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Just wanted to say THANK YOU for the forum. Great article too. I have been making bears for 30 years and in the short time I have been on this forum, I have learned so much more from all the talented artists on the site.
Andrea, you English seems very good to me. When I was young I wanted to have my Great Grandparents teach me German but they would not. Seems that during WW1, any person speaking German in the part of America that they lived was put in a concentration camp here. They learned to speak English as adults then and by the time I wanted to learn in the 1940's there was another war and they were afraid again. They had come from Germany when they were young and lived in an all German community in America. I salute you in the respect that you know English. I sometimes wish that more American would learn more of other languages.
What a beautiful picture. I always loved the first snowfall when I lived where it snowed. I moved away from the cold weather 30 years ago and never looked back. Brrrrrrrrrrr!
My cat is a kneader. When I cover my legs with a blanket, he will stradle my legs and knead and purr away. He was from a littler of kittens that a stray had in a friends shed. He is now 9 years old and weighs 17 pounds and has done this since he was a baby. Here he is asleep on my cutting table, one of his favorite places to sleep and watch outside. He is an inside cat.
I machine sew. My hands are like so many of the rest of you in that even the hand sewing to finish the bear is hard.
My passion is bears but I also do cows, soft dolls, quilts, doll clothes and almost everything else that can be made on a sewing machine hence the name for my website. I also knit and crochet but not as much any more as my hands go to sleep when I do it.
I didn't know if I was going to post on this thread or not because, I have had the snobbery of my bears. I work in faux fur mostly and buy the middle of the road furs. The cheap stuff is horrible to work with and I haven't found that I can afford the high end stuff. I design my own bears and have been for over 20 years. I feel I am an artist in my medium but have been told to my face no because I do not work in mohair. I have made bears from recycled mink and other fur fabrics but my first love is making bears that everyone can afford and buy. Most of my bears today are made child safe and at affordable prices for the average person. I have sold hundreds of bears and have a good collector base so I know I will continue this way no matter what some people may say.
Eva
I work mainly in plush and I use the little Fiskars sissors too and a few months ago I started to use a trimmer which is so much faster and easier on the hands. I didn't realize that other people were doing this too. By the way, I am a lefty too 
Your rabbits are the cutest thing I have seen. Beautiful work 
Jane, wonderful job. It did feel like I was there. Thank you for sharing this with all of us. :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Being in the over 65 group, I too have more supplies than I will ever use. I have more time to shop so I buy because I see something I just know that will make a great new bear or a new outfit that I know I will get around to making. I would be afraid to take a picture of my sewing room because all the walls are filled from floor to ceiling with supplies....finished work is in the spare bedroom
You know you are a bear artist when your dreams all have bears in them.
I would want to know if these are really fur and not synthetic. The only way you can check this is to open the lining a little bit and see what the backing is. That way you can also see what condition the backing is in. Sometimes the backing on the fur is completely dried out and you could never make a bear out of it. If she said they were there a long time why didn't she give you a deal. I would try for one. I don't think I have ever paid more than $15 for an old coat. Of course, I live in Arizona and people here just want to get rid of fur coats.
I love all these posts and can relate to most of them Where we use to live I had a lady at a thrift shop who would save all the fur coats that came in for me to check out before she would put them out for sale. I miss those days 
I got some really nice mink that way. Now as for my hubby, he is usually the first one in a fabric store to look at the fur to see what is available. I think I have been making bears for too many years 
when a husband is the first one looking at fur.
Don't feel back about turning 40, as it is just a number. For us who are in their 60's, bear making keeps us young and there is always another design in our heads that just needs to be made.
I work in faux furs all the time and yes they can be a pain with fur everywhere. Some of them are better than others and I have a small hand vac that I use on the pieces and the cutting table and everywhere else.
When your husband asks where are all my sockets? I make child safe bears and use the locking plastic joints on all my bears and a socket works great for getting these really tight.
I really like reading about the blogs. I too have a blog but do I post like I should NO! I am lucky if I get to it once a week. I don't even have much about my bears but did start a thread about my dolls. Now I have had the 6th doll in the series done all week and haven't even got it photographed to get on my website or my blog. Life has just got in the way this week. I hope others have better luck than I do.
I like the supplies and patterns from CRs Craft too. They are a good starting point for some one just starting to make animals. I know I don't buy patterns anymore but I do suggest the patterns from there for some of the people I teach to sew.
Eva
I admire all you people who hand sew your bears but for me it is the sewing machine. I have sewed since I was a little girl, over 50 years, opps. telling my age. Of course there are parts that still have to be hand sewn but my hands don't take to well it that anymore. I have several machines but I do enjoy my computerized one the best. I just like the bells and whistles of the machine and it makes it faster and I can never wait to see what the bear is going to look like. Patience is NOT one of my virtues.
All I can say is beautiful I envy you for being able to paint like this. I can't wait to see what you are doing for the DeathStar. I am a StarWars fan and have all the DVD's.
Love the cats and they are big. We use to have a Maine Coon but not that big. Now we have a cat that weighs 17 pounds. That is small compared to yours. The rabbits are cute too. The snakes and mice not so much.
Sewing machines can sure give us headaches. I have a New Home and I can take the bobbin case out when I have this problem and clean the fur out of it. I also can get the bottom off of the machine so that I can clean the fur from there. This has always got my machine working again. I have three machines but this is the one I like the best and I hope this works for a long time yet because I would sure hate to lose it.
Oh I am so sorry you did this. It had to really, really hurt. I have nicked my finger and broken finger nails and I know that hurts. I also sew bare foot. Hope you heal fast!
Glad you are on the road to recovery. My daughter had the same problem a couple of years ago and they did the same thing as with you. Try not to lift anything and let hubby do everything for you.
Best of luck in getting your first house. It is always such an exciting time. Hope everything works out for you.
