When I arrived for her holiday fitting, Mabel Watson Payne was sleeping deeply. While she dreamed I padded softly around the house gazing at any number of newly-sprung, Christmas-themed features and tableaux.
The snow-globe collection multiplies year after year through the magical intercession of Christmas stockings, according to my daughter.
The next time I went in to check, Mabel Watson Payne was quietly regarding me as she slowly returned to this land of ordinary mortals. (My daughter had pulled the pink-and-yellow felt window-curtain against the sunshine, which partially accounts for the otherworldly glow.)
And soon she was game to emerge from her cozy wrappings and to try on the red Christmas frock and see if it would prove acceptable.
What a patient, cheerful mannequin she showed herself to be!
The fit and the feel of the garment did, to my great relief, please the client and it pleased the client's mother also.
In the wardrobe there are new white tights purchased with a gift certificate from Baby Gap because my daughter (and granddaughter) have decreed that in this special case such a traditional little girl accessory could be welcomed into the wardrobe without scruple.
Sad to say, the buttons and buttonholes destined to close up the back of the dress are not done yet and I had to take it away again for these finishing touches. But it will return to its permanent home quite soon.