I Can’t Believe It’s Friday Already

Where does the time go? I’ve been hooking away at the colorful gray granny squares on my lunch breaks and in the wee hours of the morning I’ve been working on my doll.

I’m not sure what I’m going to name her yet. I think it will come to me after I get her hair fastened on.

As I was cutting her hair, I started thinking about the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls that I used to make. I purchased a pattern back in the early 70’s and decided to make a set in my Home Education class in high school. The dolls were the 27” ones and when I made their hair I threaded a large eyed very sharp long needle with Red Heart red yarn and started making loops all over their heads. I remember it took forever to do this and I decided to cut each loop too. When I got married the year after I was out of high school my mother sent all of my dolls home with me, including the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. The year after that my daughter was born and when she turned 2 I decided to let her play with the dolls. Well by that time the dolls were dusty and dirty and I didn’t want my daughter to be exposed to so much dirt; so I decided to wash them. Not knowing any better, I threw them into the washing machine and turned it on. I’m sure you can imagine what happened then? I opened the washer to put some softener in it and I seen the awfulest thing I thought I had ever seen. There was red yarn mixed with polyfil stuffing and it was wrapped around the bodies of the dolls. Apparently I didn’t sew my openings up good enough and oh my gosh it was a mess. All I could do was cry and stop the washing machine from going any further. I rung them out by hand and then I put them on the line to dry. Then when I couldn’t take it any longer I brought them in and started restuffing them with the yarn wrapped polyfil stuffing and crying the whole time. My poor little daughter didn’t know what to think. Still to this day I will never forget her face as she watched me sewing those dolls back together. Anyway since then I have made so many sets of Raggedy Ann and Andy’s that I lost count. I made them for a few of my nieces and nephews and have made the 12”, 22”, and the 27”. I made and sold them and gave them away. I also know that I totally wore out the pattern from the 70’s and I went and purchased a new pattern and never did make another set of Raggedy Ann and Andy’s.

When I went to look for the old pattern I found the new pattern

and some pictures of some of the sets that I made.

No I hadn’t been drinking and could I have gotten any bigger glasses than those?

And who is that little cutey behind those dolls? I still have a few sets of Raggedy Ann and Andy’s left and I still have the very first set that I made and some day I will actually find them, because I don’t remember where I put them. Ha! Ha!

 

Did anyone ever make Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls? Every set of dolls that I made included the embroidered heart on the left side of their chest. I can’t help but think of these hearts as my Daddy is having a pace maker implanted into the left side of his chest this morning. Love you all and please say a special prayer for the surgeon and nurses at the Kansas Heart Hospital who will be sewing a heart on my Daddy.