Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

You and me both, Sue Ann!!!
Hang in there, Tami.  It'll be over before you know it.  I know, look who's talking.  I'm the worst dental patient ever. My dentist even has it written on my dental chart.   However..
It's the anticipation that's hardest.  The knowing, the waiting.
Friday I had a wisdom tooth pulled.  I fretted for days prior.  It wasn't near as bad as I imagined, I have a healthy imagination!
Hope all goes well for you tomorrow.
I'm sending you a huge bunch of good thoughts and great big hugs!  :hug:

Great photos, Daphne!
Growing up on the east coast, I loved New England in the fall.  The colors are beyond fabulous, I miss experiencing that.  We don't get those vivid reds and oranges, here in Washington State.  We have the trees, but not the cold dry nights needed to make the colors really pop. 
Thanks for the memories...
Laura 

Hi Rita
I love RoseBud! Absolutely adorable!!! 

Hey Sue
Great tip! Thanks so much for sharing. I found a place that carries them, down in Portland.  I'll pick some up, soon as I can. Can't wait to try them.  Thanks again!
   Laura

Oh, this topic is too funny!
My bears look like they're on Mars, so I guess I look like them ..or they look like me.  :crackup:

It feels good to laugh.

Had to edit for spelling.  And I didn't even use big words!

Also check eBay, under Dolls & Bears: Bear Making Supplies, and Books: Non-Fiction.
There's some good books being auctioned right now, esp under Dolls & Bears: Bear Making Supplies.  There's a group of 5 in one auction.  If I didn't have them all, I'd be bidding!
       

Oh, Aleta  ..Please try to post a picture. 
Sounds like a faster way, and I think I have one of those razor thingys, somewhere.
Thanks!!! :hug:

Good question, Lynette
'Cause I'm in the same boat!   
My heads often twist at the chin, just a bit but enough to throw everything off.  Wonky is the perfect word for it! 
I can't help at all, but I'm hoping others can.
Laura

Thanks Gail, Lynette, Laura, and Wendy!!!
I will start unraveling and rewinding today.  I have a bunch of file cards somewhere.  They should do the trick.
I wonder why they twist the pearl skeins.  Is there a reason, besides to drive us all crazy?   
Again, thanks so much!
  Laura

Hi all!
So here's my silly dilemma..
I wrestle with my pearl cotton skeins.  And the skeins are winning.
I'd like to keep them as skeins, with their paper wrapping intact, so I know what number they are.  But I wind up with a sloppy mess, with paper label barely hanging on.
Do you leave them as skeins or turn them into balls, like other yarns?  How do you keep them numbered, or do you?  If I really like a certain color, I'd like to know what number it is, so I can buy more.
Thanks!
   Laura 

Sheryl, I agree with the others.  It sounds suspicious.
If the buyer makes you uncomfortable you can block them from bidding, or even cancel their bid if they make one.  Both are fairly easy to do. 
It would give you peace of mind.
  Laura

I'm not yet selling my work, except at my shop.  But if I can add my two cents:
I feel an owner of whatever is entitled to sell that whatever.  The secondary market is an important part of the market place as a whole.
However, I feel it doesn't belong here on TT.  In any way, shape, or form. 
I hope I'm not overstepping, but I feel strongly about this.  TT is a great great site, as it is.  One thing can lead to another, then TT will change.  The rules should be adhered to, especially in regards to the secondary market.
Laura

Great cover, great work!  :dance:
Congratulations!!! :clap:
    Laura

Hi Jane
I didn't know of your parties, as I joined TT just a few months ago.
So I took a look.
They are great!!!  You must have put a lot of time and work into making them.
Can't imagine why someone would complain.  I agree, some people lack a sense of humor.  Too bad.  They're missing out on life.
I'd be honored to someday find myself at one of your parties ..even as a reindeer. :crackup:

Hope you continue throwing your wonderful parties!!!

    Laura 

Gail, that's a great tip!!!  My hubby has one of those expandable magnets ..No, make that my hubby HAD one, 'cause it's mine now!
Super idea!!! :dance:

Daphne and Karen, thanks!  I'll go check out Thread Heaven!

     Laura

Ouch is right, Daphne. A really good thing, not to do.  I'll keep in it mind.
And rarely do my new designs come out as my mind's eye sees them coming out. So I've learned (more or less) to be open ..to surprises!

Karen, what's a Thread Heaven?  Couldn't find it in the library.  Sure sounds useful!

    Laura

Hi everyone!
Thanks to TT's library, yesterday I bought an Ott Light!  Actually my hubby bought it for me, via a long and strange cell phone conversation.  He at Michael's, me home healing.  I'm recovering from some surgery.
I love it, love it, love it!!!  What a difference.  I do a lot of hand sewing.  I was using an old Tensor Light, which was glary and hot.  The Ott light is cool and provides great natural looking light.

Which got me to thinking ..I wander through TT's library quite often.  And I've picked up some great tips.  The Ott Light is one of them, another is alligator clips..which I now can't live without.  My pincushion is getting dusty!

What's your favorite tip or technique that you've learned from TT?
I don't know if this has been asked before.  There's lots of newbies, I being one of them.  So it might be fun, even if it's not original.

Laura

"60 is just too surreal to take seriously"
Eileen, that deserves to be put on a plaque or something.   
Love it, love it!!! :crackup:

We shouldn't keep terror and fear in our hearts, I agree.
But memories, we need to keep.  The date, the heroes and the many lives lost must never be forgotten.  Including the terrorist attack.
I feel the knowledge and the memories make us, as a nation, stronger. 
They did not nor ever will succeed.
We must never forget.

I've enjoyed (am enjoying) my 50's so much more than my 40's, which I enjoyed so much more than my 30's, etc etc etc.  Not to say they were bad, they weren't.  But for me every decade does get better.
In 2010 I'll turn 60 and I plan on having ..more fun than ever!!!   
I agree, mind over matter!  We are as young as we feel, and aside from some aches and pains, I feel very young.
Teddy bears keep us young at heart.  No wonder they are so cherished.   
  Laura 

Tara, that's too funny!  But I know what you mean.
When I turn my newly made head, long faux fur head, I can't make heads or tails of it. It's just a fur ball!:crackup: 
It takes a while to figure out where to even start. I stuff, then slowly start shaping and trimming.

I love good quality dense synthetics. They are so soft and sculptable. Some do have knit backing, but I line them to prevent stretching.   

I've tried lots of interfacings and such. My favorite is "Sulky Sticky". It's really an embroidery stabilizer, but works great!  I attached a pic of the product. So easy to use. Just cut it to fit pattern, peel off paper backing, and stick it to fur backing. It stays in place...even after turning. I've used it for some time now and it has never peeled off.  And, of course, once you stuff, it'll stay in place forever.

  Laura :rose:

PS:  I buy Sulky Sticky at JoAnn Fabrics. It also comes in rolls, which is nice.. no folds (creases) and there's lots more on a roll. I "stock up" when it's on sale!

Thanks, Christine.
I do think she's a keeper.
She just speaks to me, moreso than any other bear I've made.  Can't explain why.  Maybe because of a childhood memory, as you say.  Amazing how some can do that.  Her eyes just say "Keep me!"
So I am.  Veronica stays home!
  Laura 

Thanks Ali and Gail for the kind words.
Ali.. It is indeed hard to part with them.  I get way too attached.  And I just may have to keep Veronica. 
Gail.. Yup, she's Veronica Lake!  As soon as I combed her hair like that I said, Veronica Lake!
   Laura 

Hi all!
Meet Veronica.  Veronica is made from a wonderfully soft, high quality plush fur.  She is about 13" in height when standing and fully jointed, and lined.  I think she's my favorite so far.  Will I part with her?  Perhaps in a week or so.  For now Veronica stays home.
  Laura

I was born and raised in NYC.  Even though I now live in Washington State, 9-11 hit me very hard, as I know it did many all over the globe.  I felt very sad yesterday, remembering that fateful day.  I will never let the memory lapse into the past.  It needs to be remembered.  I can't look at a picture of the Twin Towers without tearing up. 
Yesterday I cried, I prayed, and I remembered.  This thread means a great deal to me.  I was gladdened when I found it, though that may sound odd.  I hope you understand what I mean.  9-11 and all who perished needs to be honored and remembered, for always.
  Laura