Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Daphne,I find for me, and remember each person will do what works best for them, that removing trapped fur on both sides of the seam, inside and out, 1. you are getting double the change of removing trapped fur, and 2. you are getting a smoother seam line.
Once stuffed, if you run your finger along the seam line, it will be a smooth line, and it should then not feel bunchy( is there such a word ??) .
Daphne, getting fur trapped , will also depend on how you stitch, hand stitching will eliminate much fur trapping as you will have more control,pile thickness and length will also affect the seam lines.
Hope this helps a little.
Lynette

soft and cuddly
Lynette

Shelli, my daughter met her husband via a chatroom, we all chatted there, first my kids, then they introduced mom.  When "Vudu" my son introduced "CyberRacer" my son in law to "Loli" my daughter at one of their get to gethers CyberRacer thought that Vudu and Loli were going out, four years later Loli and CyberRacer will be proud parents , god willing July next year. We no longer chat on IRC anymore although I do pop in on the odd occasion.
Daphne, I agree with all you have said, 
Lynette

Never ever be afraid to do something. Rather live knowing you have tried it, than live with the regret of knowing  you have not tried.
One question I  have for the Toby- they say no digital pictures, this is a pain, as I have to run around trying to find a professional photographer to take pictures, which takes more time, waiting for the pictures to get developed, then its more time for me to get the pictures courried off to USA. has anyone used their digital camera for the pictures?- I would not retouch the pictures or anything like that ? and as I leave everything to the last minute everyting is running to a deadline.
  Lynette

Lynette

Jenny I suppose in life you win some and you loose some. I have been both a winner and a looser. I have also judged and it is not easy.The only thing is to not give up.  I do think that it is important thou to get a crit on your work,that is the only reason why I enter, as that is the way I improve.Although with saying that I have had reports back where two judges have favoured my bears giving high marks and the 3rd judge has given a very low mark and I have found that rather odd, maybe she was PMS on the day.

Just do not give up,
Lynette

Can try this,
Working with long mohair,on a big bear,  take a body part and with a tacking stitch on your sewing machine   tack around the edge, about 1/2" in from the cutting line and tack down the mohair, so that when you sew the two body parts together , the long mohair is neatly tacked out of the way.When you are finished, turn the part, the right way , remove the tacking stitch and you should have a bulk free seam.Then carry on jointing and filling.
This is tedious, but it will give you a very smooth seam, and with long hair being more expensive it is worth it in the end. Hope you can understand what I mean.

Also trimming the edges will make for smoother seams, but this takes time, but I will always do this for the head and paw pads and on competition bears. Even with trimming, I will still do the below step to comb out any trapped fur.

I have a cat? dog? metal long tooth comb, and I use this to comb out the seams after sewing on the wrong side, and before stuffing to catch any trapped fur. I then repeat this on the right side. This makes for a smoother seam. This works the best so far for me, except watch out for fabric that frays, in this case use fray check on the seams. Otherwise an awl will also work before stuffing. Again with the awl, I remove trapped fur on both sides of the stitching. Once your bear is fully stuffed you can again check it for trapped fur, some how, I can check a bear over and over and yet I can still miss a place

Of course with stitching either by hand or machine, pushing the fur out of they way also helps as you stitch, but you will still get some fur caught up, especially if it is a longer mohair.

All I have learnt is that my short cuts have turned out to be LONG EXPENSIVE SHORT CUTS as I have to unpick and redo, so if I am a PROFESSIONAL then I am the BEST PROFESSIONAL UNPICKER

Lynette

I wished you got picked, but as it has been said you pay pay pay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I must wait for my copy.
Hugglets in the UK do a teddy bear guide, except it is not a profile on an artist, just your business listing. They cover the UK and the rest of the world, and it gets published every year.
http://www.hugglets.co.uk/tede-guide.html
Glenn Jackman ...  info@hugglets.co.uk ... Glenn can also be contacted for more information about this guide.

I am going to be rushing off to the Post Office every few days now to check for my copy.
Thanks for the scanned copy.

Lynette.

Now I also want to see and try these pens, can you give me please tell me where you bought them or perhaps an address of someone on the web who could supply them so that I can go hunting.

Thanks
Lynette

Yikes now I do feel so guilty, this is the first Christmas that I am not putting up any Christmas things as we are spending the period with my son in Cape Town. He has bought a Christmas Tree for his house ( his very first one and has done the decorations on his own- so not sure what to expect)
When I think of Christmas , I see a large living tree, with lights twinklin, just like Kim's, lots of snow, everyone inside, laughter, and music. Except that here in South Africa, it is normally a hot day, we tend to have the traditional hot dinner, but land up around the swimming pool.
This year we will be with my sister for lunch, she will prepare  lunch, which will be delicious as she loves cooking. Good -bye waistline.Then we will sit back and watch the sea, or perhaps go for a walk on the beach as she lives across the road from it.
God willing, next year will be very different as then the sprog will be about 5 months old so it will be the biggest Christmas time ever, but I am getting carried away now.

Lynette

humf I have spent hours trying to get pictures right and slowly learning a few things. If I was to purchase a program to do the right thing, what would you suggest, remember it is for someone who knows what a needle and thread is for, and  thinks that a pixel is a pixie's boyfriend.
At the moment I use the programs that came with my Sony digital camera.

Lynette

This poor bear, is not even out of the box and all ready he/she is the talk of the town or is that the talk of the "teddytalk". !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lynette

Will do so, when my copy eventually arrives.!!!! He is a real different spaniel , I admire you felted face work, did your fingers survive ?

Lynette

I have kept my very first bear I made, , and he has place of honer amongst my collection, even with he crooked ears. Hubby and the kids have taken bears bears and said "you are not selling this one"
Judi, those bears / animals are stunning, the airbrushing brings them to life !!!!

Oh Daphne, I can just see it all, you, the box , how hubby must be smilling.
Enjoy,
hugs
Lynette

Estelle did you take the pictures, are they on your farm, how are you involved with them ?
ok 1001 questions ?

Lynette

And a hug is free

Lynette

Sometimes the legs and the arms sort of melt into the body and you get a distorted picture of your bear, so try and separate the limbs from the body, mmm in quilting if you had a green ,blue and pink square pattern block, and you put a green boder around, then you would not join any of the green squares next to the green border as the green squares would bleed into the green border and you would not see the green squares. So almost the same thing with the teddy bears, you would not want the tummy shape to be distorted because the arm was tucked right next to it. Not sure if I am explaining myself, it would be better if it was drawn.
Tilting the head to one side also gives the bear a better pose.
Digital cameras are great as you can experiment and make mistakes that you can learn from.
Also try different backgrounds, as they can change the whole effect of your bear.

Lynette.

:whistle. Hubby enjoys cooking, I dislike cleaning up after him , that is our routine. With housework and the garden , we have help, not because it is needed, as it is only myself and hubby at home, but as Joyce, Irene,Chops and Calvin need financial support they help around the house. This means that we have an extended family,  extra schooling, clothing  medical expenses etc.
I drive myself mad thou, as when I sit down to make a bear, if I see that something is not packed straight I will first pack it straight before I carry on with the bear, or if I can not find something, I must find it first  even if I do not need it immediately.
I admire you , who get on with it, clean when necessary and RELAX !!!!
SueAnn, married for 41 years , well done, am I next in line with 35 years, which was on the 8th of December last week.
over and out
Lynette

:clap:  :clap:  :clap:  3 cheers for Honey
Lynette

Ha , I am not sure what my mom would have said if she saw me sitting grinning to myself in front of this pc