Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Winney,
Thought you may like to see my rat..seeing as though rats have played a negative role in your life so far. As you can see, Jazzy is one perfectly satisfied gal!;)

I'm an REO Speedwagon fan...also love Chicago and Foreigner, Heart, ABBA!!!!!!..Daphne, I can relate to the roller skating music too...yeah, Fanfare for the Common Man for the speed skating! Also love Celine Dion, and Amy Grants older stuff. I'm an 80'smusic fan I guess. BUT most of the time when I'm bear making, it's when the kids are at school...and I trade noise for pristine silence..and that's how I work best.

I made five of these Holly's...four of their owners were coming to a bear day I went to so I asked would they mind bringing their bears so I could take a photo. The one second from the left was the first one and she was gone before I got to make the others, and I had forgotten to write down eye size etc. So although I thought the others were the same as her,  when they were side by side, the first really stood out as being quite different. The last 4 were all almost identical because I kept the previous bear to copy.

Actually...Warz was a bit of a one hit wonder. He is a very easy pattern for a child as the pieces are all traced onto the mohair, which is then folded in half, and you sew on the lines, just leaving a space for turning. You vut the pieces out then, leaving a 2 mm seam allowance. He had no foot o paw pads...but the ears had to be sewn on by hand and the nose embroidery. He did turn out very cute. The following year, my son decided it was his turn to enter the same comp...so he made 'Ted"..I know, such an original name! All macine pieced the normal way...my son was a couple of years older than Anna so managed the machine okay. He han stitched the entire head gusset and footpads by hand and did a marvellous job. He entered Ted into the show, and won first too...so he was thrilled! However, that's where his 'bearmaking' career began, and ended. He is doing well with sewing at school though, and says it's because he's used to tha machine..so I guess it was a worthwhile exercise.
Anna is bear nut and is my constant shadow when I visit a bear show. Since making Warz, she has been content just to watch me and be my critique...but before these last school holidays, she asked could she have a go at making a bear the 'real' way. She spent $23.00 of her birthday money last year on a piece of mohair (call it peer pressure!) and instructed me that I would make her a bear from it. Well, I said it would have to wait a bit as I had other projects on the go, and it has been in the draw ever since. But over the hols, it came out and she has traced and cut and pieced half on the machine, and hand stitched a whole footpad in (which much to her dismay took a whole hour!!) and now has decided she will enter her bear in the same competeition she won three years ago(she'll be 12 on the 16th of August). So, time will tell as to whether she gets it finished in time. It is lovely to have her love bears so much though...I couldn't think of a better thing to have in common with her.
Here's a pic of Adrian's "Ted".

Clare,
Lovely to see your beautiful wedding bears being showcased in the Beary Cheap newsletter thgis month! Way to go you!:D

Jane,
I missed this one somehow! Thanks so much for your sweet words. The two bears have special ties with me...the brown bear is Anna (named after my daughter) and was the first mohair bear I made from my own design. (the first EVER one, as you may recall from another thread...was ripped apart by my very naughty silky terrier!). The little bear is called Warz and was made by Anna herself when she was only 9 years old..she's 11 now...and he won first in the junior section of a large show. So really, these two bears are where it all began for me, which is why they are my logo. I had a local artist sketch them in pencil so they feature on my business cards as well.
I appreciate you taking the time to tell me how much you like them!

Awwww...what a gorgeous story Daph...you made me cry!

My light tent idea had to be shelved.....we just don't seem to have the PVC pipe stuff here in Oz that you have at home depot. The closest I can find is electrical conduit...but it's way too heavy and doesn't come with the three corner connectors. It would help if I knew exactly what the PVC piping is used for. Anyone? It would cost me a small fortune to have it posted over from USA...and as soon as it arrived I'd find it in the local shop.:/
The only place I've seen it is in the kits for play tents for kiddies...but that's an expensive way to buy it too.

Thanks for clarifying that Kelly! I have only done the one...and that is the bear I'm almost finished. I made the head shorter and cit it on an angle like the picture of Lisa's bear. Dilu, there's no shame in not understanding what I wrote at first. I'll let you in on a little secret. Whe I first wrote out that post...it was followed by a 'I don't get it!" from yours truly. But as I was typeing out my question...it suddenly clicked. I was going to post a pic for you but Shelli did so a showed it far better than I could have.
Something else to remember when doing a double neck joint, it that you have to plan where your final  neck closure will be...'cos you can't just sew all the pieces of the neck together without knowing...or you'll be left with no opening to tighten your joints. Do you understand what I mean?

Some great answers here...and believe it or not....many of them are JUST what I needed to hear! I'm NOT the only one running around like a headless chook all day with the intention of getting some bearmaking done when all the things are done that MUST be. Daphne, your idea of setting the day as a work one with half hour lunch and two fifteen minute breaks is doomed to fail...I would head straight from the computer for my 'break' and be whizzed back to reality two hours later!..Ooh..then it would be time for the next break!
I fall into bed around 9.30 pm, rise at 6.30 am(not pretty!!), get hubby's lunch made and choof him out the door....get son number ones' lunch cut, get him out the door at 7.45am, do last night's tea dishes (I HATE doing dishes at night!) get child two and three ready for school.....and THEN get to start the washing etc. So I can't even get anything done before 9am.

Daphne...my doc said the same thing about me needing more exercise, I am so unfit. So for the last two weeks, I have been dropping the kids at school at 9am then heading straight for the beach where I walk for 15mins one way and then turn around and walk back. I take my dog with me and she LOVES it! I hate exercise too...but I feel better already. I don't let myself make ANY excuses..I go rain, hail or shine (well okay, maybe not hail...)and most days I get my butt frozen off as it's winter here (we don't get snow). I'll bet your dog Tucker would love to do the same thing...let him be your motivation. I find after my walk, that my head is clearer and I am less tired. At first I jacked up about the idea, because it's just one more thing to infringe on bearmaking time...but health is important, so I'm on a mission.
Kim and Lisa....you sure help in bringing back memories. How old are your children Kim? When my kids were preschool...Thomas the Tank engine was my saviour...and many a quilt was stitched in time to the theme song. I taped all the episodes and let my son watch it for about 2 hours straight most mornings, just to get some stitching time. Bad mother, I know...but it was either that or Pshyco mother! I remember back then too, that if I had just half an hour to spare, I would drag out my sewing stuff...now I don't unless I have a good few hours. Supports the old adage..."If you want something done....ask a busy person." Thanks for reminding me that my life is not as busy as I think...I just waste far too much time...so my new mission is to make my time count.
Wish I had the discipline to stay off the computer too...and if I'm REALLY honest with myself...the computer and my lack of self discipline are probably the main time eaters for me. I need more WON"T power. Hmmm...how about "No computer until I have stitched two legs and stuffed the head"...trouble is..I'm my own boss and there's no-one else here to be answerable to. If I find the answer, I'll be sure to let you know. I think I was hoping someone would say..this is my schedule....and somehow they get everything done that needs to be done, and work from 9am to 5.30pm on their bears. There's still tea on the table and freshly washed clothes in the drawers. Hmmm...maybe I'm dreaming. *sigh*

Hi Kim...nice to see you in here...LOVE your bears! Sounds like you have the qualifications to make a comment on the 'How do you do it" thread too!!!:D

Thanks Daph...you made me smile with your 'ramblings'.;):D...I love it when people write exactly how they would say it.:P

Hey...who's complaining??? Just slip their name to me quietly Shelli..and I'll deal with them!:lol:

Thank you Marie..and ((((((((hugs))))))) back to you too!

Shelli...the collar was a little too butchie for such a pretty bear for my liking (but hey, ya gotta try things to see what suits best right?)...but the frilly collar is just perfect...and I'm leaning towards "Marie" now too. She's a very genteel, unassuming sweetie..just like our Marie is. Still like Giselle too...especially with ze French Accent!, but having said that...the bear looks less sophisticated with the choice of fabrics in the neck frill now..so more "sweet". I think no matter what you call her...she's a fantastic piece! And the eyes really are great...thanks for the closeup!

Beautiful bear Shelli. She looks elegant and graceful. I looked into her soulful eyes for a while..and the name that came to me was "Giselle" and of course I won't be offended if you don't use it. Just my suggestion. The eyes look great!

Hah! Now now Miss Shelli...you keep those nimble fingers to yourself! Last official typing test I had was in year 9...shortly after that, I gave it up....but I think it was 16 WPM! Mind you...that was my first and only year of typeing. I really should learn properly...then I'd spend less time at the puter.Now all I need is some spare time.
Okay...I'm OUTA here...this isn't getting a nose on my bear! I guess I needed to spend some time here...TT withdrawal.
But 2 and a half hours is getting a bit ridiculous.
Sweet friendly luv ya hugs to you Shell;) for being a good sport.:D

Hmm..Dilu..I may just try that cage thingy on my 14 year old..who is already 6ft tall! Wonder if they make them in steel with locks nowadays?
Everything you say is true.....bigger clothes...MORE clothes, MESSIER clothes...CLEAN clothes that get put in the wash 'cos it's easier than putting them away....:mad:
BUT...they'll leave home one day..all too soon...and then I'll be wishing they were all back under my wing. Can't win.

Shelli...we love your long posts...reallly we do....they are coffee time posts! Oooh..here's one from Shelli...time to grab a cuppa!:lol: And in fact it was Moi who said about the longs posts...but it wasn't in reference to filling up the forum space....just that I know you have been cut off mid post on the Edinburgh site...but not so on here...so either you don't talk as much as you used to.;)...or they don't have a limit here! Something tells me that it will be either you or our Dilu, who proves that true or false...one day....:P
BTW...for those single finger typists like myself who wonder HOW Shelli does it...I'll tell you a secret. Shelli types an incredulous number of words per minute.....hmmm, can't quite remember HOW many....but I'm sure Shelli will tell us!:P (tongue firmly planted in cheek;))

Aww..thanks Shelli! I'll have to start paying you commission! I actually found another use for the nose templates when making this bear I'm working on. One shape is almost perfect for a quick ear/applied open mouth template and I also used it to make up the toe pattern for my appliqued toes. You could also use the oval template as a stencil for painting toepads. Multi functional!:D

www.bearcupboard.com

I'm trying to get info for joining my mailing list up by this eveing (just waiting for my webmaster to get home from work..)
but in the meantime, if you'd like to hear of any updates or additions to my catalogue..just email me from the site.:)

Now that Edinburgh is up and running again, I managed to fing the post Eileen was talking about concerning the double neck joints. I have cut and pasted the conversation between Judi and Eileen(which Judi was going to do when she gets back) below...and it sure spells it out much easier than I thought it would be!:lol:

Judi said.......There are a few ways to do these. This is how I do it: They are made up of three pieces. The middle section when laying out flat looks like a stretched out triangle with TWO ends equally cut off. Those two flat ends are sewn together, creating a cylinder, with one side haveing a pointy end,,,the tip of the triangle.

The two open ends have circular discs of mohair sewn in where a hard board disc will joint one end to the head , the other end to the body. The neck edge that is attached to the body is a bit larger. SIde view of this looks like a wedge.

Eileen replied.....Ok, so I'm picturing  the triangle, long side down, shorter equal sides & apex up. When the cutoff points are joined, the circumference at the base of the triangle is going to be shorter than the circumference formed by the two sides, right? So if the base circumference is smaller, would it go on the head side?

In the pictures it looks as if the base circumference goes on the body end, and the circumference of the combined sides goes on the head end, slanting upward to the back.

Judi said.....You've got it. You could also reverse the straight edge and put that at the neck edge.

Thank you, you sweet people...it's so nice to have been missed!
Sue Ann, I tried a double neck joint on this one (flying blind though!) and also the appliqued and stuffed paw pads like Jody uses(which was a challenge on dark mohair!). Learned a valuable lesson on that one...make sure your paw pad will fit BEFORE all the hard work! I measured my footpads like I always do when I was making the pattern..and they always fit perfectly....but not this time! I cut the paw pad in half this time(I wanted to make the lower pad trapuntoed...'cos I'm lazy)..and added the seam allowance to each half. Appliqued the toes onto the top half of the pad and stuffed them, joined the lower half of the pad on, and went to stitch it to the foot. WAY too big!!! Argghhh!!!! So began the proverbial table scenario...trim a bit off this one..try to match up the other one...nightmare plus! Anyway...it all worked out, but took me two hours of fiddling!
Am also trying some lids...but am still playing, trying to decide which kind. I'll also be airbrushing detail on him...but need to wait for my lovely tutor to return from Mickey Mouses house!:D

He's gorgeous Daph! I really LOVE the feet! Maybe you could even try stitched claws on the next one..that would look great with that style footpad! I really like the blue..it's really...comforting and gentle on the eye.

I am a Christian too...and I LOVE the Harry Potter books! I think some people get carried away no matter what the subject...there are extremists in every walk of life and in every part of the community. My Nanna, who is 90, frowns a bit on my letting my kids get into the Harry Potter stuff...but I just switch off when she lectures me.:rolleyes: They are just  fantasy...and people love anything magical...anything that helps us escape the boredom of true life!:D
There are a lot of weirdos out there who do and say some pretty strange stuff, and it gives Christianity a bad name. But everyone is an individual, and every man/woman to himself.

As to green being the colour of the devil...that's news to me!

From another greeneyed gal

After my week at home....the one where I left everything that didn't HAVE to be done, to get some bearing done...I'm left with the question "How do you do it?". I am aiming this question mainly at those of you who are stay at home mums/bear artists. Some you seem to spit out bears left right and centre and I wanna know your secret!!!! Even with three school age children aged 8, 12, and 14, I don't seem to get the time to make more than one bear a month. I used to be able to work in the evenings, but now I find I am just too tired, and my evening (which equates to 1 hour by the time I chase the kids off to bed for the third time!) is spent flopped on the couch in front of the telly before I choof off to bed at 9.30pm. When the kids were pre-school littlies, I used to work on my craft (back then it was patchwork! ) in the evenings, sometimes until midnight....and I dreamed of the day when they would all be at school so I'd have more 'me' time. But now the time is here and I have less 'me' time than ever and I'm too tired at night. Maybe it's to do with always having to take them to sport or friends houses and keep to schedules etc....plus I do work two days a week. I guess if I add up the 16 hours of outside work I do, basically that would be my bearmaking time if I was at home. I would so love to give up my job and concentrate on my bears, but how could I possibly justify that when I earn $15,000 a year working....that's a lot of bears I'd have to sell!
So...those of you who work at home.....do you have a routine that you stick to, so you always get your bear time? Those of you who don't have kids still at home, please feel free to jump in here too...I need some structure suggestions. Do you get up at 6am every morning and get your washing on the line by 8? When do you shop? Cook? Clean?? (okay...we've had the discussion about cleaning, and the general consensus was....most of us don't :lol::lol:...but we DO have to tidy up occasionally...don't we??).
Course there are down sides to having bearmaking time during the day...I picked my son up from a birthday party the other day and forgot to change my clothes.....and I was horrified when I got home and caught site of my pink corduroy shirt....covered in thick brown fur and thread! The kid's mum must have thought we have a very hairy dog...and that I was a grubby girl!:P