Elinor Peace Bailey

We had the amazing, talented, and just a down-right-hoot - Elinor Peace Bailey in the store for a wonderful teaching session a few weeks ago and we thought we'd share some pictures and a first rate account of the experience by our very own Laura Casey.


Here are her words:

"It started Monday night, as soon as I saw the turquoise & black striped leggings coming down the escalator I knew Elinor Peace Bailey had arrived -complete with a bright new red hair color all over her head -Kool-Aid red. She topped it off with a gold and black velvet beanie. We got the dolls in the car - two huge suitcases of them and a little travel bag for Elinor, what does a girl need but her dolls! It was late, she was tired, a bit of rain ... she headed for bed.

Tuesday - better known as Asheville Quilt Guild Day when it's the 3rd Tuesday of the month. She and her dolls were off to the Folk Art Center for our monthly meeting. Elinor Peace Bailey was FABULOUS -she recited poetry, sang and we all laughed with her and her dolls. Every minute was a delight. I rushed home to get the table set -my quilting bee, The WeeBees, planned to entertain her over dinner - delight in her presence and enjoy the evening. Thank goodness it was a pot luck! Quilters are good cooks if you can get them pried away from their sewing machines, but with Elinor in town -that wasn't a problem!


We toasted to friendship, brought every doll to show and tell and wore doll pins, it was a fantastic evening for all of us.


Wednesday, Saint Patrick's Day, and the first workshop of the week. Elinor was in bilious green from head to toe and ready to go as we headed down the mountain at 8:30 am. She had her dolls in tow and I scampered off to pick up her patterns from Waechters where they had been flying out the door all month! After delivering the patterns to her class, I went off to the gym to work off the feast from the night before! Elinor arrived home a tired puppy. A nice quiet dinner was in order so we went to The Stoney Knob, a great restaurant, full of unique charm, just like Elinor. Stoney Knob's lamb shanks are amazing and one of EPB's favorites.

Thursday was the next full workshop day for Elinor. The sewing areas were ready and students had their patterns and fabrics ready to go. Joyce, our fearless Waechters leader, introduced Elinor with a flourish and EPB took over and was in her element ... she's just amazing! I must mention that Elinor was a vision of orange, complete with a fabulous new beanie. I have her beanie pattern and I think I'll whip one up, if nothing else, just to adorn my studio.

Elinor painted each doll face, she just called out the doll name, which she knew by the bald/faceless head sitting in front of her and the maker would arrive to determine the color of the eyes and to sit and talk with Elinor as she effortlessly sketched a unique face for each doll.


In the midst of all this fun, Elinor allowed us to interview her for SewWOW, designed a dress for SewWOW, and managed to buy lots of our new Kaffe Fasset rayon prints. Her favorite was #14127.


Friday, our first day to sleep in. We had a little breakfast, and then off to shop and do! We headed to the River Arts District, full of working studios. We bought flower bouquets from the button florist and talked with many textile artists who have etsy stores - Elinor Peace Bailey was immediately recognized and embraced. She's a legend, truly. We also toured some of the older neighborhoods in Asheville with gracious homes and B&Bs full of color and landscaping. To complete her Asheville experience, we had lunch at 12 Bones. Pulled pork sandwiches, jalapeno grits, buttered green beans and tall glasses of water. We were almost ready for the airport. Our last stop was to pick up some book binding materials for EPB's handmade journals. We stopped at Bookworks, where they recognized her right away. A finishing touch of a full and wonderful week. Elinor is a delight in every way, gracious from head to toe. To learn more about her, visit her website: www.epbdolls.com"

Laura Casey's very own masterpiece from the doll class