Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I love your dormouse, but I ADORE your fox--he's so full of expression.

In our local park, I see these beautiful creatures coming out of their dens to yawn and stretch many mornings.

Those eyes are incredibly soulful--what a sweetie!

He's perfect I adore his inquisitive look and big squashy nose and the groove on his neck. Really lovely work!

:dance: CONGRATULATIONS, TERRIE AND ALISON--VERY WELL DESERVED!! :dance:

Abigail sold at the Toronto Spring Show, but I had to share--

She was bought by the most elderly, fragile, and proper English lady you can imagine. It was a sweet moment, and I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera  :doh:

Sophy,

The Vlieseline sounds like wonderful stuff--much easier than cutting out lining pieces separately

Karen, your cats are INCREDIBLE--total essence of felininity! :dance:

Hi Sophie,

Critters made of recycled fur need to be lined because the leather in these pelts is thin, and sometimes sewn together from small pieces. In this case, the leather is likely to split under the pressure of sewing and stuffing.

Leather coats are usually made of tougher pelts, so it depends. If your leather is thin or tends to stretch, I'd definitely line it. If it's fairly thick and stable, you don't need to.

Whatever else you do, be sure to use leather (glover's) needles. They have chiseled points, and penetrate leather easily without tearing it!

Hope this helps! I can't wait to see your bear. :dance:

OOPS--I was on the wrong page. :redface:

OK, serves me right. Here's yearling:

YOU EAT A RADISH LAST IF NOBODY GRUMBLES.

I NEVER TELL ELEPHANTS LIES, LEST INADVERTENT GLANCES EVOKE NASTY COMMENTS EVERYWHERE.

Wow--thanks, Edie!!

I don't have that book (yikes, it's expensive on Amazon!), but I've plowed through every other source I could think of.

My doggie must be related to your boxer and Dee's donkey--I think the turning front wheels make them easier to steer while riding. And this guy has definitely been ridden . I'm sure his tires used to be white.

I'm also sure that after a loving relationship with some very active child, he was left out in the rain, or maybe in a damp place for some time. Otherwise the backing wouldn't be so rotted. It shows mildew spots.

I'm going to take the 'growler' thingy to a local music store and see if they can replace the reed. I've tried taking apart a modern pull growler and shortening the diaphragm to produce a bark, but it sounds like a duck!

Thanks again for doing all that research. I'll keep posting progress reports!

I really need your help on this one!

I won this old "Steiff" dog on eBay, and I can't locate any information on its age or history.

It's clearly a well-used and well-loved riding toy on wheels, a German Shepherd dog. The fur is worn off the back (which has been mended at least once) and off much of the sides. The the tail and one ear are missing.

I unpicked the seams of the remaining mohair and carefully washed it. Not only was it very dirty, the backing was rotted in most places, making the fabric very fragile.

The stuffing, however, was in good shape. As you can see, it's long-fiber wood wool. So while the fur was air-drying, I sewed the stuffing in place to secure the dog's shape.

Inside the stuffing, I found a very strange and primitive-looking "growler," which was activated by pulling a ring on the dog's lower neck. As you can see from my equally primitive drawing, It's made of two pieces of flat wood, hinged at one end, with a wire spring that keeps the assembly open until the ring is pulled. Between the two hinged pieces of wood is the remains of a fabric bag, closed at one end and with a reed (as in wind instrument) at the other. When the ring on the dog's back is pulled, it raises the lower piece of wood and squeezes the bag, forcing air through the reed and making the dog "bark." The whole thing was enclosed in a pressed cardboard (think egg carton) box. It no longer works, since the bag is hard and cracked, and the reed is corroded. In fact, the metal wire was so corroded that the whole thing exploded when I opened the box!

Anyway, once the fur was dry I pinned it back on the stuffing, and was delighted to see that it really resembled a German Shepherd now!

I'd be very grateful to anyone who recognizes this dog, or knows how to find out about him. He closely resembles Steiff's "Arco" dog in design and in the details of the airbrushing, but seems to be earlier.

I'm planning to restore him with new mohair.

I NEVER STRAY TOWARD ANY NEWLY TRAINED LION YEARLINGS.

TEN HIPPOS RAN EAGERLY AFTER THE ELEPHANT, NOTICING ITS NONCHALANT GAIT.

IN DESPERATION I OPENED THE INNER CASEMENT AND LOOSED LITTLE YAWNS.

Karen,

What a perfect cat paw--it'll be much softer than ultrasuede!

Have you ever tried molding wet leather and letting it dry into a new shape?

I read about an artist who made bumpy toad skin this way, then filled the bumps with latex or something before stuffing the rest. Wish I could remember her name--her toad was wonderful!

Kimi,

If you don't want to remove the stuffing, you can try using a sturdy needle to move it around inside the muzzle. Sometimes you can shift stuffing from the tightly packed area to the loosely packed area and/or move seam allowances. Sometimes the needle just breaks!

Hi Michele--we were neighbors at the Toronto show!

I love your suggestion, but must confess that I used Baird'sBears because I couldn't think of anything else!

Definitely, Millie!

I've used both, and found the mane hair finer but more brittle. Tail hair is also cheaper, and fine enough on the ends for minis. Both benefit from a bit of conditioning.

I had to share my little grandson's  first picture with Santa--

Actually, he wasn't too sure of the Jolly Old Elf. The big smile is for his Granny, who was cavorting  :dance: shamelessly behind the camera . . . and drawing quite a crowd  of shocked shoppers! :redface:

:dance: Congratulations, Jenny--what a wonderful Christmas present!

You're going to have a wonderful time with little Eric--I loved my girls, but boys are a different kind of fun altogether

Hi Kim,

I use horse hair too, but no glue. I take one long strand on a long needle, push it through the muzzle to the other side, push it back to the first side through (almost) the same hole, then push it to the second side again and remove the needle.

This way I have one whisker on each side. It's time consuming, but needs no glue, and the whiskers are very firmly anchored.

As your muzzle fills up with whiskers, you need to be careful not to let them get tangled!

Ditto to all the criticisms of Canada Post--packages seem to fly once they reach the US border from here, and crawl once they enter Canada from elsewhere.

I've been sending by Xpresspost lately, and find it more efficient than other Canada Post services, with a 4 business day delivery guarantee. I also have an online account, which lets me buy postage and print out packing labels at home, then drop the package right into the outgoing bin.

The Moon Bear in my avatar is now on his way to Pennsylvania, so we'll see. . .

:dance: Congratulations, Barbette!! He's a DUDE!

After raising three daughters, we welcomed a grandson, our first grandchild, last March.

I saw the same difference--broader shoulders, larger hands and feet, NO hips.

Our Jason is actually nicknamed BamBam, from his favorite pastime--hitting something with something else. He doesn't hit our dogs, because they growl. He's learned to growl back . . .

I get to keep him two days a week, and for occasional overnights, while his parents party. I always hate to give him back

Enjoy . . . you know how fast they grow!

Peta,

I'm so glad your precious Annalise had the presence of mind to use her cell phone! And I hope these scummy dudes are caught and prosecuted.

My daughter was grabbed by a pervert in the park at age 12, when she and a friend were walking there. The girls screamed and ran for all they were worth, lost their shoes, but were saved by a jogger who took them to a phone to call the police. My daughter is fine now, but for years she was afraid to go into the park, even with me.

The same man kept lurking in the park and approaching girls on their way home from school. I alerted everyone I could think of, especially those who spent time in the park. He was finally caught by a group of dog-walkers who  held him for the police.

You would not believe how many Moms showed more sympathy for the "poor disturbed man" than for the girls he molested!