Tuesday, May 18, 2010

DANIEL TIGER’S COUSIN


Several readers have comment on the likeness of my new/old tiger puppet to Daniel Striped Tiger, one of the inhabitants of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. I think they may well be cousins, but when you see them together you can tell they are not twins.
Lots of similarities, but my tiger has rounder pupils in his eyes, and different stitching on the nose/mouth.

Did you know that the mouth and nose stitching on vintage toys can be a way to identify them? I noticed that this wonderful bear I bought at an auction many years ago has a mouth made of buttonhole stitch…

…and learned this is one of the hallmarks of toys made by Eduard Cramer back in the 1920s and ‘30s.

I gave my little tiger a bit of a sponge bath and he cleaned up nicely. He is now blond rather than gray, and he has spots and stripes on his head and ears as well as on his back. He’s sitting on my desk, keeping me company at the computer.

We also succeeded in erecting our new gazebo.
Haven’t added any of the curtains yet, we’re liking it as-is so far. I'm not quite sure how we’d deal with the curtains running through the planting beds that were already there.
You may notice our “Secret Garden” gate in the background.
When we replaced a gate several months ago, we had the bright idea of using the old one back in this corner as a faux portal. We painted on the hinges and my husband has been patiently training vines over it. I like to imagine the wonderful and mysterious walled garden it leads to!

7 comments:

  1. lovin the gazebo. probably wouldn't stand up without being bolted down in out nebraska wind.

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  2. The Secret Garden was my favorite book as a child! How clever of you. Love your new pavilion, too.

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  3. dont tell my john, but your pavilion looks much prettier than our new patio roof!
    Pray for me....john doesn't know yet, but I bought a nice wing-back chair and ottoman half off at goodwill the other day....$30 for both. I was hoping to get them cheaply reupholstered , but greatly underestimated the estimates!
    Will be getting a steam cleaner from Ralphs and giving it a good cleaning and crossing fingers!

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  4. Does Daniel's cousin have a name yet?

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  5. You have a beautiful garden! I love the teddy bear too. As a youngster I started collecting Steiff toys and longed for a teddy bear but, I'm sure you know that they are crazy expensive! I still have my little kitten Steiff, Tapsy. You never see those at yard sales anymore!

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  6. oh wonderful! love it all! so neat about the gate. kelly

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  7. I think the gate is a fantastic idea. And he is doing a great job training those vines.
    I am a huge stuffed animal collector, but recently had to pack them away. Now I absolutely HAVE to get at least a couple out to keep me company.

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I really love your comments. Thanks for coming along on my thrifty adventures!

 
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