Soft Toy Shuffle

Perhaps the first thing to understand about my Soft Knit Kids is that they are what is called 'SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN'. Most of them had been discarded, unwanted, generally unloved - and in fact, thrown onto the scrapheap of Life.

It seems they have a 'fridge-magnet' type pull on my eyes and heartstrings - and exactly like a trained sniffer dog, I am alerted to their presence - wherever it may be. I have found them in op shops (or charity shops), in secondhand and antique dealers, at garage sales, buried under mounds of other 'goodies' in rummage sales and even church bazaars.

The inhumanity astounds me. I have made only a couple of these magnificent creatures, and I KNOW what it demands of the human creator - the patience and endurance; the pain of RSI; the needles, heart and spirit that can be broken; the amount of Lavender 'Cuddly' fabric softener one needs to use to make them smell and feel delicious again.

But more...
MUCH more than this...
someone did it THEIR WAY!
(which had to have been with SO much LOVE!)
And worse...
MUCH worse than this...
someone else did NOT Love them enough!
The seriously good news is....I DO!!

These two 'characters' demanded to be first, saying...
"The others have many years in them, but who knows when our number will come up?", and...
"How dismal would it be if we 'snuffed' it before we ever saw ourselves up on the BIG screen?"

So, here's my tribute to Gran and Grandpa. These two were not 'rescues' - but created by me to watch over all the Knitty Kids - as they prefer to call them (because sometimes they forget individual names - this often happens at their age). They are a quite 'Humpty-Dumpty.-ish' sort of shape, really.

Gran and Grandpa love to talk about the 'old days' when they were young, and impart the wisdom of their years of Life. The good thing, too, is that they are never too busy for almost anything these days - time for reading to the Kids, chatting and cuddling...and the odd 'Nana-nap' in the sun is not to be sniffed at, either.

From here on in, there are almost no more photos. This is due to circumstances beyond my control, and would appear to be some kind of 'bug'. Administration are working on it, and as soon as it is fixed, I promise, there are some great pics of the Kids!
In the meantime, please continue to read - THAT bit I can still do, despite the odds against me!
(Can you hear the Kids cheering?...I can!)

NEWSFLASH!!
Admin. have uploaded my pictures for me and now it's READY, SET, GO!!
I can hear the Kids all shouting "Good on you, Admin.", and cheering and getting quite rowdy, actually!
But, I don't blame them. They have been really 'hanging' out to get a little fame (forget the fortune bit! - they reckon they are SO rich all ready, just having each other to love! Oh-h! How sweet!)

Clarence was in a confusing pile of rejects at a rummage sale - much too young and vibrant to be buried at this point in time. He took quite a deal of washing and repair, but he was worth it. He even laughed off going through the spin of my twin tub washing machine. I swear I could hear him shouting,

"Whee-ee-ee" and "Yay...way to go". What a sense of humour!

Clarence clowns around endlessly...keeping the others literally in stitches. Can you see in this photo with Bimbo, the terrible tormentor he is?

Always hitting someone over the head with his pom-pom balloons, quite mercilessly! Secretly, he calls himself 'Clarence the Conqueror'.

Bimbo looks a little unsure about this new pain?

BREAKING NEWS about poor Bimbo!
Seriously mauled by Marauding Moths!

His injuries were discovered just moments after his photographs were taken! And the cowardly attack had apparently been made in the quite recent past - resulting in the need for major surgery.

One can actually see, in his photos that he's really not feeling his usual comical self. (In fact, I would say he looks quite forlorn - but of course, I know him so well.)

And the unspeakable injuries to his left foot can clearly be seen - most definitely the worst of the two feet.

Both hands required serious repair and countless stitches - but worse was to come.
BOTH feet required amputation - yes, they did! Almost total reconstruction and replacement was imperative.

Luckily, I was his creator, so naturally, I assumed the role of Head (and only) Surgeon. It is with great happiness I can announce, Bimbo has come through the lengthy and intricate operation like the little champion he has always been. His bravery is of such a high standard, he steadfastly refuses to talk about any part of this horrendous happening.

He knows he''ll soon be totally recuperated, as is proven by the smile on his face now, as he starts down the road to recovery.

Harry was found in an antique shop, sitting in an antique cot with many other kids (or toys). He was in excellent condition, and I just loved him - great big lumbering fellow that he was.

Seems like we needed him to be a Good Shepherd for the Kids. When I told him about them, he agreed that his size would certainly cause some smaller people to sit up and take notice.

His name was not actually Harry...but that was the name of my father-in-law, who had also been a painter in his working life. Harry the Painter said he was proud to bear the name of this older and much more experienced master tradesman.

In the photo, you can see the excellence of Harry's work - he carefully repaired and then repainted the dear old chipped and damaged door behind him, and then cleverly filled the inset panels with wallpaper. Do you see, he still has his paint pot and brush, and a gluepot and brush? Just like his namesake, he is a 'superior' type decorator.

I can't promise this is the original Cat in the Dick Whittington story, but Derek believes he is the 'prime mover and shaker' behind Dick becoming Lord Mayor of London - not once, not twice - but THREE times!
All because of Derek's superior prowess as a mouser (or in this case - a 'ratter' - ooh, yuk!).

I'm not sure how it happened, but it was love at first sight when Derek met Susie. Can you imagine, he goes around singing -

'If you knew Susie, like I know Susie,
Oh, Oh, Oh, what a girl!
There's none so classy, as this fair lassie...
oh, oh, You should see her super-chassis'

...and some days he just whistles the tune, and we all know he thinks of nothing else but her.
(I actually introduced them...but the rest, as they say, is history).

And speaking of history, some readers may be interested in the Wikipedia history of
Derek's 'Dad', Dick. (Glad I don't have false teeth when I say that one!)

Dick Whittington and His Cat

Simon hasn't actually 'scared' anything in quite some time. He's much too kind and friendly. To tell the truth, he finds it really cold and lonesome out in the paddocks, and as I say, he simply doesn't want to frighten anyone.

He had been known to allow all manner of birds to perch on him...and there were even some with incredibly bad table manners...they 'pecked' at his stuffing! REALLY!

And all the while, he thought he was generously providing a temporary comfort stop, just for them. All I can say is, some Big Birds have a lot to answer for in the upbringing of their chicks.

Mostly, in the cold days of Winter, he prefers the Great Indoors, but let the sun shine brightly, and he is quite partial to just sort of 'hanging out' in the greenery.

There's no mistaking his joy - will you just look at that smile on his face?

These two were amongst the most tragic figures I've seen.

Found at the bottom of a discarded shopping trolley in a rather stuffy and stale and not so clean op-shop. Their condition could only be described as disgusting, despairing, down-trodden, destitute. And all this when both of them are Disabled. They are blind. See - they have no eyes.
And it would have been no good for me to add some eyes. I'm not even up to Fred Hollows' armpit in these matters (and I think even he may well have been challenged by the enormity of THIS task!).

No - they have too much dignity, and I respect that, and didn't want to cause any kind of discrimination incident. Also, it seemed a great opportunity for the other kids to learn about respect for others, and appreciation for the brand of courage and determination that this pair exemplify.

So...Sally and Sammy just bumble about...and sometimes find themselves in unusual places like the fruit basket! But they do SO love bananas, I can't help but smile, just a little indulgently.

They really are sweet.

It's debatable.

This is their Dad's chair and it IS actually extremely old - like about 180 years. It makes them feel SO young. Us too!

And just like them, it was born again a few years back when an old friend restored it to a beautiful state. Now it is up to us all to give it the patina that only daily 'living' with it can produce.

The Disabled Kids embrace this 'chore' with gusto - they are ready to hang out anywhere - and just chat amongst themselves.

One of the BEST things about these Grandparents is the endless time they have to spare for quiet time and cuddles and reading stories.

The Disabled Kids love to snuggle up and listen and imagine other times, other places. Gran loves acting out the stories - sometimes with a big gruffy voice, and other times with a high, skinny, squeaky voice. Gran is the greatest!

This story about Pinocchio - the little wooden toy who turned into a real boy - is one of their favourites. They love toy stories, and particularly ones with a moral - like this one is all about honesty.

The Disabled Kids had to learn trust differently than most of us, mainly because they have great difficulty in being able to see eye to eye with others on so many issues.