My Nan, Pearl was born on 30th November 1906 and she was one of those whose stories I am the sum of.

She spent her whole life making things, today I would like to share just one of them with you.

She made this doll as my Christmas present one year. I named her Emily and I loved her. Here I am holding her at the Christmas dinner table! Judging by the photo it must be about 1977/78.

She has lost her shawl along the way but other than that she is pretty intact. She now lives with my nieces.

She was really beautifully made and very "playable with". All her clothes are removable, and she has a pretty vest, petticoat and proper long pants/bloomers.

This is the hand stitched pattern on the petticoat. I remember my Nan showing me how to do this, I must try it out sometime, see if I can still do it.

The dress fabric has faded quite a bit on the front, but the back is still like new.

She used to have a little bit of blusher on her cheeks and she smelt of my Nan (Lavender and Johnson's baby powder) for years. 

So today I'm remembering a prolific crafter for whom making things wasn't a hobby, just a way of life.x

Julie