The Green Desert Cat's blog

Time has arrived to present myself, not something I do very easily... Let's begin with the name. Some of you have wondered what the Green Desert Cat stands for, asking if perhaps he has anything to do with Green Eggs and Ham. I love Dr Seuss, but no, nothing to do with him or Green Eggs and Ham. I adore cats, I have 12 of them, real cats. But the Green Cat is a velvet cat I sewed a few years ago, and he's the cat pictured in the logo. I live on the border of a desert, so he became the Green Desert Cat.

Though my family is from Canada, both my grandmothers were British. One was born in the West Indies, the other was born in England. My sisters and I were born in Switzerland and educated there, which is where we all learned to sew, knit and crochet. I can remember myself knitting and crocheting little wallets and handbags, but sewing frogs which I would fill with rice or sand was one of my favourite pastimes when the weather kept me away from the horses or the ski slopes. Real frogs are still among my favourite creatures, Mr Jeremy Fisher being my main source of inspiration, but I have yet to create a pattern for a frog doll, definitely one of my projects on my list.  

So sewing is something I have been doing for years, but having raised five children, sewing remained a rather practical activity for a long time. It is only with the birth of my grandchildren that I began sewing bunnies with my quilting scraps. My bunnies were big characters right from the beginning, with long long velvety ears that I would sew from leftover Minky fabric. I wanted to create bunnies that could be hugged and dragged around, designed to become inseparable companions, kindred spirits with whom to have late night conversations, a source of comfort and solace when sleep is elusive.

I like to think that dolls have souls through which they can bring true comfort. Mona Susan Power, author of "A Council of Dolls" and member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, tells us that when she went off to college, her mother packed her teddy bears and punched holes in the boxes into which she had packed them so that they could breathe. In Mayan culture, worry dolls are given to children to help them cope with anxiety. Before bedtime, children whisper their worries to the worry dolls who are then placed under their pillows for the night, where the dolls work their little wonders until dawn. My wish is that every doll I have sewn is cherished and loved like a spirit, providing its owner with as much pleasure and comfort as I have enjoyed while bringing it to life.