Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I like it very much! You gave him a very original expressive face.
I'm also a beginner with needlefelting faces, I still have a long way to go but it's fun!
Was it your first go at needlefelting also, or did you have previous experience with the technique and then applied it to teddy bear faces?
My compliments to you!
:clap:

Thanks Conni and Pink for the compliments :redface: .

She really was a  challenge...I was so afraid to ruin it all when I started the needlefelting! After a while I started having real fun. My husband is not of the same opinion....he hates repetitive noises, I guess I ruined a couple of evenings of quiet TV watching with my needles going in and out... 

Francy

Simply perfect! She really has the 'terrier look'! wow!
Francy

Hello,
this is  my "newborn" lady Bear.

She is my first try in many different techniques: needle felted muzzle and paw pads, needle sculpted eyes, mohair dyeing...
I designed hooked arms with a heart shaped paw pad...

it has taken ages to finish her...hopefully one gets faster with more experience !

I also made her a felt cape and hat, with 'precious' stone applique'...to go with her necklace. You can see from the pictures she feels like a queen...so I called her Tzarina!

Francy

Very cute!
I expecially like his feet, and he has a lovely color.

Francy

He's cute! Very 'elisabethan age' with that collar. I would call him Shakespeare!
Francy

Wow, I can't believe you have made it crocheting! He's adorable! Lovely!
Francesca

Yes,
your foxes are really gorgeous! You are a very talented artist, with a very personal style. I admire your work!

Francy

Wow! He's  beautiful! :clap:

Thanks Bearlady, I still have a soft spot for Romeo, even if it's not my pattern and he's the only one made of artificial fur...but he's my first child...

I've never sold a bear. I've made about 25 bears in the first two years of teddy bear making. I've given many as presents to people I love.
The first five or six were out of patterns, some from the same but with different fur, noses etc, and it was very interesting that with the same pattern many different bears could be born, like with the same parents you never have the same children...except for twins! 

Then I started wanting to make my own bears, and I tried to modify the patterns to get different things and shapes. That was fun and hard. I always worked in total isolation, I mean that I had no fellow bearmakers to share my thoughts etc.
Then I had my first child, Pietro, and Fabio came along right after. No time for my bears, only for my children. After five years I'm back, I have a little more time, and I found out how the internet can really make you feel connected. This site is wonderful. :clap:

Sometimes I think I would like to try selling one of my bears. Not because I think of going professional, just because it would feel good if somebody would be willing to buy it, meaning that my work is appreciated. And I could cover some of my expences

well, sorry, this message is maybe too long...my fault, I like to talk!

now I go back to my current project, when she is finished I'll share a picture in the gallery.

Francy

This is Romeo, my first bear.
I made it on a pattern that my dear canadian friend Tiffany got from a book (don't know which book really) and she taught me how to make a teddy bear step by step, private teddy bear lessons, when she was visiting in 2004! She also gave me the materials...in Italy it's near impossible to find bear making supplies.
Then I got hooked, and started using the internet for my bear shopping.
Now I don't use other people's patterns, I draw my own, and that is really fun!

Francy

I always cut out my pieces before sewing. I also prefer hand sewing my bears, I feel I have better control, expecially when I sew the gusset piece and the bottom of the feet. Perhaps it's that I'm not that good with the sewing machine, and I have my grandma's old Singer which is veeery basic
Another thing is: if I sew with the machine, I feel I'm always tense and sweaty, I'm so afraid to get it wrong. If I hand sew, I'm relaxed and can even do it 'listening' to the TV 
I see that not everybody is the same, many of you are good with the machine and it certainly is faster!

Francy