Simple gifts that last & last

He has beautiful old green button eyes

and he is very old

As the holiday season approaches(wow I think it is already here!) I hope you will all feel comfort in this blog. Know that the smallest of things can have the biggest impact.

I have this little Octopus made from the most basic of materials. I wasn't yet 5 years old when he was given to me. I loved this little fellow all these 50 years. In the early 1950's we were but a few short years from the endings of WWII and everyone still lived with the lacks of not only the depression but also the shortfalls from supporting the war effort. That didn't stop the gifts given to children. My little octopus has a wad of old clothes as the stuffing for his head. My sunbonnet Sue quilt from the same time period has another quilt inside it as it's batting. What we can learn from these people who lived so carefully is amazing! I have some great stories I remember.

When you look at what you can spend on gifts this year remember it's not the money. It truly is not the money. It's the love and kindness that sets gifts apart. Be careful this year, money will get to be even harder to come by in the months to come and you can enjoy the best of the holiday season and not set back your budget. It is not a lower standard, I thought that little Octopus the dearest of gifts. Even so that it is one of only 4 toys that stayed with me from childhood. One a sock clown, another a little lamb with a music box and the last my doll from my third birthday, Mary, I named her for Jesus's mother.

Taken from a dollar book I bought in 1963 the pages are nearly dust!

Octopus

Materials:

1 hank or skein of yarn in your favorite color

Some kind of ribbon or yarn that is not too wide for knotting

embroidery thread for sewing face it can be what ever you like for a face

something to put in the center of the head, a ball of old yarn, scraps rolled into a ball, stuffing in a piece of sock, etc. Make it round and smooth.

Cut through the skein as in picture one

Tie one end tightly I'd tie it before cutting

this tie becomes the top of the head.

Place head under the tie and arrange the yarn around to cover the head, If your head is too big shrink it some.

Tie a yarn tightly under the head. Mine has never come untied!

Divide the dangling yarn into 8 separate bundles

Braid each group to make one of the legs. Make a double knot 1" before the end of each leg.

You can tie bows of ribbon on the top, the neck and the legs but do that over the original ties

Embroider large eyes of black yarn and add a single stitch of white yarn to make a glint.

If you feel comfortable with buttons they make great eyes and you can embroider a smile if you wish.