Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Ohhhhhhhhhh..... Winney

Julia, you silly girl, no I didn't count them even tho I thought of it ...fluffy bears in stead is sheep LOL.

Thanks Quy... I was thinking 639 would have indicated that bears were not moving on the market too well ?
Whew!!! That means 238 are not sold. That tells me collectors ARE BUYING off Intercal ...better get my rear in gear and get some posted.

Julia...You can tell how many bears are listed when you first bring up the Index...look over to the right and it will show how many. ... Winney

Stephanie... I found you can check the copier accuracy  is to draw a 1" square , copy that ,then measure it...it will be right on  if that measure 1" square..........Winney

What does UV mean?....Winney

I heard that the black later turns purple....Winney

Wow...Have you taken a look at how many bears are up for sale here ? 639 !!!!

Of course some are already sold...don't know how many that is, too lazy to count,

which would be fun to know if Intercal could do that...... Winney

Wow...yes..this can make sparks fly around in the cranium !

I have  some experience with enlarging patterns with some weird results;

I designed my original  bear ( 10")  then tested it out by making it up.. . I  intended to use this pattern for my real fur bears that customers may order from their own fur, by size , so I needed to get it enlarged for a 12", 14", 16" 20" so......I ran down to KInkos.

I soon discovered that the heads looked so much bigger especially on the bigger sizes.Whaaaa!!!  I did not know why at the time so... back to the drawing board. I then figured I could get an accurate enlargement by redrawing the bear in different sizes  by the grid method, that took a "month of Sundays" to do ...but it finally got done  !

Several years later I learned from ? ..... because the head is 3 pieces it gets bigger than the rest of the parts by something like 5% ....so copy the pattern but copy the head separately at 5% or less.

OK.. heres another thing to think about....someone told me when you want to enlarge a  pattern , do not enlarge anymore then 2 times....so if the item is a 10" then you can do 11" and 12" then it will start to distort...I am sure they used the word distort to mean; " get out of proportion " with each other...just what we are talking about here.

One more item.... I found it is best ( for me as math boggles my mind, may be from the sparks). to start with a 10" pattern to get a 12" then DO NOT use the 12" to get a 14"...USE THE 10" ONE .

Hope my learning  nighmare will help someone.....Winney

Kim, What a lovely bear...Winney

Yes...and for really wide ribbon you can sew those stitches right down the middle instead of on the edge., that would give you two ruffled edges, is that what you want ?

It sounds like maybe ??? you are working with real narrow ribbon and you want loops?

Hmmmm...In that case I think I would measure around the bears neck ...lets say its 8 " so I would cut a piece of 1/4"  wide ribbon to go around the neck plus add a few inches for a velcro closing in the back or you can make it even  longer to tie in a bow  back .This is for a base to sew the loops to.

For the loops.. I would take your real narrow  ribbon and figure out how long you want the loops ...lets say  2" long...so using  a water pen and ruler make a mark every 4".

Thread a needle with matching thread and using a back stitch ... from the wrong side of the neck ribbon, stitch each mark to the neck ribbon .
I think you could use the sewing machine to do this ...just go slow and you can place each mark of ribbon flat onto the neck ribbon.

And I am sure you maybe could figure out how to actually knot  each mark to the base neck ribbon but it would be very tricky to try and explain this..... I will try ...I would make a loose knot every 4" then slide the neck ribbon thru each knot then  go back and tighten each knot closed.
Does this make any sense to you ? It may be easier to just do it ..........................Winney

This is very interesting...I use to cut my hands all up too..I say USED to because I don't anymore and I get the sculpting done even better.
I used to use upholstery thread ...I  now use waxed linin thread or artificial sinew, it doesn't  slip ..it holds those stitches really firm plus my hands are not all beat up...Give it a try and you will never go back to upholstery thread again.....Winney

Cathrine, you may find some heavy good thread at your local leather or  shoe shop...that is if you have any there...also check with your clothes cleaners...they have to do repairs and may have some heavy threads. Upholstry shops here always carry nylon threads and fabric on rolls for people who like to upholstry their own chairs, etc. ....Winney

Where can you buy cotton stuffing in the USA ? ...Winney

Kelly, Your horses are incrediable., that headless horseman is a wonderful piece, your so talented ! ..I have been wanting to design a horse for a long time.. Winney

Jumping in here Id like to point out that I once saw a very wonderful piece where a daddy bear was dancing with his son , remember the old poster where the bears dance ?... This  was like that and is a still life  sculpture done with wire armatures inside the fur bodies ...  very  antimated happy  bears. I would definately say this was art.... Winney

Kim, I think the biggest thing I learned that helped my noses a lot  is to stuff real firm with fine excelsier ( wood wool ) for about an inch and use the finest needle I can get away with...I also glue each stitch flat as I go...using the tiny Elmers pen white glue...I put a tiny drop at the top of each stitch before smooting it down...Oh yes I too make a nose shape like Paulas....Winney

Whew Kelly ! Thanks, I will give that mess. #8  a try... Winney

Ok, I think I am gettimg it now....duh  I need to buy some program with a template  in order to make my tags...

All of you who have this...can I ask which one is the cheapest..or will do the job ....Winney

But you did yours in "Word "... Yeah ! I have that already... do I need to go out and purchase a business card template to go with it ?....Winney

I  want to screem with delight everytime I see a Plushkin bear ! They are soooo cute !..

OK, the eye thing.... clear instructions Jane, you have to knot and tie off for each spot  = 4 for each eye ?

I  wonder, can you just make a couple of knots for say the first " top" eye spot  ( behind the ear ) then go for the next one " bottom" eye spot and then do the same .... Winney

Kelly, " Published in Word" ?  I have an XP computer, it has Microsoft Word, is that the same ?... Winney

Just when I thought I was getting a handle on my chocolate cravings ....I give up !....Winney

Luciano Pavorotti is my most favorite opera singer , you are so lucky to have been able to go ....Winney

Boy Judi...they are so very cute. Lovely work , shows exactly how the layering effect works besides practice, practice, practice and you too can do it..maybe, hee, hee.  That lambs smile is just precious .... Names, hmmmm...how about just a bibical verse quote ? or the quote along with the names .... Winney

Sandi...I thought Angora was rabbit fur ?....He is such a softie cute little guy, thanks for sharing.

It is hard to find an angora sweater at the 2nd hand store. I can find mixed yarn sweaters, just bought a gray one that has 56% Nylon, 40% Angora, and  4 % Lambswool . Its fuzzy enough and soft , gray would make a nice bunny. This yarn is very fine so I will probably need to work at leats 2 strands together..... Winney

Hey Shelli ...thanks so much for sharing with  us. It really helps to see the comparison and what can be done... Winney