Dear friends,
I’ve had a little memory of making a Dolly bag with my Mum. I’d been at school (late 60s I was about 8) and we were making these stiff little bags out of some nasty hessian style fabric – it was taking so long because the teacher wouldn’t let us progress past tacking it together. I was eager and went ahead without her permission so got severely reprimanded, she made me unpick my uneven stitches and I went home crying. That evening I sat with Mum while we made our own, much prettier, Dolly Bag, Mum showing me shortcuts, proper stitching and then we embroidered it with Lazy Daisies. The next day I took it proudly to school showing off my own bag. The teacher was unimpressed and tight lipped and thoroughly burst my bubble…. why am I telling you this? Well my lovely Mum has just passed away. She was thrilled when I took over Betty’s, and loved to come and look round when I was able to spring her from the Home. Looking through the old patterns and marvelling at the variety of ‘notions’ in the shop was a great pleasure to her, and it was a joy for me to see her so proud.
So here’s to Doreen and Dolly Bags, and all of the Mums out there and daughters who are 8 even though they’re actually 59.
Cherish your loved ones and take care of yourselves.
Annie
In memory of a great ‘Dolly Bag’ maker!
Doreen Gardiner 18/12/30-6/12/20🙏🏻
