A warm fuzzy deserving of a contest...
To know "Dirty Puppy" is to love "Dirty Puppy". My yougest has her favorite stuffed raggy ole dog - he goes everywhere - no amount of washing can get him clean again. He's, well...dirty.
A couple of weeks ago, my sister and I were doing some holiday shopping and we found this book at Anthropologie.
I was so awestruck by it - I mean, that's almost Dirty Puppy - this guy however is dubbed Dirty Wow-Wow, and he is the stand out star of the book. It is a "tribute to the threadbare companions of childhood". Now, isn't that a warm fuzzy? I had to have it, I couldn't stop thinking about it after we left the store - you can imagine the two-step - do I get it? leave it? - what the hell will I do with a book full of raggy old critters? Answer = love it. It's a total charmer. A great holiday gift for someone you know who has a long lost childhood lovie. Aint reminiscing grand? It's just a hug - if you need a hug or want to give one - here it is.
I had "Raggy" - and was she ever by the time she retired. I have a shoe box of Raggedy Ann arms and legs now - she was sewn together so many times. Sometimes a limb would even end up sewn on backwards, but I didn't care. This was the doll that my folks scoured town for more than once when she was left, accidentally abandoned, at Woodman's or forgotten at grandma's. (mom, if you are reading - leave a little story verifying Raggy and there will be something in it for you *giggle*) One year, I even got a new Raggedy Ann AND Andy from Santa but they were no comparison to my special dolly - they were just cheap reproductions - I mean I already had THE real Raggy, right?
Anyone up for a contest?? Just tell me if you had a lovie or special bear - or maybe if you didn't. I'll draw on the 26th for - let's say some yarn? Probably some other goodies as well. I love goodies...almost as much as I *heart* Raggy.
added later, after some thought and some really touching comments - I will also give away a copy of this book - it is too sweet not to share!
posted by peaknits @ 6:26 PM
41 Comments:
Your post immediately made me think of Lambsie. I talked my mom into buying Lambsie for me when I was a little girl. Actually I think I was probably not such a polite little girl- I probably pestered and begged her until she gave in and got Lambsie for me. Lambsie actually came from a Goodwill store, a point that I always mention to my children when they are trying to decide whether to pass on their surplus toys- I always tell them how happy they can make some child! Lambsie started out soft, white, fluffy and had a nice silk ribbon round her neck. Over the years she became decidedly gray and more matted looking. But Lambsie went with me everyhere for many years. Maybe this is why I like to knit with wool so much!
wow. That sure brought out some memories!
I never really had a 'lovie' when I was little but I do still have a doll from when I was younger, I called her Milly and she has those eyes that actually popped out of the socket, and closed when she lay down. She must be nearly 40 years old now! She sits in my bedroom closet. My 7 yr old has 2 special guys (Pooh blanky and Snuggles) and one of these days I'm gonna have to put them away in her memory box before they become too thread bear!
I do love the name Dirty Wow-wow, it's so cute, and both puppies (the one on the book, and your daughters) look adorable if you ask me. They dirtier the better... shows they're very well loved :-)
I had a whole set of Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animals made by Mom that were my favorites. Eeyore was made of a dark green terry cloth with pink corduroy lining his ears and a blank main and tale. Kanga and roo were made of green fabric with white polka dots. At some point while I was in college Mom tossed them all and boy was she in trouble for that! I've since found the vintage pattern online so maybe someday I'll recreate them myself.
I had a "Wrinkles" dog when I was growing up. I lost her bone one time in a hotel and I was sooo sad! I made my parents go back and look for it. We never did find her bone... Now my little girl plays with Wrinkles...ah, the memories.
I had a Ragedy Ann doll too that went everywhere with me (she is still pathetic looking). I would sneak her into my suitcase to go on trips, and everything. She even went to college. I just loved her, and if she got "left behind," there was always a special trip made to retrieve her!
That book is PERFECT! Funny how so many people have the same experience.
I have Chocolate the bear. He is the color of dark chocolate. I know, not a terribly creative name. I've slept with him every night since I was about 9. My grandma gave him to me about a year and a half before she died. He used to have the softest fur and a rich orange bow. Now his head flops to one side. He has patches that are threadbare. And his bow is badly faded. I love him so much! I keep expecting him to be gone one day when he turns real. Now we mostly call him Mr. Bear. And I yell at my kitties when they bite his nose. Poor guy! He's so old and he still cuddles like he's brand new.
The one I remember is my Annie doll - the red dress and all. I also had a moppet of curls(still do, just not quite so cute as back then) and she was my favourite. My mom is still sorry that they gave her away. She made me my own doll that looks like me and I have decided that i will likely rescue her from the gurlz toy bin and put her back where she belongs, in my bed.
I have a teddy bear that I've had since the day I was born. I never hauled it around with me everywhere I went, but I did sleep with it for several years and play with it at home so it has needed repairs. It's now in a box, but I would never get rid of it.
At one point my brother would throw a fit if his teddy bear didn't get its own seatbelt.
I had a rag doll named Nancy. Nancy came everywhere with me. Once I was going to visit my grandmother for a few days and we forgot her, so I made my dad turn around and drive back. Poor doll was such a mess. My mom had to sew a sleeper onto her to keep her stuffing in and I think Nancy had 2 or 3 face lifts as her original face fell off long ago.
Nancy still lives at my parents house and makes a nice pillow.
I had a couple, but the one that stands out is Zip the monkey. I "adopted" him when his first mom, who sometimes babysat me, got too old for such things but knew he needed to keep playing. Zip had already had many adventures when he found his way into my heart - the babysitter's brother had been known to kidnap Zip and tie him up in a tree across the lake from the cabin.... He found a safer home with me (no brothers), but still did gymnastics that shifted all the stuffing out of his biceps. Zip went on all our vacations - there are many photos of Zip poking his head out of a backpack while we hiked down a trail.
Oh course I had 'lovie' - had a few but the one that I think of first because I had the most love for was "Wallie" a pink Walrus with big soft white teeth. I love that little guy! (still have him too!)
Call me a total dork, but I actually have a stuffed animal NOW that is like that. When my husband and I were first dating (freshman yr of college) for my first birthday that we were together, he gave me a beanie baby (a red dog named Rover) with a necklace around its neck. I sleep with it every night. (We were long distance for a good amount of time, so I just got used to sleeping with my stuffed dog!) Now, I joke that if we had had a kid when we first met, he would be in third grade by now! This dog also always goes with me when we travel! (So you can imagine, he is well loved!) Call me nuts, but I don't care! I love my Rover!
My son had "nonnie bear bear" looked much like dirty puppy, started out as a Gund white polar bear. He once missed placed it for 5 days we had to get "brother nonnie" who was really white - then nonnie was found. He is now 16 and 7/8, and wrote about nonnie for an English paper, who could have imagined! Can't wait to get the book. Love childhood lovies.
I had a "Pooh" bear. Actually, I still have him. He is up on the shelf in our bedroom. He has one ear and one eye now but can still look down on me. My oldest son has "Grrr" who is a sad looking teddy bear. And my youngest has "Oink" who is a sad looking pig in a purple tshirt. My oldest is letting him stay on his bed more now. But my youngest takes Grrr everywhere!! When we get in the car, I put the Boys' seatbelts on and then I have to put Oinks seatbelt on!!!
omg, I had the same raggedy ann doll that I loved to death! I also had a Holly Hobby doll that just fell to pieces. I think Holly was the one I favored when I was sick though. Neither of them survived my childhood.
I was such a sucker for stuffed animals growing up. My bed was covered with them. Each morning, when I would make my bed we would all vote on who got the position of honor (on the pillow) for the day. Of them all there were two that were the most special. One was a monkey who could suck his thumb and had a little red heart embroidered on his head. At some point, he acquired a blue tee shirt, too. I used to sleep with him tucked under my arm every night. As I got a little bigger, I needed something bigger to fit under my arm the same way and so a white, Gund polar bear became the second most special. I loved the book "The Velveteen Rabbit" and knew for sure that these two soft friends were real.
Oh my gosh, what a book! I will have to try to track it down.
I have Biggy, who is a seriously big bear. Like 2 1/2 feet tall big. I don't remember where he came from, but he's been around as long as I can remember. When I was 16 I studied in Spain for my junior year of high school and my mom had to make a special Biggy carrier so that he could come with me. In college, Biggy got to hang out with my roomie's well-loved lion, Gary. Now, he sits at the foot of my bed since there isn't enough room for me and hubby and Biggy in our bed.
I am the third girl in my family. My Mom says that my oldest sister got so attached to an animal that my Mom used to put in her crib that she swore she wouldn't let her other children get attached to one. My second sister got attached to her pillow and carried it around everywhere. By the time I came around, she put NOTHING in my crib for me to become attached to. What was the only thing in my crib? - My crib sheet, yes .... I carried and slept with my crib sheet until I was 8 years old (I came home from school one day to find it gone - otherwise I might still be sleeping with it:)
Mine was a blue bunny. The original Blue Bunny was my mom's and when she was pregnant with me, she dismantled her bunny and made a pattern out of it and my first Blue Bunny was waiting in my crib for me when I came home from the hospital. I had a few bunnies over the years as they got too threadbare to go anywhere. I still have at least two of them somewhere and my son has a fleece copy that mom made for him when he was born. I can actually see his bunny peeking out of the toy bin from where I'm sitting! It practically goes without saying that The Velveteen Rabbit was my favorite book growing up!
I had a stuffed dog. At one time, I went to my Aunt's houes and left him. She used rubber bands and tied knots in a towel to pacify me as it was too far to go to get the original item. She was always my favorite aunt.
Oooh, I had a stuffed baby mountain lion I named Thomas...he is still with us today and now my son carries him around...he is so sad looking but my son loves him! This book sounds awesome, if I don't win I will have to get it!
Sadly I never had a lovie... Come to think of it I did not have any stuffed animals growing up --none that I can remember of anyway. Oh my gosh does this mean that I was deprived? Somehow, I had not realized this until this very moment!
I had Lambie Pie and my brother had Orange Teddy--both were presents from my gradparents in Wales. We hauled them around everywhere with us, until one day when Orange Teddy disappeared! My dad had been shipping out a lot of boxes and we always suspected that he got shipped off somewhere. My mom quickly invented a 'Paddington bear' type of scenario for my brother, who was inconsolable. Thanks for the opportunity to remember those pals!
What a fun contest. I had this little stuffed lamb BaaBaa lamb (pronounced buba lamb). I couldn't go anywhere without it and one time I actually had to be driven home late at night. One of my sisters had this duck puppet that she used to suck on the feet of (weirdo, smile).
Snoopy...A white blanket with satin. I loved him!! Once I went to visit my Aunt and Uncle and forgot to pack him. That was the longest night. The next day an electrical fire destroyed part of the house. All my luggage was burned...I was so happy Snoopy was safe back home after all. p.s. What a beautiful book! What is the ISBN? Merry Christmas!
I didn't but my Supergirl sure does. She was given a fleece blanket when she was born that was made for her. We realized we'd be screwed if anything happened to it so we cut it in half. She's almost 6 and still drags it around the house with her. See?
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1037/1478392216_52f7f1fcac.jpg?v=0
That is the sweetest pup! My kids all have their thing that they just love too. Enjoy the book! (Don't worry about adding me to the giveaway.)
I have a stuffed bear I call, well, Bear. He's been with me since I was ten, and I actually still sleep with him :) He's got (matted) brown fur, and a red bow tie, and is just the perfect thing to hug when I'm falling asleep.
Yep, I had a bear. I called him Ted. So original, I know... I was 5, what can I say? He lasted many a year, and didn't lose his first eye until my sons had played with him a couple years. The same thing with my husband's bear from childhood... I guess my boys are tough on bears...
Happy knitting-
ali
www.skeinsherway.com
I had a bazillion stuffies, but none that were my favorite. When I got a bit older I had a favorite blanket my Grandma made. I made the mistake of leaving it at home to be safe when I went to college. My ten years younger brother stole it for his and called it "spanky". Even when he was 16 he would not give me back "spanky". A 16 year old boy with a ratty huge pink blanket... he must have REALLY loved it.
My littlest has a teddy, named teddy. He loves him so much. Sometimes when we forget to take teddy into daycare I bring him in and set him on my desk so he isn't lonely, er, I mean stolen, ya, so he isn't stolen.
How I love this post. What a darling book.
Yes, I too had (have) a lovie. A blanket my grandma corcheted for me when I was born. To this day (I am 34) I still have it on my bed and on particularly cold evenings I wear it as a scarf.....
What a neat book idea! I'll have to check that one out.
I had a little stuffed dog named Henry. I carried him around by the neck and now and then my mom had to stitch up his neck since it became rather worn and his beans would start to escape. She eventually had to make him an "outfit" out of some red and white ticking that she stitched onto him. I also remember hanging him from the chain on my swing by his ear...and yanking him off, leaving the ear behind! So one ear sticks out more after being stitched back on. I also threw him down the stairs (he was jumping, of course) and one eye broke, so he has a little round bandaid over his eye. He's quite a sight to behold! I should take a photo of him. When I was about 12 I learned to knit and made him pants, a hat and a sweater. I really gotta take a photo...I'll post it on my blog. :)
My one and only favorite lovie was a Hudson Bay blanket (candy stripe) given to me by my grandmother (Grammy). She gave my two brothers and me all blankets - heck I think our cousins got them too. But I'm the only one who totally destroyed mine by picking the fuzz off of it, making what I called "fuzzies" - you know, little wads of wool. They were all around - on the floor, in my bed, and always one in my hand that was clutching my blanket. Of course after being slowly picked apart, the blanket turned into many pieces that could then be hauled around by me. After that poor blanket was literally in shreds, my grandmother gave me a new HB blanket, only after making me promise not to "pick" it. I didn't, and I still have that blanket today. Oh, and my son has a HB candy stripe blanket now too. But it isn't his favorite lovie - that's a crocheted granny square blanket made for him by my other grandmother, his great grandmother. But that's for another post....
My 12-years-older-than-me sister made me a green cordoroy frog in her junior high sewing class. I called it Fro-Fro. I just realized as I was thinking about whether to call it "he" or "she", that my beloved Fro-Fro was gender-neutral. Huh. Anyway--I loved it's little felt eyeballs off, then they were replaced by big eyeball buttons, then more felt, then felt again. That cordoroy really held up, though, and my daughter has Fro-Fro now! I need to go give it a love...
i had Honey Bear. she was half my size and i would take her all over for tea parties. she lost an eye, fur rubbed off and revealed satiny smooth "under" skin. i lost her in hurricane andrew.
but i also have a blanket. there is a picture of me at 2 with it. i still have it at 32. it is thread bare but when i am sick i still wrap up in it. my mom says she is going to try to save it by making it the batting of a quilt :-)when we evacuated. it came with, so it is one of the few things from my childhood that survived H.Andrew.
I have a story of two special toys because my parents were divorced and I sort of had two homes.
When we visited my dad we stayed at my grandma's house and she had this handmade frog that I just loved. When she passed in 1999, he came to live with me.
I also had a Baby Dream Doll, who had velvet skin. I adored her so much but I don't know what became of her. Last year I began researching baby dolls and found one on Ebay. I paid a whopping $100 for it and it was worth it.
Funny, I'm so particular about naming my pets, but I never named my toys.
My warm fuzzy was a sock monkey made by my Grandma Callan when I was five. I had a girl and my twin sister Heidi had the boy. Heidi's soon got left to the bottom of the toy chest, but Sonia, as she was known (it was the most exotic name we could dream up) went with me everywhere. Sonia had a red felt heart sewn on her chest, a red and blue flowered dress and a white pinafore. White bloomers rounded out her attire. What was great about Sonia was her long arms and legs, she could be easily grabbed and you could actually tie her around your neck or waist (can I ever have been that thin?) and "wear" her! I don't know when I stopped needing Sonia, or where she eventually ended up, but I appreciate the chance to relieve her squishiness and warmth one more time.
Your post immediately brought back very fond memories of my favorite doll while I was growing up...Chrissy. She is a Cabbage Patch Doll, and my mom actually managed to get one when they first came out. I grew up on a farm, and I carried her with me everywhere. That should tell you just how dirty she became. I still have her to this day, and she is in rags. But she is still my Chrissy...my best little friend.
Jane, a huge rag doll that my mother made me. She was probably almost 3 feet tall. I never went to bed without Jane until I went to college. By then her muslin face was covered with cold cream and mascara remover. (I was the era of Cleopatra eyes). Nothing could get the stains off. Her long braided hair had been replaced and her limbs had been reattached so many times that the buttons that made then moveable had worn out. I don't know if you are supposed to admit that you still took a soft doll to bed as a teenager but I did and I don't mind at all.
Ahhh...you want to know about Mr. Teddy Bear, huh? Okay...I wasn't the most imaginative child when it came to names... lol I have a picture on my wall of the birthday/Christmas I received him -- 1981, I believe? I would have just turned 3. Anyhow, He was soft & cuddly with a velvet nose, marble type button eyes & had a cream colored belly and tan body. His eyes are scratched up, the velvet on his nose has been rubbed smooth, his fur is matted & he has a hole in his neck (which was a great place to hide those "top secret" notes in elementary school so my sister wouldn't find them!). He's stuffed with what looks to be bits of ripped up foam & bean bag pellets...how far toy manufacturing has come! Gone are the days of giving Mr. Teddy Bear rides on my shoulder & tossing him into the air so he could perform stunning flips. He currently resides atop the suitcases in my closet, where I can see him daily. I was actually blessed with a second lovey -- my dog...Doggy. ;) He had one of those metal wind-up music boxes in his butt. I used to wind him up & fall asleep to the metal knob twisting around and around in a circle on my belly. I tested it out a few years ago & I swear my eyes started to droop! Doggy occasionally leaks bean bag pellets, so he is supposed to live on the high shelf in the closet, but well...my children are wily!
It makes me teary eyed to realize my boys will soon have their own memories. DS1 has a little Bedtime Bear Carebear, as well as a bright pink (lol) bear that my dh won from a claw machine, and ds2 has a little TY beanie baby bear. Time will tell what ds3 chooses...perhaps the doggy with the Harley Davidson patch on his chest that Santa is bringing him in a few days?
oh my, i have to find this book.
my 18 year old is still dragging around her 'uncle fred' a completely matted & tattered dog who has been used as a bedtime pillow for so long that he is only about an inch thick these days.
happy new year.
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