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For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Ditto, Gemma--great poses, too! 
Claire, the Lion Brand Yarns website has lots of free patterns you can download. Here's the link for baby hats--
http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/patter … rch=Search
It's heart-stopping. What an awesome artist this lady is!!
Annik, please do tell Pixiwillow how much we admire her work, and how much we'd love to know her.
I've got to say that it's the Polar Bear that inspires me most too, Bobbi--just beautiful 
Heather, Heather-- :hug:
Have a wonderful Wedding Day!! You and your new Hubs will be off to a great start, with lots of lights and laughter.
So few brides really enjoy their own weddings, it's a shame . . . but I can see that you're going to have a blast!!
He's precious, Mikki--I love chippers, and you really captured his little face
Gemma, what a sweet pair!! I won't be much help, because I like both names, but I think they're adorable
:hug: :dance:
:dance: :hug:
Well done and well deserved, girl!
Oh well there is always next year to kick beary butt.
:crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
:crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
I think the competitions are great--they spur creativity among Bear Artists, and promote the whole beary enterprise, and stir excitement among collectors and creators alike.
At the same time, there's a special thrill in getting a happy email from a buyer who treasures your work and finds it even better than expected.
I think there's plenty of room for all kinds of affirmation--competitions, personal satisfaction in achievement, one-on-one gestures of recognition--the whole spectrum.
Any kind of judged competition is going to be less than perfectly objective. What is objective, anyway? The judges are as vulnerable to trends and fashions as anyone else, but from what I've seen, they reward innovative design as readily as they reward flavors of the month. For example, anime bears are something new, and seem to have a wide appeal. Whether or not they last as long as traditional teds, who knows? But they're a well-accepted style for the near future.
I'd certainly be over the moon if I won any award . . . got to get the act together and enter a competition first . . .
Awwwww, poor little dude--I hope his master or mistress claims him soon . . . he looks so sad 
she thinks, her arms are too long...she says, bear doesn´t have long limbs...she thinks Ida is ugly...she thinks Ida doesn´t look realistic
Sheesh, Gaby, hasn't this lady ever heard of Steiff? Richard Steiff designed his bears after sketches of real ones, and they do have long limbs. Double Sheesh. 
Linda, your Sheltie is fantabulous--just beautiful!
My mum made us eat a spoonful of liquid cod liver oil every day, followed immediately by a dessert spoonful of malt extract!
Me too, Paula, but with no malt chaser! 
:dance: WOW, Congratulations, Nancy
Poor Reggie
Computers certainly know how to time their crashes
Poor Wendy doesn't even have us to commiserate with
These synthetic challengers are all gorgeous!!
Shari, you lucky thang!!
Karen, your/Shari's kitten is adorable. Cats cannot lose, surely :crackup:
My synthetic just arrived, WooHoo :dance:
it's the Tissavel polar bear white, and it cost me a fortune, but hey . . . I won a half yard of the black on eBay for a song, so it all evens out, right?
What a beautiful combination of bear, mom and memory, Majdle
:crackup: Nogrowl--great name!! :crackup:
Great idea, Jared---Author, author!!
Poor Hubs, Chrissi--that's a lot of the worst kind of pain all at once
:hug: Hugs and prayers and fast-recovery thoughts for both of you! :hug:
Wonderful News, Bev :dance:
There's nothing like seeing your babies happy and loved!!
I'm long since over Mother-In-Law and steeling myself for Grandmother.
Moi? Don't I wish!
YOu'll be okay, Jodi!
My one, meager, pathetic little piece of helpful info:
Once you've got your pages set up, remember to save a copy of the code.
That way, when you one day insert a perfectly normal looking little picture and it blows the page off your screen, you'll be able to go back and fix it!!
They're all wonderful, Deborah--I can see them taking Bearpaths by storm
Will they be up next Monday?
My heart belongs to the 3rd ratty
What a treat, Aleta--thanks for sharing!
The garden was lovely, but nothing can compare to those happy faces!
Louise, I've ordered glass 'daggers' from The Northern Bead Company here in Toronto. They come in various sizes and colors, and work well for both teeth and claws.
Sonya I'm so sorry . . . poor Sunshine
You've both been through a sad ordeal, but waste no energy blaming yourself or wondering what else you could have done, when you could be hugging Sunshine.
Gazillions of hugs to share between you :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
Michelle,
I've got bear pictures all over the place, stuffed here and there, bursting out of my hard drive.
I've even got a few short video clips I found on the web to remind me of how bears move.
I figure that if bear-gazing was good enough for Richard Steiff, it's good enough for me . . .
A lot of people on TT can see a three dimensional leg in a two dimensional pattern, but I'm still struggling with that. One day (one day) I see myself sitting down at my sewing maching with a pile of old fabric and a notebook, and making up every single bear leg shape I can think of before I pass out.
Then I come to, make a fresh pot of copy, and get to work on arms.
Meanwhile, it's trial and error, cut and snip and turn and resew . . .
Nancy's probably very busy with the upcoming Lemonade Benefit, and a whole mess of webstuff, but she'll get back to you. I took her Business of Bears course to get my thinking in order--that course includes lots of great tutorials on photography, photo editing, first-time websites, all the tech stuff you need to get moving.
