I have recently finished one of the biggest sewing projects I've gotten myself into! Being a VERY beginner at sewing, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to pull this one through on my own, but I was glad to see that even though it was FAR from perfect, it did turn out very close to what I wanted! :)
So this specific rag doll comes from a collection of classical Brazilian children's book, called "Sitio do Picapau Amarelo" (Yellow Woodpecker's Farm) written by Monteiro Lobato, with the first book being published in 1920. These books are a gold mine of children fables, written with a level of brilliance that you seldom find in children's books today. One of characters in his stories is this rag doll called "Emilia," who comes to life after taking a "talking pill" while visiting an underwater kingdom with "Narizinho"-the little girl who owns her. Emilia is a VERY outspoken, smart, determined, curious "living doll," who is always getting herself into lots of adventurous situations.
Monteiro Lobato's books are amazing because he not only created incredible imaginative stories (think of Alice in Wonderland), but he added much of the Brazilian folklore and culture to it as well. In addition, in each book he addresses different subjects, such as astronomy, history (one of his books he wrote during world war II where he discusses the issue of war to children), math (yes...there is one book where they travel into the world of arithmetic!), grammar, biology, etc... It's really amazing! His goal was to teach children through fun, imaginative stories, instead of dry textbooks. I think he was the Brazilian "Charlotte Mason" version! Charlotte Mason's followers would have a blast with his books.
Monteiro Lobato's books are amazing because he not only created incredible imaginative stories (think of Alice in Wonderland), but he added much of the Brazilian folklore and culture to it as well. In addition, in each book he addresses different subjects, such as astronomy, history (one of his books he wrote during world war II where he discusses the issue of war to children), math (yes...there is one book where they travel into the world of arithmetic!), grammar, biology, etc... It's really amazing! His goal was to teach children through fun, imaginative stories, instead of dry textbooks. I think he was the Brazilian "Charlotte Mason" version! Charlotte Mason's followers would have a blast with his books.
If you're wondering why the huge black lines around the dolls eyes and the tiny heart mouth...this is why! Here you can see the "original" version of the rag doll that I was going for.
Below are the cute, modern cartoon version of the rag doll.
Best of all, my daughter LOVED her Emilia doll! I also made it large, like the original one in the story. So she ended up being my daughter's size! She's been having tons of fun playing with it :)
Can't wait to start reading our Monteiro Lobato's books with my daughters :)