Meet 'Tofu'

So this is my son's new doll. I made him last night and put him on the bed for my little guy to wake up with this morning. I thought we were going to name him 'Toby' but Ben decided this morning that his name is 'Tofu'. Tofu went everywhere with us today, to the midwife, grocery shopping and played with Ben in the backyard. It was so sweet to see this little bond grow between them. As a dollmaker, I make the dolls for children but I don't get to see the interaction later on. Occasionally a parent and child will come by an event that I'm at with a previously purchaced doll and I get to see my dolls a few months ,perhaps a year later, loved and worn in. These times were always my favorite parts of the day. But to see Ben playing with and interacting with tofu was really something special.

Tomorrow I will post a pic of the fruits of my work 'week'. I have one more doll to sew a half a head of hair on and then I'm done..and on to my next 'week'.

Still no bebe. Midwife Jane says this baby is already measuring 8 pounds (give or take).

My Little Secret

I've never made Ben a doll. He has a few dolls, but they are ones that just didn't turn out quite right, never sold at markets or are an older style that I'm not wanting to sell. He's never taken to any of them prefering to play with his trucks or trains, playing farm, kitchen or store..but never, ever with his dolls. I used to think that boys played trucks and girls played dolls due to social conditioning and I was convinced that my son would play with dolls and his trucks..ha, ha..how many of us thought that?

Anyways, the past few weeks I've noticed an increase in his imaginative play. He's making voices for his different trains and using some of his gnomes to retell stories that I've told him. I asked him today if he'd like me to make him a doll and rather then the 'no mama, it's okay' he responded with an enthusiastic 'YES!'. My heart sang, it is the right time for Benjamin to have a doll. His name will be Toby, he has tan skin, brown eyes and red hair (interesting combo..but he picked it) I already had the body made so Ben's doll will be made for when my sweetheart wakes up, I will work hard tonight to get the hair sewn on and face embroidered.

I'll post a pic tomorrow.

Still no baby, but I guess you probably figured that out by now :)

New Style Doll

I've made a new style of doll. Well, it's not really a new style, it's my large baby doll. I took the body and made a doll that , what I think, look like a toddler. Her limbs are all jointed which means they all move independently. I just posted her on www.naturalpod.com for sale. I love this tan skin tone with the brown hair.

I had such a lovely evening last night with a few good friends at this wonderful restaurant in Shawnigan Lake called Steeples (it used to be a church). It was so nice to have a long conversation not interupted with children. Sitting on the deck in the evening sun, I felt like just me..not a mom or a wife, but me - it was long overdue. This is one thing that I really miss about Vancouver. It was so easy to just meet up for coffee or grab a bite to eat with a pal. Here, you tend to stay home (really because it is such a nice place to be!). Anyways with my great new friends I've made and some more old friends moving to the 'hood - I think evening teas will become more frequent.

Still no baby. I'm thinking it's not coming until Christmas now. I had an acupuncture treatment yesterday to try to speed things along. No luck today.

About Half Way Through...

I made some great progress yesterday. John was off work and took care of Ben yesterday for long periods of time. I'll get the same today, the boys are headed to the trains for the afternoon.

I got 4 bodies assembled, 1 complete and I'm starting the large Babies hair. I'm going to try to post the doll that Ben is holding today on www.naturalpod.com . I'm going to try something a tad different with my large baby doll and dress him/her in clothing rather then a sleeper, so like a little toddler and not so much a baby. I've done this for customers before and I've always got feedback when I've done it.

I've always wanted to document how my dolls progress. What a better way then with a blog! So this is 2 days worth of work. It's quite a bit this time because I've done NO housework in 2 days and we haven't gone out much due to the gloomy rain. I'm making 3 babies and all their limbs are done and assembled to the bodies, the heads are made and it's all ready for assembly. Last night I actually finished a doll..I'll take a picture and post her tomorrow. John was in my workshop on the computer entranced by You Tube (he's only just discovered it) while I sew. It's a nice way to spend an evening..lol, aside from being interrupted every 10 minutes with "Hey, love, look at this goal that Liverpool scored - this was back in '84.. I remember this goal, whoa what a cracker that was, blah, blah, blah".

How I start my week..

This is how my work 'week' usually starts. My work week goes for 7 to 10 days depending on what I have to do. This one that I'm in right now is for 2 small babies, 2 14" Bambolettas and a large baby. I break my schedual down by day and try to follow it as best I can. Everything goes in the basket, thread, scissors, fabrics, tubing..you name it. This way I have a portable work station to take with me everywhere.

No new baby news. Just ready for him/her to make it's appearance ;)

This little gnome is a special order for Robert at www.mahardrygoods.com . He requested this months ago but with the move and general craziness I wasn't able make him until now. He really is one of my most favorite dolls that I've ever made. I sculpted in a chin and larger gnome-esque nose then sewn in some white boucle mohair. His hat is attached and I made a basic outfit using velour. His limbs are articulated so he can b posed in many different ways. I jointed them using my new, spiffy doll joints. They take a bit longer then jointing using the button method but the doll is SO much sturdier. I also made 2 new babies and a mermaid for him, all should be on his site in a few weeks.

I'm working on 2 custom dolls next week and then just 'stocking' up untill the baby makes an appearence. I've entered the stage of pregnancy where fear of labour has been replaces with a mix of really, really wanting to meet my our new baby and wanting my body to be somewhat normal again.

I've been trying to keep on the blog consistently, but have failed miserably! Over 10 days since my last entry..tsk, tsk.

We've been having lots of fun exploring our surroundings this week. There are so may great place to go to with little ones. This week we found a great place called Bright Angel Park, it's so beautiful there. It's a river that is perfect for little ones because it's calm and doesn't go past the knees. Very good place to be on these recent hot days.

I'm redesigning my website right now. I'm trying to streamline it and make it a source of information for my customers. I'll be adding a newsletter and another blog site among other things. I found a really great illustrator to work with, we are in the works to design an illustration for the site/ price tags/ business cards. I'm not sure that this is the best timing to be doing something like this, I can tell that this baby of mine wants out. It's moving around like a little acrobat.

I just finished up this breastfeeding doll for a customer of mine. I don't do these very often. It was a wonderful doll to make in my 'state' :)

These are my newest dolls. They are off to their new home in Toronto. I love that the mom got a mix of ethnicities for her kids. This was a really fun order to do. I just love doing custom orders for kids, working with parents to really make something special for their child.

This week Natural Pod will be at the Island Organics Festival in Victoria. So, this weeks work for myself is as many organic blanket dolls as I can possibly make. Every week until the baby is born is now 'booked' with orders or trying to build up my stock. I've already got my Christmas orders booking up. I'm taking a limited amount of custom work for Christmas time, I need to keep my time open to work on stuff for all the different shows and events.

My parents and sister came over for the long weekend. It was so great to see them all. Something about having your mom come to your home and just basically 'take over' is very comforting when you are pregnant.

Off to finish 'Lost' season 2 and make some heads. I'm happy and sad that it's over, I know that there is another season, but it's not on DVD so we are going to have to wait. I've never been into a show this much..well except for 'Melrose Place', but that was a long time ago.