Sock Poodles!
Today’s wonderful guest post is by Dewey Risenhoover. Thanks for sharing your story here on the Sock Monkey Oracle, Dewey! Please be sure to check out his adorable creations on his Sock Poodle Facebook page!
My first exposure to sock poodles went way back to around 1955 when I was a little kid. My mother took me to visit grandma at the Nelson Knitting factory in Rockford, Illinois, where the original Rockford Red Heel socks were made. Grandma was a trouble-shooter at the factory and assisted the dozens of women working at machines who needed help. What I remember most from my visit to the factory was the abundance of lint hanging everywhere and covering the floor like a carpet! Grandma Beckham made all of the grandkids sock monkeys, and my baby sister Debbee (now 58 years old) still has hers!
Sadly, Grandma Bee passed away many years ago, but I had continued making the sock monkeys in her place that she had introduced us to. Over the years I made dozens of sock monkeys for sale in my coffee shop/antique store, usually with a theme in mind. There was an Elvis monkey, a Marilyn Monroe monkey, a hillbilly monkey, and many others.
As a standard poodle-owner, I had the idea of making a sock poodle, and I morphed the sock monkey into a poodle of my own design. Many of these I have given as gifts, and others I market on Facebook on my “Sock Poodles” page. Over the past several years I have developed a loyal following, and I am gratified to find my sock poodles are in demand, almost always by a poodle pet owner. I adopt/auction each poodle now, generally once a week, with the bidding starting at $99.00. The final adopter sets the price at the end of the auction.
I now live in northeast Wisconsin’s Door County, a vacation destination for thousands of people coming from Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa, as well as Wisconsin. People have come to know me as the “Dogfather” since retiring after 30 years in law enforcement. I only hope my contemporaries don’t find out I know play with dolls!
Guest Post by Dewey Risenhoover
All Rights Reserved
Ron Johnson
Dewey you are a hoot,wish we could have had more visits
Jean
Grandma Bee would be so happy to see you continued her joy of making sock monkeys!
You have tweaked them along the way and into poodles with paw pads, movable arms and charms on the collars 🐩❣️Awesome!!
Linda Wilkinson
Nice article & I know that you put your personal touch on each one.
Roselyn Krapf
What a wonderful article! Dewey is a very much appreciated member of our Gills Rock community.