Every stitch made with love

That is what the signature on my etsy shop says. And it is true I make every stitch of everything I make with love. A dear friend of mine asked me years ago why my coffee tastes so good, and my answer quite flippantly was, 'because it is made with love'. And do you know what? Food that is made with care and love does taste better and I bet it is more nourishing and has better benefit and value for our bodies.

In the same way I am certain that emotion is trasfered into the crafts and art we make. You can see when an artist is angry, the anger comes right through the paintbrush and through the paint and into the canvas. You can hear sadness in the voice of a singer and I think that you can see love in my dolls.

I love each and every one of the dolls that I make. Not in a 'oh I'm so clever look what I can make' big-headed sort of way, but as I make them love flows through me into them. I love working with natural materials, gorgeous fabrics and beautiful yarn. And I really love the waldorf philosophy behind these dolls. As I form their little heads and feel the weight of them in my hands. As the warmth of my fingers heats the wool I use to stuff them, my energy flows directly into the doll and I think remains there, woven into it's very fabric. For this reason I only make dolls when I am feeling good, happy and positive. My dolls are designed to be played with, to be loved, to be confided in and searched out by their special little people for play, adventures and comfort. Because a doll is so special and because they are in such close contact with their special little person (physically, emotionally and spiritually) I feel that it is vital that they are made with love and care and fun and affection.

Imagine a cold, hard plastic doll, made by someone in a factory, perhaps not in great conditions, perhaps poorly paid, perhaps having a really bad day. Surely very little 'good' and 'love' is being poured into this doll? I don't like to imagine my children playing with something that is infused with sadness or anger. I also don't like to think of my children playing with something that's production has harmed someone (like child labour) or harms the environment.

This is why I LOVE handmade items. Food, clothing, toys,, household items etc can all be made by hand by you, by someone else.

I like to give handmade gifts, I love to pour my love and thought for the person I am gifting to into what I am making. I know that making for my children is my own mother's way of connecting with them. When she is in the UK and we here in Ireland, everytime she makes a stitch on a cardi for Joa, she is kissing him. Everytime she sews Rebe a dress she is hugging her, every letter for Benny is written with a thousand thoughts. It is important for her to be able to express these millions of thoughts and hugs and kisses from afar as we don't get to see her more than 3 or 4 times a year if we're lucky. And you can be sure that when the children wear or play with something my mum has made for them, they know it is extra special because they can feel the love from her for them. Thought is a very powerful thing. It is the basis of any physical thing. I have found that when I am making dolls for little people whom I know, they do end up resembling each other. I am sure that this is because I spend a great amount of the hours involved in crafting one of my dolls thinking of that person; remembering times we have spent together, imagining them playing with the doll. It is as if my thoughts are translated by my hands moulding the doll into shape. This is also the reason that I like making custom order dolls, especially when the parents have a lot of contact with me and send me pictures and stories of the person I am making the doll for. It's a very special process and I feel so lucky to have a role in it.

It is so very true that every one of my dolls is made with love.

Can you tell?