Dolls are labor of love

Martha Hibbard loves babies. Babies of all shapes, sizes and skin tones.

But she confides, “I think my favorites are the fat babies.”

She gestured toward one that lay in a cradle at her feet, its rosy, dimpled face caught in mid-laugh, a small pink teddy clutched in its hand.

“I’m going to make some pants for this one,” she said as she pulled back the tiny receiving blanket to reveal bare, chubby knees. “It’s still half-naked.”

No, these aren’t real babies, but for all the love and care Hibbard lavishes on them, they may as well be.

A glance around the American Cancer Society’s Discovery Shop on Garland Avenue reveals the extent of her handiwork. Exquisitely dressed dolls perch on shelves and nestle in handmade beds throughout the shop.

“It all started 19 years ago when I began volunteering at the store,” Hibbard said.

“We used to get dolls donated, and I’d take them home and wash them up and fix their hair.”

And then she made new clothes for the old dolls. “I must have dressed hundreds of dolls,” she said with a laugh. “I’m a doll-crazy person.”

Recently, seeing all the beautifully dressed dolls gave volunteer Tereé Myrhang an idea.

Her husband, Bill, had a workshop and so did their neighbor, Don Miner. She enlisted their help in crafting beds for Martha’s babies.

The men just started making them in February, but already sales have picked up.

“It keeps me out of the kitchen and in the shop,” Miner said with a smile. “My dad was a carpenter.”

In fact, the first beds the men constructed were patterned after one that Miner’s father had made for his daughter. They make the beds and cut out foam for mattresses and pillows.

“It keeps us old guys busy,” said Bill Myrhang.

He scouts lumberyards and home improvement stores for bargains.

The projects are small and don’t take much wood.

He’s found folks to be generous when he tells them what he wants the wood scraps for.

One hundred percent of the profits from the Discovery Store go to the American Cancer Society, and a portion of it is used locally.

When the beds are finished, other volunteers paint them. “We both like making sawdust,” said Bill Myrhang, “but we don’t like to do the finish work.”

Then Hibbard works her magic, sewing tiny flannel sheets, pillowcases, receiving blankets and petite pajamas.

Tereé Myrhang has enlisted help from many people to make miniature quilts and Afghans for each bed.

“A 90-year-old volunteer at Lilac Plaza makes doll blankets for us,” she said.

And friends began donating new dolls. “I tell them, ‘If you can’t crotchet or knit, how ‘bout helping us with new dolls?’ ” she said. “My favorite part of all this is finding people to contribute and work together on this project.”

The dolls, beds and blankets are unique. “No set is the same,” said Hibbard.

Each baby cuddles a tiny stuffed toy. One baby clutched a pink Piglet, another a yellow duck.

Complete sets range in price from $20 to $45, making them a great deal for grandmas or aunties in search of a bargain.

Hibbard has had a lot of practice sewing doll clothes.

“I made complete wardrobes for my three daughters’ dolls,” she said. “Even bridal outfits.”

She is a cancer survivor, as are most of the volunteers who work at the store. “It’s a labor of love,” said Bill Myrhang.

Customers are drawn to the dolls and the miniature beds. “Everyone who comes in here remarks on them,” said Hibbard.

She smiled and added: “I’m in my second childhood, and I get to play with dolls.”

Her fellow volunteers laughed, and Tereé Myrhang added: “She’s got us all in our second childhoods.”