Jul 8

Jul 8 In The Blink Of An Eye

custom orders, doll clothes, dollmaking, figlette

I like to think that the dolls make themselves, and I guess in a way they do. I read words, I have feelings, and somehow all that translates into a full-bodied wool child, made with love, care and many a giggle in between.

Tilda Marie, a one of a kind fiber art doll, waldorf inspired by Fig and Me.

Take Tilly, for example, who was started quite some time ago, yet I feel like we are barely getting to know each other. This is not true of course. Her Mom and I have been concocting her likes and wants, as well as giving her all kinds of inside scoops regarding her future friends (Winterludes dolls if you can imagine) and all manner of ideas.

Having finished Tilly with love and care, I brought her with me to Canada, to send her home with hopefully a speedier arrival. Truth is, I didn’t want to part with her in a rush, as I was neck-deep packing for our summer travels to Canada.

These photos were taken in our humble abode across the ocean, nestled by the rainy hills of Central Portugal, where she was pleasantly surprised by the hydrangea forest outside my studio window.

First of all, her Mother is a seasoned traveller, so Tilly obviously wanted the comfiest of clothes so she could perhaps accompany her mom into some of those adventures.

We started by making her an all-linen cosy affair:

a ruffled bonnet in azure. To remind her of the Mediterranean, and to protect her sweet face already bearing freckle-prone decorations.
a large blouse, also with a large ruffle, raglan style but with sleeve cuffs.
a pair or large and roomy overalls with straps and ginormous buttons.
trusty sandals in grey linen and corduroy.

If you have keen eyes, you will notice that I made a very similar set of sandals for darling Charlie. That way they can always remember the time they spent together in my studio, while I was labouring away with my beautiful vintage sewing machine and working on their lovely clothes.

I made this outfit to remind Tilly of the country where she was born, nestled by hundreds of years of history, cuddled equally by ancient roman mosaics and lovely small veggie gardens growing the indomitable couve-galega.

Serenaded by the abundant water that runs just in front of the house, where a long time ago women used to gather to do their laundry, and the seemingly hundreds of birds at all hours of the day. A sun so strong that our laundry dries in less than an hour and sunsets so beautiful that they restore your faith in humanity every single day.

Such is the vibe of her birth place.

But Miss Tilly, like us, is not meant to be tied to one place, at least not for long. She gladly packed her things and got inside my suitcase to cross the Atlantic ocean and head to the boreal forests of Northern Canada.

She was such a good trooper that I can heavily recommend to her new Mom to involve her, either in packing or travelling. She was adorable the whole way. Never complained once, even after we spent 8 hours in all manner of cues waiting to board a flight that had been cancelled on us the day before.

She, like me, fell in love with the scents of June in this lake hamlet: blooming lilacs and wet balsam. Fog everywhere. Bunchberries (Cornus canadensis) and twin flower (Linnaea borealis) carpeting the floor, fighting for dear life accompanied by wild strawberries, Northern star flower (Lysimachia borealis) and striped coral root (Corallorhiza striata).

The garden provided her with roses, anemones and columbines. It’s so nice to be back amongst our dear floral friends!

So please help me in wishing Miss Tilly a safe journey home. Her Mother is waiting with bated breath for her arrival and we are so pleased to be sending such a judicious and calm child her way, to help her keep those Winterludes’ dolls a little bit more civilized.

If I have to name just one thing I love the most about her (which is hard, there are so, so many things!) I would say her whole dear face is just so endearing 😍 Now you know why I’ve kept her with me for so long. I just couldn’t part with this smoochy face.

Thank you dear Christine, for giving me all the time and freedom in the world to see Tilda Marie come to life. To dress her as my heart desired, to bring her with me and spend a few more weeks with her under my wing. She is all yours now.