..this is a story of surprises....
...of finding joy in unexpected places...
...of lasting friendships...
...a story about a monkey who had a secret!
...every year my squirrelling parents
try to travel to holland to visit
the utrecht vintage toy fair...
...they always return
with the most amazing 'finds'(I WANT TO GO!!)...
...they stay with our dear dutch friends..
.. who share our love
of antiques, vintage, childhood nostalgia...
...this year our 'vriendiin eekhoorn'
(dutch squirrel friend??)
discovered an endearing norah wellings monkey
..fell for that little face and adopted him!
..but once home it was felt that all was not quite what it seemed....
..with a little explorative investigation..
...and a delicate operation...
...a large piece of vintage fabric was discovered stuffed inside our little monkey!
....quel suprise!!!!(i know...french not dutch)
...as you can see it is very unusual...
..it has lovely little illustrations...
..and quirky little sayings...
...in english!!!...
...the material was gently packaged up..
..and kindly sent back to england with
my parents......
...to be 'vanilla squirrelled'
into something crafty...
...hmmmm what to do?
...my mum asked me to make something special
for her friend (of some 30 years)
to send back to holland ...
...a gift of friendship...
...so i mooted and pondered...
...gathered together a mix of materials, ribbons, buttons....doilies!....
...and pondered and mooted...
..and made a trio of lavender pillows...
....that will hopefully last another
30 years...
...a symbol of a lasting friendship...
...and a special little monkey...
...with a hidden secret.
x