Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Kinley is still looking for a home.  He's available from my etsy store for $65 plus shipping.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72658813/sa … rtist-bear
He measures 1.75" tall when standing.  He's created from vintage velvet in a soft beige colour.  His tiny ruff is made from ombre ribbon in shades of blue.

Kinley is 5 way jointed and has ultrasuede pawpads.

I'd agree with Karen..the Intercal alpaca is a lovely quality and it makes a really nice small bear without it seeming over-dense.
I used to make lots of bears around that size and I have very few pictures of them but this is the alpaca in a bear that's around 4.5 inches

Panda by honeythorpe, on Flickr

and this is an intercal fabric too I think - this is mohair - if you like it I'll see if I can work out what style it is - it's been a while since I talked fur!!  This bear is 3.5" but I think the fabric would work fine at 5 inches too.

Simeon by honeythorpe, on Flickr

Four tiny friends are up for adoption...these tiny hugs range from 1.75 inches to 2.5 inches in height.

From Left to right we have
Wilford: 2.5" sparse copper mohair
Bai: 2.25" a long pile uv panda
Soo: 2.25" created from a mix of vintage and sassy longpile uv
and at the front little Kinley 1.75" created from matte vintage uv.

You can find them here
http://honeythorpestudio.blogspot.com/2 … bears.html

So...it has been positively ages since I immersed myself in the world of bears.  My sabbatical seemed to take rather longer than the six months I planned (I think it's been two years at least)!

Over the past month I've slowly been working my way up to some bearmaking and Albert is the first finished product.  My hands are sore and I'm looking at my smaller patterns with a sense of growing panic but all in all I enjoyed my first adventure back into bearmaking.

Albert is just under four inches tall and made from sparse caramel mohair.  He has already made a little friend at my house but is now looking to travel.  He is available for $85 plus shipping expenses.  More details on my blog
http://honeythorpestudio.blogspot.com/

I'm not surprised he found a home so quickly Amanda, Oriano is uber cute   

Wow - thank you so very much for all your very kind comments  :redface:  :redface:  Have to say, I am enjoying making bears again, though my fingers are having to toughen up again...too many painful holes from tiny needles!!

Lindy is delightful - I hope you're enjoying your new studio!!

Halloweenie is to adorable!

Alexander is a cute little bear looking for a new home.  Created from vintage matte velvet in a warm caramel shade, Alexander is just a tiny tot who measures less than 2 inches when standing.  His rounded limbs and head give him a cute baby bear appearance.  Alexander is fully five way jointed and is available on my website

Thanks so much for all your kind words.  After a year or so away from the bear scene I was a bit nervous about dipping my toe back in the water...your thoughtful comments are so reassuring.  :hug:

thanks guys for all your kind words and encouragement  :hug:  Tubby has found himslf a new home.

:redface:  I know it's a little early to say the Christmas word, but Christmas Candy is the first of my holiday bears for 2009. As soon as I saw the beautiful, striped satin ribbon I used for her collar, it reminded me of those old fashioned striped peppermint ribbon candies.

She measures approx 2.5 inches when standing and is created from a combination of caramel sassy and ruby vintage long pile.  Her tiny noes is waxed and she has stitched claws.  More pics on my website.

So if feels like forever since I have sewn a bear.  My house flooded earlier in the year so the past couple of months have been unsettled to say the least as I sort myself out in a new home!

But yay...those days are over and I have a couple of new bears available on the site.  This little guy is Tubby...a chubby little 2" bundle of bear.  He's created from vintage longpile velvet and travels to his new home in his tiny tub (complete with rubber ducky!)

Lots more pics on my website.

Thanks Becca

and thanks too Joanne - I have missed being a part of the "bear world" - now I'm busy catching up on everyone's creations, and awards and news 

thanks guys!  I'm trying to decide if I'm going to give him some accessories - I like him plain but I know lots of people like a bit of frou frou

So despite a 8 month holiday from bear making, I haven't been resting up much      I thought you might like to see a little of what I've been up to...It's all been a lot of fun, and just the thing I needed to make me enjoy making bears again. 

I've been sewing for Blythe - it wasn't until I bought my first one that I realised there's a whole other bunch of bear artists I know from tt who own this doll.  Whilst she's not everyone's cup of tea she has been giving me some light relief- it's soooooo much easier to sew clothes for her than my miniature bears. 

I've also been making lots of stationery items - I've been selling at a local indie craft show called "craft2.0"  Lots of the sellers are into recycling and upcycling and all things handmade.  It's lots of fun, though I wasn't feeling the joy so much when I was sanding 200 clothes pegs this weekend!

Wow....I can't believe it's May and I have just finished my first bears of the year.  I have really enjoyed my break away from the bear world, though I have missed being a part of teddy talk

I have two bears currently available on my website.  Shipping is free worldwide.
This is Alexander - he measures just under two inches and is created from a vintage velvet fabric in my favourite caramel shade.

Jenny - she is fabulous.  In the second illustration especially, she looks as if she's a Beatrix Potter illustration come to life.  All your hard work is totally worth it for creations like this.

oh you should show his his picture and be proud of him!  You are absolutely right - as with all bear making mini bear making requires a lot of practice and it took me a while to get my head around it and some of the techniques I use are the complete opposite of all I was taught when making big bears.

If you saw my first bear you'd fall about laughing     either that or cry in pity for the poor fellow    Actually same goes for my second, third and fourt bears if truth be told!

Hi Kate

Try trimming the front ear almost completely down to the backing - if you are making anything under 3 inches, this is the best option.

Definitely use invisible thread - it's much easier to hide your stitches.  Buy a quality .004 monofilament such as YLI - not that squirrelly thick stuff- and use a nice small needle and you should have no problems with it knotting and tangling.

I don't bother to try and turn under the raw edges - that makes your ear more bulky and harder to sew on in a nice curved shape and I don't use pins as I find they tend to push the ear out of place - and even if it's only a few mm that makes a bid diff on a 2 inch bear. 

I whipstitch across the bottom of the ear with my invisible thread - using the same thread I come out the corner of the ear - go in at the head where I want the bottom of the ear to sit and come out the head where I want the top corner of the ear to sit.  I then catch the top corner of the ear with my thread - - your ear will now be sitting nicely on the head.  If you make your scoop in and out of the head slightly smaller than the width of the ear, you get a nice natural curve.

Next I push the ear flat against the head with my finger and ladder stitch across the back, from the top corner down to the bottom - the beauty of using invisible thread is that you can take many tiny stitches to get a really firm hold and you won't have any bulky thread showing.  Then I stitch a few times at each corner to anchor the corners nice and tight - this also helps you to shape the ear just how you want it.

Poorly stitched ears are my personal bugbear - and this is the method that works best for me.  I'm not at home and don't have any photo-editing software on this pc so can't get a super close up photo - but this bear is only just 1.75 inches tall and I used this method (trimming inner ear completely, stitching from the back) on her.

Thank you so much for your kind words  :hug:  Now I just have to be patient and wait for the post 

Sandra was kind enough to feature my bears in the latest issue of Australian Bear Creations.  I haven't seen the mag as yet, as it's not out in NZ  Australian Bear Creations was the magazine that started me on my bear making journey way back in 1997 - the first bear I ever sewed came from one of the very first issues.    Back in the day, I studied those magazines inside and out absolutely in awe of the bears within its pages and never imagined that I would be designing my own bears, let alone having them in the magazine.

Having been questioning some life choices and feeling a lack of direction in the last few weeks, I guess I can actually feel a sense of achievement! I and am feeling a tad guilty as I haven't devoted nearly enough time to my bears lately.  :redface:  :redface: I should go home and sew tonight, as it's Friday here, but it's the perfect sunny day (a rare event here) and the beach will be calling me when I get home tonight.

Anyhoo....as my workmates looked at me blankly when I told them my news, I just thought I'd share here! 

I don't think you need to duck for cover Shantell.  I think it's all part of this collecting lark.  I actually got my dream bear via a resale.  When the bear was originally sold, I was in no position to buy her....but that bear haunted me  I even kept the printout of the ebay auction for years, and then one day, stumbled upon her being resold on ebay.  I was so happy to get her and at the moment she's the one bear in my collection not packed away.  (BTW her name is Stinkerbelle and she's a grumpy fairy bear by April Dawn)

I know some people get upset when their stuff is resold - but tastes and life circumstances evolve.  As it happened the person I bought my dream bear off, was one of my collectors and she later sold two of my bears.  One of them sold to a person who had never seen my work before - she contacted me via the info on my tag and has since become a regular buyer - so that resale can actually turn out to have a positive effect for all parties involved.

As for my own collection - it's tiny - both figuratively and literally.  Most of the bears I collect are under three inches - I live in a tiny house and those are the only bears that fit.  Due to the poor NZ$$ my bear buying money doesn't stretch very far so I carefully choose a new bear or two each year and my list of must haves far outweighs what I can actually buy.

At the moment I have somewhere between 10-15 artist bears (and ducks, bunnies and bluebirds too!) and I have a couple of spaces reserved for "big" sized bears that I hope to buy on a trip to the UK.  My bears are sadly in a box at the moment, awaiting a new display case, where they will be sharing space for my rapidly increasing Blythe collection.

I think this has mostly been answered by others - but I think Aussie and NZ are in a similar situation.  The imported faux fur synthetic  isn't common - people don't see it from our mohair suppliers and so are completely unfamiliar with it. When I've been to shows on both sides of the ditch, I've found myself continually explaining that yes it is synthetic, but it's imported from Europe and more expensive than most of the mohair that I use.  It's not just collectors that I explain this to but artists as well.  I've had similar reactions from some artists to those that Catherine described above.

I think because my bears are miniature, it's not quite so much of an issue - as I use a lot of non-mohair fabrics (because mohair makers don't think about us mini artists much any more - there's a very limited range of quality and colour) and I did get a bear of show award with a woven-backed synthetic bear

From the judging side of things - I think many of the judges here were making their work in the era when synthetic essentially meant cheap and nasty.  I also think judging sheets in local competitions can be limiting in and of themselves - they don't allow for artists who like to use unusual proportions, or non-traditional materials.

I so wish I could paint and draw but my skills definitely don't lie in that direction.  Your paintings are great Rita  and I love your quilt too  Patty.  Log Cabin is my all time favourite quilt block.

I'm on a bit of a bear making sabbatical at the moment and have been cross-stitching, card making and making clothes for my blythes.  I am having so much fun using a sewing machine and may even extend to making some clothes for myself!!

These are the first Blythe outfits  I sewed - these are really basic - as I hadn't used a sewing machine in years.  I'm working on some new designs to sell on etsy.