In a small bedroom once used for her grandchild, Ida Semos has part of her doll collection perched on shelves, dressed in their finery.

Some are babies in satin christening gowns specially made for them by Mrs.

Semos; others are life-sized in store-bought dresses and white leather Sunday school shoes.

But the dolls that really look exceptional are dressed in flowing lace gowns in either a Spanish dress with a veil, the prima donna look, or Victorian and European styles in different vibrant colours.

They are not meant to be played with -- as you would do with Ken and Barbie -- but to be admired and used as a decoration, as they were years ago, for a lady's bed.

Mrs. Semos says she started collecting dolls a few years ago from flea markets and fairs. And as some were a bit tattered, she sat down at her sewing machine and made them new dresses.

With the dolls she purchases which come with nothing but a pair of shoes on, Mrs. Semos gets them ready to decorate beds.

"I started making dolls dresses about three years ago and I also make Gombeys which are purchased by the Gombey Shop in Dockyard and sold to tourists,'' Mrs. Semos says.

She adds: "I got into it because I have one on my bed that belonged to my mother. It used to be popular for women to have a well-dressed doll on their bed for decoration.

"I remember as a child, ladies would have dolls on their beds in pretty Victorian dresses and then when the war came everything was dropped and that style seemed to go.

"About 20 years ago they came back and my mother brought one for her bed.

When she passed, I put it on my bed and that is what got me started. I have sold a few to some people that I know.'' Mrs. Semos says these particular dolls are not meant as a child's toy.

"When making a doll's dress everyone has to be different, a different style with different accessories such as headpieces or trims on the hems, neckline and sleeves.

"I use all different types of material and some of the dolls have suits underneath so that when you take the skirt off they have a whole other outfit on.'' On the length of time it takes her to make a dress, she says: "It depends on what style I use. This is my hobby so it doesn't really matter, but to make a good dress it can take as long as it would take to make an adult's dress.'' She adds: "Before I retired I didn't have time for dolls.'' Mrs. Semos says she goes around to flea markets, and school fairs to collect some of her dolls while others are given to her.

"When I get the dolls from fairs normally their dresses are not very nice so those dolls automatically get a new outfit.

"A friend that has been coming to see me for 45 years had a Shirley Temple doll made for me which I keep up on the shelf. It is made out of china.'' Mrs. Semos adds that she used to make her and her daughter's clothes so "any design I come up with comes from my head. I never use patterns, every idea comes from my head.'' She says that each doll's dress she makes has to have a lining. "I made a beautiful red lace dress which was done in a Spanish style with a veil that went to Georgia. A lady brought it for her grand-daughter who lives there.

Sometimes I redo dolls and sell them.

"You don't ever want to make two dresses alike. It's not easy to put all that skirt on a tiny doll's waist,'' Mrs. Semos says with a chuckle.

She adds that she doesn't know how long she'll stick with this particular hobby as she has a few others -- she also collects shells and likes to paint.

"I really like doing this because it is creative, the dolls have my own styles and I enjoy doing it. But I only do it when I'm in the mood.'' Mrs. Semos also says that even though she can't resist picking up dolls at fairs and flea markets she wonders why people give their dolls away in the first place.

"There are so many dolls put in flea markets and fairs and I don't understand why people put them there. I would think they would want to keep them, especially if they belonged to their daughter or them.''