Monday, June 04, 2012

Arabella.

Meet Arabella a Victorian rag doll that  I actually made many years  ago! This one was made for my Mum and I have just rescued her back. I made rather a lot of these in the 1980's. One for each of Fluff's friends on their Birthdays. Quite a few Grandma's when they saw them wanted one too! Each little girl was allowed to choose their dolls name( which I then embroidered onto the pinny) and  tell me their favourite colour to make the clothes in and hair colour.
Fluff's doll was called Anna and you can see the posting for her here.


The pattern was in a magazine of the time called "Woman's Weekly "which I still have. The name of the original maker is not mentioned which is a shame. I adapted mine with a different hat pattern and hair styles. Arabella has ringlets.


Linking up to:
Handmade Harbour: Handmade Monday.

24 comments:

Donna said...

Gotta love Arabella, she's perfect and such a relief you have rescued her...she's a family heirloom now :) Donna ♥ x

Catherine said...

Arabella is such a sweetie Mrs A ! Good job you rescued her ! Hugs, blessings and love from Catherine

Margreet said...

Your Arrabella is gorgeous, Mrs. A....just as Faye's Anna (I already told you in 2010...wow)...so sorry I was not one of Faye's friends for that birthday!
xxx Margreet

Grenouille Greetings said...

What a fab Mummy you are! Wish I'd been one of Faye's friends back then! Having just paid a late visit to Fayeworld, I see that you celebrated a birthday recently. I hope it was delightful! Hugs, Lesley

stylesofcooking said...

What a beautiful rag doll.Thank you for sharing. Ah womans weekly, what a mag that was!!

Anonymous said...

Oh they do not make them lie they used to! She is just fab.

Sandra H said...

Hi Mrs A, Your talent really does shine through all your creations and this is just absolutely gorgeous they must of kept you busy in your day truly stunning work:)xx

CarolC1 said...

She is lovely and holds her age well. lol. I have a couple too, one has purple hair so we called her Purple Patty. You are invoking memories now.

Faye said...

I knew that was Arabella when I saw the pic in dashboard. xxx

Free Spirit Designs said...

Arabella is gorgeous! such a pretty and hugable dolly :)

Mary Ann Tate said...

Oh she is so sweet...thank you for letting me know that you posted about her:)

lovetartan said...

She is lovely - love the expression she has too. (I remember the Woman's Weekly!) Mich x

Carolee Crafts said...

Rag dolls are so sweet and sadly forgotten over time, not sure why. Arabelle is so sweet

Handbags by Helen said...

She's a very cute rag doll. I remember my mum making one for me when i was little - your blog post brought all the memories back!

Christmas Pie Crafts said...

Arabella is lovely and I wish that 30 years on, I looked as good. Certainly brings lovely reminders of when I was growing up. Hope you have a good week.

Irene said...

Arabella is brilliant - you are so talented. thank you so much for sharing her with us.
luv
irene
xxxx

Wendy said...

She's lovely and has certainly stood the test of time - love the button eyes! x

butterflyblossom said...

Brilliant that she has stood the test of time! You will have to do a tutorial on how to make our own Arabella! X

Bernie said...

Arabella is gorgeous, Mrs. A! I've tried doll making in another life but their faces would give children nightmares. You are so talented!
Hugs

Stephen @ Soy of the North said...

Arabella looks lovely. It's good to see that she is still in great condition even after all this time.

Amanda said...

Oh wow she is absolutely gorgeous, I would have loved one of these and to make it personal as well is just the cherry on top. Hugs, Amanda x

Zue said...

You ceratinly have a great talent there. She is stunning. Clever you!
xxx

CuddlyBunny said...

Hugs to you and Arabella, who is adorable!

I'm glad you're back together again!

Jan said...

The 'Womans Weekly' was a regular magazine delivered by the paper boy every week. Your doll is lovely, well done on the rescue. :o)

Jan x