Piper Awaits the Return of a Friend

Here is a small girl....waiting....

.....anxiously, excitedly anticipating....in her waking hours while tending to her duties as Nectar-keeper.....

....in her dreams, always looking upward toward the sky...keeping an eye out for HIM....always keeping an ear out, listening for HIM.

Piper is excited and anxious for the return of a friend. It is any day now until the return of Scout. And oh what a reunion that will be! This little girl can hardly wait.

Iridescence...

...is the property of a surface that changes colors with the change in angle of view or change in angle of light. In the kingdom of feathered friends, there is only one such amazing creature that exhibits this magical property.

A creation made from fabrics that mimic this property is in the works. Can you guess the creature to come to life?


Enter Puck

Act II, Scene I

The night of the next day

A wood near Athens

Enter, from opposite sides, a Fairy, and Robin Goodfellow (aka Puck)

Fairy.  Either I mistake your shape and making quite, or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite call'd Robin Goodfellow: are not you

Robin. Thou speak'st aright; I am that merry wanderer of the night.

- A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare

Act III, Scene I

Robin.  I'll follow you; I'll lead you about a round, through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier: Sometimes a horse I'll be, sometime a hound, a hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire, And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn.

- A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare

Perched high above and out of this world sits a naughty little woodland creature who looks down upon man and mocks him with sly words of trickery and doses of magic. She wreaks havoc upon mortals and her cheekiness knows no end. Her name is Puck, also known by humans as Robin Goodfellow.

The creation of Puck was inspired by the ballet, The Fairie Queen, based on William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Puck came about when I received a custom order with only one specification...a doll inspired by the ballet. Prior to this, I knew about A Midsummer Night's Dream (although I had never read the play), but knew nothing about The Fairie Queen. It did not take much for me to dive into a bit of researching and then reading of the entire play by Shakespeare, before I decided that Puck would be the character to bring to life in this creation. If you have read the play or seen the ballet, you may understand why it was so irresistible to choose Puck as the creature to bring to life. No character stood out so boldly, so intriguingly, or so amusingly than little Puck.

Although Puck is male in the Shakespearean play, Puck is presented as female in the ballet, The Fairie Queen. I chose to bring to life the female version of Puck because that's who was tugging at my feelings when I had just a doll head looking at me without hair or body.

So, here she is...tiny, cute, and oh so adorable at first glance....

....but, upon closer look, you shall find a wicked, wild and mischievous little being who fondles with your mind in your dreams and awakens you to a world of disorientation and feeling dazed and perplexed.

But, don't be intimidated...she's only a sprite and though she likes to play trickeries, her heart is really not evil, just overly playful and a tad naughty. You may even find that when you meet her, she's very friendly and quite minuscule and vulnerable to loveliness.

I had such a ball making Puck! It's as simple as that. It's always sad for me when the process of creation ends because I have to leave the world of magic from which I've just come and switch gears so suddenly that it disorients me. Having been in Athens and walking with Oberon and Titania, Puck and Bottom, and the rest of Shakespeare's people, I find it dizzying to be back in 2015 with it's digital craze. Thank you, K, for bringing Puck, Shakespeare, and The Fairie Queen into my world and hence giving me a chance to fly off into the land of magic, at least for a bit.

Act V, Scene I

Robin.  If we shadows have offended, think but this (and all is mended), that you have but slumber'd here, while these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding but a dream, gentles, do not reprehend: If you pardon, we will mend. And, as I am an honest Puck, if we have unearned luck, now to scape the serpent's tongue, we will make amends, ere long; else, the Puck a liar call. So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends.

- A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare

Puck is a Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup doll. She stands less than 6" (15 cm) tall. She is made with all natural materials. Her doll skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe. She is firmly stuffed with bio-wool made in the US.  Her seams are sewn twice for reinforcement.  She has embroidered facial features. Her facial structure is sculpted giving her a sweet little face with an itty-bitty chin, round chubby cheeks, deeper set eyes and a naughty smirk. Her cheeks, nose and various body parts are blushed with red beeswax.  She is a sitting doll with sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes.  Her legs are shaped with permanently bent knees so that she may perch from on high and swing from the moon to cast spells upon the mortals. She also has a belly button and a bum.

Puck's spritely mane is made of a blend of wefted mohair and suri alpaca, looped strand for strand onto a crocheted mohair wig.  It is so lovely and fun to style into a number of coiffures. Just use your imagination and the possibilities are endless. Note: her wild and wicked mane can be styled gently to your heart's content, but Puck hates grooming (as all woodland creatures do). So, take heed and do not comb or brush that magnificent mangly mess. Also note that her wonderful hair requires no ties for any of the number of styles you see below...gently use her own hair to tie off the styling...wonderful and simple.   

Puck comes concealed under a hooded cloak made of cotton linen and lined with a 100% Thai silk. Her shroud is decorated at the collar with a handknit trim made of a 100% wool yarn.

Beneath her cover, she wears a woodland dress made from100% wool roving interfaced with a 100% cotton gauze material, then stitched and frayed. The dress is tied in the front with an alpaca yarn. Her dress is sturdy, but not meant for repeated removal and will not withstand rough play. Puck's booties are hand knit with a 100% wool yarn. She comes sporting a hand knit cap made just for her great fanciful mane. The cap is knit with a Japanese yarn blended of mohair, silk and wool and it was designed with two openings, one on each side to accommodate that wild, wicked hair that sometimes turn to horns.

Puck comes straddling the moon for this is the very moon that looks down upon A Midsummer Night's Dream. Her moon is made from a 100% cotton duck cloth lined with a 100% cotton muslin and trapunto quilted by hand, stuffed with 100% carded wool and lightly tea-dyed to give texture and color variation in order to symbolize the beautiful patterns, textures, shadows and shapes of our very own moon. The trapunto pattern is designed differently for both sides of the moon, hence giving a lot of variation in shape and stitching. If desired, the moon can be hung from the ceiling with Puck astride.

Ay! Puck! The little wee sprite who can "put a girdle round about the Earth in forty minutes" worth.

It's fun to be a mischievous little fairy....

....and have horns to show for it.

Even more spectacular is when your hair is actually your horn, which means more styling fun for this naughty woodland creature.

But, the best part of all, is that you get to ask your woodland friends to weave you head gear made just to fit those horns. 

Now, who wouldn't want to be a mischievous creature of the night?

Baby Erminka and Ted...

...will be available for purchase via a brief auction through The Enchanted Toybox starting on Friday, May 1, 2015 at 7:00 PM (EST) and ending on Saturday, May 2, 2015 at 7:00 AM (EST). Their starting bid is set below retail value...a good opportunity to bring home the baby and her teddy at a special price. After auction closure, if available, they will be placed in the Scarlet Elfcup Etsy shop at retail value...a good opportunity for those who are interested but don't have an account with Hyena Cart.

To learn more about Baby Erminka and Ted and to see lots more photos, go to their blog post.

The Baby...A Miracle of Life

When I was pregnant with my first child, one of my sisters gave me a picture frame for my baby shower, with the following words etched on the frame:

"Before you were conceived, I wanted you.

Before you were born, I loved you.

Before you were here an hour, I would die for you.

This is the miracle of life."

- The Miracle of Life, Maureen Hawkins

The baby...THIS IS the miracle of life. 

The moment my baby was born, I said to our doula, "I never knew this kind of love existed." It is a kind of love that only a parent has for their children.

I was never much of a baby person, before babies, that is. Then, when I was pregnant with my first baby, I found everything about the mystery of babies fascinating and utterly awe-inspiring beyond anything else....from each stage of the pregnancy to the time of birth to soaking up every second of the newborn days with my children. 

I have two beautiful, healthy, outgoing, happy children and an amazing husband. I am so, so happy in my life right now — it’s the kind of happiness when you look around and realize, this is it. I have everything I’ve ever wanted. And you start to wonder how long it will all last. Because the honest truth is I'm afraid of what comes next. I'm afraid of a life without the delicious weightlessness of a newborn in my arms. I'm afraid of a life without the sweet milk breath of an infant. I'm afraid of a life without the sweet innocence that I see reflected in my daughter's big brown eyes. I'm afraid of the unmerciful speed at which time tugs on my children to urge them to grow and change more quickly than I can blink.

I'm afraid, simply, to move on from the days of babyhood. I'm afraid, because before me is the rapid transforming days of watching my children grow up at lightening speed right before my eyes, seeing dimpled toddler limbs change into thinned out walking legs, garbled words mispronounced, sentences spoken grammatically incorrect...all replaced by startlingly clear, articulate words and formulated thoughts. I see with blinding brightness, the happiness, this time of babies nesting near, days spent around nap times and stories and coloring and play time, safe in our cocoon at home.

I see that this is the best time of our lives.

And, I fully believe that with all my heart.

But, what I'm terrified of is this...if this is the best time of my life....

....how, then, do I leave it all behind?

Out of this reflection on babies, growth, and change comes a creation made from a slightly different "fabric of life." This one is made of threads of life that pull at your heart and soul and make them ache and jolt because it is inspired by the one true miracle of life...the baby. And from the baby is born the parent....a privilege and a responsibility so great that one must endure heartache like no other kind of heartache and experience love that exists like no other kind of love.

With all that said....I present to you....Baby Erminka.

Although she is inspired by the one thing in life that currently brings me great angst and sadness (the rapid pace at which children grow), Baby Erminka actually represents the greatest joy that life can offer...a baby to call one's own.

Baby Erminka is the first of her kind....a 6" Wee-Bee Baby Elfcup. She stands less than 6" (15 cm) tall. She is made with all natural materials. Her doll skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe. She is firmly stuffed with bio-wool made in the US.  Her seams are sewn twice for reinforcement.  Her locks are made of mohair yarn tied into two wispy baby pigtails.  She has embroidered facial features. Her facial structure is sculpted giving her a sweet little face with a happy smile belonging on that of innocent infants and toddlers. Her cheeks, nose and various body parts are blushed with red beeswax.  She is a sitting doll with permanently bent knees that allow for a very open sitting position and she has sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes.  She also has a belly button and a bum.

Baby Erminka comes capped with an over-sized hand knit hat made of a silk-mohair-wool blended yarn by Noro of Japan and trimmed with a blend of suri alpaca, mohair and silk yarns. Her baby onesie is made of a 100% cotton knit fabric and decorated at the collar with a hand knit trim made from a 100% alpaca yarn. The onesie opens fully on the front with three nickel-plated brass snaps. Her shoes are hand knit and made of a cashmere, silk and wool blended yarn by Superior held along with a mohair-silk yarn by Rowan.

Baby Erminka comes cuddled up with a tiny teddy by the name of, simply, Ted. Ted is the smallest head to toe hand knit creation I've ever made. He was hand knit with a lot of love and joy from a 100% alpaca yarn and stuffed with 100% wooly innards. His sweet little bear face is embroidered with 100% cotton floss. His ears, paws and feet are padded with sprinkles of Liberty of London 100% cotton fabric.

Here's to the joy of being parents...a privilege and responsibility born out of the miracle of life....presented to you in the form of Baby Erminka and Ted.

Scarlet Elfcup is honored to be participating as a guest with The Enchanted Toybox for their May upload coming this Friday, May 1. Baby Erminka and Ted will be available through The Enchanted Toybox upload. More details to come during the course of the week and announcements regarding Baby Erminka and Ted's availability will be made through Scarlet Elfcup's blog and Facebook page.

I would like to send a heartfelt thank you to Angie Fahrenkopf of Violet and Poppies and all the makers of The Enchanted Toybox for giving me this unique opportunity to partake in the pool of beautiful creations produced by all the amazing talent at The Enchanted Toybox. It is truly an honor. Thank you so much.

More to come soon. Thank you and have a lovely evening.