Cleaning Out

How do you part with a lifetime passion and art form that fills a 13 room two story 1844 Stone House in an Historic District and community you have lived in for forty eight years? Lew and Bonnie Watters are cleaning out a "doll factory" that includes all the sewing materials starting with fabrics, yarns, trims, buttons, snaps, ribbons, lace, thread, stuffing, and yes a sewing machine too.

We began making it know to friends and neighbors that our move out day was closing in faster and faster. A call comes in from a Green Mountain Union High School teacher who is looking for materials to teach a year end quilting class. Soon, Rebecca and Michelle are here with empty bags packing up yards and yards of colorful calico fabrics. Lucky sewing students will now have just the right color, design or theme to learn how to create beautiful and memorable art with needle and thread, and at least one sewing machine in good working condition.

Still remaining are Lew's graphic design Mac computers filled with thousands of original doll images, PDF files, pattern templates, and sewing instructions for hundreds of dolls. These are organized across several hard drives, external drives, memory sticks, and yes, even CDs.

We continue to look for a student intern to help organize all the doll materials, files, patterns, and instructions for storage until we find the right museum to preserve and share her incredible legacy for future generations to enjoy and create.