All of My Raggedy Anns and Andys

Currently, I have a small collection of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.

As you can see, they reside together in a wooden doll cradle in my doll room.

My replacement Dress Me Raggedy Ann by Knickerbocker (c. 1970) and a reproduction Molly-E Raggedy Andy from Applause (1993)

Susan Fosnot doll from an event at the 2014 UFDC convention. I recorded the event in this previous post.

Springwater Cookies doll from the late 1990s.

Mini Raggedy Andy by Knickerbocker from my childhood lamp (c. 1970).

25" Applause Raggedy Ann from the 1990s. She had her own post here.

Another photo of my Dress Me Raggedy Ann. You can read more about her in this earlier post and this one.

This concludes my Raggedy Ann series of posts, for now.

Raggedy Accessories

When I transitioned from my Raggedy Ann and Andy bedroom, I kept a few Raggedy items. There was my music box, mentioned in the last post, and my Raggedy Ann and Andy cookie jar.

This metal bin is where I kept a lot of my doll clothes and accessories. Once upon a time it had a red plastic lid, but that broke a long time ago. Today, the bin holds extra clothing for my stuffed Belle doll (from Peanuts).

The other Raggedy item I still had was this small Knickerbocker Raggedy Andy. 

He started out as part of my bedroom lamp (like the one below - not my photo) , but the glue holding him to the block wore away eventually.

In fifth grade, I received two new Raggedy Ann items from my mother. Small metal figurines. The first one is of Raggedy Ann and Andy reading a book.

The second is of Raggedy Ann decorating a birthday cake for Raggedy Andy. These were a fun and unexpected addition to my early doll collection.

My Life with Raggedy Ann

Raggedy Ann was a huge part of my life when I was a young child. According to my baby book, my favorite toy was Raggedy Ann, my favorite song was Raggedy Ann, and my favorite books were the Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle.

My cloth Raggedy Ann doll went everywhere with me, even to the park.

According to my mother, I had my first fight with another child (besides my older brother) the day this photo was taken. Another child wanted to play with my Raggedy Ann and tried to take her from me. Tears and screams resulted. My mother has photos of the fracas, and someday I will get them to share with you.

By three years old, I was also wearing Raggedy Ann in the form of my winter nightgown and robe. 

But it was right around my fourth birthday that I hit peak Raggedy Ann. We had moved into a single family home in a new town, my younger brother was born, and I had a room of my own, sure I had to share it with the baby, but that was better than with my older brother. And best of all? My mom decorated it in Raggedy Ann!

My mom even made me Raggedy Ann throw pillows! Funny story, when I "outgrew" my Raggedy Ann room, mom recovered the pillows for the couch.

I even had a cool Raggedy Ann dress. The doll on the dress had legs that actually swung. I loved the dress, but I was a very self-conscious child and thought other kids would make fun of me for wearing a dress for babies. All I could say is that I was four.

I was heart broken when my Raggedy Ann and Andy music box broke around 2009. It was the last surviving item from my Raggedy bedroom, everything else from the bedroom pictures were long gone by then, including my Raggedy Ann doll.

Stay tuned for more Raggedy reminisces soon.

Raggedy Ann

A while back (years ago) I was missing my Raggedy Ann something fierce. I saw this New Raggedy on Sale at the mall and made her mine.

She is a 25" Applause Raggedy Ann from the late 90s.

To me, she has that perfect look of innocence and fun that Raggedy Ann is all about, and retains the classic look, even without the shoe-button eyes.

I grew up with Raggedy Ann: I read the books, sang the song, heck, my whole room was decorated with Raggedy Ann (comforter, sheets, throw pillows, bank, planters, lamp, and doll). Not to forget my Raggedy Ann nightgown and my Raggedy Ann party dress. So it was a wonderful moment to finally have a Raggedy Ann again to call my own.

Setting Up in the Base Apartment

Nothing much to add so far this week, so I thought I would share with you some photos of my dolls in their new home, the guest room.

These are all of the non-fashion/Barbie type dolls that I brought with me to Japan. The rest, alas, will hide away in storage for the next three years. From left to right: Genius Baby, My Friend Mandy (up top), My Friend Becky (an after Christmas purchase), Sadie (Madame Alexander Friends Boutique, and also an after Christmas purchase), Dave's Cabbit (from the anime, Tenchi Muyo), Pot Belly Bear, a new doll crib I found at the base thrift store, panda, and my two Raggedy Anns (Applause Raggedy Ann - 25" from the 1990s, and 1970s Dress Me Raggedy Ann from Knickerbocker).

As you can see, the room is in serious need of furniture. The only items in the room, besides the dolls, are my dresser, a lamp, and the litter box.

The cradle is missing one ball but is otherwise in great shape. I think I will paint it, since the modern pink and green design on the head and foot boards just don't blend with my older dolls.

I also really want to find a child or doll sized table and chairs for the room (as well as a futon for guests).

Raggedy Ann Update

The first thing I did with my new Raggedy Ann was wash her clothing. I hand washed with Woolite, being careful to keep the snaps, zipper, and purple ribbons out of the water. I remember from my childhood that the ribbons bleed. (Boy, do they bleed!)

I let the outfit dry flat and then ironed the pieces.

Then, I inspected each piece.

The underwear is discolored - red/pink bleeding at the shoulders, and brown/yellow ageing on the legs and cuffs. The elastic is intact but not tight, and the ribbon is missing.

The dress is in pretty good shape, except: one of the ribbons has been cut short, the collar is stained pink/red, and there is a small whole in one of the sleeves.

The apron is fine, but could use some spot cleaning.

Next up? Washing the doll.

Look what arrived in the mail

When I saw this Raggedy Ann Dress Me Doll on Ebay, I knew that I had to buy her for my Christmas present to myself. This is the same doll that I had as a child, until one day I found her to be gone when I came home from school. My mom had decided to get rid of her and another doll (an orange clown) because of their state of disrepair.

This was rather traumatic. Raggedy Ann was my favorite doll. I slept with her every night. My room was decorated in Raggedy Ann everything.

And now, I have her again (in better shape than my original was when I lost her.)

Now I get to start cleaning her up. Hopefully I can figure out how to get rid of the nasty stain on her hand. Hopefully I will post photos of her looking a lot better soon.