witnessing a birth & love is in the air

 Malle mouse needed a friend; now that Sally and Kitty have gone to stay with Sally's relatives (post link here) and there's no telling when they're due back, she got to feeling lonely and left out at times; it was no longer a case of pre-winter blues, I was genuinely worried she would actually become depressed, in other words she was in desperate need of female company, a friend she could lean on. Then there's GhostBird, as we all know heart-broken and in a sorry state when he arrived, he has got his act together and is in excellent shape now and pardon my French, gagging for female company as well; although I'm sure he has something else in mind than drinking tea, dressing up and gossip!
So desperate times call for desperate measures: out with the needle and thread, cotton, scissors, stuffing, a sort-of-plan-in-my-head: I had to make a doll for the two of them - if all goes well we might see more - 'nough said, let's get cracking......

to begin with her body was going to be roughly the same size as Malle's however, she wasn't too happy with the way her private parts looked first time round and she asked me to remedy the dodgy stitching and elongate her torso and fix the hole in her shoulder while I was at it! She's rather bossy, but that's between you and me. This meant her legs (see top photo) became her arms and I had to cut out even longer strips for her loooooooong legs; she appears willowy and frail, however as stated previously, she's strong minded, full of determination and knows what she wants and how to get it! In my book sensible attributes for a woman these days.

last evening shortly after her birth, wearing an improvised kimono type thingy; Malle does look happy doesn't she (I do notice she's wearing a bathing-suit, she could do with a winter outfit as well....)

here she stands naked to the world, her name's Emily after the poet Emily Dickinson

here's her face: pretty, thoughtful eyes, very pale still 

found Emily and Malle on my studio desk this morning sleeping late; Emily asked me could I please make her a flowery dress before she presented herself to GhostBird? All she needed for now was a dress, the rest of her outfit would come later, hat included. She'd long spotted him and was suddenly overcome by modesty (which is quite something after having exposed your every part in this post of the night before 'that's different those were my birth pictures, Saskia') Malle and Emily had been talking about him till the wee hours and Malle is absolutely positive 'they are destined* for one another' and 'most definitely and profoundly soulmates^' 

Malle is rather romantic you see and tends to see the good in each and every one of us, being the pure and selfless soul that she is she likes to think we're all as pure as the driven snow, which we ain't btw.

* absolutely, see first paragraph

^ again, see top paragraph; I would like to add the physical aspect of wanting to meet one's 'soul mate': two bodies oozing hormones in need of relief have a tendency to bump into one another sooner or later

learnt a thing or two about sewing a dress: as I wanted the neck line and arm holes (??) to look neat I made the front and back with a lining and sewed the shoulder seams together once she'd put the dress on; still want to make a kimono and a hat for her, but at least she's decent. I had nothing to do whatsoever with the introductions here, GhostBird, Emily and Malle worked it all out for themselves as was to be expected....
Things are livening up once more in the studio as the days shorten and the evenings indoors with the warmth provided by the wood burner become more and more enticing, one by one, or in small groups the beings come indoors as soon as the sun has set, rejoicing at having found one another and happy to share a house with such good company, where story telling is considered a way of life. I feel privileged to be part of their lives and am happy to bear witness to whatever they wish to share with me 

from the Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson (Barnes&Noble, New York) Part Three: Love LII

He touched me, so I live to know

That such a day, permitted so,

I groped upon his breast.

It was a boundless place to me,

And silenced, as the awful sea

Puts minor streams to rest.

And now, I'm different from before,

As if I breathed superior air,

Or brushed a royal gown;

My feet, too, that had wandered so,

My gypsy face transfigured now

To tenderer renown.