Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

  She's so sweet. 

I would like to own a realistic Chinchilla    No-one i have seen has ever made one close to the real thing. I'd either like to buy it or make it. Sadly, i don't think my skills are up to what i want yet; and i cant afford to commison one.

So hopefully one day! I would also like to own one of Judi's tigers

Thanks Sue Ann    Glad i could be of help Ali.

Hi all,

I've heard back from michelle who seems lovely 

I know the front piece is the optional muzzle, as the other head doesn't have one.

Re. The wierd seam line, she says the choice is mine! I can either go for a two piece gusset or to get that 'bangs' look, you can cut at the line (adding seam allowance i assume) and make it a three piece gusset.

Problem solved, hope it can be helpful to anyone else who comes across these wierd markings! I will be going for the three piece i think - i like a challenge.   

if i get no reply from Michelle, i'm thinking of cutting two gussets, on in two part, one in one part and seeing what looks better, i'm pretty sure there's enough mohair to try both. 

Hi Donna,

The Bear in question is Haniel by Michelle Bradley of Bradley bears; he's the 3rd bear down on this page -

http://emmarybears.com/id63.html

I think where the confusion comes from is because the pattern seems to have been revised - you can make it with it without the inset face. The instructions all refer to the version without the inset; and then the page with this gusset on seems to have been added later on. It doesn't have a layout diagram or layout information.

There is no artist contact details and although i have found the bradley bears website, it seems like it has not been updated since 2007 - so i'm not sure if contacting her directly will work.

I thought i'd ask here because - a) Someone may have made a bear like this from a kit
                                               B) Someone may come across this same issue in the future
                                  and c) I know a few of you artists here go for that 'bangs' look - which i love btw, and may be able to advise how they get it .

I would have thought though, that if it was supposed to be cut into an extra section, then it wouldn't be a dotted line, it would be a section?

Soooo confused!!!

:hug:

Hi all,

I have looked through the library previously and don't remember this problem being talked about.

I bought myself a lovely new bear kit with my Christmas money, i'm just marking up the lovely long 40mm curly mohair that comes with the kit.

Where I am totally confused is the arrows showing nap direction, I know they are pretty self explaniatory, but the gusset is unlike any i've come across before.  It has a dashed line running about half way down the back part and then the nap changes direction.

What do i do? I can't find a spot on the mohair where the nap changes direction like that, because there isn't anywhere.

Does it mean i cut one way and then damp brush the gusset afterwards to try and get the fur to lie a different way?

Does it mean that as a option, you should cut at the line, and re-sew the gusset into another two pieces to get that effect?

I can see why the fur direction ideally needs to change at that point - to get that lovely effect where the inset face 'clashes' up against the head gusset - but i just don't know what i'm supposed to do to get that effect!

Help! I hope my rubbishy diagram will show you what i mean. :-)

I have to totally agree with Christine here. I wouldn't class myself as a collector yet any more tha i would class myself as a bear artist (haven't designed my own yet!)

What I can say is that i own two artist bears, Little Verdi by Kesseys Bears who is 12 inches tall and Hayai, a Jenny Lee anime kitten who is 6 inches.

I paid more for my little 6 inch guy. To me, they are two totalyy different bears, with totally different styles - the only thing i do tend to go for is I like a Soulful look, with bears that always look slightly depressed with an innocent expression.

The size was totally irrelevant, the bears spoke to me 

I have seen some stunning minatures that i would like to own, but for me, the general price is not affordable. I don't earn much, and i'm saving to buy a house, so I wouldn't spend £100 + on a bear - although i totally think bears at these prices can represent value for money for the artistry involved. Me, I have a general price that i won't go above, and it's not high so i don't win most of the bears i bid on anyway.

So for me, as a potential collector, i have to say, size is irrelevent although i do make most of mine around 9-14" that's the size i like - although bizarely, my first ever bear kit was 2" mini called Albert. he looks like he's been in a car crash with an understuffed head and his body backwards  :crackup:

The moral of the story is, I paid more for my smaller bear than my larger bear, so price really doesn't make a difference in relation to the size.

Happy New Year to you Jane and to all you other Teddy Talkers out there. Happy to join the community!

Thanks    I have just invested in some proper perle cotton and wax - it doesn't help that i have been using embroidery silks as I cross stitch and we have zillions of colours lying about in my house but they do tend to lie rather messily.

His new mum loved him so much that she took him with her when she went back to visit her family at christmas. I can safely say he is well loved. I've kept most of the ones i've made and it's beginning to look a little crowded round here. I've just bought a new bear kit and some synthetic fur to try. Why couldn't i have picked a cheap hobby?  :crackup:  Seriously though, i'm finding bear making very theraputic.

  That's a lovely story and i love your illustrations

Thanks guys 

I have made about 5 or 6 before this one. My first bear is a very sorry looking understuffed guy with one loose eye... :crackup:  Phillip is just my first effort at needle sculping and first one i've made since i joined here. it's still early days.    I might give the templates a go thank you!

I thought i'd be brave and share with you the first bear i have finished since joining.

He's a Mohair Panda made from Intercal mohair in a light brown and a pale pink colour. He's cotter pin jointed and has ultrasuede and vintage upholstery paw pads.

He's been made from a pattern from Teddy Bear Scene (Sugar plum panda).

He's my first attempt at needle sculpting and has been scissor sculpted too. He's a present for my best friend at work, who loves bags - hence the little bag charm, and i hope he raises a smile.

I'm not very happy with his nose, but i love everything else.

My little sister has named him Phillip - Strangley, i think it suits him.    I'll leave his new mummy to name him properly.

Happy Christmas to you all,

Love Julia.

P.s. Any advice greatfully recieved.  I have been making bears for only about 4 months now.

Personally, as a buyer, it wouldn't put me off - i don't think you need to mention he was a 'rejected' custom order - it's more important to me whether the bear is OOAK or not.
I wouldn't think of him as second hand, and i'd just sell him as a bear/sloth you made. I don't think he's old, just special 

Hi,
The pendant i think Judi is talking about is widely avaliable here in the uk -

http://www.wimblebees.com/pd_A%5Bf%5DY0 … endant.htm

You aren't allowed any scissors or pointed objects on uk planes, the clovers have a protected blade  My experience is that the uk is still very strict on these things, you are allowed blunt style embroidery needles but not containers with any liquid in!!

He's lovely 

I have to admit, although again, i can appreciate their artistry, i find them utterly creepy.

I've never been one to coo over babies anyway but there's something slightly horrific in how lifelike they are - they do just look like dead babies   as for people who treat them as babies, that's even wierder - but hey, i dress up in movie costumes for fun and someone who happily dresses up as Frank The Bunny from Donnie Darko, probably has no right to say what is wierd or not  :crackup:

I have my chinchillas as substitute children and at least they react back to me - even if it's only shoving me away wheni try to cuddle them  :hug:

:crackup:  i've had id recorded stuff from australia too, it just means i have to sign for it when it gets to my house. if i'm not in and have to go to the post office, then we have to produce I.D. to collect any parcel.

  What lovely trees! We haven't got one yet in my house, we always go and get a real one a couple of weeks before xmas - so it's not feeling too christmassy around here yet.

Congratulations/    I love your bears, they have such a unique sense of style and stunning eyes

What an awesome idea 

Happy Thanksgiving to all celebrating it. x

  He's so sweet.

Honestly, That's insane.

I'm quite a heavy eBay buyer and i have my own ideas of what constitutes a 4 or a 5. For example, I often give 5 on descriptions because i haven't been misled; again most postage prices seem fair and if I didn't mind paying it when i bought it, unless i've been totally ripped off, again, people tend to get 5s.

The only thing I do give 4s for is communication. if i haven't recieved a message saying when it is sent - they get a 4. recently someone promised me a message when a return arrived (which was their mistake and i paid for the return to get the correct item!) and never did, they got a 3.

Knowing what you have said though, i will rate people higher unless i have a real problem (which, tbh is rare)