Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Wow that is so cool! I wish someone had come to my school, I may have taken up bear making a lot earlier. I think its great that  you share your experience with others. Somethings can only be learned face to face. Reading it from a pattern or a book just isn't the same.

p.s. I love your bunnies. I just bought your Brewster pattern of ebay, and I am eagerly awaiting its arrival!! :dance:  :dance:

Here's a couple of bears I finished recently. The smaller one is "Chloe"  at 12" and is made in mock mohair (pattern by Gerry Warlow). She has a nice little top made from old doilies. It was supposed to be a skirt, but I measured wrong.    The other bear I made while doing EBearz Beginner Bears course (15" Bruin pattern). I had fun doing an orange nose on this little girl. I decided to have some fun with ribbons with these bears.

Ohh I found my picture of all my bears and things. My first few are at the back - the panda and moose (both craft kits not mohair). I have a few dragons in there too and a little red mini bear which kinda got squished. The orange teddy in the middle is my newest one (pattern from EBearz beginner Bear class). I really love my dragon, so I included an extra pic of it (not a Teddy I know). The pattern is by judith prior, her dragons are soo nice!

I have just discovered this magazine recently, and I love it. I love the nose class in this issue. I did a horrendous nose the other day and spent 30 minutes hacking it off. I picked up the magazine and read the article and redid my nose. I was so happy with my nose!! Lots of great tips and projects!!!

Ohhh lets see... I started about August last year. I would say a grand total of 6 (plus three almost finished)  Ohh plus I have made three cloth doll dragons in that time to. Not as many as all you wonderful artists but everyone was fun to do. I have a picture of them all in a group somewhere, I will try to post it after I get home from work (if my sister allows me anywhere near that computer :pray:  :pray:  :pray:  :pray: )

Jane, I hope you lucy has plenty of years left in her. :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  My dog is now 13 and is having the same sorts of problems. She has the beginnings of cataracts (clearly visible on her eyes) and lumps too. She doesn't see as well as she used to but manages to find her way around just fine. All that matters to me is that she is happy and can eat, poop and run around. I have gotten so much joy from having dogs in my life over the years it was worth all the money I spent on the old girl for all the problems she has had (she is a serial trouble maker when it comes to getting hurt or sick). By the way I also have another little dog called Lucy! Life wouldn't be as nice without them!

I love getting mohair in the mail too!!! I also love that I can go down to the teddy bear store here in Brisbane and stroll through the isles looking at the mohair. I love picking it up and feeling how nice it is.

Im in too. Hugs for all. :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

I really love this site. You are all soooooo nice and helpful.

---Therese

Hi Everyone, I just have a question in regards to labelling my bears. At the moment I am still using other artists patterns. I love to put a tush tag in the back of my bear stating that I made it (of course). I always include the pattern designer. Im not selling them, they are for family and friends. My question is when I state the designer of the pattern, do I need to also state the name of the pattern? The first few I made were named the same as the pattern, so that wasnt a problem. But I am about to make a pinky red coloured bear ( it is going to be a girl bear) and the pattern name Hamish is just so wrong.    I want to make sure that I correctly label these bears so that I don't infringe on any copywrite laws ect. I love the patterns I have and I wish to continue making them, I just need to be sure I am doing the right thing.

----Therese

Wow that bear is cute. Thanks for the picture Paula! This will help me a lot, my bear has a similiar hump to this and I thought it looked a bit weird.  But seeing your lovely creation eases my mind.

I wish I could post a picture on here but my mum took the camera on holidays. I have  seen bears with humps, but the one im making has a hump that sits right up close to the back of its head, a good centimetre or two above the joint. Getting a good picture with the hump is hard, I know everyone is looking at the bears beautiful face! I have no collector books so far, still working on my book collection.

I am currently making a teddy bear ( bruin style pattern I believe) which has a hump at the base of its neck. Im kinda worried about how it looks. Does anyone have any pictures with humps on their bears? I would love to see them just to compare to the one im making. I know they won't be the same pattern, but I am interested in seeing other bears of this style. To be honest its the first one I have seen with such a pronounced hump so close to its head. If I can I will try to take a picture of it when I get home from work and post it on here. Any pictures would be appreciated.

Yes I agree! Although all my support is at the moment is going to show to see those lovely bears! Maybe one day I might like to enter a competition.....   Im looking forward to going to the Gold Coast show in June here in Australia. I am so excited as I have signed myself up for a workshop ( I even talked my family into paying for it for my birthday present!!).

I need a little help getting my bears tummy to feel right. I want to use plastic beads in his belly and everytime I do it I don't feel happy with it. Any tips on stuffing his belly to get him to feel right? I know I should put a bit of stuffing in his bottom and neck but Im not sure how much to put in. I suppose its all about how you like your teddy to feel. Should you be able to feel the beads right down to the bottom, or only in the middle of his tummy. Any help is much appreciated.

Ohh thanks for the hints. I do have to use them in the neck of the teddy bear, then I don't have to leave the head open at the top. Yes! Another trip to the teddy bear supply store is in order! Thankgod its close by, but it is always fun to go.

Im doing a teddy bear at the moment and it is talking about set screws. I have never heard of this term before. I have used normal screws (the ones with the heads on them) with washers and lock nuts. I think maybe I need to buy a grub screw set, am I correct? I think this is an issue of different names depending on what country you live in. Please help..... :pray:  :pray:  :pray:  :pray:

Aww he is soo cute. He looks like he is ready for some serious play time.

I put it down to a great pattern! I really love Lisa Dopking's patterns, they make such cute bears. 

I really love the blue eyes on this little bear. She looks really soft!        

Hi Everyone! I finished this little guy last weekend and I thought it was time to show everyone. His name is James and he is a Megelles pattern by Lisa Dopking. He is 12" tall. I just love his little overalls. This is first time I have tried shading on a teddy bear and I am still experimenting. He is my 3rd bear, and I am really getting into them (got two more on the go at the moment). He went to his new home as a gift for my boss' first grandchild this week. I like him so much that I intend to make one for myself.  :love:

Please forgive the photos, I had to take them at work! It doesn't look too bad from that direction. However directly behind me is a fully functional chemistry laboratory. Luckily nothing was brewing at that time and his visit was brief.