Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

If I were to do a bee..I might try making a complete yellow body...then taking wisps of black.. wrapping it around the body.. for each stripe and needling in each one carefully.  ..picking up each hair really where it ends to make a sharp delineation  along each side of each black piece to get a good stripe.  It is time consuming..but, worth the effort.....

Wow..... what a lot of work..especially for a needle felt that size.... great job.  Okay...off to check out your other "stuph"...

I haven't been by TT for the whole summer.....but just stopped in to see the amazing pandas and to say how much fun it was scrolling through all the beautiful pics.... they are all wonderful.....

Hi Edie..... ... love your elephant.   Maybe you could run next door to see it on occasion...

Spice girls..how cute is that.....and how cute are they??!!!

What a beautiful face!  That definitely would have been tricky fur to work with...but the result.... wow....I know I'd have to keep her if she were mine.

Shantell.....she is great!  I can hardly wait to see more dollies.... woohooo another doll maker in the mix!  I must get 'round to your blog again..... okay...off there right now....gotta check what you have been up to....

I haven't been around TT for ages.....but finally finished a bear .... please meet Tucker.  He is 6.5 inches and has soft silvery gray footpads, inner ears and pawpads. He actually began as a funky faux fur cushion that I found at a fabric shop.  I love the long delicate hairs...they wave in the slightest breeze.  Trimming a muzzle like this was pretty iffy ...but tiny snips and then I quit before I went too far.  Think I will leave it like this...maybe some day I will figure out a bit more about trimming a snout.

Haven't been around the site for ages.... and this is what I have missed the most Tami.....the little sweeties....

Honestly Richy.....   this is pretty normal.  I have had heads that resembled anything from llamas to crocodiles.... and anything in between. 

I also do my heads first and if they are not what I want...then I just move on to another head  ....    long before I waste time getting frustrated with body parts. 

a furry blob......

a furry blob still...but only about 3 seconds later after I added some test eyes and a larger test eye for his nose..... and it gives a whole new identity to the furry blob...

trim off some hair...add a nose and eyes and he will be a totally different bear.

Wow, Chloe...way to go.  No "Dusty attic" there!  ...great space now.   Me too on the "looking at it"...so far that is all I have done with my new space.  Most of my crates are stored on the two closet shelves for now...mohair in the linen closet..... leaving my room very tidy.  Wonder what it will look like this time next year?  maybe we should do an update on this week in 2009..hahhaha...

Laura.... love the little clear jars on the CD stand...great idea.  Must get me some of that.....

Sue Ann... mmmm..yep, me too... would love a nosey round that whole space for sure.... what a pile of stuff!  ...

Absolutely beautiful  All of them.  Love your bears Jenny.

Sonya.... could you fly up here and help me do my kitchen backsplash please?   Then, after we do that...perhaps we can both go to Aleta's to help with painting and drinking those Lemon Drop Martinis....

After doing our bathroom.... we kind of fell off the reno bandwagon.... and it has been a disaster for too many years to count now.  Man, that does it.  I am off to look for my fav tiles...I could get busy and do it myself.  Poor Greg just has no time right now..

Ever since the Calgary Bear Show I have been cleaning up my mess....which by then was on every conceivable surface of floor, tables, chairs..etc... "someone" even commented on how our house was beginning to resemble a craft "storage facility" more than it did our house.   So... that same "someone" was more than happy to help me get and assemble a few IKEA purchases in order to keep all my "stuff" in one room.  Here is my new craft space... it used to be a little used 10 X 12 sitting room.  Think I am just gonna admire the "shiny-ness" of it all for a few days...not move anything in there.  A lot of it will stay on shelves in a walk-in closet between this room and the bedroom...so it could conceivably stay pretty tidy. Yeh...right....     The new rolling cabinet will hold and hide all sorts of stuff... love it. The desk has space... and...my new display case holds all the dolls.   Wheee......   

oops... larger than I thought..but now we can see him on here at least..

here he is for you....

Marion...don't change any dates just yet.......

Next year's show date will probably be different from this one.  Perhaps contact Heather ....I am sure she has a list on the go already....... and she will inform you as soon as she knows when that date will be.

Oh, man.... I am still bagged.  I must have been too animated and too busy or something!  but, what a great time!  I loved the lighting because it was soft and relaxing...and... made ME feel like I looked less wrinkly.. :crackup:

I thought the venue was great and I was very happy with all aspects of the show.  Heather pulled it all together.  Way to go Heather!  It was my first show so I really had absolutely no clue as to what to expect as far as sales were concerned but definitely wanted to support it anyway.  I have to say I am ecstatic with my own results and also got orders for a few more little things.   I really thought the black table covers were great....somebody told me they would be white and I am so glad they were not....the black was just so much more effective and classy to my way of thinking....and made all the other decorator colours really "pop".... everything looked much richer on all the tables.   White would have been just ...blah..... 

I bought some fabrics... one of Edie's teeeeeensy weeeeeeensy little bears....(Kait is so cute Edie and the workmanship on one so tiny is amazing).... just love her; traded a bear for some other goodies from another exhibitor who was so happy to be able to attend a "bear only" show once again, just to see old friends and make some new ones.   I think everybody had a wonderful time.

Met some great collectors; already had 3 people email me and also go to my picturetrail site to check out my other "stuff".  I used a few of my dolls as part of my table decor because my bears are pretty small and also I felt that I did not really have enough .... so also met some doll collectors and heard from one of those already today as well.  All in all...I think it was a great success. 

Yes.... just a bit more advertising and a few more exhibitors...and this could be the beginning of something big.

Amul, by a more pronounced U shape to the ears do you mean to get rid of the sort of pointed stitch areas in a few areas? or is it the overall shape you are talking about?  The only thing I can see from the one pic is that the lining of the ears has some little pointed areas every so often.   What I do to make the lining and fur joint nice and smooth and not have any "pointy" areas...is to do small stitches...and if you are doing it by machine...lift the foot and turn the fabric a bit with needle down every few stitches in order to make a nice curve as you go around the ear.  ... don't just turn the fabric as you stitch or it makes a little zig or zag.  Also.. clip the seam allowance close before you turn... pick out the fur that is trapped in the seam..... then.... after you turn the ear...use haemostats or something similar to gently push the seam out nicely so that none of it is left pinched or just not fully pressed out after turning.  Be careful not to poke straight through the seam!! Now, pick out any more fur from the right side that may still be trapped inside the seam stitching... give the whole ear some gentle tugs here and there and press it out flat with your fingers to smooth it even more...  ....

Other than that.... and a bit more practice to get the stitches smooth and the tension equal on your nose embroidery..... you did a fabulous job... it is great for your first try.   Hope this is what you wanted...

What a great little guy for a first go!  Good job Amul....

Awwwww...so tiny and so cute.... well, maybe more to his Mum than others..but I like him ......

Depends on how tiny they are Catherine... but I like to  make tiny fabric pillows with a half teaspoon of shot or so in them... a bit of polyester placed around that to fill...there is not much room really if you use cotter pins and discs...but if you string joint it would be easier I guess.  So far..I mostly use discs and pins..........

This will be the only thread I am looking at for a few days...thx Tami for your sweet pics... just a smile and an awwww factor......

Bobbie... do they have to be metal?  Could you perhaps make them out of gold cord?

Yes... and hurry up because they close on July 14 for the summer holidays!!