The last huge box of flea market treasures has arrived,
in it safe and sound are more studio assistants.
You've met Donkey - the favourite.
Boris' camp little navy knit jumpsuit
may possibly be ingrained into your psyche.
Amongst the 19th century toile and mangle cloths,
Growler was hidden. His red lips are
puckered for a kiss, and his little toes are
all frayed with love. Lay him down and he still growls.
Boris has a crush on him, but Hanschen is not so sure.
Searching for just the right soft toy to recruit was easy.
They had to be almost loved to death.
Their little necks perhaps showing surgery scars
and one ear may have been sewn back on.
The little sleepy lamb surely must have accompanied
a child to the land of dreams safely for many years.
They must have smelt like love and home,
given silent solace and kept many grave secrets.
They would have served as escorts to independence
and listener to woes.
I've made a discovery.
Others treasure their childhood friends too.
Here is Dirty Wow Wow. Devoted to our first love affairs.
Frayed and grayed objects of transition
into the big world are memorialised here,
along with a tale of their lives
and the special significance to their owner.
Karen Wallace is an art therapist who helps foster children.
She talks about how helpful transitional objects can be for a small one.
They can be powerful symbols,
remembered clearly till adult hood.
Our beloved first toys are always predictable.
Always soft , warm and cuddly.
Though faded, their power to soothe remains strong.
The book, the velveteen rabbit begins with the line,
"there once was a velveteen rabbit,
and in the beginning he was really splendid."
Below are remains of a blankie,
loved to threads.
Images here are all from the book, Dirty Wow Wow,
"a tribute to the threadbare companions of childhood"
And of course how can we forget our other friends?
Here is the sequel to Dirty Wow Wow:
My own white bear, "Deedledein" is long gone, but his memory remains.
Do you remember your first soft friend?
What was it, and do you still have it?
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I remember my first soft toy - I was 5 and it was my parents' birthday present. It was a doggy, very soft, very cute. I carried it everywhere I was, including taking to bed at night. I think now it is somewhere at my parents' place, thank you for the post, think I need to find my friend...)
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DeleteI think you do too...send me an image when you do??
The studio assistants are just adorable especially the little slumbering lamb (I have a SA lamb too). You can't help but wonder about the tiny hands that held him tight and the little mouth that dribbled over him and kissed him. The books are already on order - what a find - brilliant titles ... could tell you about my dirty wow wow and my dogs threadbare banana but would be here all day ...
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DeleteYes, but I WANT to hear!
How about you tell me, and send pics and I will blog it..
Our daughter now has my first soft friend -
ReplyDeleteso lovely to see him when I go into her room!x
Oh I love all those old toys & that fabric looks interesting!
ReplyDeleteLovely, lovely post! It's easy for adults to underestimate the strength of the bond to a toy or blanket: my parents tried to take my 'snuffler' away from me, deeming me old enough to no longer need it and I sniffed it out from the top of the cupboard where they'd hidden it... ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful read. Really tugs the heart strings. One can't help returning to that child within and remembering the thumb-in-mouth days, clutching not only blankie (with rips and tears along the satin) but also one certain toy dog.. :) xox
ReplyDeleteBeautiful creatures one and all but i do believe that "little Hans" may have stolen my heart. He does remind me of a friend I had as a child although my bear came to me second-hand and quite naked and blind in one eye. He was a stalwart companion until I was about eight or nine. He came back into his own a few years later when my mother died ... Before 'Bear" there was "Snuggly" a lovely soft blanket that disappeared mysteriously and made me cast my first doubtful glances at the duplicitous adults who seemed less trustworthy than before. Lovely post, lovely book and it must feel like Christmas delving into your boxes!
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sue
Believe it or not, my first toy friend was a metal robot. I don't remember any soft toys or dolls in my childhood. I was a bit of a tomboy. Seeing all these tattered dolls makes me feel less bad about the insane amount of "junk" I have. And don't worry. The really old, stained, gross, broken ones won't get chucked ;) X
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Those teddy bears were such good finds. I had a little fabric Mickey Mouse that saw many years with me. I miss him!
ReplyDeleteOh how I love all these images. Memories of my own Pooh - frayed, bursting at the seams, and probably infused with tears and snot from all the times I cried into him during our counseling sessions. He was always such a good listener and never minded being used as a tissue.
ReplyDeleteMy two children both have their loveys. Fluff-Fluff and Pinky Bear)Sometimes when they are at school I go into their rooms and smell them. They hold each child's unique scent. It really transports me and emotions well up in my heart.
Velveteen Rabbit has always been one of my favorites.
Thanks for conjuring up all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings for me this morning!
Alas i don't have my first soft toy but I do remember him clearly. He was an old fashioned teddy just like the one in your second photo but he was bigger than me. I can remember him as far back as 2 years of age. A vague recollection of being tucked into a huge cardboard box with a stripey blanket and Teddy lying next to me. We have several strands of my daughter's pink blankie (plinkie) used as a bookmark in an old book which is safely stowed in a box of other treasures. What amazing books you have found!
ReplyDeleteTHAT"S MY TEDDY - there in the middle, second picture under the Dirty Wow Wow book cover.
ReplyDeleteHow about that.
Noice.
Real real noice.
Thank you! I've just ordered the Dirty Wow Wow book and also had a reunion with teddy & elly my first baby toys who sit on the top of a set of shelves in my bedroom. They are 50 this year - the same as me - I'm not sure who looks most threadbare out of the 3 of us - at least I still have my eyes :)
ReplyDeleteI know of NO one who could resist such adorable- dirty- loved- to- pieces- objects ! One of my son's friends ( early 20's) still carries around a four inch square of ...something that used to be pink, used to have some form, used to be recognizable- and holds it to her nose when she is sleeping or stressed. It is still Suzy BunBun to her...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post! I can really identify with this- I can remember embarking on rescue operations to save those tatty, smelly worn out knitted dolls from the binman!!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for the dog- he prefers my son's much loved teddies to his own and steals them at every opportunity.
Thank you. It is a time when we need that which speaks to our hearts and not our heads so our hearts can speak back. Ordered a lovely used copy at Amazon for 1 cent plus shipping. Heaven. Mine was a bear (I was born in 1945), named Gubby, long gone, not forgotten, seen brand-new in a Christmas morning photo. Later, a rag doll named Checkersocks who spent much time on the clothesline, having been washed - again. I'd sit under the line waiting for her to be dry. Denise, you feed our souls. xo
ReplyDeleteGreat post Denise. I still have my teddy bear, named Ted of course. He and my doll Jenny, who is now headless, travelled all the way from England with me when I was nine. He now presides over my studio while I work.
ReplyDeletemy mother gave my well-loved polar bear to the Salvation Army while i was at school in 1968. i'm still chewing that particular bone.
ReplyDeleteYou've seen my cat Smokey but i also had a monkey and a chinese doll - unfortunately my step father threw them "down the well". thanks for encouraging us to cherish the memories.
ReplyDeleteI loved the post... I do have a small teddy bear of no name. I have had him as long as I can remember. I know I did not cuddle him much as he is a bit prickly, but he was always there for me anyway.
ReplyDeleteOh, I too have some old treasures tucked away somewhere safe.
ReplyDeleteWhat excellent subjects for books!
ReplyDeleteheartwarming, heart wrenching and altogether wonderful
Much better than shiny and new --such a warm patina of affection.
Need to see a picture of Bruce celebrating your return.
Hope all is well with him?
Gawd I had such a pang in my heart reading this missus, I had a soft pink ted that I carried out routine operations on everytime my mum had one...lost 'em both now and just got all snivvly! Bloody hell, gunna have to crack open a bottle of something now!
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I had lots of stuffed things but didn't like them much... i had a little down pillow. And people.
ReplyDeleteFabulous!
ReplyDeleteMy dolly Rosie from 1960. I carried her everywhere by her hair which still sticks straight up in the air! I just added you to my blogroll - hope that is ok with you?
ReplyDeletehttp://boostitch.wordpress.com/
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