Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Safe and Sound Mice - Hanging Charm Toy


Many of my toys hang in someway. Safe and Sound Mice is a new twist on the hanging toy. In fact, Safe and Sound Mice are two naughty mice that have been hung up by the tail! Now that they've been captured all is well in the house.

Those of you with cats might know the frustration of trying to be rid of the furry little toys one's cat proudly brings in. These cunning little mice get loose and, finding the new environment well stocked with provisions, usually proceed to make camp without asking permission of the current occupants. Happy is the day when the mice are chased out or, unfortunately for them, find The Cat only too willing to wait for another personal appointment.


Safe and Sound Mice are also apart of my study of folk charms and understanding the desire to keep luck, attract luck or prevent bad luck. Safe and Sound Mice signify a desire to keep bad things at bay by having them tied up, by representing them as already captured and thus under control. Who wouldn't want to have a mouse problem under control? But of course it's not just mice but anything that might be worrying the owner.
Safe and Sound Mice are embroidered with sashiko cotton thread on an oatmeal coloured cotton/linen. Premium Japanese fabrics with textured weave are used on the reverse side. The hanging tail joining them is crocheted wool of three types (the blue strand had been hand dyed in natural indigo). Each mouse is approximately 19cm or 7 1/2 inches long, also the length when hanging from top of loop to tip of nose is approximately 72cm or 28 inches.

Do you know anyone naughty who needs stringing up? ;) Safe and Sound Mice are now available at Flying Star Toys on Etsy.

10 comments:

shula said...

Do I know anyone who needs stringing up?

That's a trick question, right?

Charms. Can't get enough of them.

Anonymous said...

They're adorable! :)

Marjojo said...

Came to you from HelleJorgensen and glad to have found you on miserable cold grey day. Spring has disappeared and I too am in gloomy November mood - seeing your hanging mice made me smile. Understand the sentiment behind the hanging too, am currently crocheting a spider - yuck - and will place it in some corner of my bedroom, where one night a little while ago I jumped out of bed faster than lightning when I saw a spider, much smaller than me, descend on me from above.
Look forward to following your blog as I'm very interested in myths and folk- and fairytales. Feel inspired by what we carry/have carried in/with ourselves without being fully aware of it. Art allows us to express some of that, sometimes.

Jean-Luc Picard said...

Very inspirational, Florence. They look real special.

Florence Forrest said...

Shula, not so much a trick question but a telling one ;)

Thanks Felicia :D

Marion, thankyou for your comment and welcome to Windbag and Thunder. I stopped by your blog and your work is very interesting indeed. I hope your crocheted spider intimidates the other spiders away for you too :0)

Thank-you Jean-Luc your comments are always warming.

xx

Beck said...

WOW they are a delight, and the folk charm theme is really excellento. I love these meeces to pieces!

Florence Forrest said...

Thanks Beck :D

Here's a little ditty that I picked up when I was younger:

Mouses live in Houses,
No, Not mouses..Mice.
But if it's Mice instead of Mouses,
Why don't they live in Hice?


cute isn't it.

xx

Raggy Rat said...

just been lost in the page of your blog - its super, i kno you also from flickr of course, please add me to your friends of :-) must do some work now XXXX a new blogger - relatively ...

Florence Forrest said...

Thanks for dropping by Raggy Rat :) please feel welcome here on my blog. Always good to hear from a fellow flickrite too.

xx

Florence Forrest said...

Thanks for dropping by Raggy Rat :) please feel welcome here on my blog. Always good to hear from a fellow flickrite too.

xx