Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi Mindy,
Ed Spencer is a member here at TT.  If you look in the user List he is on the fourth page as edspencer.  Then you can send him a PM or it has his email.  If this is the correct person, he lives in Wichita, Kansas.
Bear Hugs,
Donna

Thank you Marie,
I will get in touch with them and if I need your help I will let you know.  The ones I need are the ones with the black screw, they have the serrated edge.  The ones with the red dot do not have the serrated blade.  You may have saved me a lot of searching.
Bear Hugs,
Donna

Hi Gemma,
Those are the right ones and I have been watching them.  My problem is that I need a source for them on a regular basis and several to be purchased at a time.  I will be teaching a class with a group of ladies that will be using their own furs to make bears.  My one pair of serrated scissors won't work very well for the class.  I am planning to buy at least 20 when I find something comparable with my little Henckels.
Thanks for helping!
Donna

Years ago I purchased a pair of Henckels Mustache 4" scissors 43540-100 for trimming the faces on my real fur bears.  They have one blade that is serrated so that the fur does not slide off the blade while you are trimming.  Well, I am now trying to find another pair and can not find them with the serrated blade.  I was hoping some of you who deal in real fur could tell me what you use and where you get them.  I am not sure if my Henckels have been discontinued or if they are only being sold in Germany now, but it looks like I need to find a new pair of scissors for my fur bears.  I have written to the company in Germany but at this point have not heard back.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Donna

Krista,
Crimp your wire down before you spend the time painting.  If they are going to break, you want them to break before you have invested the time and energy in painting them.  What a bummer for you!  I only squeeze the tip of the wire not up close to the eye.  You could have some bad eyes.  Years ago that happened to me, the better part of the ten pair that I ordered all broke.
Donna

I would like some big nose help from all of you also.  I do the stuffing under the felt nose template and I have a friend that does the layered felt nose.  The problem we are experiencing is that when we do the satin stitch at the outside edges of the nose on each side the stitches will fall away to the face and not stay on the nose.   Do any of you have that problem?  How do you fix it?
Thanks for any help.
Donna

You did a great job putting it all together! 
Donna

Hi Kathleen,
I only wash, and not really washing then, when the backing is a loose weave and I want to tighten it up.  Then I throw it in a pot of boiling water and shrink down the cotton backing.  One thought is, if you are buying your mohair from one of the US suppliers you are safe to just use the fabric as it comes to you.  If you are buying mohair from ebay or an estate or something like that, I feel it is a good idea to either wash the mohair or throw it in the freezer for a week or two (washing is faster and easy).  You don't want to bring any critters into your stash.
Donna

Bev,
Are you going to give us the scoop on how Dixie got those fabulous eyes?
Donna

Clare,
I wear a product that helps my back when I am working on bears.  It is called body rite.  I got mine for a quilting store.  Here is a website:  www.mageyes.com  Hope it helps.  Have you tried putting some arinca on your back?
Donna

Thanks Tammy,
I didn't even think to do a search.  DUH!
Donna

Is there anyone who can help me with some sewing terms?  I am afraid that I do not know what a "stab stitch" is.  Also does anyone know what a material would be that would have been called "baize"?  These are from old patterns that I found and I don't have a clue what the modern term would be for them.  I thought about calling my 90 year old aunt to ask her, but her hearing is so bad on the phone, I figured I would not have much luck.
Thanks for any help.
Donna

Hi Jane,
You could hit San Jose Convention in July in CA. Pat Moore is the contact person.  Then head on down to San Diego for the August show with ABC.
I think you would really enjoy the Nevada City, CA show in April.  Connie on this forum can get info to you. 
Donna

Celena,
My mother-in-law had migraines and she would go to the hospital and get the injections.  I suggested that she try acupuncture and allergy testing.  She did have some food allergies and with the acupunture she was migraine free for three years before she started adding food back into her diet that were known to trigger the migraines.  Give it a try.  Hope you feel better soon.
Donna

Heather,
Check the weave of the backing.  That could be your problem, a really loose weave.  Try setting your stitch length to a very tight, short stitch and do one seam and see if that makes a difference.  You could make it look like an old bear that has been repaired by doing  criss cross stitches on the outside of the seams with thread that does not match.  If it is just noticable on the snout, you could  add color to the seams.
Don't let it make you nuts!
Bear Hugs,
Donna

Well, I have agreed to step in and take over a two day bearmaking class at the San Jose Convention.   I want to do some fun stuff during the class to keep them motivated and moving forward.  A good portion of the class tend to talk alot and not get their bears finished.  My husband suggested that I do something like a murder mystery with them only change it to be bear related.  I liked the idea but thought it might distract them from working on their bears.  I used to play pirate bingo and thought I would do a version of that with them.  My thought was that I would put a note inside of everyone's bear head that told them to go get a goodie bag when they got to the point of turning their head right side out.  Now I am stuck as to how to get them to be able to take someone else's goodie bag.  I want to have them rest their hands every twenty minutes and thought that this would be a good excuse to stop for a few minutes.  My first thought was to put notes inside all the body parts but I am guessing that we will just get the head done on the first day and I don't want to make them bring back their bags for the second day.  Drawing their names out of a hat does not seem real exciting.   I thought about doing it where the first one to finish stuffing the head or finish the nose would get to steal a goodie bag, but we have a new person in the class and I am afraid that won't be fair to her.  I am still open to the murder mystery idea for the second day also.  I was thinking the characters in the mystery would be the class members.  Maybe the second day the clues could be inside the body parts.  Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.  I want to make this a fun time for them since they are not getting the class they originally signed up to take.
Thanks,
Donna

Luann,
It is to help prevent wear and tear on the disc.  In the olden days when they were using pop rivets or nails to joint, the constant movement of the metal against the disc would eventually wear away the disc so that the nail head or rivet came through the disc which caused the bear to loose it's arm or leg.  They started putting a metal washer between the metal rivet or nail and there was no longer any wear to the disc.  It would take several decades for this to happen but I personally would rather put it in and not worry.  There are many that don't use them.
Donna

He has started a new job (Thank God).  He is working long shifts.  What time he does have he should be working on bears, he has the San Jose Convention in two weeks.  Maybe I can get him to pop in and say Hi.
Thanks for checking on him.
Donna

Teresa,
If you use set screws you do not have to glue the disc to the bolt and can use them in the head.  One of the things I like best about the set screws is that you are not spending precious time doing tedious tasks like glueing your joints and you can sew all the arms and legs closed before they go on the body.  The part I did not like about set screws was the small allen key to hold the screws.  I have since found a hex head bit that fits the set screws that goes into a screwdriver and the set screw jointing system is a breeze now.  Give them a try!
Donna

Thanks Heather,
Will a nice thick layer of polyester quilt batting cut to the shape of the footpad work?  I want it fairly flat.  Did your bunny self stand?
Donna

You all were so helpful with the glue question, I thought I would pose another one.  I like to use glass beads in the bottom of the feet on my self standing bears.  Can I needle felt into the bottoms of the feet that have glass beads in them?  I'm not sure if that will also make a difference in their ability to stand.  Will I need to be careful to balance out the needle felting?  Then I ask myself why would you needle felt onto a foot that is going to be standing.
Thanks for any help.
Donna

I use set screws for anything 6" and over.  I feel I get a much more consistant joint with the nut and bolt or set screw method of jointing.  It is also less damaging to your hands and wrists if you do many bears.  And if you ever have to take a joint apart it is no problem with the locknut, but you have to cut apart a cotter pin.  If you only make mini to very small bears you will want to stick with cotter pins.  The arms of some smaller bears will not handle the bolt head.  Do you want me to send you a set or two of set screws to try out before you make a decision?
Donna

I want to needle felt little toes on a 6" critter.  I don't want to trim away the mohair from where the toes will be so that when it is finished it will have these little toes just peeking out through the mohair.  First I tried tracing where I wanted the toes to be.  The color ran and I have more color on the paws than I want.  I tried eyeballing where I wanted the toes but I am more comfortable with a guideline.  So the next was to tack felt circles to the mohair and needlefelt over that.  Now I want to be lazy and put a dab of Magna-Tac on each felt circle and glue them to the mohair.  Will the glue cause trouble when I try to needle felt through the felt, glue and mohair?  These toes are the size of a regular paper hole punch.
Thanks for any help.
Donna

You might want to try using pearl cotton for the eyelids.  If you run them through beeswax they will have some sheen and be a little stiffer.  I tried it on my 6" cat and I really like them.
Donna

Sophie,
Wishing you the best.  My husband was hired in as an outsider because they wanted someone with a different view to the project.  Will keep my fingers and toes crossed for you.
Donna