The Last Doll Show of 2026

   After trying to decide if I wanted to bother, Ken and I went to the last doll show of the season last weekend. It's a fair sized one. It's held at a sports center, and unfortunately carpeted with very thick astro turf, which is very difficult to push a wheelchair through. I have to say though, without having Ken's wheelchair to lean on I probably couldn't have made it around the show. My back has been getting increasingly bad lately, and I find I need something to lean on to spend any amount of time walking around most of the time. I recently had a back x-ray, and other than the arthritis I suspected, I was informed that I have a herniated disc. It's only a stage one though, so supposedly it can heal. It also explains the trouble I've been having with my hip and leg for the last million years. I am set to start  physical therapy. I don't see things improving though. I have to take care of Ken, which involves tugging him up from some seated positions, and up the stairs to get in  and out of the house, and also there is a lot of bending and lifting in my life. All are things people with herniated discs aren't supposed to do. I hope there is some solution though, because I have been telling Ken that I can't cope with this constant pain any more. I never even take anything for a headache, so if I'm ready to take something for this pain so I can function, you know it's bad. You might have noticed I don't do much doll photography any more, and most of what I do is not very arty. That's because I can't get down on the ground to doll level any more. Well, I might get down there, but getting back up is another story.

  In any case, here are some pictures from the show. It seems like a lot of pictures, but it would have been way more if my phone hadn't stopped taking pictures somewhere around halfway through. Ken wants everyone to know that he had solutions for me, that I wouldn't take because I'm paranoid something might get deleted off my phone. I also could have gone back to the car, which I had to park way at the other end of the parking lot because all the handicapped spots were full, and get my other phone, but my pain said no. So there are still plenty of pictures, but I usually feature Wendy L Creations and Bristol Park Studios. Both were there, and both had some really great stuff. Unfortunately my phone had stopped taking pictures before I came across either of them. If you're interested in seeing their marvelous creations, you can find WendyL Creations on Facebook and Instagram, and Bristol Park Studios on Etsy and Facebook, by clicking these links. 

  I always start at the side of the show where I enter the room. I realized that I usually buy most of the things I buy on the other side of the room. So I decided to start over there this time. The first thing I spotted that really drew my interest was on the first side though, so I made an exception. I headed straight for this girl.

She's Freckles by Uneeda. She was made in 1962, just like me! (Okay. If you want to get technical, I was made in 1961, but I was born in 1962!) I have been wanting one, and this one had bright orange hair! 

And teeth!

But she was a very big girl, and $30. The price was good for her, but she's so big. I've been trying not to buy anything very big these days. I think Freckles came in three sizes, the smallest being 12 inches and the biggest, which I think was this girl, was 32 inches tall. So she was gorgeous, just what I have been wanting, but I walked away!

 Well, not completely away. I did buy something from this dealer, but it was small! I'll show you everything I bought in an upcoming post.

  The same dealer also had this Old Cottage doll. He was beautiful, but more than I wanted to spend. Sorry the picture is blurry, but he was so cute I wanted to show him anyway.

  The dealer also had this wooden lady. She was very nice.

  And continuing with this dealer, this boudoir doll had a lot of personality. 

    I was very tempted by this guy.

He is the very model of a modern major general.

You know I love those little German dollhouse dolls. This little guy is dressed as a Russian.

  I might have shown this girl in a previous show post too. Hey. I like what I like. I'm consistent.

These felt dolls were cute.

This set of wooden peg dolls was nice, but expensive. I want the tiny one.

 

  Here are some pretty girls. The Mary Hartline on the right is a little scary looking!

The middle girl is very cute, but look at that Kewpie kid!

  This cute cloth doll was only $5. In previous times I would have been tempted beyond being able to refuse her.

  This piano baby had the crazy eyes!!

She looks like she just fell off a wagon and was saying, "Excuse me! You just dumped me here! Come back."

  This lady was very colourful.

  More cute kids.

  I must like this lady. I realized I photographed her at a previous show. Hey! Maybe Freckles will be at the show in the Spring...

  This little girl is quite realistic.

  These rod puppets by Loutky were cool, and they had their original box.

If you've ever read the Doll People books, maybe you will see Tiffany Funcraft in a couple of these puppets too.

  I loved these dolls. Such pretty, shiny faces. I think the one in the big hat is Deanna Durbin.

  I know I photographed the lid of this doll's box, but it didn't show up. The doll was about 6 inches tall. I thought the face was very familiar. I saw another doll at the show, a big, full sized doll, with this face. I was a Tonner, but this one wasn't.

  This dealer had several Kish dolls, including Creamsicle Lark! That's one of my unobtainable grail dolls! She was $150, which is why she's unobtainable. I didn't realize she was so big. and I had forgotten that she's jointed. The dealer wasn't taking very good advantage of that fact in displaying her.

 I loved these cute felt faced dolls.

  These Irish dolls were also very much my thing.

  Here's another Kewpie looking kid.

  The dealer with the dolls that had been donated to a museum was there again. She had these dolls.

   She also had this doll, made of cut paper.

  She also had this canoe full of the Lewis and Clark expedition. (And Dilbert.) I went to school with a girl who though Sacajawea's name was Sackjaws. These dolls would have gone well in my collection of cloth dolls from Colonial Williamsburg and children's books. Remember that reference for an upcoming post.

  These were fairly large dolls, being about 12" and 14" tall.  

She had this beautiful set of wooden furniture for an 8 inch or so doll. I would have loved to have it, (Don't need it!) , but her prices were so high on the dolls that I didn't even bother to ask how much it was.

 

There were some bisque dolls.

  

  This tiny lady with a spun cotton head was a Christmas decoration.

  These cute wooden dolls were by Renault. They remind me a lot of Lotte Sievers Hahn dolls. 

  A couple of tall girls.

  More Deanna Durbins.

  There were quite a few dolls at the show like the two flanking the blonde Shirley Temple look alike. I can't remember the name of that doll.

 A couple of chunky kids. The one reminds me of a dark haired John Candy.

  I'm not sure if these two were meant to be twins, or if the dealer just happened to have two of the same doll.

 This girl has Princess Leia buns.

  This guy was vey sweet, and a bit Hummelish.

 

 The last thing I photographed before the phone pooped out was this doll.

  I have talked many times about the Susie Slicker I had as a kid. I loved my big eye dolls. I would have had this doll in a heartbeat if I had found her as a kid...or even now! If only she weren't more than I could spend! She's the Black version of Susie Sad Eyes, and her name is Soul Sister. I knew they existed, but I've never seen one in person before.

  Well, that's it for the last doll show of the year. Maybe my back will get fixed and I'll feel more like going to shows and taking more interesting photos again! In an upcoming post we'll see what I bought at this show.

Doll Show Haul Part 1: Lotte Sievers Hahn Boy and a Lovely Lady

   As usual, I am behind in things. I haven't shown you what I got at the doll show yet. I didn't get many things, since I was trying to be good, both with money and space. I was trying to make it all the way around the show before I bought anything, because I had a limited budget and you never know what you might find farther on. (Of course, you risk it not being there when you go back for it too.)  But I found this beautiful little guy for only $10. I had to snap him up!

  He's a Lotte Sievers Hahn doll. You may have seen my others HERE, HERE, and HERE. This guy is a different size from any of my others. Most of the Lotte dolls I have are 5 inches tall. I also have two 8 inch ladies. This guy is somewhere in between, at about 6 inches.

  Lotte Sievers Hahn dolls are made in Germany. The company is very well known for their carved wooden nativities. Like the other Lotte Sievers Hahn dolls I have, he's carved from limewood, with hand oil painted eyes and mouth.

  He originally had a hat. I don't mind him being hatless though. I can always make him a felt hat. 

  His clothes are felt and his hair is what I would call embroidery floss.

    His clothes are made of felt.

 

    The arms on these dolls lift up, but can't hold the pose. 

The originals had strips of leather that connected the arms to the shoulders. I don't know what they use these days. Yes, they are still making these dolls. While my others are probably from the 1940's, I think this guy is recent.

    They have 'mitten hands'.

  Their legs are pin jointed at the hips, so they can move their legs and sit down.

  Isn't he sweet?! I fell in love with these dolls the first time I saw them on line. That's when I bought the batch of little ones. The dealer I got this one from always has very beautiful and interesting dolls. They're mostly very expensive, and often museum quality dolls. She had this little guy, and two Lotte Sievers Hahn finger puppet girls. The girls were tiny, and looked brand new. They were only $10 each too, and I would have loved to have had them. But as I said, I was being good. I had a limited budget for the day, so I had to be choosey too.  

  After I got this guy I didn't get anything for quite a way around the show. I looked, but passed things I liked. I was trying to see everything before I spent my money. That's a good idea in one way, but on the other hand, if there's something you can't live without, you'd better get it, because it may not be there by the time you get back to it. The next thing I bought was quite a way farther on, and it was only a dollar. It's a pretty, antique, real baby dress.

  Don't ask me what I'm going to do with all these antique baby dresses I keep buying. I probably have some dolls they'll fit.

  The next thing I bought I actually passed, and got on my second trip around, not long before I left. I went all the way around, having only spent $13. (I paid $2 for a doll so I could steal the jeans for Tammy World.) Then I decided to go back for one doll, and all my reserve began to crumble. Here's the lady that started it all.

  I just loved  all the colours and her outfit, and her cute face.

  Look at those chubby cheeks!

  Her hair is still nice, but the feather in her hat has seen better days.

  I just kept thinking how much I liked her, and would I regret not getting her? I also kept remembering a doll from a previous show that I didn't get, and how I wished I had. In looking back to find a picture of that doll in an older post, I found that she was THIS doll! Not even one like her, but. her The bent apron corner clinches that. This is her. She was the one that got away, and I caught her this time!

  She's quite old. I think she belonged to the dealer's mother. I might be remembering that wrong. They had tables full of travel dolls, from all over the world. They were trying to sell the collection. They were selling the dolls for very cheap prices. Some were worth much more than they were charging, but the wife said she didn't care. They just wanted to get rid of them.

 

She has stuffed felt arms, and they do move.

And her felt shoes come off!

  She's possibly a  Piemonte doll. Does anybody know? 

Well, that's it for this time. I'll show you what else I gave into in an upcoming post.