A Whole Lot of Poodling Going On

If' I'm ever to have the fabled "15 minutes of fame" I venture to guess it will be because of my poodle toilet tissue cozies, which are really the only thing I make that might be worthy of acclaim. I joke about "My nefarious mission: Repopulating the world wit kitschy, tacky poodle tissue cozies, one bathroom at a time!" But it's only partly a joke. I really think everyone benefits from whimsy, and these zany canines are my contribution to that happy sense of absurdity we need so much in the stress-filled times in which we live. My sewing skills are so-so (ignore the pun, I'm being truthful here!), I love to knit but don't do anything terribly ambitious or complicated. But I do make a mean toilet paper cozy, and I'm not too bashful to say so. 

The past few weeks I've been experimenting with some new designs. 

Actually, I'm always experimenting, and in the past 8 or 9 years since I began making these, there's been quite a few changes and improvements I've implemented.

Here are some of the earliest examples of my work; they seem pretty crude to my eye now, but even then, folks seemed to like them and I sold quite a few. 

My photography wasn't up to much in those days, either, looking back.

But over the years I've done a lot of fine tuning and I'm quite pleased with how much they've improved. 

Several weeks ago I was approached to make a custom order poodle in the style of the vintage spaghetti-ware figurines that were so popular in the 1950's and 1960's. Like this: 

This was a delightful project, though coming up with the eyeglasses took a good deal of trial and error, but eventually I sent this charming cozy off to her happy new owner:

Several more of these bespectacled canines later, my daughter had another idea for me. She suggested I make just a poodle head cozy, not a whole body poodle. 

This also took a deal of experimenting, and I'm still in the early stages of developing it, but I'm finally feeling hopeful I'm getting it nailed to my satisfaction. Because the proportions are completely different, my usual eyes simply don't cut it, and I have had to experiment with teddy bear "safety eyes"--not that they're child-proof by the time I'm done with them, as they have to have the shanks removed so they can be glued in place. My husband obligingly saws them off for me. And the eyebrows--good grief!! Those have really had me stymied. But I think now I'm getting it. (One fan suggested I use actual false eyelashes, and I may have to give that a try. Meanwhile, I'm using to stiffened felt.)

Here is the prototype. She's definitely looking stunned. Or stoned.
Altogether, she just doesn't suit me.

My next poodle head is much more to my liking, though! Here she is: 

I've given her a larger "top knot" pompom, set her eyes further apart, and tapered the eyelashes. A larger, repositioned bow is another change I like. It seems a bigger poodle needs a bolder-looking bow with more "substance" so I used my best quality saddle-stitched grosgrain ribbon. Not sure what this type is made of, but it's definitely heftier and holds its shape better than the cheaper polyester stuff I used on the other one. Here's another view: 

This pretty poodle will be available in my shop soon! I wanted to show her off here first.

After working on my pretty peach gal (the yarn, by the way, is vintage Phentex from the 1970's, approximately--love the color!) I went back to Prototype Poodle and worked a bit on her again, trimming the goofy Carol Channing eyelashes and giving her a larger bow. It's about all I can do for her, but she does look better, I think: 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/795314942/petal-pink-crocheted-poodle-toilet-paper

Anyway, I know it's been a very long time since I've posted anything, but I wanted to share what I've been working on. And I'll have more to come soon As I say, there's been a whole lot of poodling going on around here.