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,

.

.

 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.