Birth!

                                                        


                                                How Monsters are born.
                                                          
Some of you might not know this , but in addition to being the Headmistress here at the Orphanage for Wayward Monsters , I also teach a lot of children how to sew.  Sometimes they ask me funny questions about monster making like , " How do you do that?" .  The answer is that my heart tells my hands what to do , but that is  not a very detailed answer.  The following story is how a monster was born this evening , the long version.

This is the desk in my sewing room. If you look close I bet you will see some familiar things ( but don't look too close ok?)  

This particular birth began over coffee this morning before work. I drew this little critter in my notebook.  I don't always draw first , and even when I do , that doesn't mean the monster will turn out like the drawing. You'll see.

Next I pile all the fabrics I want to use on the desk. These come from another pile that I was too embarrassed to photograph because it is so messy.

 

Then I sit at my desk and I stare at the pile. I think about the shapes I will need to cut out. It's probably best if you imagine numbers and algebra type symbols spinning around my head. In reality , I was singing a few lines from a Belle and Sebastian song that was stuck in my brain all day. 

I cut the shapes. This is everything except the belly of the worm critter , because I have no idea what to do about that part at this point.  

  Across the room is my sewing machine. I only have one chair , so I drag it over here.

                 

    I always make the teeth first.

The I start sewing the stripey body.

This is part of the face.

                                                            

Ah , there we go ,  almost a real face.

                                                 

And then the bottom jaw.

                                                            

The eyes are next. I call them "eye sandwiches" because it's 3 layers of eye material.

             

This is a good stage because now the monster sort of has a personality and I start to feel not alone.

I start to think maybe it needs feet so I make a few.

                                        

I decided to use yellow fur for the belly and sewed it together , but Eeek! I forgot the feet I made!

 

 

     

So I just turn the feet into antlers , problem solved!

                                        

Now I stuff the monster , through a hole I left in its head. Yikes!

                            

I sew the hole in the head shut by hand , which means I move the whole operation onto my bed so I can be closer to my computer ( that means I am watching TV) .  There are tarot cards scattered on the bed because I am also an Oracle.

I sew pom poms on its back because life is too short.

                         

The monster is born! I hug it and give it a big kiss because my heart made it and I love it. I place it the Orphanage next to Raccaroo for the night so he won't be lonely. I will have to wait until Angela comes home before I name him. Angela is my best friend and she is really good at naming monsters , I think it is a gift.

 

 

 

 

 

 And that is it. This monster took a little less than an hour and a half , including the time to take the pictures.  Hope you enjoyed it! I know I did!




                                                                                The End

Rejection and the story of Gems

                                                                            Raccaroo was feeling a bit sad.

                                                    

His brother Giovanni had been chosen for adoption and was living happily with a new family. Even though Raccaroo was happy for his brother , it hurt his feelings to not have been picked.

 This really broke the Headmistress' heart to hear her darling Raccaroo say such things. She knew all about the pain of rejection , but she knew some other things , too...

        So she scooped little Raccaroo into her arms. " Let me tell you a story" she began......

 " You were born with a sparkling gem inside of you. It means that you are a special and wonderful monster. Your gem is powerful , and it twinkles and shines within you."

 " One day soon , your gem is going to collide with another gem , because others have them too. And when this happens my little one , glitter will float all around you and fill the air, we call it love."












Raccaroo thought hard about the Headmistress' story and about Gems....

"Of course it is true" replied the Headmistress. " Goodness , haven't you ever looked in your pocket?"

                                                                 and in fact...

                                                           he never had!

 But there it was! Raccaroo's little gem! And knowing it was there , he felt a lot less sad and alone.

                                        Just as the Headmistress knew he would. 

Fixing the broken piece

The days had become dark and lonely in the Orphanage for Wayward Monsters.

Days and weeks went by in which no new monsters were born........

  And none were adopted either. 

The Headmistress was very unwell. She spent whole days in bed . She didn't smile or laugh.  The monsters were very concerned and they didn't know what to do.

"Oh dear Headmistress , won't you get out of bed today? " the monsters pleaded.  " You could make a new monster , a little brother or sister for us to play with"

"I'm sorry I can't do it today"  replied the Headmistress . " Now please , leave me alone." 

       " But what is the matter?" the little monsters asked her. " Are you sick? Are you hurt?" 

        " Yes , my loves , in a way."  the Headmistress replied . " I have a broken heart." 

                            " Which piece is Heart? "  Giovanni asked . " Is it this piece?" 

" Or this piece?"   asked Saburo. The monsters didn't know which part was her heart. To them it seemed that their Headmistress had so very many strange parts on her body.

" No , darlings. My heart is an inside piece , you can't see it"  replied the Headmistress. " Now please , let me go back to sleep , my heart is in terrible pain , and I need to dream to forget it."

The monsters thought a lot about the broken piece called heart that their Headmistress had. They loved her so dearly and wanted to help her , like she had helped them all the times they had broken parts.   They wondered to themselves what she would do.

" Maybe she needs some more stuffing , and that would explain why she is lying so flat all the time , too"   offered Giovanni. 

" Or maybe we could stitch it up with a needle and thread , like Headmistress did for Saburo when his ear fell off last month , remember?"   Said Raccaroo



  





And so the monsters devised a plan to help their Headmistress fix the broken piece...

Saburo helped Raccaroo load his pouch with threads and needles and pair of yellow handled scissors from the Headmistress' sewing desk.

And together they dragged the heavy bag of stuffing out of the sewing room and into the bedroom....

 and onto the Headmistress' bed where she lay asleep and dreaming.......   

And just as the monsters where about to cut her open to repair the broken piece of their beloved Headmistress....

She awoke! " My goodness monsters! , what on Earth are you doing?!" exclaimed the Headmistress.

"We wanted to help you sew up the broken heart piece" said Giovanni. " We wanted to help you the way you have always helped us."  

" Because we love you so , and we feel so sad when you cry."  Whispered Saburo , who was starting to get a little teary-eyed . In fact , they all were getting a bit weepy , the Headmistress included.

" Oh my loves." cried the Headmistress , scooping the monsters into her arms . " That is the most thoughtful and wonderful thing you could do. And you know what ? It's helping . Just that little act has helped to sew up my broken heart piece a small bit ."  she wept as she hugged them. " I am so grateful to have the love of my monsters , and please , don't be sad. Right now I cry , but I won't always , not forever. Soon we will laugh and smile again , I promise. And in the meantime , I'm going to really try and make more monsters , no more sleeping all day." 


                    






  And that is how they carried onward , little steps at a time , together.