What a Doll!

I can’t sew. Oh, I can do a mean running stitch but that’s about it.  Good thing that’s the only stitch that my soutache jewelry asks of me most of the time.

Trying to sew using a sewing machine is, for me,  like solving a difficult algebraic problem.  I can’t sew. There, I said it again. And forget quilting  - is IS rocket science to me.  So when I meet someone who can sew and quilt, my internal dialogue goes something like this: “OMG, she can sew. I wish I could sew. I could try. Or not. I can’t sew. OMG she can sew.”

That’s exactly what went through my head when I saw these adorable dolls that Jacklyn Colmenares-Zapatos makes.  Jacklyn loves to quilt and she used to make them to give away to friends before her son was born.  After having her son, she made more quilts for him and a niece and, as any crafter will tell you, those bits of unused fabric and quilt squares you just cannot bear to throw away WILL pile up. Which is exactly what Jacklyn discovered.

What to do, she must have asked herself.  Since you can't keep a creative person from coming up with a creative solution, I.am.handmade was born.

Jacklyn turns her excess fabric from quilts and other sewing projects into these one-of-a-kind cloth dolls that I personally think are better looking than all those dolls you can get at the stores (yeah - the kind that look like they had a ton of make up slathered on them).  They're decidedly whimsical, a throw-back to the days when everything was simple and when a doll was a little girl's very first BFF and not a mini-mannequin to dress up in the latest fashion. The fact that they are made out of rescued and recycled material makes them all the more appealing -- I keep thinking that each one of these little babies has a story to tell about how they were put together if only I can be quiet for a while and listen really close. 

A working mom, Jacklyn juggles her time between caring for her family, her job and creating these little beauties.  She usually doesn't sketch out her designs and instead prefers to let the materials "talk" to her and tell her how they want to look like when done.  That way, Jacklyn says, she has the freedom to change things up and make something totally different when the mood hits her - which means that you can expect her to come up with some quirky yet adorable stuff like these -

Or fun little critters like these -

She also makes dolls with hand-painted faces like this little lady over here -

And of course, there's always, ALWAYS a diva in the pack.  She's my favorite (why do I tend to gravitate to the divas? lol) Here she is - decked out in all her finery -

So between a waxen-faced, stiff-limbed mass manufactured doll, I'd really rather have these to give to my nieces.  I might even keep one for myself.  So I'm going to head over pronto to I.am.handmade's Facebook page and visit her newly opened shop on Etsy too.  Or maybe I'll go visit her booth at the Alabama Art Fair on April 14 and 15 and "visit" with these little girls for a while, listen to their stories about how they were put together, and pick the one with the mostest in diva attitude. I suggest you do the same. :-)