My mum's third doll making class was held this weekend in our cosy (slightly squishy) playroom. 6 women - creators, mums, a collector,and all Waldorf doll enthusiasts - came from both interstate and within Tasmania to learn what it is to create a Waldorf style cloth doll from scratch. What could have been a very uncomfortable weekend - having 6 strange doll loving women in your home - was in fact a happy, refreshing two days, due to the wonderfully interesting, kind and polite nature of our guests. Using all natural fibres, a bit of sweat and more hands than they had available, each of them created a beautiful little cloth person to take home and cherish.
As each head was intricately assembled and the finished product realised, the creator fell in love with the face they had made with their own hands. Every unique head claimed to be the sweetest we'd seen.
It's always so interesting to meet new people who love to create and share the deep love my mum has for cloth dolls. I love hearing about their lives, about why they love dolls, how they discovered the Steiner lifestyle or the Waldorf doll, and how they came to know and admire my mum's beautiful dolls.
Something I realised over the course of the weekend was just how wonderful and refreshing it is to create things in the company of other people. It does get lonely and a little tedious making jewellery or crocheting something alone at a table or while watching tv or listening to music. To have people to talk to about unrelated things, and to help and receive help and inspiration from on your projects was such a gift. And I've decided I'd like to enjoy this gift more often. In my mind arose the idea of a craft group of friends who meet every other week on a Sunday, perhaps, drinking tea, catching up and working on something lovely with their hands. How nice. I think I may have to organise something or else be a lonely creator for the rest of my days, missing out on what was once a very common excuse to socialise.
xx Talk next month, Kate xx
