Emma1

… sweet Emma!

My daughter recently turned one. Since she has an older brother, she is equipped with all the items that make lovely birthday presents like rocking horses, LEGO blocks, regular building blocks, push carts and so forth. She also has loving friends and family near and far providing her with clothes, books and lovely wooden puzzle footstools (THANK you all so much for thinking of her!) Given that, finding a special present for our very special girl was rather tough until I stumbled across Waldorf dolls. They are made entirely from wool and cotton, they don’t show any facial expression and thus leave a lot of room for imagination. Best of all, however, making them didn’t seem all that complicated.

Well, thanks to these instructions and this book which I found at the library and my husband who kept me from throwing it all away, the doll originally intended to be of yet unknown sex and name (for my daughter to decide) actually turned out to be a girl called Emma.

Emma2

The doll does have a lot of flaws, of course, her head and limbs are too loose and she does look a little strange without clothes. On the other hand, this is the first doll I ever made and I’ve put a lot of love and effort into it. After being quite unhappy with the outcome these lovely pictures (courtesy of my talented sister Elke) completely reconciled me with having decided to make this. What I love most is the way the doll’s face and hair turned out. For the hair I used some hand-spun wool I’ve been given by my grandmother years ago – I suppose it could well be about 50 years old by now.

Emma3

By the way, since I didn’t have enough time left to make some garments for her, Emma is wearing real baby clothes (her trousers are way too wide, though).

Come to think of it, I am insanely proud of the birthday gift I made for my daughter, so please don’t judge me for posting yet another picture:

Emma4

Thanks for taking a look!

Katrin