My best friend when I was young was a small stuffed dog that I named Deke. I took him everywhere before I finally grew out of him. My Mom held onto him for me, and the poor guy is so love-worn that he has lost both button eyes and half of a felt ear. Oh, and his tail. (I’m assuming he once had a tail.)

I’m working on teaching myself to crochet. (Yes, a friend would probably be a better teacher than the internet, but this way I can take “lessons” when in fits into my schedule.) I’d love to win this fun prize. But if not, I know where to find it!

Comment by Becca on 4/17/2008 @ 2:13 am

I had a a soft pink cotton blanket, Binkie, that I loved dearly. It was ‘hand made’ into many small pieces after grandpa used it as a rag while repairing something with airplane glue. My mother cut out the spots that were not covered by the glue so I suddenly had a several Binkies -a much smaller rectangle, a 20 inch by 1 inch strip and a few smaller scraps. It actually made it convenient to keep a little bit of Binkie with me as I got ‘too old’ for a blanket - little scraps can hide in a pocket or even a briefcase!

Comment by Mo on 4/17/2008 @ 8:34 am

Yes, my grandmother crocheted a striped blanket for me in the colors of lavendar and pink. I chose these colors to match my new bedroom. I still have it more than 20 years later. I have still use it and love it!Even my kitties like to snuggle up inside it in the winter time!

Comment by Jen on 4/17/2008 @ 11:55 am

Greetings! I grew up in a time when life wasn’t so mobile. As a child, my neighborhood was full of kids and we all, for the most part, got along! We would have campouts, play black panther, kick the can, and about any other outdoor game you could think of. It was great!
There were eight homes in a U-shape that had children that made up “Our Gang!” As we got older, we could stay at until later and just talk. There were no worries about child molestation or abduction. We did; however,
spot the neighborhood “Peeping Tom” one night during a game of black panther. That was exciting. I will never forget my neighborhood. Thanks,Cindi

Comment by Cindi on 4/17/2008 @ 12:03 pm

I don’t remember being attached to anything specifically when I was young. My son, who is now six, is VERY attached to his blankie. He has one special corner that he has to touch while he falls asleep every night.

Comment by Marsha on 4/17/2008 @ 12:16 pm

Train-Track Timothy. It was a dog that wore jean overalls and a hat. My older brother would always take it from me and beat it up and then hide him on me. And he would always get punished for it. I slept with Timothy and even took him to school. I still have train track Timothy all tattered. The overalls are ripped and faded. To this day my older brother makes fun of train-track Timothy, he would laugh if he knew I still had him.

Comment by Anna on 4/17/2008 @ 12:20 pm

I had a silky white blanket that my mother had painted circus animals and clowns on using the old style fabric paints in metal tubes with roller ball points. I took that blanket with me everywhere. It was so smooth and silky. In fact the only mistake Mom made with it was giving it to me. It had been my big brother’s before (we’re seven years apart) and now that we’re “grown-up” he’s miffed that I won’t give it back. *grin*

Comment by LindaW on 4/17/2008 @ 2:12 pm

I had a blankie that my grandma knitted for me. It was a rainbow of colours and I loved it! I still have it and my kids play with it now.

Comment by Tara R on 4/17/2008 @ 2:59 pm

My grandma made me a Raggedy Ann doll. She sewed it all by hand and it had a little embroidered face. She was so cute and I took her everywhere with me. I have her packed away in the garage.

Comment by Pamela R., OC CA on 4/17/2008 @ 4:16 pm

I myself had a blanket my grandmother made, it’s a crochet tartan afghan which I still have. Now as an adult I make all the babies of my friends and family a crochet baby blanket because every little one should have a crochet blanket of their own, they are the best for snuggling up with to keep warm, m’leigh.

Comment by m'leigh on 4/17/2008 @ 4:23 pm

I don’t remember having a special blanket or anything like that as a child. My daughter is 9 years old and still carries her baby quilt around with her.

Comment by Jennifer Barr on 4/17/2008 @ 5:25 pm

I had two best friends as a child: a small, multi-colored blanket named Blanky, and a stuffed wolf named wolfy. One day, some lady came to our house and sat on Wolfy and Blanky. The whole night, I kept thinking about ways to save Blanky and Wolfy. (I knew they were suffocating under the lady) After the lady left, I remember grabbing Blanky and Wolfy and they stunk. My parents told me the lady, who was carrying a baby, must have had dirty diapers that got my items dirty. They threw Blanky away, and threw Wolfy in the washer. Wolfy became all nappy, but I still have him to this day.

Comment by Julie on 4/17/2008 @ 5:40 pm

I never did have a pretty handmade blanket. What I had was a little pillow handmade by my grandma out of her fabric scraps. The fabric, I even saw it in one of grandma’s many tailored suits she wore, day in, day out. You see, my grandma was from China and she’s one of the little petite Chinese ladies that wore their own “uniforms”. Always the same style, just different fabrics.

My little pillow cover was in dark brown color with little flowers. It didn’t look appealing at all but I had been attached to it since I was a kid. I was even more attached to it when my grandma passed away years ago. The pillow became an even stronger reminder of grandma’s old-fashioned goodness.

The little pillow had been hugged to my chest or placed next to me on my bed for thousands of nights, for over 20 years… Until one day, I finally realized that the cotton in the pillow had totally fallen apart and it’s time to let go… Even as I wrote this, I could still see my little pillow clearly in my mind. Thanks for the chance to share this!

Comment by Fion on 4/17/2008 @ 6:58 pm

I don’t remember having anything special I was attached to. Each of my kids have a very special blanket made by grandma that they treasure. Thanks!

Comment by michelle on 4/17/2008 @ 7:53 pm

When I was a little girl my grandmother, Mamou I call her, always made me things. She made me a teddy bear out of yarn I christened “Binky”. She also made me a wonderful crochet square (kind of like a painting, but with yarn, does that make sense?) with Mickey, Donald and Pluto (I have it framed and I cherish it). She made my cousin Ashley and I matching (except the name) crochet, rectangles this time, with the words “Jillian” and a clown with balloons around the name. I cherish all of these things because I know she worked very hard on them. If I win, I’m giving the project book to her, because she loves to crochet!

Comment by Jillian on 4/17/2008 @ 8:55 pm

You know, I did have a handmade blanket when I was a child…a couple of them I think - all made by my mom. She actually kept some of them and now I have them for my kids! Very cool.

Comment by Andrea on 4/17/2008 @ 9:37 pm

I don’t remember a blanket, but I had a special doll that I carried everywhere…gosh, I can’t remember her name

Comment by Amy L on 4/18/2008 @ 10:02 am

I had a blankie that got washed to shreds– in fact now I remember that my mom was smart enough to start off with TWO blankies so that they could be rotated for washing.

My brother on the other hand has a somewhat more infamous blanket-friend called “Ersee” (which was his toddler translation of “where is it” which is what Mom & Dad said every time we wanted to go somewhere because we couldn’t leave without Ersee. The Ersee became infamous when we packed up from a week stay with my grandparents and started to drive home…we got a couple blocks away when Michael started crying- we’d somehow left Ersee at their house…not good. So, Grandpa turned around and hit the gas so we could get Ersee quickly (my brother was quite upset at this point)… I’m not sure that the police officer who pulled him over for speeding understood the dire-ness of the situation, but at that point the flashing lights scared me so I had joined in the chorus of crying, so I think he got off with a warning. We then (more slowly) went back to retrieve Ersee and all was well with the world again.

Comment by Clare on 4/18/2008 @ 12:04 pm