Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

The Nevada City is show is a great place to go for a wide selection of bears.  Dale from Intercal should be there with more mohair than you can imagine.  Darlene Bennett will be there representing Edinburgh.  She also does a bear making class if you are interested.  In the past, Sierra Meadows has been there with supplies.  Don't know if she will be there this year or not.  There are three good sized rooms full of bears and bear making supplies.  There should be needlefelting supplies and copic markers.  How far are you from Nevada City?  This one and the San Diego show are the ones that you don't want to miss.
Donna

In a silver tube with white E6000 then some black if I remember correctly.  Google it!  If I weren't packing to leave I would go find mine.  About the size of a toothpaste tube.
Donna

Daphne,
Most of your craft shops should have E6000.  Micheal's, Jo-Ann's and fabric stores.  I do think the hardware stores have it also but have never paid close attention.
Donna

Hi Bruce,
I am not sure which show you mean.  Where did you find info on it and where is the show?  Are you talking about the old Linda Mullins show that is now the ABC Unlimited Productions San Diego show?
Donna

Hi Charise,
I sell the Ultimate stuffing tool that helps alot with stuffing.  Another thing to try is to switch to the other hand for stuffing the muzzle area.  One other thing you can try is to stitch the two side pieces to the gusset then do the chin seam.  After I fell down the steps and hurt my shoulder and put a rib out my stuffing has not been the same.  All of my muzzles were off and my feet tended to turn.  Now that I know that I can't stuff like I used to I have figured out how to compensate for my injury.  You may just need to play around with how you stuff.
Good Luck,
Donna

Great seeing you and the bears.  Jared, where is a hare?
Donna

Try to remember the joy Zara brought into your life.  I am pleased to hear that she was able to pass to the other side at home where she knew she was loved.  Have strength in the knowledge that she is no longer suffering.
Donna

Jared,
Were there buyers who made it in spite of the snow?  Were you busy all day writing orders?  I hope the weather does not scare off customers.  What is the atmosphere in the show room?
Donna

Mindy,
Where are you?  I hope you are not stuck in a snowdrift!  I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve.
Donna

Good job Daphne,
I knew there was stuff I was forgetting!  Very important to lengthen those stitches!
Donna

Tami,
Muslin is a good choice for the lining of your bear.  Use a school glue stick to hold the lining in place until you have it sewn.  Choose a pattern that has good full ankles, wrists etc.  You have a hard time turning parts that are small!  Leave your opening for turning, stuffing much larger than you do on your mohair bears.  You need the extra space to get things turned.   If you are a rock hard stuffer, lighten up on the stuffing for a fur.  Use a slightly larger eye than you normally use.  Stitching the nose can be hard on the hands.  I make a pre-stuffed nose out of wool felt and stitch that to the bear.  Then I do my satin stitch through the felt rather than the leather.  Be sure to use the scotch tape around the nose to keep the fur out of your stitching.
Tighten your joints down really well.  The fur will let them move freely once it is packed down.  Some people do the joint and then let it sit for several days then tighten down again.  Take it slow and easy and it should be as enjoyable as mohair.  I do use a leather needle if it is a stiff leather.  I also use a leather conditioner on the leather to help give it a little more suppleness.  Look for worn spots before you cut and mark the leather if you need to avoid spots.   When you are cutting there will be fur everywhere.  Try your best not to cut the fur (some people use a razor blade rather than scissors).  After cutting all the pieces you will want to shake or vacumn the pieces to get rid of the cut fur.  Be careful if you use the vacumn!  I'm sure I will think of something more after you get the bear finished!
Donna

Mindy,
You are the greatest!!!  Love all the pics, keep em coming!  Do the powers that be at the magazine realize what a gem you are?
Donna

Diane,
Edinburgh has several wools that look close.  They are processed just like the mohair onto a cotton backing. 
Donna

There is not a problem with your hand sewing your little lamb.  Use a backstitch on it.  If you would be more comfortable with using the machine, try some scraps of the mohair.  If you try using a synthetic to test your machine, it won't give you a true test.  Your machine will act differently with the synthetic than it will the mohair.  The mohair will be easier to sew.  One important thing is to have a new sharp needle in your machine.
We would love to see pictures of your lamb and your quilt.
Donna

Shari,
You had no control over the direction this thread headed in, you have no reason for apology.  You are not going to learn and grow if you do not ask questions.  That is how we have all gotten to the point we are today.  And it is always much better to have someone you can turn to for advice and guidance than trying to work through all the problems on your own.
Last night as I was watching the thread progress I was worried about you.  I had a sense that something was wrong.  I don't get these things very often but when I do, it freaks me out.  I am glad to hear that the Dr. has your condition figured out and that things are moving forward for you now.  You will be in my thoughts and prayers.  You take care of yourself and do as the Dr. says.  We will all be waiting to hear how things go.
Bear Hugs,
Donna

Can you carefully take your dear little lamb's measurements  and transfer these measurements to a paper pattern?  If you find where the seams are in him and take those measurements to create each pattern piece you should be able to recreate your little guy.  You could also create a needlefelted lamb is you are more comfortable in that medium and then trasfer that to a pattern.  Drapping would work but I don't that I can explain how to do it.  Good Luck and I am happy for you that you found your lamb.
Donna

I may be going off in another direction for you all here but when you do real fur bears you need to line them so that if the leather splits or something you have your muslin to be able to stablize the leather.  When I tried my first fur bear I was told to mix glue and water.  I found it very hard to sew after the glue dried.  Then I think it was thanks to Nancy Tilburg that I learned about using a glue stix to hold the muslin to the the leather.  Now, thanks to Susie Stong, I have moved onto Leather weld.  Very soft and flexable bond, yet strong.  Those who work in real fur might want to check it out.  Would not the glue stix or the Leather Weld not work on the synthetic?  You want just enough glue to hold it in place while you get your seams sewn.  My interpretation of lining the synthetic is so that the muslin or cotton holds the shape and prevents the bear from becoming distorted, just like in the fur bears the muslin is taking the abuse of stuffing rather than the leather.  For a long time I sewed the muslin to the leather but worried about the extra holes from that much more stitching.  You could just tack the muslin to the synthetic if you are worried about the glue.
I am pretty sure it is Lisa Pay that tells you in all of her patterns to mix glue and water and brush that onto the backing of even mohair.  She thinks it makes the fabric more managable.  My feeling is, there are as many ways of doing it as there are people making bears.  There is no one right or wrong way of making a bear.  I do stick to my own personal rule of no hot glue on a bear!  Besides, if you don't try new and different things how will you know if they work or not?  I can't imagine that in the beginning, Steiff didn't have a few bears that had some problems to work out.  Just keep using those bears for therapy for both the bear maker and the new owner.
Donna

Daphne,
What I think is the easiest is to cut a new pad out of the felt and just ladder stitch it over the current pad.  You could patch the holes first if you want to keep the pellets from coming out while doing your ladder stitch.
The other method is a little more complicated.  Make sure the limb is well stuffed where the patch work will be done.  Cut a
small piece of felt,  much bigger than the hole, as big as can be rolled up
and squeezed into the hole.  Try to position the patch by sliding it around
with pins and needles through the hole.  Slide a tiny bit of glue from a
glue stick inside the hole so that the new piece is glued to the inside of
the paw pad.  Let the glue dry.  Take very small pieces of felt and using a
felting needle work it over the hole so that it is well blended into the
paw pad.  Then wet the spot and continue to use the felting needle to smooth
out the patch.  When it looks well blended, take an iron, set on the "wool"
temperature setting.  Carefully iron the patch area so that is lays flat and
tight to the paw pad.
Don't you just love the excitement our four legged babies bring into our lives!
Donna

One other aspect with the wool felt is that it will take the dye beautifully.  If you are having trouble finding a color to match your mohair just get out your dye, paint, copic marker, whatever!
If any of you have worked with antique bears or done any repairs you will see just how strong the wool felt is.  The moths tend to have a good time with paw pads as with mohair but hey after 100 years what do you expect?
Donna

Aleta,
If you come down for the San Jose Convention in July you will get to meet the Bruin Sisterhood personally.  We are really loose, I can't think of any hard and fast rules.  If one of us comes up with an idea we all bounce it around and make a decision.  The group calls me Bossy Donna because I am usually the one trying to get things rolling.  I have found over the years that left alone to do things and take steps forward in the bear world I tend not to get them done but if I put it out to the group and each one of us does a little bit we all move forward.  We all started out together in Scott's store in Sacramento and became friends over the years going to the Christmas parties etc. at the store.  Scott was (and still is)  fantastic and was constantly encouraging us to stretch ourselves beyond our comfort zones.  We pretty much just plan a weekend that we are all free and go to one of the gals house.  If any of us have taken a bear class we share what new techniques we learned.  One year we brought in Armella Dana to do a class with us.  There are no fees or anything like that we just all chip in for any of the expenses.  There were a couple of times that we went together for magazine ads.  Since I do a couple of shows a month, generally, selling bear making supplies, if the group wants me to take their bears to the shows I am doing we all split the cost of the bear table and I take everyones bears.  This would be something that you would not want to do right at the beginning.  You need to know your group and your group needs to know you before embarking on this venture.   We usually do the big shows like Nevada City (You should come down for that one!) and San Jose Convention as a group.  Shows are so much more fun when you have friends there to back you up and support you.

There is another group in San Jose who are known as the Tiny Teddies.  They meet once a month and do a project.  Each member is responsible for a project.  Their dues are $10 a year.  If you want to join the group you go and visit to see if it is something you want to join.  Then you ask to join the group and they vote on if you can join.  They have a limit on number of members so sometimes you can not join because it is full.  I have not asked to join this group because it seems that I always have a show when they have their meetings.
I don't think I have been any help for you but you have several up there in Oregon and some here in CA that have expressed interest.  Just plan an idea of what you would like to do for your first get together and set a date and go from there.  I think our first one was different ways to do noses and add on mouths.  Let me know if I can be of any help.  Scott is really good at herding cats (that's what we call trying to get artists all headed in the same direction) if you want some input from him.
Donna

Aleta,
I can't remember if I posted in the other thread or not, but you are on the right track as far as I am concerned.  There are a group of us here in northern California that meet once a year for a bear weekend.  We try to learn something new each year.  This last one was needlefelting.  I think it is as much the being together and sharing as it is the learning something new.  I know at the end of the weekend I am so wound up and ready to tackle any job the bear world sends my way.  I feel bear people are very special and have a lot to offer each other. 
If you have a meeting around Lincoln City weekend, I will plan to come.
Donna

I use leather finger gaurds or thimbles.  The ones that have a metal disc in them.  You can just cut the finger off a glove and stick a dime between the glove and your finger.  It also helps when you wrap the thread around it and pull.  No more cuts from thread slicing your flesh open.  I used to have calluses and boy would it hurt when the eye of the needle would go through the callus.
Do be careful, I know one gal that a needle went through her breast. 
Donna

I vote for George as our bartender.
Donna

Shelli,
Are you up and running yet?  Thinking this through, it has to be due to the drag of the leather when the needle passes through it.  The mohair has give so when the needle passes through the fabric the pinch of the thread is not that big of a deal.  But with the leather there is no give and the thread is held tight against the needle and may not be allowing it to form the loop in the bobbin area for the hook to pick up.  Did you try turning it by hand to see if it would work that way?  I have an idea if you are willing to try it.  Put in a brand new needle, I don't know that it will matter what kind it is.  Baste in the pawpad by hand so that you are not dealing with the clips or plan on taking them out as you go.  I want you to put the regular presser foot back on your machine and try it that way.  I am thinking that it will hold the leather firmer and let the needle past through the leather better and not pinch the thread as much.  See if this will get you going back in the right direction.  I don't think it is the tension and timing and stuff like that or it would not work on your mohair.  Give it a good cleaning, oiling, new needle and the regular presser foot and see what happens.  If it will work this way then we can try working you back to the zipper foot.  But it sounded like it was slowly becoming a problem which means that there was one little aspect that needed attention.  If you need to borrow my old singer for awhile let me know.
I know how frustrating this can be, I'm sorry it is happening.  What kind of machine do you have?
Donna

Shelli,
I can't lay my hands on my book.  But do a google search for sewing machine trouble shooting.  When was the last time you took your bobbin case apart and cleaned it?  And when was the last time you cleaned the feed dogs?  Are you sure you have the needle in the correct way?  My thinking is that if it is sewing fine for the mohair it has to be if you are changing to the leather needle.  Have you tried it with the regular needle?  I had one machine that would not work with the leather against the feed dogs, had to do the tissue paper thing or put another fabric against the feed dogs.  Did you buy your machine locally?  They may be able to talk you through it on the phone.  Does the manual give you any hints?  Don't let it get you too frustrated.  And I am guessing you are on a deadline for bears besides!!!!!!  Try to stay calm your machine is like an animal, it knows when you are stressed.
Donna