Florence

...........is finally finished! I made her a red wool coat, hat and shoes with feather-stitched details and now she is ready for anything! The coat is meant to have a deep lace frill around the collar, but I am inclined to leave it as it is. The coat pattern was kindly sent to me by Connie Tognoli who researched all her "Columbian" patterns from original dolls. So apart from the possibility that I MIGHT add lace to the collar, this doll is done!
This doll was made for the MAIDA challenge which ends in a few days. Go to the MAIDA site to see all the "Columbian" interpretations.

A Challenge...............

One of the online groups I belong to (Dixie Redmond's MAIDA group: http://maidatoday.ning.com) is hosting a challenge to recreate a version of one of the best-loved early cloth dolls - the "Columbian" dolls of Emma Adams, which were made between 1891 and 1910. Here's what the originals look like:

The dolls had well-designed but simple bodies with flat faces, which were expertly painted by Emma using oil paints. The hair was also painted. There are a few designers out there who have excellent patterns for reproducing these dolls - I used one by Connie Tognoli, which makes a 19" doll. Connie took measurements from actual examples to make her patterns. The doll went together really well, with some interestingly different pattern shapes.

                              My doll is not completed yet, but this is what I've done so far:

             Then I had a bit of a play with Picmonkey to make my doll's face look a bit "aged".

Sometimes a gal's just gotta have a bit of pure FUN!