Where are the Dolls?

Where are the dolls, Tamdoll? 

UPDATE 3/23/2024: Check out the newest page added to this website - Tamdoll's Dolls

 

I started this blog to share my dollmaking, but over the years I shared more and more of other crafts, and somehow the dolls took a back-burner on this forum. (Go ahead, check out this doozy from 2006.)

Looking back, when it came to dolls I was either working on my original pattern making, or sewing other folks' designs... but for reasons that I can't recall now - I didn't post much about them here. It's time to fix this.

 

Once upon a time, I did have another site featuring my dolls, but the internet swallowed up that host—snapshots can be seen on the Internet Archive. So, the next series of posts will focus on sharing some of my doll making adventures. 

 

Why now? Well, it has been on my mind lately, but recently spurring me into real action is sadly, the failing health of a magical artist who I have admired since I was a teenager.

 

Over the years I was inspired by many people and things to make dolls, but the most significant of all, the person who got me started, was the artist Elinor Peace Bailey. I recently left this comment on her Facebook Page, prompted by her daughter to share "her impact on doll making".

"Elinor had a significant impact on my doll making, eventually leading me to create and sell my own dolls and patterns. It must have been the 90's when I first saw your mom's dolls on Poly-fil ads. I was smitten from the start and I had never even made a doll before. I learned to sew in my 20's and started making dolls, and eventually found her patterns. I was delighted and awestruck when I called to place an order once and she answered the phone - and she was so down to earth and no-nonsense inspiring - I didn't have any excuses not to get started sewing right away! I always admired how her dolls emanated personality and were so full of color and detail... I made so many of her patterns, read her newsletters and books, and none have ever lost their charm. I was lucky to have met her in person during a doll event in Concord, NH many years ago and to be able to visit with her on screen on Zoom during the pandemic. It's because of elinor that I found joy and meaning in making dolls - it's not just a passing hobby but something that will stay with me forever."

 

In case you noticed... that's not a typo, elinor used lowercase. Here's the Poly-fil ad image I'm talking about - 

Coming up next, posts about the dolls I've made over the years. 

 

Have you ever been inspired by someone so much that they changed your life?

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