22 July 2014

Crochet ice-cream fairy doll and two important lessons

Wellington has the best weather. Said no-one ever. The cold bite of winter has finally hit us with full force and its arrival coincided with the last week of the mid-year school holidays so instead of just being miserable outside, we could all be miserable together inside as well. Thank goodness for loom bands and children that like to craft and watch lots of telly.

Aimee has always been quite the keen artist and the walls in our house bear proud testament to that. Especially at about Aimee height. Ahem. Lately she has been producing some really imaginative pictures where I can actually tell what they are instead of having one of those awkward conversations where I pretend to know exactly what she's drawn and she looks at me all indignantly because I guessed incorrectly.

One drawing she made for me in the holidays was so cute that the moment I saw it, a picture popped into my head of how it might look as a crochet doll. This is Aimee's picture of an ice-cream fairy:
There is so much to love about it. She chose the yarn colours and I spent a day cobbling it together with the help of this crochet ice-cream tutorial. I posted an image of the work in progress on Instagram and this is how it ended up:
You're in luck, this girl doesn't mind being photographed from behind.
All the while, Aimee's older sisters and she would come over to where I was working and see it taking shape and offer lovely words of encouragement. Yet, I could never have imagined how much Aimee would love it once it was finished.

I see all the flaws and the things that could be tweaked to make it look better and the hair that could be much more 'tamed', but Aimee loves it just the way it is, and isn't that a great lesson? To love wholly and completely in spite of any imperfections, both real and imagined?
I received a lovely comment on Instagram that praised my mothering efforts. I was so touched to read that because there are days when I feel like I get it all terribly wrong. Like this shining parenting moment in the holidays that my little artist also captured. It's fairly certain that no crochet dolls will be resulting from this picture.
Evidently, I must have some major anger side-effect issues that make not only my arms fall off but those of the child being disciplined. Or maybe it's a super power because it's a mighty fine excuse to not do any housework or cooking. Every picture of a sad child must also have at least one caricature of a smirking sibling enjoying the verbal tug-of-war. The thing is, I don't even remember what I was angry with her for and I bet she doesn't either, if you asked her. I might have missed the whole point of the picture. I haven't really. I will do my best to make sure that when I next convey my displeasure to one of my children that at the very least, my feet will be pointing in the right direction.

Let that be a lesson to us all.

Joining in with another fairy this week over here.

12 comments:

  1. I love this post so much. I mean this is one of the best blog posts I've read in a long time.

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  2. Lovely blog post. I laughed very hard at the cranky mummy picture. Kids know how to stick the knife in don't they??

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  3. You are so hilarious Leanne, reading your blog always put a smile on my face :)

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  4. I love the fairy!! I bet that no one else remembers about the grumps that were captured in the picture! xx

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  5. I love how when one child behaves badly the other(s) are like little angels. The well behaved ones often offer me their parenting advice. "That's not how you behave if you want to use the computer, is it Mum?"

    Love the fairy Leanne, very clever

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  6. I LOVE that last picture... Perhaps because I can relate! I definitely must remember to point my feet in the right direction going forward... :)

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  7. Oh Leeanne - I laughed and laughed reading this and the girls kept asking why? Hahaha - I dont think there is a single Mum who hasn't lost her arms, and the childs arms and twisted their legs and mouths in imaginable postures... parenting eh. so hard, but we are all human and I keep telling myself that they only test test test because they feel safe to do so.... sometimes it's easier to deal with it than others. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Love what you've made and Aimee (and the other two!) is a very lucky girl with a mum like you!x

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  8. Very cute ice cream fairy! And such a funny post! Thanks for the laugh! :)

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  9. The doll is so lovely, and the picture it was inspired by. I would not worry too much. I still have a picture my son drew at nursery, which he said was of "my sad mummy".

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  10. I loved loved loved this post (I read it days ago and totally meant to comment!). You express the highs and lows of parenting so very well! xx

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  11. Hysterical! And love the doll!

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  12. WOW!! it turned out perfect I love how you interpreted her picture, its fantastic! I have had many a drawing from my little girl showing the complexties of the family....interesting and humbling listening to her try to explain it too!!

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