Edith Flack AckleyEdith Flack Ackley Wengenroth Born :June 6, 1887 t o November 28, 1970 residence: Greenport, Suffolk, NY
Edith Flack Ackley a legend now and in her own time.
Dedicating remembrance here on my blog to one of my favorite cloth doll makers Edith Flack Ackley.
Edith Flack Ackley a cloth doll designer and maker. Inspiration to cloth dollmakers now, past, and future generations yet to come.
In the early 1900's Ackley studied portrait painting after finishing high school.Following the death of her husband she gave it up for marionette making which provided the subject for an early book
"Marionettes Easy to Make Fun to Use"
In 1936 she met and married Stow Wengenroth an artist lithographerrenouned for his beautiful prints of the New England coast.
During her life time Edith Flack Ackley made hundreds of dolls...all cloth stuffed with cotton.She took great pride in her dolls and encouraged others to make dolls for fun or profit as well.
During the 1920's and 1930's, many artists and crafts people published books and patterns for making rag dolls. In 1934 Edith Flack Ackley released doll kits which included unbleached muslin
Edith Flack Ackley's ~1934 Magazine Pattern~Lovely CHRISTMAS DOLL~"FOR A LITTLE GIRL'S CHRISTMAS"..prepared expressly for the Readers of Woman's Home Companion Magazine
with the doll pattern stamped on the fabric, along with instructions and patterns for the doll's clothing.This doll was to have yarn hair and embroidered features. The kit was offered through the magazine Woman's Home Companion.Ackley had several different books published during her lifetime. She wrote several childrens books along with her daughter Teckla Ackley and was also an accomplished poet.
Edith Flack Ackley sure touched my life in a big wonderful way.
I have been creating many different types and styles of cloth dolls over the years. Each doll has been a true joy to create and to see it come to life, Each one taking on it's own personalitie...But there still isn't the magic and yesteryear feeling you get when creating a EFA cloth doll.
I have been collecting EFA books, and I really love my doll book library
Some of her books : Paper Dolls _ Their History and How To Make Them; A Doll Shop of Your Own; Marionettes Easy to Make and Fun to Use; Dolls To Make For Fun and Profit.
Every Year for the last 5 years I make a EFA coth doll for our own personal Christmas. It has become a Christmas Tradition
I usally create them in a historic style, Victorian, or Civil War era
neither words I haven't done a christmas theme yet,But as I work on this years 2008 Christmas I'm thinking of dressing her in a early 1900's era Christmas,
Seems I have also started a spring tradition of creating EFA just for spring..
Here is one of my real vintage EFA type cloth dolls,I bought just as you see her..I have ordered real vintage 1930's fabric and I just can't wait to get it get and dress her..isn't she a sweet heart..as I hold her I think of the woman who made her..wonder what she was thinking, was it her little girl she was making her for for? Think of the 70yrs plus of history this little doll has seen..Below are some links to others who love EFA dolls and their own creations.also there is a smalll but wonderful group on yahoo
Click to join edithflackackleydolls
2 comments:
Thank you so much for your tribute to Edith! She definitely was a pioneer in our wonderful world of doll making, wasn't she! Hope you are doing well...Hugs-Susan
Sherrie, I just love this blog.. I learn something new everytime I click that little ole button that says sympletymes... I love everything about this blog.. It is so full of whimsy, fun, interesting facts and wonder...so having said that please come by I have presented you with and award. :)
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