I Am Collecting Masks, Too

It's just me, protecting myself before leaving home with one of Misha Yarbrough's masks.

There are so many talented people using their sewing skills to make cloth masks for those of us who are challenged in the area of sewing. Since this past March, I have been buying and faithfully wearing my masks (properly) when I am outside my home. With the most recent cloth-mask purchase from Marilyn Bloodworth was a special surprise mask. Because of that surprise, I decided it would be appropriate for me to share the masks from Marilyn as well as others I have purchased or received this year.

Misha's Masks

Cloth masks by Misha Yarbrough

Misha was the first person from whom I purchased cloth masks. I ordered several from her initially and then ordered some others later to give away. Some of the first ones I ordered from Misha are shown immediately above and I model one immediately below.

Modeling a mask made by Misha Yarbrough—hint: to prevent eyeglasses from fogging up, wear the mask under the glasses, not like I am wearing this one.

Beverly's Masks

Beverly Mouzone used beautiful African wax prints for the masks shown above. I model one of these next.

Isn't it beautiful?

Masks by Goldie Wilson

Intricately decorated, handmade masks by Goldie Wilson

Doll artist Goldie Wilson has made masks as well. I remember her telling me that she made masks for her neighbors. Several months later, I said, "Goldie, I want you to make me some masks." She laughed and asked me why. I told her because I needed some Goldie Wilson masks. Within a week to 10 days, I received the three masks shown above that are fit for a queen. When my husband saw them, he asked, "Where are my masks?" 

Goldie's face covers are so lovely that I took individual photos of them and modeled them as well.

Goldie hand beaded this mask and also added Swarovski crystals! My pictures do not capture the beautifully detailed, time-consuming work required to complete this mask.

This one by Goldie has hand beadwork and Swarovski crystals, too.

The two masks by Goldie shown above have an additional fabric lining with a label attached that reads, "Custom Made Especially for you by Goldie." The label is better illustrated next.

Close-up of Goldie's label.

For this pleated cloth mask, Goldie used the fabric from the Queen of Hearts doll's dress.

 This one reverses to black.

I modeled my Goldie masks below. Again, my photos (these were taken with my cell phone) do not do the masks justice. 

Plus-Size Masks by Marilyn Bloodworth

Masks (face covers) by Marilyn Bloodworth

After I saw Marilyn Bloodworth's Facebook Live video of her plus-size masks made from Kente-print fabrics, I knew these would work well for my bearded husband and son. I ordered the three shown above which arrived swiftly in individually sealed plastic packages.

Thanks to Marilyn, one of my dolls has a mask that matches my husband's.

In the package with the dark green face cover was a gift from Marilyn for one of my dolls. Wasn't that sweet?

To do a size comparison between Marilyn's plus-size masks and a regular-size mask, I took the following photo.

Marilyn's masks are huge and provide full facial coverage from above the nose to well under the chin.

I am modeling the mask I purchased for my husband which extends underneath my chin with room to spare.

Reema Afia by Makedaa Dolls models the surprise gift from Marilyn in this photo with me and again below.

Reema tried to wear the mask underneath her nose, but I told her wearing it that way does no one any good.

Marilyn's surprise gift fits Reema Afia perfectly.

The ear straps on Marilyn's face covers are cloth with a bead on each strap to adjust the fit. If you have a full face or if you have a beard, Marilyn's masks will be perfect. Her masks are also reversible. Mine reverse to the same fabric, but she makes others that reverse to a different fabric. 

Marilyn informed me that she also makes masks and accessories for children and shared the following photographs.

Marilyn's Masks and Accessories of Children

These are just a handful of my cloth face covers. I hope and pray for the day to come when we do not need to wear personal protection from this pandemic.

To contact Misha, Beverly, Goldie, or Marilyn to inquire about or to purchase masks/face covers, send them a message through their Facebook or email links below:

Misha Yarbrough

Beverly Mouzone

Goldie Wilson

Marilyn Bloodworth

Please remain safe so we can all outlive this.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

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In Honor of Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges and her U.S. Marshal escorts

At age 6, a brave little girl, Ruby Nell Bridges, made history after enrolling in a formerly segregated school in New Orleans, LA. Prior to enrollment, Ruby was among other black children whose intellectual competency had been tested to determine if they could compete academically with white children. Ruby passed the test, as did others, but some of the other children's parents did not allow them to "desegregate" white schools. Ruby's parents did.

Upon learning the William Frantz Elementary School was one of the two New Orleans schools to be desegregated, many dismayed white parents removed their children from the school. During the first year at the school, Ruby was the only student in her first-grade class which was taught by transplanted Bostonian, Barbara Henry, as other white teachers refused to have Ruby as a student because of her skin color. Because of the one-on-one teaching she received and the U.S. Marshal escorts to school, initially, young Ruby felt special. Little did she know that adults, incensed over her presence, were the cause of her special treatment. She learned this later.

Born September 8, 1954, Ruby had no idea she was making history the day when she enrolled in first grade. In honor of Ruby Nell Bridges Hall, I am resharing dolls that were made in her honor or were inspired by her act of courage.

Wilma by Mary Moline (1981) is a 10-1/2-inch all-porcelain doll that represents Ruby Bridges as she was captured in the 1963 oil-on-canvas painting, "The Problem We All Live With" by Norman Rockwell.

Destiny is a 12-inch felt doll made by Rachel McCullogh Sherrod of Starkey's Daughter Cloth Dolls.

Ruby B. by Karen Oyekanmi is a 13-1/2-inch all-porcelain doll. Ready for school, she carries a leatherette bag of books.

Ruby Bridges tribute dolls, L-R, Wilma, Destiny, and Ruby B.

Additional Reading
BDHT: The Problem We All Live With
My Destiny
Ruby Bridges by Karen O.
Barbara Henry In Her Own Words
36-inch Ruby Bridges in felt by Karen Oyekanmi

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
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Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
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1959 Madame Alexander Doll Gift From My Cousin

On June 19, 2020, I received this photo and the next in a text message from my cousin, which is captured below the second photo.

From my cousin's photos, I thought the doll was possibly a Madame Alexander Cissy and I looked forward to receiving it. The doll arrived in early July. After spraying the outside of the box with a Lysol-type disinfectant, the box was placed unopened on top of a stack of other unopened boxes. It was late July before I opened the box to discover the well-wrapped, well-preserved doll that is simply marked "Alexander" on the back of the head.

Googling "redhead Madame Alexander 1950s doll" and a combination of other search words related to the doll's physical attributes, I found a photo of a 14-inch Shari Lewis doll dressed similarly. Searching further, I found information about the 21-inch size made by Madame Alexander in 1959 (see the first link under Related Links). The doll is style #2430. Madame Alexander was granted a one-year license to make the 14- and 21-inch versions.

My 21-inch Shari is jointed in the usual five places. In addition, she has jointed knees. She still wears her original pearl earrings but is missing her pearl necklace. She also has the original pink fabric floral adornment to her hair that matches the flowers at the waist of her skirt. Her blouse and skirt are original. She arrived with one original stocking and gold shoe (not shown in my cousin's photos, but these are captured in one of my photos below).

Before taking her to my husband for restringing, I removed the clothes, surface washed the doll without getting the hair wet, covered the fabric flowers in the hair with two hair clips, wrapped the head with plastic wrap, placed the skirt of the dress flat, spot cleaned a couple of areas of the skirt, and placed two old-fashioned cast irons on several areas of the skirt to smooth out wrinkles without using heat. I feared using a heated iron would damage the delicate fabric.

My Initial Photos

After opening the box, I undressed the doll and took this first photo.

The gold metallic tulle lace dress has rose brocade ribbon trim at the neckline, bodice, and sleeves. I spot cleaned two small brown spots that removed easily with a damp cloth.

Her original yellow nylon slip, taffeta panties, one gold shoe, and one stocking are shown here.

A few areas of the skirt of the dress were wrinkled. I placed two cast irons over the wrinkled areas for a few days, moving them to different wrinkled areas as necessary. The weight of the cast irons helped smooth out the wrinkles. Steaming would work better.

After Cleaning

After washing all vinyl parts with mild soap and drying with a towel, I placed the doll on a hand towel for a day to allow all parts to air dry.

To prevent damage to the cloth flowers that adorn the upswept portion of her hair, I clamped two hair clips around the flowers.

I was worried that my husband might crush the flowers during the restringing process. So I protected the flowers with hair clips before asking him to do the restringing and without letting him know why the clip was in the hair.

To keep her hair in place, I wrapped plastic around the entire face and head before the restringing was done.

Restrung and Dressed

Shari Lewis poses proudly after the restringing was completed.

Shortly after the doll's shipping box was opened and I measured and identified her, I purchased new stockings from an eBay seller (see link under related links) and a pair of replacement shoes from another source.

The new stockings fit perfectly.

After putting the stockings on the doll, the original undies were replaced.

The elastic at the waist of the panties is stretched. As a quick fix, I folded the waist in the back. It is held in place with a piece of Scotch tape.

As I was preparing to put the half slip on the doll, I saw the tagged Madame Alexander label that includes the doll's name, Shari. I wasted time googling to determine her name when it was right under my nose all the while.

The yellow nylon slip has tulle underneath at the hemline.

Because the elastic is stretched at the waist of the slip, with the doll wearing it, I gathered the elastic in two places in the back and tacked it in place.

Shari now wears the original blouse, slip, undies, and new stockings.

Now she has on the skirt.

This photo illustrates the pink satin sash and the pink fabric flowers that embellish the waist of the dress.

The plastic wrap has been removed from her face and head. As illustrated, she has beautiful facial coloring and clear eyes.

The flowers that accent her hair can be seen in this photo. I added a hairpin on either side of the upswept section to lift it to the original position.

Shari will wear a pair of old store stock gold high-heels until a replica of her original elasticized shoes can be found.

Fully Dressed in Final Photos

Shari, a 21-inch vinyl doll by Madame Alexander has been restrung and dressed.

She poses here looking forward.

In this photo, she must be looking for her missing hand puppets Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Blue Dog.

Whose Doll Was It Anyway?

In her text, my cousin indicated the doll was probably her older sister's doll. This most likely is true since the younger of the three of us (the cousin who gave the doll to me) was born in 1958. That year her sister, Michelle, was five and probably six if she received the doll in 1959. Always mature for her age, my aunt probably felt she was old enough to take care of the doll. During the countless times I spent days, overnight, or weeks during the summer with my favorite cousins at the house on Caillet Street, I don't recall seeing this doll. I do recall Chatty Cathy and other doll friends that attended our tea parties where we used water for the tea we sipped from Michelle's child-size porcelain tea set.


About Shari Lewis

Born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz, Shari Lewis was an American puppeteer, ventriloquist, and children's entertainer. She had her own TV show from 1960 to 1963. I enjoyed seeing Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop on Captain Kangaroo. Later, I watched the Shari Lewis Show and enjoyed seeing Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop on several other shows in guest appearances during the early to mid-1960s. While I quickly outgrew Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, she continued performing until the 1990s. On August 2, 1998, Lewis succumbed to complications of viral pneumonia following a hysterectomy to treat uterine cancer.

Related Links

21-inch Shari Lewis - Worthpoint

Shari Lewis doll documented in the 1959 Madame Alexander catalog.

Stockings, tights, undies, leggings, etc. for dolls at Dollsecrets

Interesting Facts about Shari Lewis

Shari Lewis (Wikipedia)

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!