Tween Fashion Friday - Moira

Happy March! When I was a kid in northern Vermont, March was still fairly chilly but all of the tapped maple trees were a clear indication that spring was on its way.  Today, however, in northern Massachusetts, I've been walking my kiddos to school in unseasonably warm weather. 

The weather seems like a silly thing to talk about and yet, I do. A lot.  I'm the sort of person who thinks a lot about place & history, and weather is a big part of a place.  My place has always been New England and something we Yankees love talking about is the weather. When is the first snow coming, the first thaw, when are the trees getting tapped, when will the corn spring up, are the apples ready for picking...etc, etc. I love it.

Today's doll is a bit of an homage to place and history.  It was brought to my attention that I should make a Celtic or St Patrick's doll.  (I have. A couple of times. Like here. And here.)  When I think of St Patrick's Day I think of Ireland, of course.  My grandfather's great-grandfather (so 5 generations back....) left Ireland for northern Vermont.  We haven't retained much "Irishness", honestly.  So when I think of my Irish roots, I really think of my Vermont roots.  I suspect that the green hills & agricultural nature of Vermont was at least somewhat familiar to these immigrant families.

Download the Tween Fashion Friday - Moira pdf here

There were a few things I wanted to avoid with this set: no redheads (I've done that) and no stereotypical symbols (though I did slip one in).  My Irish ancestors had black hair and dark eyes.  Funny enough, my Scottish ancestors were redheads -- as is one of my nieces!

I knew I wanted to make a cozy sweater.  I love green, so that was a natural choice.  And I slipped one little shamrock.  The shorts & sandals are there partly because I had the space for them and partly because of the northern Atlantic Ocean.  If you have ever been to the northern reaches of the East Coast, it gets cold! The range of temperatures can be extreme.  Shorts at midday and a heavy sweater by evening is not unheard of!

So long story short, this is my New England interpretation of an Ireland I've never visited but hope to one day.