Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

thank you, everyone!!!  he was a special commission for a client who wanted a grandfatherly bear - and named after her own grandfather

meet Arthur - 26", 6-way jointed, Shulte super-dense mohair with trapunto leather pawpads and a sculpted leather nose. Rod-jointed shoulders and hips, wired ears and a reversible leather vest and antique linen collar

pretty pretty pretty

wonderful, amazing, beautiful 

thank you, Paula!!!

I don't subscribe, I had a couple of copies mailed to me by an Australian friend in January - and they were both had free back issues also (postage on 4 mags was almost as much as the mags themselves).

it's interesting. . . they did a very nice profile on Kelly Dean & Co this winter, and so I thought I'd see what date is on the issue. . . only to find that they don't put a date or a month - or year - on the magazine.  my article was in vol 17 / 4.  and was released in Jan.  has anyone seen issue 17 / 5 ?

thanks, everyone!! what nice people!!!   I guess I should check in here more often :-)

thanks, everyone!!!!

meet Wynston, 30" of hugs - more pics and details at:

http://kellydeanandcompany.com/available.html

quite delightful!  :clap:  :clap:  :clap:

meet Godfrey Grizzly, 32" of hugs - more details and more pics @ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set … tif_t=like

I always use regular needles and regular thread when I applique my paw pads.  I like drizt #7 quilt-basting needles for handwork, and shmetz 8, 9, 10 needles for machine applique. I don't like to use glovers - although klasse needles makes a #12 leather needle, I find mostly glovers leave holes that are more susceptible to tearing when doing the stuffing for trapunto.

I also find that regular Gutterman thread is much stronger than regular Coats & Clark thread, which almost always frays and breaks eventually, but Coats and Clark upholstery thread is stronger than Mastex upholstery thread ;-)

my mom and sisters - who are all amazing seamstresses - swear by Bernina, but I picked up my Husquavarna 'Lilly - 555' in Germany about 12 years ago for around $1000.  I hear they don't make this model anymore, but mine can handle 4-5 layers of leather with a #8 needle without a blink.  it has lots of buttons and way more stitches than I could possibly ever use, but I just ignore those. my mom did buy a Lilly 545 - the next model down, and she said it was terrible to use and got rid of it very fast, so I guess there's no telling. 

I also have an entire collection of vintage Singer machines and attachments  - a featherweight, a 301, a 402, a 50's Rocketeer, a 1928 handcrank, and a few more, and while I know there are those who swear by their featherweight, I'm here to say that I've never had a thread jam with my Viking, but I've had jams on my vintage Singers that took me hours to joggle loose.  I love 'em to death, but I haven't sewed on them since I bought my viking.

congrats to everyone!  :clap:  :dance:  :clap:  :dance:  :clap:  :dance:  :clap:  :dance:

laughing here because I think 30 years pretty much IS a lifetime for a piece of equipment.  I think about all the computers I've gone through since 1993 and the graveyard of broken and outdated electronics that litter my house, 30 years seems like forever ;-)

that being said, I've had a huskquvarna for about 12 years, and have never had a single problem, not even a thread jam, so I'd but another husky in a flash

Vincent - 9", antique German mohair, center seam, 6-way jointed, trapunto leather pawpads, leather nose.  all the aging and distressing is inherent to the fabric on this piece

gosh, thanks, everyone!

Bernard is 18" tall (14" seated) and made out of super-soft vintage faux mouton in an unusual faded coloration of dark to light. he wear a plaid boucle vest made of genuine Chanel fabric lined in with a tiny wool stripe from Hogo Boss and clasped with a Celtic pewter frog along with a collar made of antique linen and fastened with a vintage carved MOP button. He is 6-way jointed, trapunto leather paw pads, sculpted leather nose, German glass eyes and wired ears. heavy, floppy, he weighs about 4lbs and is stuffed with plastic and silicone pellets & woodwool, for a squishy, crunchy, old-fashioned hug. Available on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/listing/86622009/ba … r-by-kelly

I've never done it, but I wonder about using Drizt fray check, the clear stuff in the blue-printed bottle.  it doesn't show up on most fabrics - of course, it would also make it impossible to brush or fluff up and you'd have to certain you were pleased with your needlefelting before applying. . . however, if you've felted tightly enough, you shouldn't need any type of coating on the face itself

:hug:  :hug:  :hug: thanks, everyone  :hug:  :hug:  :hug:

Brawley - 22" (16" seated - Brawley can sit, stand on all 4's and also stand on his hind feet)he is made of vintage faux fur with a sculpted leather nose, trapunto leather paw pads with sewn leather claws and leather eyelids over german glass eyes. 6 disk joints (a double jointed neck with rod-jointed shoulders and hips, and a full spine, he can bend and twist his body also) 10 mechanical joints - 3 in the front arms and at knee & ankle in the rear. rotational front wrists & elbows, 30 degree outward play in the shoulders. paws are armatured through to the claws so they can be shaped also. he is filled with woodwool, glass and plastic pellets. weighs 7.5 lbs and loaded with personality.

available on esty at http://www.etsy.com/listing/87496794/br … -bear-from

short term lawaway available, contact me for details

yes, amazon & staples both have them also, but the wee ones at walmart are the smallest I've ever seen.

I've seen a lot of people talk about using alligator clips instead of straight pins for keeping pieces together before sewing, but I've always used mini binder clip.  Alligator clips grip very firmly, but those tiny teeth can leave marks or damage delicate furs like Sassy.  Binder clips grip firmly, but slide off easily, and I can flick them off with my fingers as I feed parts through my machine.  the reason I'm writing is that I've found some even tinier binder clips, at - of all places - Walmart!  these are 1/2", but, they come in all sizes and I keep a box of each in the studio.  the 2" clips are great for fastening backdrops up, and the other sizes make great clip-on clamps when you need to glue something and don't feel like holding it til it dries.  the clips come in lots of colors and patterns at Staples, but be warned that the brightly colored ones are much stiffer and harder to remove (I think they just paint over black or chrome ones)

anyway, they're at walmart in the office supplies section for under $5 for 75 tiny 1/2" clips or $5.99 for 144 at Staples for the black 5/8ths mini

I've been working with a contasting muzzle a lot this year and have found that for me it's been less about blending the colors or what types of fur used, and more about where the line of demarcation takes place and how the furs match at that point.   careful shaving and trimming is key.