Star of Texas Rug Camp

I had the wonderful experience of leading a class of rug hookers for a week at star camp here in Fredericksburg. They all came home for lunch with me one day. The rest of the time we were all busy working on a room full of exciting rugs, with color reverberating back and forth as we sought ever more beautiful combinations. My classes are never really about technique, but about effective color.
Even so we managed to start one brand new person off in the craft and to meet each person at the point they were on the rug crafting journey. Many of the women in the group are far more experienced than I am in making gorgeous rugs, so they just blew us all away!
There were over 110 people at the camp, with 7 teachers plus administrative folks. I enjoyed time to get to know the rest of the instructors better, and appreciate everyone's warm help. A beautiful event I was grateful to be part of. e

Antique study group meeting

There was such a pretty party for our meeting today, and the subject is dear to my heart, everyone brought children's clothing of the past for show and tell. I took my big doll Susan in her little boy's red dress. She is a darling Tom boy in red with her blond curls. Everyone brought something charming, most a batch. The only garment there really old enough for my 19th century dolls to wear was a dear brown calico wrapper or dressing gown, lined in another pleasing brown calico print. Sweet old buttons. And at the end, the wonderful surprise is that the owner of the dress, our friend of over 25 years, GAVE me the dress for my doll family! Antiques, good company, beautiful foods, a table covered in a 10 ft antique woolen paisley, Altogether a lovely day! (I also took my little welcome rug in doll size, finished now. Worked on a size 6 cut.) pictures soon. Thank you for all the nice comments on the small rugs. e

Little hooked rugs

Some of the sweetest things in my doll collection are the wonderful furniture pieces my husband has made over the years. To go with them I have made a number of doll size rugs. Having lost the first ones, I am making some more, and find these small pieces easier on my hands than heavier rugs in real size. Above see the small whale and the little house rug both made some time back, and the little Hadley Welcom rug just now begun. It is about 9 inches tall to give you an idea of scale. I am having fun with this! By the way for those of you who know Penny, she is in Maine on an island sailing with friends and doing all kinds of fun things this week! e

A favorite mold for china and mache doll heads

Many times dolls were made in the same mold for either a china finish or a bisque, often parian untinted bisque. Sometimes too, we see the same mold used for china and mache. Such is the case for this one. Several examples of huge china heads in this mold are in Art of Dolls by Merrill.
Pictured in a chair is a huge doll, with an 11 inch tall shoulder head. This mold always has a sleepy eye on the doll's left eye. Abby is shown here in a great comb back rocker in the red cape. This mache head in this size was in Gerkin's book on maches. It is owned in a blond version by the Shelburne museum. It has been found and documented in one of the doll books as having a Superior label from Muller and Strausberger. This doll I called "Abby" has gone to live with Rachael K. The little dashes under the eyes, so typical of M and S superiors further confirm her origin. I now own lovely little "Hannah" a 9 1/2 to 10 inch tall mache shoulder head which I plan to sew a new body for. Her good old cloth hands are still intact and will stay with her. Can you see the same sleepy left eye? It is also on the painted eye china head doll beside Hannah in one picture. A doll of this mold is in the Richard Wright auction coming up soon. Now here is the puzzle: The mache heads are documented and beyond a doubt by Muller and Strauseburger. But the china heads are attributed to Kloster Vielsdorf, as stated and pictured on page 125 of Mary Krombholz's new book on chinas. I wish I could ask her and learn more about this mold! In either China or mache they are unusual finds. Edyth

A Message in a Shoe!

I started to put a shoe on the dolly I made the body for yesterday, and inside was folded a brown and torn scrap of paper. The paper itself was a bank deposit slip, from German American Bank, St Paul MN, dated 188blank for 1880 something. The lines for you to record your deposit included gold, silver, currency and checks. The slip was not used for that purpose, but contained an ink message in fine old script, "shoes that I wore when a baby" Mary Mc. I have carefully placed the pieces in a part of an archival photo album page to keep in my doll family scrap book. The doll may get the name of Mary.
Here she sits on my bed. I am making a big effort to get my dolls dressed. One of the first things I see each morning is this trio of big dolls atop a black highboy in my bedroom. I have many large dolls that want small girl's cotton dresses, prints preferred, These are big 35 and 36 inch dolls I need dresses for. If any one has any early cotton ones to sell, I would love to hear about it. Also I have a small perfect pink toned covered wagon china head, very very nice, that I would trade for a very special dress. Photos and measurements exchanged. This is a head not a doll.

--
Edyth

A very large steiff cow came our way. Jack named her Moolah, because she seemed a bit pricey with all the mending she has, including teddy bear like ears which I may find better fabric for later. She now is somewhat cleaner, and has her eyes resewn and her new felt horns, not as white as the photo looks. We are watching for a turkey bell, which is shaped like a cow bell only smaller. I will also watch for an old blue silk ribbon to go around Moolah's neck. I know a serious plush collector would not consider her a treasure, but I am delighted with her. Two of my dolls have already claimed her. Moolah is about 16 inches tall and 24 inches long, a big toy!

Had a letter from a friend long missed

Helen it is wonderful to see you posting again, oh how I have missed you my friend, but would not for the world have you use your hand in pain.
We are fine, as are all our chicks, I am sore all over from scrubbing out the cabinets and digging in the new yard, (more of the yard work at Courtney in the morning early) Thank you for pleasant words on the house, it can be viewed at
http://609courtney.blogspot.com/
Yes I can see where to put our jugs up high and hang baskets and paint Rufus Porter scenes on the wall. What I cannot see is how to ever fit our still growing collection into the 1670 sq feet. No way. We will hold on here as long as we can reasonably do so, which might be for the duration. I document my antique dolls in notebooks for the good of whomever may have to sell them someday, or just want to know more about them, and I passed doll number 101 last week.
A new book, a pictorial reference for German china dolls by Krombholz came today and I must say it is one of my top favorites already! The dolls are certainly not all repetitious for those of us who have Mary's other books, (I have 3 others) and the presentation is awesome.
Fun to see my new parian in the book. I am one who will buy a doll for beauty and appeal and rarity, and too bad if she is damaged, so long as I know it and the price reflects condition. When I began collecting, condition was certainly important, particularly the degree of originality, but I did not become aware of the real stigma on damaged dolls until the 90's. However I will say that any break on the face is unacceptable to me, and a speck off the end of a nose is terrible indeed, and still... there is an adorable brown eyed Sophia Smith china in my sewing basket who simply delights me, and she has a tiny roughness on the tip of her nose! She is the little flat shoulder type from an early wooden body and dear! So I often make a plea for flexibility on condition, again if known and priced for it.
When are you coming to Fredericksburg!!??? Love, Edyth