Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Beautiful....Winney

Hi Berta...welcome here to Teddy Talk...its a wonderful place to learn & share techniques about creating  our teddies...it so very inspirational and uplifting .  

I love the chrochet and knit teds...must get some of that Magic thread...and also try the brush emb. thread too....so much to do. so much fun ! ....  .....Winney

Judi...I too am so sorry you have lost your kitty...I have had many pets all my life and it is always so very hard to loose them. ....They don't live as long as we do, perhaps that what the Lord had in mind when he created them...it mimics our life , we are reminded we are not going to live forever .

We have 3 boys ,Like your farm  they saw a lot  about life and death with animals and pets.
We always had a ceremony and buried them on the property, everyone said a prayer and we just grieved together.....that in itself binds us all together and gives meaning to our lives...
I always grieve real hard...especially over the pets...dont know why, they just seem so innocent and becuse its the nature of pets to always give and love no matter how they are  threated..they depend on us... Hugs to all you family  ...Winney

Amanda..you did a great job..I love the whimsical Koala.....Winney

So thats how its done...yreka! That will be a big help to me too when researching photos of various animals...isn't Teddy Talk great ?...Winney

I am interested in  where I can get ahold of some angora yarn,,,JUdi shared her source with us but whew! its priced like gold..LOL ...I have been testing with any fuzzy thread..I think Id like to get some Magic thread , when brushed out it look s like fur.....Winney

Egads what am I talking about..look at alll the lovely wings and links...that should keep us real busy for awhile....Hmmm, one more question...

Shelli..the lavender holy ( burnt) wings are the ones I was looking to make...can you share with us how this is done ?....If not, then ok.... wINNEY

Heather Way cool !!!! LOve those colors for brightness of butterflys...

Oops...Shelli...can you please give the link to the doll site ? I know I have  been there before but years ago.. Many techniques for the makeover dolls, repaints ( Barbie, Gene)  can be sued for other dols and bears...there is just so much stuff to try out....Winney

woopie...thanks Dilu.... Winney

A 1/2" BUTTERFLY !!!!!       NOW THAT IS GETTING RIDICULOUSLY SMALL!!! :lol:
hOW IN THE HECK DID YOU HANG ONTO IT TO MAKE ?......... WINNEY

Azalias wings look like painted silk...hmmmm... Winney

Yes..I have seen those leaf / floral wings at Michaels...real sheer with the veins.

Thanks for that link to print wing, I have a friend that is looking for wings too..

Melissa, you say " heat fusing hundreds of tiny iridescent strands" ....where do you get the " strands" I mean what are they ? fabric? Couldn't you get the same kind of wing from cutting out iridescent organza? Altho...you could embed any kind of strand into the bonding or use different colors together too.

Hey...I remember a long time ago I got some info. on how to make skeltonized leaves right off the internet...they are fragile but I am sure you could then spray or paint them over with coats of polymer to seal them .... Winney

Hmmm, I was just wondering, I have seen colored stuffings for bears somewhere..can't remember where? Anyone know ?...

But...I read that many thread bear makers use a firm fiber to stuff with....like cotton. I am also supposing that you could actually dye this stuff quite easily...I am going to try it because sometimes you can see thru the bears little crochet holes....I have learned to use one size smaller hook than what you would usually use to make these holes smaller...

I could not find where to create a new post to minatures ...so I  used this one for my question on stuffing....Quy can move it if ya want ta..... Winney

Judi, Who make the Flash white eyelash yarn ?

I think I asked where you get your Angora  yarn from already,,,, but someone else may want to know here.
I think I wll call my crochet bears; Bear thread ? dosnt sound right .... or Fiber bears????
Its so silly they copyrighted that name because it is a " description" of how something is made ...like fur bears or chocolate bears, clay bears, mohair bears.... thread bears..straw bears, coconut cookie bears,,,we could go on and on....but won't... Winney

Its hard to come up with a new word when we see something so precious as your bear..he does look like a real teddy bear...alive....and so dang darling !...Winney

Hwes a sweetie....I like the Anime type bears...Winney

All of you  make just adorable bears...I love the bee !!!!!!! and the Magic thread looks just like I want to try ...must order to get it.

PICTURES ??? I have become so addicted to these little bears recently I must have at least 10 of them crochet so far but...none put together so far. just trying out diffrent yarns..and hooks..I can't seem to stop.HELP. please somebody stop me ~! LOL...

I guess there is some interest in the group for these little charmers..The main thing that is different is the fur...its thread.... but sometimes also mixed with felting, who know what else...I may decide to try press moulding, felting and fur and thread, clay all within the same critter...the celing in art has  NO limit !  I like the way Kim  has used various threads to make her bear, he is precious....The bear with hair is simply precious too.....Now Dilu...don't get me started on Gollies...He, He...you know where that would go......CRAZY !!!...........Winney

Whew ! This is a great topic, seems like enough people are interestred..at least in the swap supplies to start with.
I like the idea to put up an ad just like you would in a local paper...then suggest needed items you are looking to swap for...Value could be mentioned, each person pays their owm postage.

Love that idea  of  Shellis bear theme idea....and someone here experienced this..with her  Blackberry bear. I love all the items the " swap partner " enclosed..a small bear , tiny blackberries, ribbon, floss, black piece of mohair., etc. ..You could have a "Theme Swap ", people could sign up with...like this swap is for  anything green ? or Spring bear or critter..or just fabrics and supplies for certain swaps...this is what is fun ! The surpprise is fun !....
keep it going...Winney

Punch thread ?...I have not tried that...yet

Oh that white bear is so adorable...He wants to come home with me...what a face ...

Ill try Debs site ....see what she has,, Oh yes,,, Sabine , you say there are some great groups on this ?.....where ? Only one I know about is Thread Teds...Need to go see your bear now....Komeko

Hi Marion...I play on the site TedThreads, they do share tips but mostly they share photos.

They did have a challange, someone made up a pattern put it into the files then each person revised it and posted their directions...altho I found it hard to follow...

There are so many different yarns that can be used and now with the felting you can poke in many different fibers...here the design possibilities are becoming much more complex than just a " chrochet bear"...like any art, it seem to evolved when new and unusual materials are experimented with..Winney

Matilda..Thats is such a goofy guy..he has character...people love character bears .

The only thing I'd do is to suck in his hips with some strong double thread to make the legs hug tighter to his " broad hips" .

Love his cheeta dots...hey, why not give him a  grass skirt, some big old bright wooden color beads with head hunter pendant.... then give him a wonderful feather type head dress   ...sort of the  head lemure guy in Madagascar...can't you all just see it ??? OH yes, and give him a totum spear to show whos boss....Winney

Terrific idea! !!!! Other sites do swaps, so I guess they came up with the rules..of course they can be revised as we go along too.

My thoughts are to have 2 lists... 1)  Offered/ swap items   and   2) FREE for the costs of postage...

Also.. as soon as the item is sold or swapped, someone must  mark it as such on the site...

Then as soon as it is  paid  or swapped for and recieved then ......transaction is over... the person who made the offer can mark it as such. Ill put up some phony offers here....

If I had a full length gray perssian coat, Id put it on the offered list and then say Id like to get a swap comparable to what  I feel the value of the coat may be...$50 or best offer . Accepted either in USA  dollars or stuff I can use...like glass eyes, eps. 12 mm. Please e-mail me with your offer.
Oops..forgot to say offer is made for USA only as shipping  real fur, customs  is a pain outside the USA.unless you have experience with this, I don't....

Another one.... I have a small box of wool yarn FREE except you pay the postage.. Oh, the yarn needs washing and is mostly muted colors, great for tiny ted hats and scarfs...I just have too much of it..

I have tons of older bear patterns, sizes 15" and up ...would love to swap for some small bear patterns, 6" to 12" ...one for one. we each pay our own postage.

Does anyone have any 1/2" to 1" pile Alpaca fabric in a light color ( 1/2 Yd or more, even sizabke scraps would do ) ...I have 12 each of 16 mm blue , amber, clear eyes on wires to trade..I paid ( price here, stock #, where bought ) for them 5 years ago...they are valued at ( price here) just to give you an idea of the value..

And so on....hey, I actually do have some of this stuff, he, he....Winney

Oh Millisa...Ilove your avatar bear..is he made from mink or alpaca, he looks so soft !....Winney

Id love to start a new topic/ bear type / index ?  here for chrochet bears and critters....

Anyone here creating the little mini bears ...well, say any small size ?
I just started recently making these out of various sizes of threads...it is addicting.

It would be fun to get some feed back on what kind of thread/ yarn you have tried, joints used and eye sizes...plus a little file for photos of our creations .

Another item we could add is clothes, hats, etc.... What do you bear artists and advisers think about this ?.....Winney

Adorable Anne...Is her  clamshell basket woven ? At first I thought it was stiffened crochet...
She looks just perfect and the surroundings compliment her nicely....Winney