SARAH VAN ALSTYNE COLE
4/12/1898-11/22/1991
After my dear Grandmother passed away,I was given some of her clothing "to do with as I saw fit." I had cared for 'Grandma C' during the last year of her 93 years. We had become close during that year, and I didn't have the heart to part with anything that was a part of her. I placed the bag in my closet for safe keeping.
With Christmas only a few weeks away, I knew this was going to be a sad Christmas for my family. I wanted to do something special. But what? I looked at the poodle my 'Grandma K' made for me when I was a child. It was yellowed with age, and was quite pathetic looking, but it was one of my most cherished possessions because SHE made it just for ME!
That's it! I'll make something! But what? With what? Then I thought, 'you're never to old for dolls!' So, I went to a store and found some 'Barbie' look-a-like dolls but, they didn't sell fabric! What to do? I looked through my closet for something I could use to dress these dolls when I came across the bag of Grandmothers's clothes. Perfect! What a lovely idea! So I dressed the dolls in Victorian style useing my Grandmother's clothes and gave them to family members. Needless to say, they are cherished. This was the birth of my 'Keepsake' dolls!
Over the years I have dressed many dolls from items of clothing I had saved. I would add music boxes and sentimental mementos. Thus creating a priceless posession. I have many people ask me to make a doll for them out of a cherrished memento of their loved one that held special meaning to them including 'mother's sweater' and 'daughter's high- chair cushion'. One woman asked me to make nine dolls out of her clothing to be given to her family 'to remember her by'.
Unfortunately, I don't have photographs of all the dolls I have made. But, I have put together a delightful presentation of the ones I do have for you. So, with out further ado, here is my original 'Keepsake' doll colection!
