Dolly Pattern, 1968

How cute is this? I never much liked dolls as a kid (something about "talking Tina" on a Twilight Zone episode, and my vivid imagination), but soft rag dolls are different. More innocent, maybe? More traditional? I have never made a doll, but I think I'm going to have to make this for Christmas for a little girl I know. This is another fun thrift store find. I think I paid 35 cents. Some people think it's poor taste to discuss price, but I love to share a good deal! I have a friend who adores thrift shopping as much as I do, and we will send one another packages of gifts on a whim...several items from thrift stores with the tags still attached just to, as I said, share the deal we found! The irony is that it costs a fortune to mail the packages, so it somewhat defeats the purpose, but it's just so fun to buy stuff for people sometimes (especially when they appreciate it). This pattern reminds me of a doll I had when I was a kid in the 60's. Her name was "Shrinking Violet". She had yellow yarn hair, a lavender-colored dress, and when you would pull her string, she would say, "I'm afraid of noisy boys", or, "I've got butterflies in my tummy". I've seen her on ebay go for over $300! Vintage toys are very collectible now. I saved her for a long time, but she was stored in a shed outside of my parents' house, where rats got into the cardboard boxes and chewed my beloved memories to bits. I have a photo of myself with the doll that I sent out as a homemade Christmas card several years ago. I'll see if I can find that and post it here.