While I was setting up for a local craft show, I had the good fortune to be next to a woman who owned an alpaca farm. Her yarn was hand spun. Beautifully dyed. So soft, so resilient, even water resistant. We became fast friends during that weekend. Many of her friends had stopped by and loved what I was doing with upcycled materials. There was one friend in particular. Silvie.
Silvie had a deep love for pigs and was quite the intellectual. She was shocked that I didn't have any pigs available to purchase. So, as I continued to do craft shows I would get custom requests that would become part of my expanding Reimaginary Friends. Silvie had a cute little upturned nose, you know the kind that some salty uncle just couldn't help but pinch or do that silly nose trick. Silvie was British and had amazing pinkish skin.
Later that night, after I got home, I sketched my version of a pig for Silvie. Next I pulled sweater swatches and some velvets whose color was softer then pale pinks. I had some knits that had a sweet pink-purple flowery print. I was ready. Sunday. I would give her the swatches and show her the main idea.
Silvie was thrilled and decided she needed two and wanted me to surprise her with the second one. It wasn't hard for me to start working immediately. I loved working on new stuffed animals and really got to know Silvie quite well.
In about a week her two pigs were ready. One was very pastel. The other was a vibrant magenta pink with wild striped legs of purple, yellow, orange and pink. To say the two pigs were polar opposites would be correct. I fell asleep that night and had a most ridiculous dream. It was about the pigs and their name was Pignoccio. It seemed appropriate as I crafted a nose out of felted wool that you could stick your finger in.
I met Silvie the following week, as she invited me to tea at her house. I decided to put name tags on the pigs. Pignoccio was hand-written on each tag and tied around their necks with a piece of embroidery thread. I couldn't wait for Silvie to open the box.