

So, this Mocha was just sitting there, all by itself. When my coffees were ready, I asked meekly, "So, are you just going to throw that Mocha away?"

The clerk eyed me with marked irritation and replied in a disdainful tone, "You can have it, if you want it."

"Okay," I heartily agreed (without a hint of hesitation, I might add!) "I'll take it." I tried to ignore the fact that I felt vaguely like a beggar. After all, it was just going to be thrown out ... and it was perfectly good.

So, here it is, hours later, and I'm sipping it. It tastes great. Cold and all!