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Portrait Doll

I made this for Dawn

Created by: Angela Turner

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  • Project Details

    About

    Dawn asked me to make a portrait doll of her mum to give as a gift to her dad on Father’s Day 2020. Pauline had been a very good friend of ours for many, many years. Last year, in May, she found out she had cancer. She spent some time in the hospital before going into The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice where she lived her last few months, till August 2019. Pauline had a very big personality, and a huge heart, so was a big loss to all her family and friends. Of course I wanted to do this for Dawn. I started ‘the mum doll’, as it became known, the very next day. We discussed which photo we would use for inspiration and in the end chose a lovely picture of Pauline at her 40th anniversary dinner. It was a time when Dawn, us and all her family and friends were there so would be memorable to all of us. I used the pattern for the body of the doll from Louise Crowther’s lovely book The Knitted Doll and designed the head myself. It worked out perfectly in the end, loved by all.

    Yarns

    • material-yarn
      Drops baby merino - Various 7.0 balls

    Needles & Hooks

    • Single Point 2.25mm (US 1) 30cm

    Accessories

    • Stuffing
    • Tapestry Needle
    Other : Toy safety eyes

    Measurements

    Notes: About 30cm tall

    Tags

    • Toys
    • Dolls & Dolls' Accessories
    • Other

    Craft

    Knitting

    Skill Level

    Intermediate

    Status

    Complete
    Started on: Apr 20, 2020 Finished on: Jun 7, 2020
  • Comments

    Join the Conversation

    11 Comments

    • Meemoo

      Pacific Palisades

      Absolutely stunning!
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    • Alison B

      Portsoy

      She is lovely and a beautiful reminder to your beautiful friend, and the lovely times you all had together 💕
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      • Angela Turner

        Thank you. It took quite a long time to make, so I had plenty of time to reflect on all the good times!
        Reply
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    • Michelle M

      Queensland

      Oh I agree with the other ladies Angela what a special toy to make, and it would have brought back all the beautiful times you shared together. What a perfect gift for Dawn.
      Reply
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    • Vix

      North Walsham

      What a wonderful thing to do and make. Very special and she is lovely.
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      • Angela Turner

        Thank you for leaving such a lovely comment. This is the first time I’ve worked on something like this. Jim just adored Pauline and has been missing her so much, so I know this doll will be very much appreciated. Knitting it allowed me the time to remember all the fun we had together, going on trips to the seaside for lunch, holidays in the caravans, and driving through the city centre to see the Christmas lights. We laughed so much till it hurt! She was a very special lady who had a gift for really caring about people. She will be forever remembered in our hearts. 💖
        Reply
        [1]
      • Vix

        North Walsham

        @Angela Turner: Pauline sounds like a very special lady and you have wonderful memories of her so she will always be with you 🤗
        Reply
        [1]
    • Denise C

      She's beautiful and so is the sentiment behind her.
      Reply
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      • Angela Turner

        Thank you for your nice comment. I had wanted to add the inspiration photo so you could see Pauline but it wasn’t the right size for uploading. I think this was quite a therapeutic project for me to work on, and an honour to do. Pauline loved my knitting and would have just adored this doll. Whilst knitting, I thought of her and all the fun the four of us used to have. Thanks again 😊
        Reply
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