Naval In The Garden
The months went by and Naval started to get restless. I seemed to be on an endless gravy train of colds and sniffles and she really wanted me to get working on her clothes. Finally, the sky cleared and after a few weeks of madness in the sewing room, she is finally ready to go home.
I had to shift gears here and there, not always able to work on her as much as I wanted, but we persevered and here is the happy result. This quote was written in my dollmaking journal for her:
“When you can’t control the winds, adjust your sails”.
😉
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
We experienced, aside the sniffles, weeks and weeks of endless rain. This put a damper on the laundry endeavours but kept Naval quite glued to the windows. She kept telling me stories of how the “seaspray” was batting down her tiny vessel and she had to go outside to “man the ropes”. I giggled at her seafaring bravado, knowing full well she was recently much impressed with her readings of Moby Dick.
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
Once the skies stopped dumping on us we were able to experience the green explosion of Mother Nature and all the lovely flowers in the garden.
The hawthorn in full bloom, the orangle blossoms giving us a strong azahar as soon as we head out the door, calla lilies overtaking the corner under the olive trees, arum lillies popping here and there like nobody’s business and now the quince in full bloom.
While her true love is all things nautical, due to her Great Grandfather’s diary, she was quite taken with the quiet beauty of Spring blooms, slowly serenaded by gentle winds.
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
I reminded her that I did not consider Spring anything else but a ruckus, with the loudest birds and the most gigantic bumblebees buzzing around us, but she reminded me that summer was even louder and that Autumn will bring a different sort of noise. I guess my dolls do teach me the lessons.
She sat atop the quince and asked me about recipes to enjoy the fruit. I told her stories of my Mexican childhood, where I ate my body weight in fresh quince and sampled “mermelada de membrillo”, which is not really jam, more like a butter? Anyways, we got talking about all the fruit tress in the garden and she later came back inside and wrote it all in her journal.
She is quite adept at writing her daily notes. Her Great Grandfather was a captain and kept a detailed log of all his journeys, so I guess she feels she must follow on his journey.
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
Once the garden was properly inspected and all the blossoms dutifully sniffed and petted, we came inside. Spending time with the dolls outside is always such an adventure for me, I never know what they will notice, wether they will sit properly on the rock wall or want to tumble atop tree branches. Naval is much of the latter inclination.
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
As you can see I have spent an inordinate amount of time in the making of Naval’s outfit. The inspiration behind her clothes was of Edwardian nature and I was ever so glad to get to use my laces and try new techniques to use them on her clothes.
This little blouse is made of handkerchief-weight linen, which is both a blessing and a curse. It has cute pin tucks and insertion lace on both front and sleeves. The sleeves are so cute with cuffs and closing with handmade button loops and mother-of-pearl buttons.
Her wide linen skirt has a few “nautical” details, such as the 8-figure knot on the rope belt, and a very sensible (if I say so myself) use of blue, white and red. I have to give myself grace because I was all over the place with her, so taken by her personality and all the things I wanted to try with her clothes.
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
She has an undershirt and lacy bloomers, as well as long wool stockings and wool boots. A funny thing happened with Naval, the more I got to work on her clothes, the more I wanted to do everything by hand. Maybe because it was so joyful to sit outside with her by my side, hand-sewing under the shade, enjoying the view…then inside at the helm of the sewing machine.
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
Her straw hat was a treasure find from last year. Of course, when I found this hat at an antique market, I never knew which doll would claim it. When I had Naval in front of me I knew exactly which hat she would pick and I was right. The quality is so nice compared to today’s offerings regarding doll straw hats. Maybe one day I can learn to weave one myself!
There is something so beautiful about dolls with hats. It has always been one of my predilections to make hats for my dolls. Pretty much a visitation from the halcyon days as a young mother with our daughters and their colourful and wide array of hats. I always feel slightly awkward when I send a doll away without a hat and I am so delighted that this one fits her look and personality at the same time.
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
Now, let me warn you. Naval inherited a coat from this Great Grandfather, and it is very hard to make her take it off for strolls through the garden. Fortunately for us, I will get to take her out again and go on a little adventure so you get to see it too. I’ve shown a little bit of behind-the-scenes of this magnificent coat on Instagram so you can take a peek.
I will come back very soon to tell you more about Naval and her coat, but in the mean time do enjoy the rest of her photos.
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
Natural fiber art doll Naval, made as a custom order by Fig and Me.
"May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks".
Quote attributed to JRR Tolkien, from The Hobbit.
See you soon friends!
