Gift of the Magi

I finished this little lady yesterday morning and if you aren’t familiar with the story behind Cindee’s design, here it is borrowed from Cindee’s site..

“Based on the short story by O. Henry,

the young wife had but $1.87 to buy a Christmas present for her husband. She cut off her long hair and sold it so that she would have enough money to purchase the perfect watch fob for the pocket watch that belonged to his grandfather.

But, alas, he had sold the watch to buy the perfect set of tortoise shell combs for her beautiful long hair.”

My friend Janet and I decided her name had to be Mattie. I didn’t make her hair as tidy as Cindee’s, it’s a bit messy looking. When I first saw Cindee’s doll, I thought of Emma Thompson in Sense and Sensibility and when it came time to give Mattie her hair, my mind kept going back to the short story that was the basis for this doll. I just kind of thought how sad she really looks and her hair made me feel that way to, like you just want to give her a hug and reassure her all will be fine soon.

When it came time to do something with her feet, I just wrapped some lace around them, pulled them together at the top of the feet and that’s all. I get a real sense of this doll just being happy to have what she does and if she were a real person, she really would be like the character that Emma Thompson played. Very simple needs and dare she hope for better.