Inspiration For a New Project

Today I begin a new quilt. This one is special....a special quilt for a special little girl. I received a piece of wall paper from a friend to be used as inspiration for her daughter's quilt. Zoe is moving to a big girl bed and Raggedy Ann and Andy will be moving with her.

I took the wall paper to my local copy store, enlarged each figure, and will use it as a template to create an applique of each figure. A bit of embroidery will finish their features. I will use these appliques to make a panel that will serve as the focal point of a twin size quilt. Wish me luck....

Now for a little Raggedy history....Did you know???? Raggedy Ann had her beginnings in 1915 at the hands of author, Johnny Gruelle. She began as a ragdoll made by a family member for his daughter Marcella. It was this faceless ragdoll that served as the inspiration for this happy character in a series of children's books. Shortly after drawing a face on his daughter's doll, he decided to give her a name. Pulling a book of poetry off the shelf, he combined two titles..."The Raggedy Man" and "Little Orphan Annie" and came up with Raggedy Ann. In 1920 he gave Raggedy Ann a playmate known as Raggedy Andy. When Gruelle's daughter died at the age of 13 from a small pox vaccination, Raggedy Ann became the mascot of the anti-vaccination movement. Gruelle continued writing Raggedy stories in remembrance of Marcella.

Raggedy Ann and Andy are timeless and remain a tender memory from our childhood.