About new dolls, new ideas and a new online shop

(Liebe deutschsprachige Leser, ich habe beschlossen dieses Blog nur noch in Englisch fortsetzten, da die meisten meiner Leser aus dem englischsprachigem Raum kommen und es sehr mühevoll ist alles zweisprachig zu verfassen.Ich bitte um euer Verständnis.)

Finally it is done. After almost three years, the first dolls are for sale. Thursday I will open the doors of my new web shop at IndieCard.
I want to say "Thank you!" to all those people that supported and not forgotten me and my dolls the last years. Your loving feedback and mails were definitely the most important support for me. And the reason to dust off my sewing machine and start with doll making again.
Now that Mona and Alexa are finished and their stories are told. I want to tell a little bit more about what inspired me to sew them the way I did at last.

As midwife I was always fascinated by birth giving and breastfeeding dolls by other artists. But I could not find a doll which captured me in a way that I wanted to purchase it. So I began thinking about sewing my own. I don´t wanted to create a toy, but tool for midwifes and childbirth educators. The beginning was hard. I had to figure out completely new ways of sewing and constructing dolls, These childbirth education dolls have to be extremely stable. To demonstrate the birth process, the dolls are pushed and pulled at different spots.
The construction of the doll body is very complex and I decided to machine sew the limbs to the body.So I had to stuff arms and legs through extra openings that had to be closed careful with small stitches by hand. The seams are inconspicuous, but a little visible.

It was also important to me to create adult proportions for the "mother dolls". While crafting it turned out that it was significant to make the head smaller and to construct a neck.

But the most difficult thing was to create the wigs of mother and child. I wanted to show the fontanels at the baby's head. And the head has to withstand some rubbing. It took some time but then I found inspiration while watching a pretty famous little person: Fröken Skicklig`s Kiki in the meadow.

I think most of you will know this amazing little girl created by the fabulous Juliane alias Fröken Skicklig. I knew and loved Juliane´s blog for a long time. Juliane enchants me with her dolls, pictures and stories. And she is one of the most creative doll makers I know.

I had never seen anyone before using wool felt for a doll wig like Juliane did at Kiki. So I tried wool felt,too. And it turned out to be the solution. Wool felt is a wonderful material for doll making. Meanwhile I´m using it not only for the wigs, but also for other details like the placenta and cord.

I wish you a sunny and untroubled Sunday!

Talk to you soon, 

Tabea

Mona`s story

Mona - the first months

Mona trifft heute zum ersten Mal ihre Hebamme. (Ihr habt recht, dass ist Tami - sie ist eine junge Mutter - und eine Hebamme). Da Mona ihr erstes Kind erwartet hat sie viele Fragen. Tami kommt Mona zu Hause besuchen. Dort würde Mona auch gerne Entbinden, wenn die Schwangerschaft unkompliziert verläuft. Die ersten Monate sind aufregend. seid Mona weiß, dass sie Schwanger ist drehen sich ihre Gedanken nur noch um ihr ungeborenes Kind. Es tut gut, dass Tami sie als Hebamme schon während der Schwangerschaft begleitet.

Mona meets today her midwife for the first time. (You are right, that is Tami - she is a young mother - and a midwife). As Mona is expecting her first child, she has many questions. Tami visits Mona at her home. Mona would also like to give birth at home if the pregnancy continues uncomplicated. The first months are exciting. Since Mona had realized that she is pregnant she couldn´t stop thinking about her unborn child. It is good that Tami accompanies her as midwife during pregnancy.

Während ich diesen Post schreibe, gehen meine Gedanken zehn Jahre zurück. Damals war ich das erste mal Schwanger - ich war zwar bereits Hebamme, aber trotzdem so dankbar in "meiner" Hebamme eine Ansprechpartnerin für alle großen und kleinen Sorgen gefunden zu haben. Sie war die zweite nach meinem Mann, die von meiner Schwangerschaft erfahren hat. Wie ist es Euch gegangen, nachdem ihr erfahren habt, dass ihr schwanger seid. Mögt Ihr Euch darüber mit mir hier oder auf Facebook unterhalten? Ich bin gespannt auf Eure Geschichten.

While I´m writing this post, I´ve in mind the time ten years ago. At this time I was pregnant for the first time - I was indeed already a midwife, but nevertheless so grateful to found in "my" midwife a person to talk to about all large and small concerns. She was the second person I told about the pregnancy. What were your thoughts when you realized that you are pregnant?  Do you like to chat with me about this here or on Facebook? I am looking forward to your stories.

Sunny Regards -  Sonnige Grüße,
Tabea

9 Monate im Zeitraffer - 9 months in time lapse

Folgt Mona und Alexa durch eine aufregende Zeit.

Follow Alexa and Mona thru an exciting time.

Es ist einer dieser verregneten Tage, an denen man es sich am Besten zu Hause gemütlich macht. Alexa hat Mona zum Tee eingeladen. Die beiden kennen sich seid Kindertagen. Alexa wohnt seid kurzem wieder in der Nachbarschaft von Mona. Die beiden machen es sich auf dem Sofa bequem. Mona bewundert Alexas neue Wohnung. Sie sprechen über vergangene Tage und kichern vergnügt über Geschichten aus der Schulzeit.

It is one of those rainy days - the best you can do is prepar a cosy day at home. Alexa has invited her friend Mona for a cup of tee. They know each other since children days. Alexa moved recently back to the neighborhood of Mona. Both are relaxing on the sofa. Mona admires Alexa's new flat. They talk about days gone by and giggle about stories from school days.

Nachdem sie die zweite Tasse Tee getrunken haben, wird Alexa ernster. "Ich möchte dir noch etwas erzählen: ich bin schwanger!" Mona muss kichern, das irritiert Alexa. Und dann platzt es aus Mona heraus: "Wirklich! Ich auch!" "Wann ist es bei dir soweit?" "Ende des Jahres!" "Dann haben unsere Babys vielleicht sogar den gleichen Geburtstag!"

After they drank the second cup of tea, Alexa gets serious. "I would like to tell you something: I'm pregnant" Mona has to giggle, which irritates Alexa. Mons has to explain: "Really? Me too!" "When will be your due date?" "At the end of the year!" "Then our babies maybe will have even the same birthday!"

Beide lachen und vergießen ein paar Freudentränen. Sie halten diesen besonderen Moment mit einem Foto fest, um später den Kinder davon zu erzählen.

They both laugh and shed a few tears of joy. They take a photo, to  tell the children later about this special moment.

Ihr könnt Mona und Alexa durch diese aufregende Zeit begleiten. In den nächsten Tagen erzähle ich ihre Geschichten. Auf diesem Blog und auf Facebook. Ich lade euch ein "neun Monate im Zeitraffer" mit zu erleben.

You can accompany Mona and Alexa thru this exiting time. During the next days I'll tell their stories. On this blog and on Facebook. I invite you to experience "nine months in time lapse".

Wenn ihre Geschichte erzählt ist, werde ich die beiden zu Verkauf anbieten. Näheres dazu folgt bald. Auch wird es nächste Woche noch mehr Infos zu der Entstehung meiner Hebammenpuppen geben.

When the story has been told, I will offer both dolls for sale. More information will follow.
I also will be back with more about the making of these birth giving dolls next week.

Herzliche Grüße - Warm Regards, Tabea