Tuesday, July 29, 2008

You're a Doll!

I think I'm going to make Tuesdays doll day if enough of you are interested in my collection.

When I worked in the ORU (organized research unit), we were often the university "home" for scholars who came to study at the local gay and lesbian archives. One time we hosted a Fulbright Scholar from Azerbaijan who needed a SSN so the Fulbright people could pay him. I started to explain where he would have to go on public transportation to get to the government office that could help him, and then I just thought, "fuck it, I can take him." So I did. He liked me because I could pronounce his name without apologizing. (See, those two years of Russian came in handy!) Also, I could say Azerbaijan, which is really not that hard to do.
The next day, he brought me this doll. She's about 6" and is "cheap and cheerful," if you can say that about a doll. Her value is in the relationship and memory. Frankly, the fact that he was a straight psychiatrist working to remove the "crazy" from homosexuality in Azerbaijan was enough thanks for me. I call her Zumrud, an Azeri* name meaning emerald.

And, I bring you a cockeyed photo of my stand up finish of my cousin's son's birth sampler. For the longest time, all I had to do was sew the front to the rest of the cube and glue on the cording. I finally did it this weekend. Now to mail...


* I think he was of Russian, rather than Azeri, descent.

7 comments:

Petra said...

Cute doll. Love the baby sampler, it's finished off very nice...beautiful job!

Kendra said...

I'm not a doll collector myself, but I spent lots of time at flea markets and garage sales while my mom was scouting for dolly bargains, so I'm a doll person by association. I'd love to see your collection!

Cute cube!

Anonymous said...

Cute doll, GREAT story :) That's why I have so much clutter - I can't part with anything that has a great story!

Love the baby sampler, too - I have that chart somewhere, I think. Is the finishing a cube or flatfold?

Coni said...

Yes, yes! I vote that you continue sharing your doll collection. Great story!

Lelia said...

I just love dolls -- look forward to seeing more posts. btw, did you see on Monica's blog about a chance to win her rag doll. It was featured in the last issue of Art Doll Quarterly. Post here:
http://girl-gone-thread-wild.blogspot.com/2008/07/power-of-joy.html
I think the drawing is the 30th or 31st. Hurry : )

Michelle said...

Oooh, congrats on finally finishing that one!

Jenna said...

What a cool story behind that doll. It's nice that it will always bring you memories of what sounds like a very open-minded, caring individual. And great job on the stand-up finish! I'm not brave enough to try one of these. My cutting skills just leave a lot to be desired, especially when it comes to 3D objects.