There have been many treasures uncovered in the moving process. One of which has been in our kitchen for about 13 years or so. Mom handed it to me the other day and I just started grinning, because I had kind of forgotten it.
My great grandmother was a major crafter. I have tons of toys that she made me when I was little, most of which are still in storage boxes out in the garage. But this little guy has been sitting on a shelf in our kitchen very happy to be a part of the family. This monkey is unlike any other toy she made me. He has a story that I know.
Mini monkey was definitely a labor of love. My great grandmother lived in a very small town in Oklahoma. Her local store stopped carrying the red heel socks so she asked my mom to get her some from the city. She especially wanted the baby socks. My mom had to go to a few stores before she found any. She bought a few packages of the big socks and the one or two packages of baby socks they had. We took them to grandma and she turned out the monkeys. The next time I went to see her she gave me this wee monkey and a note.
After receiving the socks, she called the company to ask if she could order more of the baby socks. They said that they had discontinued them and were no longer selling the baby ones. As far as I can tell they still no longer carry the red heeled baby socks (they have white heels). Not only weren't there any more sock monkeys because of the discontinued socks, there weren't any more because of my grandma's failing eyesight. She started losing her eyesight shortly after this bout of crafting and didn't really sew much afterwards. She lived until I was a freshman in college. Great Grandpa and her had outlived my grandparents by quite a few years. They passed on the same day. Grandpa first from failing health, Grandma later in the evening from a heart attack. There was a joint funeral, it was truly a beautiful day of remembering a wonderful man and woman that enjoyed life to its fullest.
I remember my grandma every time I see this monkey and I can't wait until I move and find all of the other treasures she made me. They will be predominantly displayed for everyone to see her fine work. All except the scary clown dolls which will have to be a story for another day.
Labels: family, life, sewing, sock monkey
