Friday, August 26, 2011

Mamma Mia, Here I Go Again

Dear Delilah,

The end of summer is always a busy time, and if you're wondering where my letters to you over the past few weeks disappeared to, well, let's just say that with an impending move and all sorts of other things keeping us busy, this year it's been more hectic than most. Even though I haven't been writing to you, I have been creating for you! One of the projects that has kept me so busy was gathering with a few lovely ladies to make you a doll!

I'm a novice sewer at best, so sewing a Waldorf doll by hand sounded overwhelming at first, but a good teacher and willingness to embrace imperfections made it a wonderful experience.


Since I wasn't making the doll as a gift for any specific ocassion, I let you play with her and love her up throughout the process. Even when her arms and faceless head were attached to each other, but not yet attached to the rest of her body, you loved carrying her around and hugging her. You named her before she had hair or clothes. The first time I asked you what you wanted to name her, you answered "Bob". I was in the midst of sewing a dress for her, and while there's certainly no reason that a doll named Bob couldn't have a dress, I tried again, and you answered "Abba!" As far as you were concerned, Abba didn't need hair or clothes to be a perfectly lovable baby doll.


That photo was taken last Friday, which happened to be the day before my birthday. While you were playing with your beloved but naked Abba, I started hand-sewing a dress for her using some fabric I'd attempted to make a shirt out of years ago. I worked on it all night, and your father impatiently asked me several times if I was REALLY going to sew the whole thing that night.

The next morning, my birthday, I found out why he'd been so annoyed that I spent a good three hours sewing a tiny little dress. One of his birthday gifts for me? A sewing machine. If I'd been a bit more patient, I could have sewed that dress in a third of the time, and with much straighter stitches! I still get a good laugh thinking about it! Still, I'm proud that both the doll and her first outfit, a dress and head scarf to cover her poor bald head, were sewn entirely by hand. I did use the machine to make a matching cloth diaper for her!

The look on your face that morning when you saw Abba in her new dress was priceless.


Yesterday, you accompanied me to the final doll class to give Abba hair. You had so much fun playing with the teacher's daughters, coming over to me every so often to touch Abba and check my progress. I am so proud of how beautifully she turned out, and of all of the hard work and love I put into her. She is not your first doll, but you have taken to her in a way that you haven't any of your others. Perhaps it's because she's about 3 times the size of your other dolls, but I'd like to think she's extra special since she was made by your mama!


I am looking forward to becoming more experienced at sewing and to making more dolls for you. I've already got plans for matching dresses for you and Abba that I'm hoping to have time to sew this weekend. I'll be sure to blast Abba songs while I sew to give you the full experience of the name you chose for your baby!

Love,

Mama



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3 comments:

  1. The doll turned out beautifully, and Delilah sure looks cute with her!

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  2. Abba is adorable and I'm glad Delilah loves her! I've thought about drawing up a doll pattern and having a go at it, but haven't done it yet. How did you do the hair?

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  3. What a gorgeous doll. I have been wanting to make my son a Waldorf inspired doll for sometime and with no lessons to be had a how-to book is the next best thing... Hope it turns out as well as yours did :)

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