Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Hi He is about 24 inches - which is probably the biggest I make at the moment.

Hugs

Dawn

Hi
I will be there - Stand 47 in Hall 1. This is my only Hugglets this year - on the day of the September one, I will be on my way to Romania to start the 50 mile walk to the WSPA Bear Santuary. We shall have sponsor forms at Hugglets if anyone feels they can help towards our £5000 fund-raising target. There is no such thing as a donation that is too small, and every one is very much appreciated.

The Hugs Unlimited bears will be there in September with my lovely son and his gorgeous Fiancee.  :dance:  :dance:  :dance:

A slight change in design for me, these two big bears are in a more dense mohair than I usually use. I would love to hear what you think of them.  They will be appearing at Hugglets in two weeks time.

Elliott was one of my favourites from last year, I love his sweet face. However, he was left as the 'only panda/bear not sold in 2010'. I  now think it really is time for him to find a new home with someone who will love him. So I have put him on Ebay and he finishes in about five hours time. Elliott is 14 inches and is made from black and winter white mohair with a really cute squeak when you press his tumy. He is wearing dungarees and a purple sild ribbon.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? … RK:MESE:IT

When I broke my arm a few years ago, I had some intensive physio therapy and I was asked how are you coping with your work - I replied - I can just about stuff again, but my husband still has to roll my joints for me! I got a very funny look.  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:  :crackup:

Just for a bit of positve - I love forums and I love Facebook. There are a lot of people that I consider myself to be close with on the internet, that I just would not have met if it were not for the internet. Some of them I have gone on to meet in person and have formed very firm friendships with.  There are other people that I have known for a long time but live a long way away from that I have been able to remain close to because of the internet.

I'm not sure that the situation that Katy outlined would have been any different if it had not been for the internet. Having been on many committees and a member of many clubs, groups etc., I would not say that they were any different in person to what they are on the internet. If someone wants to cause trouble they will, whether it be on the internet or anywhere else.

Gossip has been a part of life since time began and some people have always been inclined to talk about others. Others perhaps have been more inclined to have been talked about! The thing I absolutely love about internet chats is that you get to know the person before you see them. That way, you are really getting to the heart of them, and are not making value judgements on how they have their hair, how they are dressed, and what their accent is.

Of course there can be misunderstandings, but that's life.

I don't know really whether it is an age thing or not - I do know that my friends are in a much wider age range since I started using the internet. I am 55 and more than a bit addicted to Facebook!

Andrea will be even more famous soon, as there is also a feature on her and her bears in the next issue of Teddy Bear Times due out on the 27th January!  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

We always worry about our little ones no matter how big they are!
I am sure he will have a brilliant time.
There are some collectives that make bears in India - Mumbai Bears use a pattern originally designed by Lynn Bowie of Madabout bears to make colourful bears that they sell to raise money for their village.

It was featured in  Teddy Bear Times last year.

Measure teddy's chest - this is what most baby patterns are based on. A newborn baby will be about 16 inch chest - a prem pattern would be 13-14 inch.

A one year old baby would be approx 18 - 20 inches.

If the pattern is too big, try using smaller needles and a less thick yarn. For example knitting a double knitting pattern with size 4mm needles with 4 ply yarn and 3mm needles will give you something that is about a size smaller.

Most patterns will have instructions for  a tension swatch - try it out in smaller needles and see what it measures, then you can gauge what the final size will be. For example, if the tension swatch says that 10 stitches equals one inch, but your 10 stitches measures 3/4 inch, then you will know that the size will be 3/4 of the original. So a 16 inch chest pattern would become a 12 inch chest pattern. Adjusting the number of rows is easy as yuo can just knit to where you want to be.

When I first started Hugs Unlimited, along with bears I used to design knitted clothing - I am hoping to get some knitting patterns into Teddy Bear Times for next winter.

Hugs

Dawn

Meet Jake from the Bears that Time Forgot Collection. Jake is 14 inch bear with a slighty primitive look to him. He has a squeaker in his tummy which makes me smile every time I squeeze him - daft I know!
Jame is on Ebay just now: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? … RK:MESE:IT

It's even worse than that - if you are in the UK but have an overseas internet provider you will not get it either.  Last Hugglets I took my laptop to the hotel intending to catch up on a lot of TV while I sewed on ears, paid £14.99 for 24 hours internet access, only to find that the company the hotel used was based in Germany so we couldn't get any TV at all even though we were within 20 miles of BBC house!

Lol so I thought OK looks like a Facebook night, then had to go through all sorts of security questions before they would let me on!

Hugs

Dawn

Hi, I am busy working on new collections for 2011. In  the meantime, there are a few bears left from 2010 who haven't quite found the right home yet. To help them find someone to love them, I have greatly reduced their prices on Bearpile. So grab yourself a bargain to start the New Year!

They can all be found here: http://www.bearpile.com/artist.cgi?id=138
Thank you for looking, Here are a few of them:

Susana - your bears are lovely. The global economy is not great at the moment, and sadly this has reflected on a lot of peoples sales. The last two months seem to have been particularly slow. We are in quite a vulnerable business because when times are tough often it is luxury items that go first.

I know that a lot of people don't see bears as luxuries but rather as necessities, they still have to find adoption fees! One way to get things moving again is to have a sale. I know it is controversial to suggest reducing prices, but sometimes it is the only realistic option - particularly if you rely on your bear income to put food on the table.

My personal experience is that Bearpile has a lot of good regular collectors and that even though it may seem slow, suddenly it can pick up. For example, I hadn't sold anything on there for a couple of months and then in the space of a week I sold three bears totally out of the blue.

The other thing I would say about it, is that the monthly fee for unlimited listings is really reasonable. If you want to sell things more quickly, for example on Ebay, you can always put the listings on hold.

I read yesterday that global economies are starting to grow again, so I'm looking forward to 2011 being the year when artists reap the rewards that they deserve.

Hope that helps.

Dawn

I'm in the same boat - I sent a bear to Australia on the 10th December and he has not arrived yet. I really hate to think of bears sitting in boxes in a cold depot somewhere. Next time I send one I am going to include a blanket, a shovel for the snow, and a large jar of honey!

Hugs
Dawn

I saw it - it was brilliant - I think it is also on the next two nights. I am currently co-writing a feature about the American Bear Centre and it will be in the next Teddy Bear Times along with Maria's account of her visit to th centre.  Exciting stuff.

Hugs

Dawn

A Very Happy New Year to you too Jane and to all TTers.       

Interesting topic.

Awloff - Santa's extra reindeer as in 'Awloff the other Reindeer'!!! Was made especially for the cover of the Christmas Teddy Bear Times. His expression is really sweet and I hope he will make you smile! Awloff has a squeaker in his tummy. Awloff is now available on Bearpile http://www.bearpile.com/detail.cgi?id=1386&item=41649

Are you the special someone that could give Awloff a home for Christmas?

Many, many thanks for all the lovely cards I have received. Mine will be on their way soon................ I am sooooooooooooooo behind with everything Christmassy that I think I will be cooking Christmas lunch in July!

Hi
I have two photos of you taken by Chris, but I think they were for the category prize. Chris had real problems getting good photos because it was so crowded around the awards.  If anyone else has good photos of the day, I would love to see them.

Hugs
Dawn

Hi
I got back from Brighton late last night, having spent a few more days down there seeing family. I thought the new venue worked really well, and that there was an amazing selection of exhibitors.

I am so sorry that I did not get to talk to everyone that I wanted to. The judging took a lot longer than we had scheduled for. Anyone who was around when we were judging would have noticed that every bear was picked up and looked over very carefully.

I have been involved with the BBAAs for about six years now - first as an entrant and now as a judge, and it never ceases to amaze me just how different some entries look in the fur to what they do in the photos. Some, even though I know their size seem much smaller or larger, others just different.

Also, with three judges all with different tastes, there was quite a bit of discussion!

I will go into more detail about the judging process in the next issue of Teddy Bear Times.

I am also a little sad that we were not able to give out more awards as there were some very close 4th places that in other circumstances would have been placed.

For now, I would just like to say a huge congratulations to all the winners, it was a very tough competition and you should all be very proud of yourselves.

:clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:
Hugs

Dawn

You will have seen all the entries in Teddy Bear Times Peter, and so will know what a difficult job it will be for the judges. At least with three judges, all tastes will be represented. Between us we have many many years of experience in the bear world! The overall winner will have their bear on the cover of the next Teddy Bear Times - which I think is a really exciting prize.

I can't wait to see all the entries in the fur - one Artist is coming all the way from Hong Kong to the show!

Hugs

Dawn

The weather forecast for Sunday is really good so it looks like the sun will shine on the British Bear Fair and the British Bear Artist Awards. The show is completely full so it should be a really great day.

Hugs
Dawn

I'm very much looking forward to seeing a lot of Tod Talkers at the British Bear Fair on Sunday. The results will be available sometime on Sunday evening - keep checking on the website www.britishbearfair.co.uk on that there is a link to a blog with all the finalists and the winners will be flagged up as soon as an internet connection can be found.

Victor Watkins star of The Sanctuary on Animal Planet will be presenting the awards. It is a real privledge to have Victor there as he is a real hero of the bear world, and the man behind most of WSPA's bear rescues.

The current Teddy Bear Times has the full shortlist and the next Teddy Bear Times will feature all the winners.

Directions to the venue are now on the website.

It;s the ones for carpet and stain removal

Hugs

Dawn