I have been sharing these dolls slowly, perhaps because I have been working on them equally slowly. The summer arrived and the green outside is just too enticing to spend much time inside by the side of the sewing machine.

I had this idea to return to my sets of dolls, I have been concentrating all efforts on one doll at a time, and while that really helps me dive deep into their creation and explore a lot of fun sewing and knitting techniques, I also know it’s very fun to dress and work on two dolls at a time.

The idea for these two girls sprouted from a childhood memory. One of my very loved ones: spending a few summer weeks at the home of my maternal Grandmother, in company of my cousin Alejandra.

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I am a bit older than her and so I was able to slightly boss her around, but she has always been taller than me, so I guess we were even. We did everything together those short hot weeks. Climbing the cement fence of the garden to grab the oranges growing at the top of the tree, the ones you could only dream of while resting under the tree. Chase the cats of our Great Grandmother, terrorizing them into a petting frenzy.

Under the blistering summer sun, we used to cross the street and go over the train tracks, always trying to find forgotten treasures or flattened out coins (from previous adventures) and then open the very heavy metal doors of the candy shop. A very old man tended this store and he had glass counters with all sorts of delectable treats under them.

We would buy candy by the scoop and he would package it for us in these little newspaper cones he would fashion instantly with his expert hands. I remember how marvelled I was of this paper-cone-making-business. Weighing our candy, packaging it and always giving us “extra”.

He also sold these pink cookies, drenched in syrup, the very favourite treat of our youngest aunt, Georgina. She was our childhood heroine, so mature, in secondary school you see. She had beatiful dresses and a room all to herself, where we begged of being allowed to play in. She didn’t but we did it anyway. Our Grandmother was a big enabler, always making excuses for us and letting us do things we weren’t “allowed”.

We were so very young but we were permitted to walk really far by ourselves, to the downtown of our little city. More like sleepy, dusty town in Northern Mexico. We were sent to buy fresh corn tortillas from the closest store to us, which was like seven blocks away. This was usually done before lunch, so at the hottest time of day and you still had to wait in line outside, for what looked like an eternity to us.

Alejandra and I made a game of going to the “tortilleria”. We counted all the sidewalk lines and we were not allowed to step on any. We also counted “bochos” (volkswagen beetles), birds, fences, you name it. Always trying to walk in the shady bits of the street.

Coming back to the house, laden with the most intoxicating smell known to man: fresh tortillas, hot off the press. Our Grandmother would lets us stuff our faces with them, just as we crossed the kitchen door, and would spread the tortillas with huge dollops of butter and sprinkles of salt. Just thinking about them makes me want to cry for my childhood.

Isn’t it funny how we long to grow up and how fast it happens for us (though never as fast as we then wish it) only to spend the rest of our lives reminiscing…

We were also given a bit of spending money for our efforts and so one summer Alejandra and I got into buying a new series of comics. I remember going to bed, dreaming of being the girls in the comics.

We used to sleep next to the sewing room, which was right by our Great Grandmother’s room and the blue bathroom with the tiny square tile. This was a large house, as my grandparents raised 13 children of their own, so there were a few bathrooms in the house and the one we used mostly, while staying there, was this one. I don’t know why it felt so special to me that we had a set bathroom to use. Our toothbrushes were there so it made it “ours”.

We slept on a very old wooden bed, together. We would tell stories and talk very late into the night, listening to the crickets and the cats outside. Watching the light from the moon coming through the sewing room door. Sometimes we went under the bed, when we wanted to talk “secrets”, only to discover the frame of the bed inscribed by all of our uncles’ names and their young romances!

Alejandra lived far away and she didn’t always come to spend a few summer weeks with us, but I did spend almost every summer at my Grandmother’s house. Not all summer of course, as my own mother needed my help too.

These days spent away from home felt to me like such extravagant holidays. Like living in a different world. Being a different person, where I wasn’t the eldest, in charge of everyone, but instead the youngest of everyone around me.

Getting butter candy from my Grandpa’ pockets and going with him to buy fresh bread for supper every evening, watching cartoons on Saturday and playing silly games with Alejandra. Jumping rope on the front porch and watering those endless geraniums. Best smell ever.

I remember one summer I wanted to surprise my Grandmother and I cut all her roses and brought her the biggest bouquet in the world. Oh boy! She was indeed very surprised and nearly had a heart attack. I got yelled at, reprimanded and “punished”, which lasted a whole couple of hours for which I repented most loudly and vehemently. I was very dramatic!

So my little dolls are inspired by this kinship with my cousin and I also decided to name one with my Aunt’s name, I have always liked it. Maybe as some sort of reparation for all the childhood pestering, conniving, lying, destroying of precious property I imposed on her.

I also had a school friend with that name in third grade and we used to have competitions amongst ourselves to see who had the best cursive and hand writing. Hoping to see who got most praise from our teacher, we were very in love with him. I guess you can be in love when you are in third grade? Good Lord.

When designing these dolls I noticed I had so many fabrics in mint colour so I decided to dress them both in the same colour.

It was fun to see it all coming together and to go back in time to my childhood. There was a lot of sadness in my childhood but so many good memories too. Always good and bad. Light and dark. Real life. The stuff we all write about.

But enough reminiscing, let me tell you more about the dolls. Tiphaine over here is wearing a little dress made with repurposed fabrics and a little shell button. These two girls love peter pan collars so I tried to appease their requests.

She also has a pair of leggins, socks, underwear and little shoes.

The littlest terror, Georgina, is a bit younger than Tiphaine. While both dolls are made with my figlette pattern, Tiphaine is almost 20” and Georgina is a little over 18”. So Tiphaine naturally is 5 1/5 while Georgina is about to turn 5. BIG difference (if you ask Tiphaine that is).

Since theya re cousins they both have freckles and red hair, but they are very different people. Just like Alejandra and me. Related and loving each other, but with a unique story of our own.

Georgina has a cotton top and bloomers, socks, underwear and little shoes but because she had short sleeves I decided to knit her a little cardigan. The nights can still be a bit cruel over here.

Both girls play very good with each other and Georgina asks all the questions while Tiphaine provides all the wise answers.

Being almost 6 months older, and having lived that much more, gives her maximum authority on all subjects. Georgina agrees and hopes one day she can have a younger cousin to inspire and mentor through life, just the way Tiphaine has done so for her.

They love to go shopping with Grandma because she dresses them up, makes a fuss about their hair and spends extra time on them.

My own Grandmother would spend endless hours braiding my hair into thick crowns. We didn’t have hairspray back then so she used lemon juice on my hair, I suppose to make it stick?, but it also gave my hair highlights and it made it smell special.

While I have very sweet memories of my Grandmothers, both of them, I am starting to look ahead and I hope I get to have grandkids of my own! Oh boy, they are going to be covered in dolls, clothes, knits and all sorts of mollycoddling. I won’t be a stern Grandmother, I am going to be the biggest enabler of all time. You just watch me.

Both Tiphaine and Georgina have a home they belong to, where they will be extensively mollycoddled too. Such is their bright future and their good luck. Thank you for coming to read about my childhood memories and for paying my dolls a visit. We greatly appreciate your presence and hope reading about them brought some good memories your way.

More dolls in July.