Because my friends and family know how I love Dollies, sometimes they will (so thoughtfully!) pick one up for me on their travels near and far. My Dollie collection has grown through the years, and now I have a special set of shelves in my work room devoted to Dollies from around the world!
Last week my dear friend Sara Kutler arrived at the Dollie table with a beautiful hand sewn Dollie from her visit to Jordan. This very special Dollie was created by ladies who are living in the resettlement camps. We passed it around for everyone to take a close look at.
Some of the ladies around the Dollie table asked to see my Dollie collection, so I thought I’d share a few with everyone.
Enjoy!
This is a close-up of the hand sewn Dollie from Jordan. Â Note how delicately sewn the features of her face are.
My husband Bill took to mountain climbing in his 50’s and has traveled all over the world. Â A condition of him being away for weeks at a time on some mountain in the middle of no where, was that he had to bring home a Dollie for me from the country he was in!
These ladies are from his trip to Southern Russia where he climbed Mt. Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe (18,500 feet).
These beauties are from Bill’s trip to Alaska, when he climbed Mt. Whitney (14,500 feet) and was stuck inside a tent for 3 days because of a huge snowstorm.
When we went to Cusco, Peru with some hiking friends to visit Machu Picchu, I’ll admit – for me – the Dollies the many artisans were selling in the markets were as magnificent as the ruins! Â That’s a Dollie lover for you, yes?
On the way home from Peru, we spent a few days in Cartagena, Colombia as we had heard so many good things about this colonial city on the northern part of the Colombia, nestled along the coast. Â It’s beautiful and charming… and really hot!
This “lady with such a nice smile” came home with Bill when he climbed Anconcagua (elevation 23,837 feet), the highest mountain in both the Southern and Western Hemispheres. It is located in the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina and is just east of Chile. I love her painted red nails and fancy boots!
When Bill trekked through Patagonia, he worried that he would finally fail at bringing home a Dollie to me, as the area he was in was so remote and there was not a store to be found.  Lo and behold, his group stopped at a small gas station in the middle of no-where and on the shelves above the cash register were a whole line of the sweetest Dollies … crocheted by the gas station owner’s wife!  It was reported he was jumping for joy and stuffing Dollies into his backpack! 
I couldn’t help but buy a few of these “turn it upside down and it’s another dollie” Dollies sold everywhere in the Caribbean Islands. Â I think these are from Martinique where I spent a few days with some college friends in the middle of a cold Midwestern winter in what seems like 100 years ago!
Bill and I were lucky enough to travel a few years ago with a fitness group to China, where he (not me!) joined more than 2500 other runners from 60 nations on The Great Wall Marathon.  We visited the wall, and specifically the race starting point, the day before to get acclimated. Truth be told, during the actual race the next morning I was perusing the shops in Beijing where I came across these pretty little ladies – so colorful and cheerful!
Finally, a few years ago our daughter had a break in her work schedule and we decided to take a mother-daughter trip somewhere not too far away. Â We decided to go to Antigua, Guatemala, as I had heard it was a lovely colonial city full of artists and crafts and history and good food! Â It was all that and more! Â I found these tiny Dollies in a huge open air market and scooped them up not knowing what I would end up doing with them… only to return home and spend a lazy Saturday creating this collage of our visit.
Thank you for traveling down Dollie Memory Lane with me.
xo Cindy Simon *Â co-founder,Dollies Making A Difference