“… smells have the characteristic of reproducing past times together with sounds and smells never equaled in the present.” – Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate.

Tita is a very special girl. “She’s very sensitive to the smell of onions, so much that she would cry inside her mother’s womb whenever she bit an onion. One day the sobs were so loud that they caused her delivery. Tita arrived to this world prematurely, on the kitchen table, between the smells of a noodle soup they were cooking, the thyme, the laurel, cilantro, boiled milk, garlic and, of course, the onion. As you can imagine, The usual spanking was not necessary, Tita was born crying beforehand, maybe because she knew that her oracle determined that in This life marriage was denied to her. Nacha, the cook, says that Tita was literally pushed to this world by an impressive torrent of tears that overflowed on the table and the kitchen floor. In the afternoon, when the scare had passed and the water, thanks to the effect of the sun’s rays, evaporated, Nacha swept the residue of the tears that had remained on the red tile that covered the floor: With this salt filled a sack of five kilos that they used to cook for months to come. This unusual birth determined the fact that Tita felt most comfortable in the kitchen surrounded by the smell of atoles, teas, cooked beans, chickens, breads, and so much more.” –Laura Esquivel. This is my piece for “Favorite Book Character” challenge for The Makers Medley. If you would like to know more about Tita you are welcome to read “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel, my very favorite book since I was 15 years old.

This little girl has been the doll that has taken me the longest to make. I have improved the way I make the head and I believe this is the most firm head I have ever gotten. I also used a technique I learned from Cathy Eklund from Brambles and Blossoms to make the head floppy and movable without any plastic joints.

As you can see Tita is very fond of chickens so I had to make her one to cuddle. She’s actually a very well behaved baby but if you ever have any trouble with her is better if you take her to the kitchen while you’re cooking. The smell of food on the stove always seem to calm her down. Just make sure no one is chopping onions since that may make things worse.

Tita is just under 16 inches and she is a natural fibers art baby doll. She’s filled with clean carded wool. Her skin is Laib Yala fabric in dark peach color. Her head is needle felted and then covered with doll skin and soft sculpted to make the features more noticeable.  Her neck is floppy and needs to be supported when handled. Tita’s legs have plastic joints for better movement and her arms are hand sewn three times to her torso. Tita is fully soft sculpted and anatomically correct.  Tita’s brown hair is wild brushable mohair yarn crocheted into a wig cap and then gently brushed to get the fibers longer. The hair can be gently brushed and styled different ways. Her brown eyes are hand embroidered with cotton embroidery floss in brown. Her blushing is made with red/orange beeswax.

Tita will go home with the clothes shown in the photos, which includes:

• A handmade white cotton diaper with safety pin
• A handmade white pair of bloomers
• A pink dress made with a pattern by WildMarigold
• A white apron made with a dress pattern by Sami Dolls
• A hand crocheted wool multicolor shawl.
• A pair of white socks
• A pair of handmade faux leather boots made with a Meadowfinch pattern
• A handmade wool blend flower clip
• A wool blend chicken plush

All my babies travel wrapped in a blanket.

Tita’s adoption fee is 440 USDollars plus shipping (shipping to Mexico is free, 33 USDollars for USA and Canada, and 50 USDollars for the rest of the world)

If you would like to see more photos of Tita you can see them in her album here.

You can also see a little video of her here.

Tita is now available for purchase in the shop.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my last baby doll of the year. I will take a little break until next year. I want to be able to enjoy Christmas with my daughter.

If you haven’t done so, make sure you subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss new babies in the new year.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Hugs to you,

Aubrey