Strings to her bow or a rod for my back....?

The wee girl's ideas for creative pastimes are becoming more and more complicated. I've always tried to instill in her the belief that what can be imagined, can be made and now - while I'm back at work and she's yet to go to school - it's come back to bite (with big teeth).

I have to pare grand plans back to human-scale ("Where are we going to PUT that?"), and then again to "Mummy's actually at work and we really don't have the time or materials...." (cue "bad Mummy" guilt).


I was happy when she wanted to make a dress pattern yesterday - and rather impressed by the result.
We even sampled it up (red cotton-lycra jersey for the top and a stripey cotton jersey for the skirt) but forgot to photograph it before it was covered with last night's dinner.

This afternoon it was all about a calico doll.

Now, before anyone goes leaving comments about me being a good mother who encourages her child's creative side, just let it be known that I was so happy to be able to work on MY work (for a change), I left her to it and congratulated myself on coming up with an idea that would keep her out of my hair for more than three minutes. I relished in the quiet and didn't want it to end.

It did end. I was summoned to take up the baton. She had designed a doll and accessories, from basic bedding right down to jewellery, a mirror (complete with reflection), a lolly (candy) snake and a bookshelf. There was also a cd (in its case), pillows, toys and books and a "sleep sound" for dolly (ZZZZZZZ).

....and it was MY JOB to make them three-dimensional... in keeping with her (somewhat unrealistic) dolly-world vision. Cue "paring back grand plans" and clip on the Bernina Stitch Regulator....

That black circle there is a belly-button. Looking at that detail, I think I can safely assume that the girl has done a spot of navel-gazing.
Seeing what she's drawn and watching her dexterous little hands working melts my heart. As I tried to figure out how to make her dolly come to life, the Evil Mummy internal scream ("LET ME GET BACK TO MY WORK!!") gave way to fascination in her observations of small details (earrings on the ears, creases on the palms, detailed lips and nostrils and ... ahem... nipples) and the reflection of her unique world. I can't help but enjoy it. As daylight faded (and phone-calls were made to let the man of the house know that we were still alive), some designer bedding was made and a bargain struck about going home eventually....

We took the rest of the dolly kit home, and the Evil Mummy in me is hoping to sneak off to work tomorrow while the man of the house enjoys the Australia Day holiday.... ummmmm.... making a dolly-world with his daughter. (I'll enjoy seeing the results!!)

***

Apparently, I'm making the clothes for Dolly.....

Learning

I'm bit of a late-bloomer, me.... Somehow, as an Aussie kid, I missed out on learning to do a basic Aussie crawl. I had no confidence in my ability in the water, and with good reason.

At 26 years of age, I booked myself into weekly swimming lessons and practised every day until I was a competent, confident, daily lap swimmer. People commented on my perfect swimming stroke.

Throughout 5 years of living in Ireland, I dreamed of Fitzroy Pool under a clear blue sky.

These days I swim when I can, and it feels like... home. I struggle to remember what it was like to NOT be able to swim.

Photo of Fitzroy Pool by Laura Naomi

Similarly, I learned to drive late (and despite having a natural inability to coordinate the whole driving thing...). I practised.

I was even a late-comer to computers.

And so.....

Lately, I've been playing around with the BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator) gizmo on the fancy-schmantzy sewing machine - trying to teach myself to freehand quilt with nice even stippling.

I have no probem with artsy-fartsy free-motion machine embroidery, but I've never learned to do that controlled squiggly stuff. It's a strange experience to feel out of my depth in front of a sewing machine. It's usually my comfort zone.

There has been much making-of-pot-holders and table-mats at my house lately ....to the point where comments were made about the possibility of a badly-quilted cover for every appliance in the kitchen.

So I made a bathmat (out of a home-deco panel from Spotlight and a towel backing .... which will probably shrink horribly out of shape at the first whiff of water). It felt more useful than practising larger-scale stippling on calico.

If you squint and turn off the lights, you won't see too many jagged or crossed-over lines in my stippling, and I can begin to see improvements on the early potholders. I hope to - one day - look back at this bathmat and scoff at its amateurish mistakes.

***
The BSR kept up its end of the deal - the stitches are nice and even!