tollipop

tollipop giveaway: kokeshi doll ornament

 
Dear reader, this truly is the sweetest thing.  Do you know what a kokeshi doll is?  When I was a little girl, my mom enrolled me in violin lessons through the Suzuki method.  It was a fairly new approach to music at the time, especially in the quaint little hamlet of my childhood, and so the Suzuki teacher was actually a young woman from Japan who lived at our house for a period of time.  Her name was Mariko. 

She spoke almost no English and, of course, my Japanese wasn't so hot, either.  I have many memories of her gentle hands correcting my posture over and over: my feet, my bow hold, how my chin rested against the instrument.  But most of all, she had to gesture to get my attention.  My eyes were always wandering around her room, which contained fascinating little objects and curios and candies from Japan.

 
After Mariko returned back home, she stayed in touch with my family over the years.  Once she sent us a pair of kokeshi dolls, hands clasped, delicately painted.  I spent many moments watching them together: still, quiet, feelings held close to the heart.  

Before my mom passed away, she asked me which of her possessions I would like to have.  I'm funny this way--there is something about me that is not really attached to things, especially if that thing is supposed to remind me of someone I love.  It's almost as if the object gets in the way of my connection to that person.  Or perhaps I don't want a reminder of her absence. 

Either way, I'm no ascetic.  And I do admit to getting excited over Martha Stewart glitter, so let's not crown me with a halo just yet. 

At any rate, I was content to let the division of her possessions take a more organic path, and one thing I ended up with were these kokeshi dolls.  Which, I have to admit, bring me back to that moment of childhood every time I see them.

Wait, am I still talking?  This was a simple giveaway, right? 

Well, I just wanted to give you a little background information, dear reader.  So you could know of the lovely feelings that go into making these sweet ornaments. 

 
Because we are talking kokeshi dolls and french dots here.  I'm not sure it gets any better than that.

If you would like such a quiet little doll hanging in your own home, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post.  I will draw and announce a winner on Monday.

all right, mr. demille, i'm ready for my close-up...(tollipop giveaway)

 
Dear reader, this poppet is looking for a warm, loving home.  I have not named her as yet, but every time I make a doll I think of dear Charlotte, the simple rag doll so lovingly fashioned for Laura Ingalls by her mother, which she was then obligated to let the horrid little neighbor girl abduct and decimate, only to discover the doll months later, strangled, missing an eye, lying face down in a frozen puddle. 

To this day that story gets me worked up, I'm telling you! 

 
At any rate, back to the matter at hand.  If you are interested in taking care of this doll and never allowing some pushy kid to ride roughshod over your possessions, then here is the giveaway for you.  Simply leave a comment below and I will be back on Friday to announce the winner.

 
Just look at that face.  Doesn't she seem like the only person in the world who will ever truly understand you?  Who will keep all your secrets?  Laugh at your jokes?  Read you bedtime stories?  Come to your tea parties?

I think she will.  Because in the pattern I followed to make her, there was a little-known step which outlined all of these traits and more...

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eta:  Dear reader, I'm sorry to be delinquent with announcing the winner of this poppet.  Things have been so busy--I keep missing my window of opportunity.  I will draw and announce a winner on Monday, so there is still time to enter this contest!  Best of luck to everyone.

i just remembered something i have to do before cleaning the house

It astounds me, my capacity to get busy with one activity in order to avoid another.  Back in the college years, my apartment was never so pristine as when it came time to study for exams. 

Basically it works like this:  when I should study, I clean.  When I should clean, I make stuff.  When I should make stuff...well, I usually do make stuff. 

Drat, I broke my chain of procrastination! 

Wait, here goes again: when I should do the laundry, I call someone.  When I should call someone, I make my bed.  When I should make my bed, I get something to eat.  When I should get something to eat...well, I pretty much always follow through with that. 

Sorry, derailed again. 

Incidentally, this chain defaults to food quite a bit, like when I should be working out, practising the piano, or picking my kids up from school.

But enough about me.  I just wanted to say my house isn't going to get cleaned this week.  At least not until Friday.  Because Thursday is that handmade holiday gift show I was telling you about--the one I do each year with a lovely bunch of creative friends.  To be truthful, I look forward to the evening as much to see them as anything else.

 
So I am trying to get a few goodies together.  And until then, everything else is going to slide just a little.  Like the lunch I packed for Sophie this morning: a sandwich and a candy cane. 

Because apparently yesterday, when I should have been grocery shopping, I was busy making stuff. 

I was probably eating something, too.

hatching

I wonder if you're going to grow up to be something cute?

 
Prim is the new black.

 

And while we certainly discourage blatant pandering to fashion, there's something about this particular label that makes the headmistress swoon with delight.

..................

Dear reader, the Tollipop elves have been hard at work lately in preparation for a birthday party, an upcoming art show, and hopefully a fun holiday giveaway that I will tell you more about if and when the planets align.  This little ornament is a sampling of the goodies. 

 

But which is she~coy or demure?  It's so hard to know!

 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend...

tollipoppets

There's a flurry of works in progress abounding chez Tollipop at the moment...enough to arouse suspicion as to the state of the headmistress's mind. 

A little stitching here, some painting there, a furious round on the piano, a scarf that was knit and then unravelled, the advent of some dollies...

Just between you and me, it's my favorite way of doing business.

Is it efficient?  Dear me, I should hope not!  What role does efficiency play in the curriculum of the Tollipop School for Moderately Well-Behaved Young Ladies?

One that is decidedly minor.

look what i made yesterday with all the free time i didn't have:

 

Twice a year I participate in a delightful handmade goodies show with some dear friends.  I say dear friends but in truth, were it not for this event, I might never cross paths with them.  Is your life busy that way as well?  Anyway, I look forward to this night as much to see them and all their creative brilliance as anything else. 

The only thing is, last night's show was the first time in the history of our cozy get togethers that I decided not to participate.  Why?  Oh, you really don't want to get trapped in the meanderings of my mind on this one, but the short answer is I have been feeling kind of desperate to simplify lately, to conserve my scraps of free time and energy for family at this special time of year. 

So the show was one of those extras on my list that I thought I could just cross off with a red pen...failing to anticipate my penchant for last minute impulse, second guesses, and the irresistible pull of beckoning friends.  If they happen to be reading this, it was lovely and so worth my crazy day of sewing to see you all again!

p.s.  The Tollipop Hundred Dresses giveaway winner will be announced later this afternoon.  Hurry, darling, there's still time to enter!

what the world needs now: french dots!

Remember that little stitching project Caroline and I were working on?

 

Well, we finished it!

 

And they turned out quite lovely!  Just ask Miss Caroline.

 

My poppet is going to a special someone.  A special, little someone.

 

In other news, yes--we did decorate for Christmas yesterday. 

   

I know, I know, dear reader--it's unfashionably early and I would cringe, but the girls were terribly excited and I must admit it's something I really need this year.  So we are reveling in the magic and the music and the spirit of the season a bit sooner than usual, but I have no apologies.  It just feels so good.

And finally--a reminder that the "hundred dresses" Tollipop giveaway is going on throughout this week!  To enter, please leave a comment on Monday's (November 10th) post! 

little miss stitch

Most days after lunch, Caroline sits beside me on the couch and stitches away as I read to her from James and the Giant Peach.  These are golden moments.  They make me perfectly happy, and by perfectly happy I mean the joy that encompasses fixing an unthreaded needle about forty times in ten seconds.  

Still, isn't my sweet girl making lovely progress?  And don't you just adore the little striped tights in orange?  And two-toned hair (because there are so many lovely reds to choose from)? 

An idea has been forming in my mind for this little stitched poppet.  Is it a good one?  Wisely asked.  I think we shall all have to wait and see.

p.s.  I did her little french dot eyes.  If this had been my poppet, I would have french-dotted the living daylights out of her!

introducing two old friends

 

Once there were two old friends who hadn't seen each other in a very long time. 

"Oh, hello," said Miss Hemingway, "Is that you?"

"Yes, hello," said Miss Capote, "What a surprise.  How very well you blend with these neutral surroundings."

"Is that so?  Well, no danger of that with those spots, to be sure," nodded Miss Hemingway, "One runs a greater risk of being blinded altogether!"

The old friends smiled at each other, smiles which exposed two rows of tightly clenched teeth.

"By the by, did you happen to notice my new novel that's come out?" asked Miss Capote.

"Dear me, is that a run in my stocking?," observed Miss Hemingway, bending over to fix her seams.

"Number one on the New York Times best seller list, six weeks running," continued Miss Capote.

"That reminds me--guess who's getting the Booker Prize again this year?" said Miss Hemingway, suppressing a yawn.

This always did it to poor Miss Capote.  Mentioning the inner circle of the literary elite.  How had it managed to elude her, lo these many years?!

"Well, if you call a room full of cataracts and halitosis your idea of fun, who am I to rain on your parade?," she sniffed, scanning the skies hopefully in case any piano movers had gotten careless on the fourteenth floor. 

"Quite right, dear Capote.  Someone has to write for the masses.  Don't ever let anyone take that away from you," smiled Miss Hemingway, steering her friend toward a banana peel that had been discarded on the path. 

Dear me!  Old friends who are literary enemies.  Literary enemies who are old friends.  With chemistry like that, is there any need to worry about the energy crisis?!

                                                          ********

Try as I might, dear reader, I simply could not come up with a scenario in which these two dolls got along.  In fact, it was all I could do to keep them from going to fisticuffs during the photoshoot! 

But I have it on their word of honor they will behave nicely at the auction tomorrow!  Do stop by for a visit and watch them size each other up from opposite sides of the room.  How very pleased either would be to go for the highest bid!

miss imogen.......(tollipop giveaway!)

I am often asked for the moment in time when I first crossed paths with Miss Imogen.  Dear me--I can hardly recall myself, it's been lo these many years!  But if memory serves correctly, it all began on a horridly hot afternoon when Nanny Pierce left me alone in the park.  She was sweet on the livery boy at #17 Firefly Lane, you see, and rid herself of my company whenever the opportunity presented itself.

As I scuffed along the promenade, a voice as clear as a bell called out, "My, but that's a fine sailor suit you have on!  Come here, little boy, and tell me your name!"

I scowled in disbelief.  Who dared speak to me in such a manner?!  It could be none other than this presumptuous poppet, who happened to be sitting squarely in my path. 

 

"I'm not a boy," I gritted, torn between the desire to ignore her completely yet desperate to set the record straight, "And anyone can see this is a frock, not a ruddy sailor suit!" 

"Dear me, so it is!  Ah, but these eyes aren't what they used to be!" trilled the doll, altogether immune to the grossness of her error.  "Come join me anyway," she continued,"It's quite grand here by the pool!"

"Pool?!  Did you tip off your rocker?  You're sitting on a fountain, for pity's sake, and by the looks of it I'd say the pigeons have already taken you up on the offer!"  I clicked my heels together smartly, pleased as punch with my retort.

"Now then, it's only a fountain if you persist in calling it so!  Just as one might insist I'm nibbling on a tin of stale pretzels rather than this pain au chocolat and superbly fizzy drink!," she countered with a conspirational wink.

"But those are pretzels and as for a drink, your glass is quite empty!" I blustered, stamping my foot and resolving to give Nanny Pierce such a pinch when next she came to fetch me.

"Is it now?" hiccupped the doll, "Dear me, we'll have to do something about that.  The trouble is, my sweet Margarethe (how did she know my name was Margarethe?!), there is such a dearth of imagination in this poor world.  What can it hurt to pretend these old chips are instead a French pastry of the loveliest sort?"

We regarded one another a long moment and I felt all my thwarted longings and frustration slowly slip away. 

"Right you are, Miss Imogen, (how did I know her name was Miss Imogen?!) and now that I think of it, what say you to joining me on this little stroll down the lane?  We are almost certain to find a county fair in the distance with acrobats, treacle tarts, a ferris wheel, and no doubt all the fizzy lemonade we could ask for and then some!"

"Fizzy lemonade?!," cried Miss Imogen, jumping down from her perch and favoring me with a brilliant smile, "What are we waiting for?  Come, Margarethe, there's not a moment to lose!"

************

This, dear reader, is the third and final Tollipop giveaway!  Well, when I say "final", I don't exactly mean final.  I never mean final, especially when it comes to bedtime stories.  Just ask my kids. 

At any rate, Miss Imogen is the prize!  I hope you like her!  She's of sturdy construction, starchly stuffed, and just the sweetest thing.  To enter, merely leave a comment at the bottom of this post.  How simple is that?  Of course she'd love for you to invite your friends to play as well, because the only thing better than winning a goody bag yourself is watching a friend win it instead!  What could be merrier?  Oh, such goodwill!  Such fun!

Wait!  I just had a brilliant idea!  Let's say if the winner happens to be directed here via someone else, then that person wins a Tollipop print of his/her choice.  That helps soften the blow, doesn't it? 

The drawing will be held this Friday at 11:30 a.m. PDT by my sweet, patient Sophie, and the results will be announced shortly thereafter here on Tollipop.  Thank you so much for visiting this little blog--it's absolutely delightful having you here!

 

p.s.  Sorry for the alignment issues in this post--I did not intend to center everything.  Dear Typepad, I adore you, but your new improvements are practically taking my breath away!