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For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Natascha - congratulations on your super 1st place! :clap:
Maria - big congratulations to you too!! :clap: :clap: I love your bears and they always make me smile. Yes, I think that wonderful little Hope has been an inspiration to lots of people in so many different ways. If you're going to visit her again, can I come too!!!!!! 
(Many thanks too for your lovely comment).
Big hugs,
Marilyn 
Hello Richard,
It was great to meet you on Sunday and CONGRATULATIONS to you on your 1st place! Your bear really was lovely so you should be very proud. :clap:
Also congratulations to all the other TT winners and basically everyone who took part, there were some smashing bears there.
Thank you SueAnn, Debora and Peter for your kind words. :redface:
It can't be easy putting on an established fair at a new venue but Wendy, Dawn and everyone else involved did a fantastic job. It was particularly nice that Victor from WSPA was handing out the awards, just wished I had had an opportunity to have a chat with him about his wonderful job and hear about the real bears he is so closely involved with.
I thoroughly enjoyed the fair and it was so nice to finally meet up with so many lovely TT-ers and meet new ones, so basically chatted all day. It made such a change to be on the "other side of the table" and be able to browse amongst the bears and I am delighted to say that I did bring a new bear home with me, though I must confess I saw quite a few that I really liked but I have "earmarked" those artists for another occasion! Of course I couldn't come home without any mohair either so was able to spend time being lost in "Marilyn's world" as I thought about new designs. Quite the opposite to my usual frantic "quick look and grab" approach! :crackup: My particular day was pretty outstanding for me by way of my 1st place and also for the TBT award for which I feel gloriously numb. My whole "being" goes to mush though when I am unfortunately the centre of attention like that, and certainly not helped when someone is taking a photo of me and my ugly mug! :redface: I forgot to put a bag over my head first!! :crackup:
I am pleased you got home fine Katy, nice chatting with you.
Hugs to everyone,
Marilyn x
:crackup: :crackup: That reminds me of an episode from "Friends" where Ross has bit of a problem with breast milk! (not his, his ex-wife's!!) :crackup: :crackup:
Hugs
Marilyn
Hi Sue,
Amethyst is a beautiful little bear, gorgeous in every way, and made in one of my favourite colours!
Hugs,
Marilyn
What a wonderful thought. Those very special people need all the love and support they can get. Lovely to think that "bear power" can help in a very special way.
Wish I could crochet a bear!
Hugs
Marilyn
Becky - many thanks for all the information, very kind of you.
Us bears - wow, I couldn't believe the number of bears you have around your home!!! Loved listening to the delightful tune for "Teddy Bears Picnic", always makes you feel up beat doesn't it. And thank you for all your help and information too. I will be getting down to sorting this poor fella out tomorrow so we will see how he spruces up!
Thank you everyone.
Hugs
Marilyn
Hi Maria,
Yes, it's really going to be exciting again, to put it mildly!! Like most Lily and Hope followers, I tune in every day to read what has been going on with the Research Team and since the bears have been finding their dens and settling in, I have missed seeing their little faces and hearing about their escapades. I just can't believe that it's been getting on for a year since that wonderful moment when Hope was born, seems like yesterday doesn't it.
Can't wait to see them hibernating in their new den, it is definitely better than telly!!
Take care.
Hugs,
Marilyn x
Cute! But it looks as though his owner got a little carried away getting to grips with their new airbrush system!
Hugs,
Marilyn
Hi everyone,
The Bearguys - many thanks for your thoughts. Smoke odour is not the problem (I almost wish it were!). I looked up the item you were talking about but it is still mainly to do with smoke, which I know is fairly easy to eradicate. Nice thought though and will certainly keep these in mind.
Becky - thank you for all your help. I am thinking that this is the safest method to try first. I did read somewhere that the baking soda could be placed in a bowl inside of a bag containing the "article" so I did that last night with the bear sealed up. I opened the bag this morning expecting to smell great things - wish I hadn't sniffed! choke! He! The mohair is quite long on this bear so maybe immersing it in soda completely will make the job of getting rid of the soda difficult. The soda I have got, although called soda crystals, is just a fine powder. Actually Becky, do you have to throw the soda away afterwards, or does the smell disappear when you have finished with it over a few days? Just wondering.
Us Bears - thank you too for everything. I will also give this a go. I think a combination of everything suggested here has hopefully just got to work!!
Many thanks to all of you, your help is awesome as usual and very much appreciated.
Hugs to all.
Marilyn x
Dawn - thank you.
Pat - thank you, I am pretty sure that the bear is not wet or damp at all, but I do take your point that probably there is no need for a sealed bag, so maybe best to let some air flow around stinky, so I will get a box instead tomorrow. Had a good laugh about popping the bear out in the hot sun - unfortunately we have been up to our little armpits in snow and it's hovering around zero at the mo!! Any thoughts of sun and warmth seem a million miles away!!
Thank you ladies, most helpful.
Hugs,
Marilyn
Ooops forgot to ask you Dawn in my last bit, are these wipes the ones used for carpet and fabric stain removal, as they are the only ones I can find online, or are you talking about some general wipes for your hands etc? Sorry to be a pain!
Hugs
Mrilyn
Hi there!
Oooh, many thanks for all your helpful suggestions.
Dawn, - thank you for your input. These sound a nice option, especially as bear restorers use them. Thank you.
Sheryl - thank you for all your help. Yes, I have been googling away and saw that vinegar was good but I am a bit afraid of spraying even lightly on this bear, but may try the open jar way in a sealed bag. I did read about the soda which appears to be brilliant for 1001 things, sounds as though you can throw out most of your household cleaning chemicals and just use this stuff instead! I am going to sprinkle the bear tomorrow morning with it but will try on some spare mohair first. I did find some soda crystals in a cupboard a few minutes ago (I remembered my Mum had given me some for my drains many moons ago!!). So the bear is currently sitting in a sealed plastic bag with a container of soda crystals inside, hoping that it may absorb some of the smells. In the morning, when I release the bear from its trappings, if the smell still knocks my socks off then I will douse it with the soda and let it stew in it a while and hoover the poor bear a little later. Charcoal sounds good too!
You learn something new every day!!
Many thanks once again.
Hugs
Marilyn
Hi Pat,
Thank you for your suggestion. I am wondering whether the box has to be enclosed, bit like a plastic bag, then sprinkle some baking soda in? I may try this.
Hi Geralye,
I think with Febreze, it puts some other perfumed smell into the item and I certainly don't want that.
I have noticed though that they do a Pet Odour one, wonder if that would work?
Many thanks both of you.
Hugs
Marilyn.
Hi Joanne,
Thank you for taking the time to answer.
No, it is definitely not mildewy in any way, neither has it got damp or anything. This is purely a "smell" problem, nothing else. It's just a case of the smell of its
surroundings that have got impregnated into it and need to be got rid of rather quickly.
Hugs
Marilyn
Hi everyone,
I do hope someone can help me please. I have recently acquired a bear which is not very old but which has obviously been kept somewhere with a combination of avery musty smell and a little doggy and the poor bear smells absolutely horrible. 
I like my own home to feel airy and smell nice and fresh, but the appearance of this bear makes things change in a flash and we can't stand this smell.
The bear has not got wet or anything, it's not mildewy, it's purely a smell of its surroundings that have got impregnated into the mohair - badly!! So, poor bear is in the garage! I have tried putting him outside in the very crisp fresh air that we have at the moment, but this hasn't helped one bit.
I have tried googling this but answers seem mainly for things which can be washed using things like vinegar or lemon. As this mohair bear is not for washing, I was wondering if anyone could please recommend something which will get rid of this smell FAST!! I do not want to spray the bear with anything though. I am sure years ago people used to use some sort of crystals or something for this type of problem.
Any help on this matter would be so much appreciated, and I'm sure the bear would be much happier too! 
Many thanks.
Hugs
Marilyn x
Stunning, gorgeous, adorable, superb, delightful, .......... aaaawwwwww. 
Beautiful bear!
Hugs
Marilyn
This is a very cute little bear, I thought he was bigger when I first looked at the photo!
Hugs
Marilyn
"Smokey loved the stylish lines to his new litter tray" :D
or
"the only detergent we use is Purr-sil" :crackup:
One word ......... Delightful!!
Whoa ..... that made my stomach do a flip-flop!!! Golly, I was thinking we had three weeks to go but you're right, only two!!! I've got to try and cross the country to retrieve my bear from a customer for the BBAA so just hope that we don't get snowed in and can't do anything about it!!!
Looking forward to meeting you and everyone else too.
Hugs to all,
Marilyn x
"Would you like to go for a spin dear?" :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
(it's a english expression!)
sorry!!
