Dotti Stowell

Owner: Miniature Stitches

Hello Doll and Miniature Enthusiasts!

Claude, my husband, and I recently celebrated our 50 anniversary. We have 2 boys and a girl, 4 grandsons, 1 grand daughter, and two great grandchildren. But, alas, I have no one to play dolls with. My daughter grew up playing with trucks with her brothers. My granddaughter is only so so interested and now that she is a teenager, other interests abound! The first great grandchild, of course, was a boy and the second is still too small to play. So fellow doll lovers, I look to you for support!

I've lived in Florida for nearly 40 years. Claude was active duty Air Force and retired there so we just stayed. We always had a small mutiny whenever we would mention moving to the kids, who were then in junior and senior high school. So we remained in Destin until it just became too crowded and we got tired of running away from the hurricanes. Utah became our home at this point. It’s a beautiful state and I really enjoyed having four seasons for the first time in over 40 years, I had my first white Christmas and shoveled snow for the first time. I really enjoyed the years we spent there. But now, we are back in Florida and in our old house. Destin is still crowded and the hurricanes still come, but for now it is home.

I have received a variety of training with many organizations and doll makers. I started seriously pursuing lessons with Debbie Anderson and Jane Lindsey more years ago than I really want to think about and my first convention was Bell Molds first one. Since then I have taken numerous seminars with some of the best teachers around. Some of my formal courses were with Seeley Molds and others were with Bell Molds. I completed the Seeley course on antique dolls and along the way accrued enough classes to complete the modern course but got side tracked and never took the test. Oh well! Several years ago I studied doll restoration with Joyce Murch. That was one of those classes I tried, literally, for years to get into and I was finally successful in obtaining my certificate in restoration.

Over the years, I’ve found my dolls getting smaller and smaller. Partially because of the lack of display space and partially because I can finish them sooner. The tiny crochet has evolved as my dolls have gotten smaller and smaller. There are a few small designs but I have mostly used full size patterns. By going to small thread and hooks I’ve been able to adapt fairly well. Sometimes this is a real challenge and doesn’t always work out but it’s always fun to try. I also knit for the small dolls using needles made of piano wire. It is tedious, but the results are usually worth the effort.

I hope you find something that interests you or a new doll to love. Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions about my dolls or other other products. Click the Contact Me link above and shoot me an email!

Dotti