One of the reasons why I hate sculpting is because I had no proper tools so carving wood was very hard. Having the right wood and tools are so important and I can relate. I'm happy you found the right wood as well and maybe if I did I would've have likely given it a second chance haha.
A doll is a cute idea though, is it not heavy while traveling?
She is heavy 😅 so I reduce my luggage for her ...
I think light wood and a poor tool (or regular stationary cutting knife) work too, which I do now. It didn't work vice versa though ... Good to have both good ones 😉 I try to find my dream knives like those I have for cooking.