What are little girls made of?

Hey, look at that, a little mini blogging hiatus I was too busy not doing anything to plan.

Sorry about that.

I will be back right away with some ideas (and pleas for ideas of yours too), but you can in the meanwhile, if you wish, pop over to this beautiful blog and read a little guest tutorial I wrote on how to teach knitting to a child.

Hannah of Lily and Thistle is the talented creator of a gorgeous paper doll Smootch received in the mail not too long ago. Smootch and I have been making our way through the Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series in a non-sequential way and have just tonight read the second chapter in the first book where Laura talks about the paper dolls Ma made for her and Mary to play with. Ma would cut out the figures on stiff paper and then draw in the faces and details. Then Ma would cut bits of coloured paper to dress the dolls in scarves, dresses and such. For Laura, who at the time had a corn cob for a doll (not a corn cob doll, but an actual corn cob she wrapped in a blanket and held like a baby), a Ma-drawn paper doll with real human features and pretty, colourful clothes to wear must of been a sublime experience.

I can't say enough good stuff about the gorgeously rendered doll and multitude of outfits. It's incredibly refreshing to have real art for Smootch to focus her imagination on, instead of the cartoonish and anatomically freaky dolls I often see in the stores. Smootch, whether or not she appreciates the subtleties of quality play material, definitely knew she was being handed something special.

But don't believe me. You can ask Smootch what she thinks.

If you would like to induce a bit of rapture around your house, Lily and Thistle has a free printable doll you can download and play with too. Or even, if you are feeling generous, pass along to a child you may have hanging around too :)

Full a full set, visit the MiniMe boutique.

And thank you Hannah! You have not only gifted my little girl some new, beautiful playthings, but also are helping her define just exactly what it is little girls are made of. In Smootch's play with your dolls, I can see that a generous portion of them is magic.