Finally my sweet Feodora has come to life. I've been coaxing her out of my dreams for some time but she was unyielding. She needed a few more crunchy leaves on the ground before making an entrance.
A long time ago, hundreds of years it feels some times (homeschooling puts a slow-motion button on your life, the days go by very s-l-o-w-l-y) but it was more like early summer, we planted heirloom corn in our little garden. Then I had a dream one day while seeing drops of dew on the corn leaves, I dreamt of a little fairy with hair just like corn silk. I imagined I had just surprised a little girl who was about to wash her face with those dew drops, and who was trying to untangle her hair and turn it into a crown braid, most practical for running errands.
The weeks went by and the dreams of this fairy girl kept evolving. One day I dreamt her clad in silk, with felted green leaves and lots of pearls sewn to her hair. "How uncomfortable, not like me at all." she told me later on. So I kept on dreaming. Then one Sunday we went to a gigantic antiques market at the south end of town and as I was rummaging through vintage fabrics I saw three pieces of hand-sewn hexagon quilt and I felt the little fairy whisper in my ear: "I want those, just what I've always wanted! They will make me warm and bring me memories of older hands, please get them for me!". Of course I had to agree and home I went with those beautiful pieces under my arm, ready to entice the fairy to come to meet me, finally. To stop whispering in my ear.
But I was wrong, the whispering didn't stop, it just got louder. As I moved fabrics in the studio while cleaning or prepping other work, she would scare the bejesus out of me with her 'almost' yelling: "That one, that one is just for me!". Hunching the shoulders and slowly setting fabrics aside I continued the work. A button here, a ball of yarn there. Feodora knew the day would come where I would have all the bits and bobs she wanted, and then and only then she would show herself to me. Fairies, I've learned this year, are very particular.
Not only are they particular but they require very specific environmental conditions to be seen and felt. I learned for example, that Feodora required a good inch of fallen leaves on the ground before she could grow her little deer ears. She needed a very special kind of moonlight to grow her little antlers. And if such conditions were not to be met, she would have grown into a completely different kind of fairy. As it is, she takes care of animals, but she only wears her ears and antlers when she is at work. She takes them off to play with human children or to go to bed. Off duty fairies have a life too (and this one loves to read C.S. Lewis just so you know).
Getting to know Feodora and to hear all she has to say about life and animals has been such a journey. Some days I wonder why is it that I love doll making with such fervour. Why did I happen upon it? Why not something else? I love writing and taking photos has become a dear hobby, but doll making is just my total, encompassing, heart-stopping passion. Seeing dolls like Feodora come out of the fabric and meet me, seeing their little lives develop, it is such a magical process that time and again I fall in love with it and I am most grateful I still have the chance to do this. They keep me tied to the sewing machine, knitting needles in hand, pins all over my clothes. Deranged look and big smile. That's just who I am when I make dolls, and they all seem to take it in stride so I keep making them while my family keeps humouring me.
Feodora, the little girl who came by slowly, who prodded and nurtured and whispered. Who needed crunchy leaves under her feet and slightly cooler mornings. Who wanted meadows full of purple and dying goldenrod. Feodora, the animal fairy. She is finally ready to embark on her own adventure and leave my sewing studio free of her crazy antics. I will miss her for sure, but the greatest thing about doll making is that the dreams are always there, new peeps and new journeys. As I will embark on another one, I have first to let go of who is here. This is Feodora's turn. My little pensive girl, who gets lost in her dreams and wonders through meadow and glen. Who loves to toast her cinnamon buns and eat them with a big cup of camomile and ginger tea.
Feodora is a Petite Fig, 20 " tall. Petite Figs are a new style of doll I started creating this year, so they are still pretty "new" to me. They are of very slender construction and have completely wool-sculpted heads. Feodora has big blue eyes and very long "corn silk" hair made of suri alpaca raw locks, plus a very big crown braid of merino/silk roving. She wears proper lady underpants, an elegant and understated dress (made of linen, tea-dyed gauze, cotton, cashmere ribbing and sewn snaps), stripe socks, hand knit alpaca boots, a pinafore made with above mentioned vintage hand-sewn hexagon quilt (which has expected wear condition for such a textile), a hand-knit mohair/silk capelet plus of course her little hand-knit deer ears and diadem with antlers. Given the fragile nature of her hair, plus the wire used for her diadem, and the little stick antlers, I do not recommend Feodora as a child's toy. She needs to be handled by the expert hands of an adult doll collector, someone who still has a child's heart and revels in playing with abandonment, someone who believes in magic and can see it in the every day.
Feodora is available for sale comment-style. If you wish to open the doors of your home to an animal lover, herbal tea drinker (with honey please), and maker of cinnamon buns extraordinaire, please enter your details in the form below. Feodora's price is $975 USD plus postage charges ($50 to US and Canada). She travels with full insurance to the two countries mentioned, other countries can get a revised quote based on their selected method of shipment. Taxes apply to Canadian customers. I only request that you enter your details if you are personally interested in bringing Feodora home.
THE ENTRY FORM FOR FEODORA HAS NOW BEEN DELETED. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR OFFERING YOUR HOME TO THIS SWEET LITTLE LADY.
I was becoming rather restless that she wasn't going to be finished before October knocked on my door, but little did I know the power fairies have over me. Once she decided to come out and play there was almost no time to do anything else. If you are opening the doors of your home to this little girl, thank you so much for your trust and support. I wish you good luck and will see you all tomorrow.
