"We wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble if it hadn't been for Thorpe falling off the bed!" - Wait, what? I was taken aback by such comment. Eva was trying to relate the day's adventures and had just dropped the bomb. Somehow Thorpe had fallen off his bed. Mind you, the bed in question was a makeshift box with pieces of fabric draped over, and a wad of wool for a pillow. Doll's contraptions of the best kind.
-"Yes, we were all having fun, pretending to be Private Eyes, and then Thorpe goes and ruins everything by falling of his bed and crying like a big baby"-retorted Eva while crossing her arms in a rebellious mood.
-"Well, Thorpe IS a baby, isn't he? And weren't you supposed to be watching him while I was finishing his diaper, Eva? Remember I told you to keep a watchful eye on him, he squiggles and turns and is trying to crawl. He is a busy fella, and his naps - although many - do not last very long". I was trying to bring some sense into Eva's rhetoric, while at the same time trying to find out wether Thorpe had received any damage at all.
"What happened next was, that we tried to shush him up by giving him a toy, but he just cried louder and then Luna (our Labrador puppy) came in the room and tried to steal him and run away with him, and we all freaked out because you know Luna has sharp teeth and I could just see you getting so angry if Thorpe had gotten a hole or anything". said Eva with a slightly apologetic tone. I am not buying it.
"Emma and I tried to get Baby Jill to help us, but she can barely stand by herself, and all the other dolls abandoned ship as soon as they saw Luna enter the room and in the mean time I am trying to hold Luna from reaching Thorpe and he is crying, there, all pouty, like a big baby!". There was the rebellion tone again.
"We seriously didn't mean to wake him up, or make him sad, or nothing. We were just playing. It is really none our fault, if anything Luna just made things more complicated", finished Eva while packing the rest of her toys away.
I suppose it really is my fault for trusting Thorpe to Eva and Emma. I know how those two can get, so absorbed in their antics that they pay no attention to their environment. And Thorpe really wakes up easy, and he really is a baby. So I suppose the fault is mine. End of story.
My dolls really do have a very charming life, when they are here with me, and in their corresponding homes. While I can't guarantee that the stories coming out of their mouths will be as vivid as the ones Eva tells me, I do guarantee that they will inspire you to play like a little kid. If the dolls you have in your home are meant for your children, more often than not you will be caught with them in your hands, cradling them, dressing them and talking for them. It is a natural instinct, to engage and interact with a doll. Sometimes it comes slowly, some days it needs to be nurtured and coaxed, but the magic of a simple toy is that it becomes alive with your imagination. All you need to do is surrender to your own creative juices.
Baby Thorpe is a natural handmade doll. He is made with my baby pattern which has curved legs and arms, and long fabric joins (not joints) so that he has a lot of movement. He is made with swiss jersey and stuffed with clean wool. His hair is mohair yarn (DollyMo in black), and his face is embroidered. He is wearing a cotton interlock sleeper that closes with hand-sewn snaps. He also has a matching diaper with velcro tabs and a hand-knit stocking cap made with Manos del Uruguay hand-dyed wool yarn. He is about 14" tall, but it is hard to measure him because of his bent limbs. Thorpe is a natural doll recommended for a child 3+ who can dress and undress a doll with ease. He is not heavy so he is very easy to carry and his arms and legs were sewn to his body securely by machine.
- - FORM HAS BEEN DELETED. LITTLE THORPE HAS FOUND A HOME, THANK YOU!.
As you can see Thorpe fits on the palm of your hand, although those are big manly hands! He sits very nice, but mostly likes to lie down cuddled in between the folds of a blanket, and sleep away. He wakes up easily but falls back asleep right away too.
I hope Little Baby Thorpe finds a wonderful family who will nurture his sleepy nature. Good luck to those who wish to give him a home and we'll see you tomorrow night.