Wanda the White

Although I have an ever growing toy order list, I try to sneak in a new design every so often and have been meaning to make a white mole ever since Milly appeared, who was bought by my friend Janet of 'The Empty Nest'.

Wanda too made her Etsy debut, but was only on stage for about a minute before being snapped up.

So she set off on the long journey to America, where so many of my little people end up, to join Milly.

And here they are, photo kindly nabbed from Janet's blogpost, having tea in a most civilised manner. It's delightful to see them brought to life, though I do rather envy them, as I would love to sit down with a cup of tea and chat to Janet.

Thoroughly Modern Milly

Some designs take a long time to hatch - I've been meaning to work out a mole design for two years, but what with my book jobs and things, I've only just got round to it. Luckily I had made a little sketch at the time - in *shock horror* the back of a picture book...

I absolutely do not condone drawing in books, but this was an old battered ex-library copy which I picked up from a charity shop after a trip to the dentists, two bus rides away from the village. Happily my bus home stopped right outside a pub, so I popped in for a pint while I was waiting for it and read my book. It is an old favourite and I hadn't got a copy. It's the most beautiful story for children, dealing with bereavement and not at all mawkish or pro-religion of any kind.

Here, Mole is passing on the gift of making paper chain moles, which Badger in turn taught him. And finding myself with pencil but without sketch book, I drew a mole of my own on the endpaper and called her Milly.

In real life, moles are not at all the sweetly shy characters they are often portrayed as; they are quite fierce and territorial. It's rare to see one alive or dead, but I did find the skull of one last year. It is tiny.

See how sharp the teeth are? All the better for killing worms with.

The dark patches are, I am afraid, dried skin and flesh.

So Milly, although only 6 inches tall, is practically life sized.

And like so many of my little people, she will soon be making the long trip across the pond to someone in America. But I get to keep her for a few weeks longer - which is nice.