Inside The Clutter Of My Mind

(Long Post, girls - you might want to save me for last)


Hi, Prim Friends- 
I've been encouraged by the numerous posts from fellow bloggers about them taking time to think about and do the things that they love.
Do you ever see patterns, fabrics, books, etc., and
just have to have them? And then you don't know what to do first? Or worse, like me, forget that you
even have all of these things unstarted? Well, I've
realized that I could do this the rest of my life and
that's just silly. So I had to pick (and it was really
difficult) just two mediums to concentrate on and
to actually make something.  I don't know how it's going to play out with my physical disability but
I'm going for it!
I see from my 'stash' that my passion lies with all
things fabric, so I chose to begin with cross stitching a sampler, which I did a lot of years ago, and to do
something brand new and a real challenge, which is
trying to make my own version of an Izannah Walker inspired doll:

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The sampler I chose to start with is from an original
1732 miniature band sampler stitched by a woman
named Dorothy Allen, Ethan Allen's cousin. I live not far from the Vermont border and I love history
about the Revolutionary War, so I decided to start
with this sampler. Plus, it's the easiest one in the book! 
The reason they are called band samplers is due to the fact that 16th and 17th century looms did not weave fabric any wider than 9 inches in width. In the 18th century the looms could weave a wider piece of cloth.  But the earliest samplers , English as well, were stitched on narrow, long 'bands' of linen.
When finished, this sampler will be only 3 7/8 x
six and 1/2 inches. Dorothy also omitted the letters
U and J and spelled 'samplar' instead of sampler, all three being common for samplers stitched in this time.
Also, her numbers are not marked and stitched in straight lines, she used them in the date, her age and at the bottom with her 'pine trees'.
This book was a treasured gift from my sweet
Mr. Glen Oaks. I have wanted the book FOREVER and I can't believe I finally have it. Another thing that I had wanted to do but never had the money for was to take Dixie Redmond's Izannah Walker Work-
shop online class. Well, Mr. G.O.P. did it again, he
got me the next best thing, Dixie's eBook in PDF:

Unfortunately I can't show you anymore of the
Izannah book like I can of the samplers. This is
Dixie's own book and I don't have permission to
share online.  I also got some patterns for gifts by
another talented artist that I have wanted forever,
Gail Wilson, a published doll maker. She and Dixie
have both been in Early American Life's Directory of Artisans. Wow, these ladies are awesomely talented.
Here is Gail's pattern for an Izannah Girl and Boy doll pair:

Sorry, Mr. Glen Oaks Jr. scanned for me and it went the other way. I also have her pattern for the perfectly round head Columbian Style Doll:

There, that's the right way! Now, Dixie's workshop
takes you through the clay sculpted face and
shoulderplate over cloth doll method. I'm not sure I'm ready for that, so I'm going to start with the
Izannah Pattern above. I will make the girl first and
hopefully the boy will follow. I love to see dolls in pairs of boy and girl. They are usually one or the other sold singly. And to make sure that it's goof proof, Gail includes vellum transfers for the eyes and the curls in the hair that Izannah was known for. I also have the 'cheek pouncer' to make Gail's perfect feathered cheeks. And a set of her oil colors that she mixes for the flesh tone and the other features. And I've got her own blend of antiquing wax for the final step. I don't know, gals, can I do it?
I still have to learn the needle felting dog that Joyce and dear Prudence sent to me. See, I'm cluttered in the head again...
I'm planning on reading where I left off with Dixie's book, I always read through whatever I'm going to make before I start, just like a cooking recipe. The eBook is large so it's going to take a while. The boys are all sick here (cats included), the little guy brought the germs with him from his little sister back in New York. So it's slowly creeping through to the mister and I have a twinge of it. Mostly just a piercing headache over my left eye and temple. They are horribly congested in the chest and head. The coughing is bad, I am trying to avoid them as best I can since I was just sick for weeks. Ugghhh... kids are little germ vessels, poor things.  
I'm going to share some history on samplers with you and I didn't forget about the excerpts from my old cookery book. The boys went to the fish market for dinner items, I hope they have tilapia. This is day two of my weight loss healthy eating plan. It will be broiled fish with a dash of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of bread crumbs and capers, rice pilaf and a salad. This healthy eating ain't bad!
Later, primmies -
Susan