Dolls

The kind of doll I wanted most as a child was one that looked like a real baby. I would've adored having this one.
And I did have her, but not until I bought her when I was in my forties. She now belongs to my great-niece.
I more than made up for my childhood deprivation with a huge collection of dolls. About five years ago I began gifting a special doll to each of the girls, old and young, in my family.

This French doll went to my great-niece when she was nine years old.
She very much wanted an American Girl doll with all the accessories that her family could not afford to buy. If there had been one in my collection it would've been hers. I included more clothes with accessories. These are three that I had designed and made.

Also included was that chair in the above photo plus a lot of other "stuff" I had collected for dolls.
This limited edition art doll is the last doll added to my collection. She was gifted to a grown up niece who is seriously collecting dolls.
The foundation of her collection is the dolls I had dressed and gifted to her throughout her childhood. No little girls in my family went without.

PS: One excuse for, or result of, my doll collecting was writing two books about smocking for dolls that featured patterns I had designed. Here is one of them:
The pattern I had made for the doll on this cover was also published as "Allison's Dress", a multiple sizes pattern for real girls.