Aug 18

Aug 18 Story, a Confident Doll Inspired by the End of Summer

dollmaking, creative process, petite fig, storytelling

My sweet and kind Story is now ready and looking for a home. I keep telling her this humble abode (even in the midst of construction) is very suitable, however she has a different idea. Let me tell you all about her in the hopes that you can perhaps fall in love and bring her into your home.

Story, a Natural Fiber Art Doll ready to play. By fig & me.

Most of you have already met this little one, as I have been sharing snippets of her creation here or there and everywhere. I couldn’t help myself because I was under a lilac spell.

This harebell-inspired dormant obsession came into fruition turning itself into a full-blown exorbitant aubergine explosion.

I had anticipated a very lively, confident girl. The sort of girl that wakes up in the morning and walks outside in her pyjamas, feeling the morning wet her young body, getting muddy feet and a thousand chunks of grass stuck to her legs.

Like all my dolls I suppose, she is deeply inspired by nature. By my garden and the swaths of wildflowers growing on the side of the road in August: fireweed, harebells, a timid goldenrod starting to peek its head, the stubborn rosa rugosa and the lupins.

My garden on the other hand, aside providing some purple columbine and some gentle strokes of harebells growing protected under the fiery roses, is giving her lots and lots of monkshood.

She loves to peek under those “hoods” to find crazy bumblebees and all manner of little bugs snoozing the day away.

I do have a very romantic streak. I observe and experience the world with a lot of gratefulness, that perhaps comes from not having grown-up here in these boreal lands.

I admire the greenery, the towering birches, the amiable mushrooms and fattening raspberries. I am constantly marvelled at the many wildflowers, the industrious chipmunks and my friendly woodpeckers and chickadees, who keep me serenaded on my daily walks.

I feel very happy and nurtured by this forest, these meadows, these wet shores and mellow lake. So it is understandable that my heart translates that to my hands with these colours, this beauty in doll form.

All of this in-between seasonal bounty is deeply embedded into Story. She is a doll that mirrors the colours and feel of these last few weeks.

Rainy days mirrored in her grey linen dress. The roses still blooming in the garden in the dress embroidery. The feeling of an impeding autumn via those sienna leaves.

Her lilac hair speaks of the harebells she so loves. Her eyes a burgundy shade, let’s not speak of wine in this venue!

Her freckled face, a side-effect of time spent by the lake, soaking the summer. Her white linen underskirt and her voile bloomers, of the days when the heat decided to join us.

Her soft shoes speak of her gentle nature, she treads lightly on this earth being made of natural materials, some new, some vintage, some repurposed. All chosen with love and care.

If you too would love to share your life with this little doll and let her inspire your daily adventures, perhaps spurring you to take that trail you’ve always wanted to check out, or sew that dress you’ve been meaning to, read her a book or start using watercolours, then pay attention.

Story is a natural fiber art doll, looking for a loving home. She is 16” tall, stuffed and sculpted in Canadian wool. Her body corresponds to the proportions of a human 6-year-old child and she is weighted in her belly with doll making glass beads.

Story has a moveable head and very firm limbs. She is made in my Petite Fig pattern, a very slender doll. Her eyes are embroidered, her multicolour freckles hand-painted and her lips blushed with red beeswax.

Her hair is a mix of mohair weft and wool yarn, one makes the long tresses, the other one that cap the hair is attached to.

She is wearing a linen/ramie blend dress, embroidered with roses and lined at the bodice, with long sleeves, attached apron and skirt made in vintage linen. The skirt has pretty pintucks and is edged with scalloped lace.

Her bloomers are made with cotton voile, elastic waist and legs and trimmed also in lace. Her petal collar is handknit with mohair and hand-dyed wool and cinches nice and tight with leather string.

She wears a vintage straw hat, weathered and perfect to keep her skin from developing any more freckles and her soft shoes are made of merino and cotton, the ties are also leather string.

Miss Story was up for sale via blog entries through a private form. She has now found a home and if all goes well and there are no hiccups with her travel arrangements, she will be heading home soon.

Thank you so much to all those who volunteered to be the guardians of this lovely child. Your support means the world to us! More dolls soon, I promise.

So there you have it: a little doll embodying the in-between time between the end of summer and the arrival of autumn. A doll that loves sunny wildflowers as much as she loves rainy and gloomy days. A girl after my own heart.

We thank you deeply for coming to read about her. We sure hope she brightens your day!