Little Doll and Lady G See The New Project

The background and first two chapters of this story "A Love Story - Little Doll and Fat Cat" began on the July 21st posting.

Hello!

The new day found Lady G and Little Doll sitting on the edge of the work table where the completed garden sat, with the early morning sunshine coming in the window, waiting patiently for me to wake up, get dressed, have my coffee and find my way to the studio. They knew my habits by now of course and were aware that I was not at my best until after I had time to wake up and drink my coffee. :<) I had told them that today we would begin a new project - one that I thought they both would enjoy being a part of.

"Good Morning ladies!" I said, "how are you today?" "We are fine, thank you" said Lady G, "did you sleep well?" Before I could answer her, Little Doll said, "We hope so, as we have been waiting quietly for quite some time now so as not to wake you so that when you came into the studio you would be well rested and ready to start the new project!" "Oh Little Doll!" said Lady G, "We musn't ask for her to show it to us before we have said our good mornings! That would be rude!" I smiled and said, "That's fine Lady G, I understand the excitement and yes I am well rested, Little Doll and ready to show you and Lady G the surprise project I have for you!"

I brought them both to the other work table where I do my cutting of cloth and work on my dolls and sat them down beside where a pattern lay. I said, "I chose this pattern yesterday while you two were deciding on your flowers for Little Doll's garden - so, what do you think? "It's a cat!" said Lady G and Little Doll at the same time. "And it looks like a big cat! said Little Doll. "But a lovely cat - so distinquished looking!" said Lady G. "Yes, it will be a large cat" I said, "and very handsome I think. I am making a gift for my dear friend Andrew, who loves cats and when I saw this pattern I knew that it would be perfect for him - as Andrew is a large man. "Oh, I think this will be a wonderful project!" said Little Doll, who had removed her hat to get a better look at the pattern photo, "What color is he going to be?"

"Well" I said, "I love working with the wool felt and I think that this will be a perfect fabric for a large cat, as it will work well to hold the stuffing and keep the surface smooth. I also have chosen the two colors of gray and rust that you see here." And I showed them the wool felt that I had picked out the day before. "What do you think?" I asked. "Do you like this color combination for the cat?" "It is beautiful fabric" said Lady G, "I think it will be lovely!" "I love the colors!" said Little Doll, "they will be perfect for a large and manly cat!" "Oh Little Doll" said Lady G, "you make me blush!" "Well they will" said Little Doll, "and I can see that he is going to be a very handsome and strong cat! Can I help you get started?" she asked me. "Not yet" I told her, "it is not a good idea for little dolls to use the scissors or the sewing machine, just like with the glue. So I will take care of this part of making the cat and cut out the fabric pieces and sew them together." "You know best" said Lady G, "isn't that right Little Doll?" "Yes, I suppose so, but I do want to help as soon as I can!" said Little Doll. "You will" I told her, "I promise that as soon as the dangerous work with scissors and the sewing machine is done, then you can help!"

So I lay the paper pattern pieces, which I had cut out the night before in preparation for today so I could begin right away, onto the fabric and drew around them with a pen. Next I pinned the pieces together that were to be sewn. "There are so many pieces!" said Little Doll. "How do you know which ones to sew together?" "There are instructions with the pattern" I told her as I showed them the instuction sheets, "and they tell me what steps to take in making this cat." "Fascinating!" said Lady G.

"But I think that I would prefer to sit on the bench and watch" said Lady G, "That way I will stay out of the area you will be working in." So I helped Lady G to the bench and making sure that she was comfortable with dove on her lap, I asked Little Doll. "Would you like to sit with Lady G on the bench?" Little Doll shook her head. "I would like to stay here if I may" said Little Doll, "I find this so interesting and it is as if I already know this cat. I can't explain why, I just feel like I do." "That will be fine" I said, "there is plenty of room to work around you." "Thank you." said Little Doll as she sat staring at the pattern photo. So I continued my cutting and pinning and sewing while Lady G and dove watched from where they were sitting on the bench and Little Doll sat by the pattern on the work table, totally taken by the photo and observing and questioning each and every detail of the cat's construction.

The body of the cat was a bit complicated and a process that I had not done before, so I was very involved in the sewing and construction of these pieces. "I need to concentrate now" I said to Lady G and Little Doll, "so I won't be able to talk with you until I have this body sewn together." "We will be quiet" said Little Doll. "Like we aren't even here" said Lady G. "Thank you" I said, "I will show you the finished body when it is sewn." "O.K" said Little Doll. "Shhhhhh!" said Lady G.

This is the bottom of the body. When I was finished sewing it, I stuffed it wiith a polyester fiberfill. Both Lady G and Little Doll were quite amazed at this process and how the cat body now seemed to come to life once it was stuffed. Very little was said as they watched me work except to comment on how much fiberfill it was taking to stuff the body. "It takes a great amount of fiberfill." I said, "The rule of thumb when making a doll is to stuff it until you think nothing more can be added - then add more." I also sewed and stuffed the cat's 'feet' we shall call them. As the cat will be sitting upright, the back paws will be 'feet' and the front paws will become 'arms'. :<)

"Shall we see how he looks with his feet?" I asked them as I placed the cat's body onto the feet to see how they sat together. "My goodness!" said Lady G, "This IS going to be a very large cat! Don't you agree, Little Doll?" "Oh, let me see him up close!" said Little Doll, "He is going to be amazing!" And as I placed her next to the cat's body and feet where they sat on the ironing board, I could feel the excitement building in Little Doll. She certainly was enjoying this project!

Thanks for stopping by today!

It is so hot here in this part of WI and my small apartment with no air conditioning is like a sauna! It is now 88 degrees in here as I write this and 50% humidity. I am very happy to not be working with wool felt today! :<) Take care. Wishing you a cool place wherever you are! :<)

Tomorrow we continue creating the cat for Andrew and Little Doll becomes more and more focused and involved in the making.

Barbara Diane