Muppet Love

I have a thing for the Muppets. I'm not a fanatic or anything...I just love how they make me happy when I see them in action.

Growing up in northern Ontario (near the Quebec border) we only had four or five TV stations and two of them were French (I'm clearly English speaking), and I don't really remember seeing much about Sesame Street back then even though I had read about it in newspapers and magazines. But when I was 15 years old in 1976 The Muppet Show aired during prime time and I finally figured out what all the fuss was about...now that it was geared to adults and not young children.

Every week my sister and I were glued to the TV to watch the Muppet Show. Mom usually joined us too, because a lot of the guest hosts were entertainers that she admired and that Barb and I really didn't know much about...that is...until Elton John was a guest on the show. Seeing Kermit decked out like Elton, and then Elton performing Crocodile Rock in a swamp surrounded by muppet crocodiles was amazing!

One of the dates I had with my then boyfriend/now husband was in January 1983 when he surprised me with a trip to the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto to see “The Art of the Muppets”. He scored some major brownie points with that one…he even bought me the poster. It was an incredible exhibition and display that I remember to this day.

I received a wonderful Christmas gift when I was 15…an original Fisher-Price stuffed Kermit from 1976...the only “toy” I have from when I was younger. Kermit has been with me since I moved out on my own when I was 19 years old. He holds a special place on a bookshelf in my sewing room with some of my other treasures.

In high school I purchased the Muppet Show record, but during a move to another town 8 hours away all my records went missing. This is a really beat up version that I found at Salvation Army...perfect for displaying on my sewing room wall. Thrifting also allowed me to find the 45 single Rainbow Connection sung by Kermit...one of my favourite songs of all time...and is included in the wall art I made, also in my sewing room.

One year for Christmas my daughter, Kate, got me the DVD set of the Muppet Show so we were then able to enjoy it together. We both sang along to the Muppet Show theme song and groaned at the corny jokes during the ball dancing scenes. Aside from Kermit, Animal (and the other members of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem), the Swedish Chef, and Statler and Waldorf are some of my favourite characters. I know this sounds super weird, but even when I watched the first Downton Abbey movie the scenes from the ball when couples were dancing and speaking to each other reminded me of the ball scenes from the Muppet Show!

Kate also gifted me the Jim Henson Biography, and since she's so incredibly crafty, she lovingly cross-stitched Animal for me. When she was almost finished stitching Animal I made the offhand comment that he would look great with a purple background (one of my favourite colours). I think she was ready to kill me because it meant twice as much work, and she couldn't always find the same shade of purple, but I love the patchwork/shady effect that it gives. Kate's Animal is on the wall directly across from my sewing machine so when I'm working/playing at my machine he's always watching over me.

Since I have reacquainted myself with English Paper Piecing I've also included the Muppets in my Prudence quilt. Kermit, as well as Dr. Teeth, Animal, Janice, Floyd Pepper and Zoot (the members of the Electric Mayhem) are featured prominently in the finished quilt top (more in a later post). I've also since included Gonzo and Miss Piggy even though they are not shown here. These were all fussy-cut from this wonderful Muppet fabric from Springs Creative that I bought about 4 or 5 years ago.

Because I'm a bit of a minimalist when it comes to decorating/collecting, I tend to go for quality rather than quantity, and only reach for things that are truly sentimental to me personally. I hope you've enjoyed a peek into my small collection of Muppet memorabilia and hopefully you have the same type of thing that brings you joy.

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
It's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight!

…I bet you’re singing now.