Dear Dimity Doormouse....

   To those artists, teddy-bear and doll-makers who've ever created a little "being" with your imagination and then your hands, I know you will agree, that these little "people" do take on a life of their own. They become as real to you as your pet goose.....  or your favorite kitty.
     I can easily relate to the  movie, "A Tale of Beatrix Potter", in the scene where Beatrix is talking to Peter Rabbit as he evolves from the tip of her paintbrush. So it was for me when painting my Dimity Doormouse.

    Having a little creation on flat paper is one thing... being able to hold it in your hands is quite another. Therefore, when I decided to expand my Book characters  to soft, little huggable creatures, I needed to find an artist who could create a prototype with as much skill and artistic imagination as possible. I relied on someone who's praises I have sung many times before... our one and only Penny White. Penny had already created a few little charmers for me:  JEMIMA!  FIONNA Goosefeathers, among them. I knew she would do justice to Dimity Doormouse, and alas, so she did!

 From her teeny tiny toenails...

and her sharp, shiny claws, ( capable of holding a needle and thread!),

Penny recreated Dimity. Her profile is just perfect! Just look at those beady little black eyes!

and that long nose with chunky cheeks,

.

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 Her tummy is robust due to all the honey she "borrows" from Mamsey Bear's pantry cupboard.

She's great!!!

She came to me dressed only in her fur.

I asked Penny not to clothe her, as I had all the fabrics for her frock, bustle, mop cap and apron here.

Putting it all together was interesting to say the least, I have never dressed a mouse before;

except on paper.

The sleeves of her little waistcoat actually had to be stitched to the bodice as she wore it.

Twas a tight fit for a stout little mousey.

None of the fabrics exactly matched what I painted in the book, but they were close enough. I made her apron, but actually liked the look of her skirt better without it.

She grasps her needle perfectly!

 All in all, she is most decidedly... DIMITY DOORMOUSE!

  

Dimity Doormouse does light housekeeping for Lady SilverFox and is also quite a Mistress of the Needle... just like Penny. (For THIS Dimity is needle-felted from soft, silver-gray wool)

 She is quite an excitable little mousey and tends to let her emotions get the better of her:

"Her little voice rose higher and higher... (Mamsey had to bend down closely to hear Miz Doormouse, for although her voice was quite shrill, it was still a very small voice.)"

 You may wonder why she is called DOORMOUSE as opposed to Dormouse (which is the proper spelling). Well that's simple, you see, she has a lot of doors: "She disappeared into a hole in the cupboard wall, which led down to a myriad of twisty tunnels. Heaven only knows where all her tunnels led; some said she could enter any home in the Hollow without ever having to step outside."

 I adore my little Dimity created by me and RECREATED by Penny!

THANK YOU PENNY for a really lovely job well done!

Visit Penny here:

http://angelsdoor.blogspot.com/

  Penny also recreated another character you may know... He will be a surprise until I am able to obtain the perfect pink and blue striped fabric for his waistcoat.  Can you guess??

 The mystery guest is not on the shelf, yet.

If you haven't signed up for the drawing for a free signed first edition book, do it in the 2nd post beneath this one! There is still time drawing in on Dec. 18th.. If you win, you will meet Dimity in the pages.

Thanksgiving....An American Holiday... A universal thought..

 Lest we forget the humble beginnings of our forebears, and the incredible  hardships they endured during the early days of our Country's founding, let's take a moment to remember  and be thankful for this America the Beautiful.

 Hope you all enjoy  an excellent Holiday. James and I will be off to a 3 day show and spend our Holiday in a Hotel...BOOOO! I can't remember the last time I had a family meal on Thanksgiving.  It is not too late too sign in for the free book drawing in the post below. I won't choose names till Dec 18th. Surely you would like to win a first edition copy of this book?  C'mon Ladies, throw you hat in the ring, it's fun!

Win a first edition copy of Mamsey Bear and Mopkin..

When the books arrive on Dec 18th, I will draw 3 names for a First Edition copy of the new book. (If you have already pre-ordered, and your name is chosen, you will be reimbursed).

 (This is the back of the jacket)

  Fed Ex brought a package this week. It was nerve wracking, I asked James to open the box while I snapped away with the camera to preserve "the moment".

He peeled away the brown paper and there they were, 5 carefully stacked books.
My precious little pile of advance copies.I have been chronicling the creation of this book for 2 years on this blog and my website, so this was a special moment for us.

 I was seriously  D E L I G H T E D at the jackets.. would the interiors be just as good??! With trepidation I open the book to peek inside....and Hallelujah! I love it, I love it! Thank you Printers!  Thank you Dan the layout man! Thank you dear husband and support system! Thank you God!

Welcome Book 3 in the Hopalong Hollow Set.

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       There is just something about a freshly printed book. Turning the pages for the 1st time, the colors envelop me with the warm rusts and ochre of Autumn and I can still smell the ink that created all those colors on the thick, smooth paper. I lovingly run my hand over the surface of each page and count the perfect nine stitches down the center of the page in this smythe sewn copy, studying each illustration to see that the art meets perfectly in the middle of the seam. Is the text clearly visible throughout the book and easy to read? Yes, it is; white text on dark backgrounds and black text on pale backgrounds. Is the embossing perfectly lined up to enhance the little bird "carvings" on the book jacket? Yes, and it feels lovely as I run my finger over the delicate indentations.  Somehow, even the illustrations seem fresher and more vibrant than ever before. I quietly read my story for the hundredth time, but this time is different, for now, I am not reading from my messy sketch book, or my neatly typed manuscript, I am reading it FROM MY BOOK.

  It is a wonderful thing to behold the artwork which spent so much time in  a satchel, having  been reborn as a new entity in the pages of a book. I am quite certain that all authors and illustrators must feel this quiet and sweet satisfaction when they hold in their hands the final result of much love and labor; ones own book.

I immediately wrote a special message on a pure white page in one of these 5 precious copies, to send to my mother in Colorado. After all, she is the epitome of what this story is all about. She will be the first person ( besides James and me) to read this book.

 Now I am  pleased to offer my new book 
"Mamsey Bear and Mopkin"
 to those of you who wish to pre-order.

     We expect the bulk shipment to arrive here on December 18th. At this moment, the books are on a freighter from

Hong Kong and heading for port in Seattle, Wash. then on to Chicago and finally, here, in Tennessee. There are 3000 copies in this run and it is my tradition to number the first 50 books in the first edition. . So if you want a numbered copy order soon  !(Update 11/15, those first 50 numbered books are now taken)

 If you were to see my book in the book store, you would be able to flip through the pages, but since this IS my bookstore for now, imagine you are at Market Day in the Hollow, browsing the books in Milliken Butterfields caravan book shop.

Here you are offered a nice glimpse of Mamsey Bear's world. It is a world of nature,
rich illustrative detail, a mother's love, and hundreds of tiny stitches.

For a synopsis of the story and
for ordering information follow this link to my website:
http://www.jerilanders.com/Mamsey%20Purchase%20Page.htm
. Some of you have already emailed me about ordering and your names have been noted in my little "order book". Thank you! I will also be taking book orders at the
art shows seen on my show schedule.

 I guess you could say this is my virtual "Book Launch". I hope those of you whom I have met at shows, those who have enjoyed my other books and my lovely blogger friends, will join me in celebrating my third book in the Hopalong Hollow Series. Thank you for following along on this journey. All of you have been wonderful companions. Don't forget to leave a message if you wish to be entered in the drawing!
Now I will spend the next several months promoting and selling this book before I begin work on book 4... a tale about a Moose. 

 Jeri's email: jeri@hopalonggreetings.com

Corn husk dolls

   
    Today's post was going to be on a completely different subject... until I went up to the attic to find some fabric. I did not find the blue and pink striped material I was searching for in the many bins stashed beneath the eaves. What I did find was something that had been buried in my  attic for nearly 15 years. An appropriately rediscovered treasure box for an
Autumn day such as this.

 A box full of corn husk dolls I had made so many years ago.

 Poor little dollies were in quite a state of neglect and disrepair.

 Evidence of savaging  mice was reflected in the missing locks of corn-silk hair and the cracked, tattered and torn sleeves and skirts of my little ladies.

 The state of one particular farm maiden was quite shocking... nearly all her hair gone AND her bonnet in shreds; her apron  full of corn had fallen past her knees in brittle defiance and she, being sprinkled  in dust, with tiny cobwebs stretched across the pleats of her once flouncy skirt.

       Poor "Mother Nature" was completely bald, having once had a glorious mane of blond flax. I suspect wee mice babes spent cozy evenings nestled in a woven bed of her stolen locks.

 The pathetic little garden gal still had mud on her face, but her hair and hat were long gone.

 The one hopeful  thing all the dollies did have in common, was the sweet smile each lady wore upon her corn husk face, despite her bedraggled appearance. This brought to mind a long forgotten memory. As a child, I had a Raggedy Andy book in which one page showed Andy  lying all alone on the attic floor, his stuffing strewn across the floor as bits of cotton fluff. Being a sensitive little girl, I used to skip that page, because it frightened me; but Andy was wearing the same happy smile across his face as my cornhusk dolls wore on this day.

    There was nothing for it but to bring the ladies  down from the attic and rescue them from the dreadful fate of total disintegration.  How do you repair a corn husk doll?  Lots of warm water and glue.

 It wouldn't hurt to have some extra cornhusks on hand, and I repeated my trip up to the attic to find a nice supply of dyed husks that had also been put away  those many years ago.

  I used to make these  corn husk dolls  to sell at fairs when my children were young, literally hundreds of them, and these 6 are the last of the last. I once wrote  and illustrated an article on making this type of doll for Early American life Magazine back in 1986 or thereabouts. I must find that old magazine, I know it's around here somewhere...

 I was delighted,  amongst the dolls to find, (well preserved in a thick plastic bag), dozens of little faces I had painted.... for dolls I never completed.

Silly little faces!

,

 This set of "Potted Ladies" was in the best condition of all, and I only needed to re-glue a flowery hat of petals upon the "Zinnias" head.

 I've always loved the idea of creating things from cast-offs, and what is more cast-off than a corn husk?! Making  a simple corn husk doll is quite an enjoyable task and quite easy. An early American doll would be very much like this little primitive group below.

   I set about restoring each of the ladies.Most needed completely new skirts and sleeves and bonnets and ALL needed new hair. The supplies needed for this repair work are: strong thread, lots of straight pins and T-pins, tacky glue and warm water to soften the husks and make them pliable.

The straight pins hold everything in place as it dries.

For hair I used Sophia's lovely wool (she is a Lincoln-Finn sheep), flax, dark wool roving and bits of dyed cornsilk.. It took all day to repair the dolls, but the results were quite nice.

New bonnets were needed for all ladies.

 The "Peace-maker"is quite contented with her new woolen hair and a fresh new bonnet.

.

Her hand-painted "quilt" was a bit chipped here and there, but easily refreshed with acrylic paint.

The little garden gal got new sleeves, apron, bonnet and flax braids. She required the most repair work.

I am very fond of her somewhat 'homely" face.

'

My cheerful farm maiden has gathered all the corn back into her new apron.

  I was able to re-use her red cornsilk hair, I really liked it's darling frizz.

This lovely lady is still a bit crackly here and there, but otherwise is in good shape and only needs her "quilt" to be painted.

This piece was entitled "Windy Wash Day".

(It seems a wasp has landed on the "blowing" quilt..)

I will hand-paint the quilt blocks directly upon the corn husk with acrylic paint.

  "Mother Nature" has returned in all her glory with a mane of hair made from  my Sophia sheep's curly silver wool.

Ah... that's better!

 Now everyone really does have something to smile about.

 That was fun! I just might have to make some more of these.

 If you would like to make a corn husk doll, I am sure Youtube has lots of directions. This is especially fun for little girls. Have you ever made one before? I will look for that article I wrote, and when I find it, I'll add the instructions to this post.