Henry
I was just over at Peaknit's blog, reading her post about Warm Fuzzies...those well-loved and well-worn toys we loved as kids. And I got to thinking about it...my "warm fuzzy" from my childhood--a dog named Henry-- is somewhat actually knitting-related! I learned to knit as a kid from my mom, and then took it up again briefly when I was about 12 and made my Henry an outfit.
Warning: picture-heavy post!
Here he is in his entire outfit - sweater, pants, hat and scarf:
The sweater has an "H" on the front:
The scarf has fringe:
The hat a pom-pom, and ribbing on the edge:
Funny part is, that hat was made in three triangles! I didn't know how to knit in the round back then.
I made two separate sets of ties to hold the hat on, that all tied under his chin:
Here you can sort of see the hat's construction. The ties at the bottom came around his neck from the back, and then the ties on the sides went under his chin. That hat was not coming off!!
Here are his pants, with a little drawstring:
Now, the Henry sans clothes! This is the little ticking "outfit" my mom had to make him when his original fur started to disintegrate. She stitched it right onto him.
Here you can see how well-loved he was. One ear is shorter than the other because I used to swing on my swing with him, and stick one ear through the chain. I remember grabbing him off one time, and the ear stayed behind! My mom quickly stitched that back on...and it's a little shorter than the other one. His eye fell out when I chucked him down the stairs (he was "jumping" of course) and so from then on a bandaid served as an eye patch. I used to change it periodically. I have a faint memory of him with both eyes, but I can't even remember him with a real nose. What's left is just the glue that held on the original.
As you can see here, his neck has been stitched many times over. His neck actually used to be longer, but since that was how I carried him, my mom eventually had to move his ticking outfit up thereby shortening his neck.
Hope you've enjoyed my little walk down memory lane! :) Anyone else have a favorite toy from their childhood they'd like to share? Leave a comment if so!
5 comments:
He's so sweet! I have a bear that's not in quite Henry's shape but pretty close.
Awww...what a cute Henry. I don't have any toys from my childhood, but my son's best bear sits on our rocking chair. He has the "place of honor".
I don't - however, my son received a puff-a-lump snowman for his first christmas. "Snowy" use to travel with us until he was investigating a jewerly box at Walmart and got lost forever. A couple of years ago, Santa picked up "Flakes" Snowy's brother (thank you e-bay) from the Isle of Misfit Toys and he came to our house where he knew he would be loved. At 11 they are not constants in the bed anymore... however they aren't packed away and are as real to Josh as the dog, cats and birds. There are some things from childhood that are priceless and your Henry is one of those. Merry Christmas - Karrie
Oh, I am so glad you did an in-depth review of your dog, of Henry - how sweet is that, he is loved. Thank you for following up your comment with this memory laden post - I couldn't have hoped for more warm fuzzy that this!:) I've been so touched by many stories - I can almost envision people's eyes misting as they type - much as mine are reading all of this sugary sweetness. Have a very merry holiday - and Henry too!
Henry is awesome! I think it's great that your mom kept repairing him for you, and that you still have him. I have a stuffed basset hound that shares a similar history! Nice post!
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