Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

or even........

Eau de Tractor Grease

mmmmmmm .......

Penny

Hi Judi

I come from Islington, North London originally but have lived in Hertfordshire since i was about 10 years old. I live in a village just outside Hertford town which is where some of the US founding fathers came from. The town is often full of American tourists in the summer months - but i have to admit to a very sketchy knowledge of American history, so i can't tell you more about it - sorry:rolleyes:

Liverpool is a fabulous city - it's got a great nightlife - a truly wonderful football club (they recently became European Champions) and the people are soo friendly and welcoming. I've never been to Melton Mowbray but i have eaten TONS of Melton Mowbray pies - hence my fat tum!

Have you ever been to Britain Judi? apart from being born here i mean.

Penny

My reply

when the s**t hits the fan
do what you can
to pick yourself up and go on
but if failing that
you're still getting c**p
chuck it all in
and get p****d!

hohohohoho

Penny (hic)

What a bunch of beauties!

Now, if i made a bear that looked even REMOTELY like me it would scare the bejeezers out of everyone and i'd never sell another bear in my life!

Unfortunately God - in his infinite wisdom - decided to hit me over the head with the ugly stick :(

BUT, i have been told many many times that i am intelligent, funny, talented, kind and generally an all-round-good-egg but this in no way makes up for the fact that i have a face like a ducks arse!

Oh well, i'm off to make another bear to try and raise a little more cash to help pay for my plastic surgery

Could you all desist from posting photos of yourselves please, unless of course you are uglier than me.

Thank You

Penny - otherwise known as the elephant woman

I DARE'NT join in on this one girls - crotches for heavens sake!
Where will it all end i ask myself?

Penny

Hellooo Rita

You have a style all of your own. I think everyone goes through a stage of not knowing if they've reached their perfect style or not. You just keep on making the bears the way you are Rita, they look toooo cute to me;)

Penny

I don't have a problem with that Shelli - most people have a long and happy relationship with a fat potbellied pig - it's usually their husbands:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Penny :P

aplogies to all the wonderful men out there

.... i really don't fancy anyone else apart from George and of course, my other half (had to say that as he sometimes like to read some of the postings here, especially the funny ones)

"there's a stud in her ear
and i really do fear
it would choke
our dear babe
if he ate it"
that's what they said
as they left me for dead
in a cupboard
for years and for years

so if i were a bear
i'd have tatty hair
and bald bits and
mats and moth holes
i'd be full of old stuffing
that felt quite like
nothing
and had shifted
and balled and collapsed

my feet would point outwards
instead of straight up
and my arms would be long
and quite pointy
alone in the dark
forgotton unloved
i would sit
dreaming dreams
of deeds knightly

a knight that would rescue
a poor tatty bear
who had sat in a cupboard
for years
and save from a life
that was rife with despair
and a mouse
who dined on her ears

then they would find me
all draped in dust
with an ear that had been nibbled by mice
then they'd give me a clean
sew up the odd seam
and really
i would look quite nice

so then i'd get sold
just because i was old
at a famous and big auction house
not bad for a bear
who had had her poor ear
nearly pulled off by a mouse

"she's a Steiff"
they would shout
as they waved me about
in front of the auctioning crowd
as the bidding went up
i would think they were looney
til i found
i'd been won
by George Clooney!

Penny

OH MY GOD!

SPIDER STORIES! What are you trying to do to me girls - give me the heebie jeebies?

LAURE - YOUR STORY MADE ME WANT TO PUKE :o:o

Promise no more spidery tales girls - i'm gonna put a sticking plaster over my mouth tonight in case anything tries to sneak in while i'm sleeping - have you ever noticed how when you hear a story about a spider one turns up in your livingroom!

I've got a spidery story - but i need more therapy sessions before i can relive it here

Penny

Glad you're over the Dumps Louise - it's difficult to stay down when there are so many cheery beary girls here don't you think?

Penny

POOR POOR GOLLIWONKS :(

I hope you feel better soon Dilu -
You know that the most talented people suffer from migraines don't you Dilu? But as i suffer from them too i must be the exception to the rule ho ho

I'm sending you good vibes Wonks

Penny

Hellooooo Clare :D
I'm glad that you've joined all the girls and boys here Clare - you'll really enjoy the postings. In fact, you'll probably see just about every topic under the sun on these pages this place deals with everything, love - money - lack of money - hairy ears - age - general wonkiness and occasionally BEARS!
I love your 2 new bears Clare, you always give your bears such super old charm and your 'Tunnel Bear' is'nt too dark - it's just that everything else is too light ! he he

Penny :D;):D;)

Hi all,
I make my boy bears out of pink mohair too - they don't seem to mind, and they just LOVE helping pick out new drapes :lol:

My girl bears have all been very girly, which is suprising as i'm not a girly girly sort of person really. Maybe deep inside i'm secretly yearning for Barbie pink shoes and fluffy bunnies instead of lusting after a sit-on lawnmower and a pilots licence - i would love to learn to fly :rolleyes:

Penny - dressed in Barbie pink, riding a sit-on lawnmower and dreaming of flying a plane ::P

WOW - only $39.95 a YARD!
I'm going to check this out - even with postage costs to the UK it is really cheap. Plenty to play around with - i can try out new dying technics and if it goes wrong - who cares

Penny

oooooooh Winney, i'll have to try and get some of that stuff. I wonder where i'll find it in the UK? I'll have to have a hunt around.

I tie the eyes under the disc too - i hated that dimple. It always drove me nuts especially on the really short sparse mohair - it was so noticable.

Great minds think alike eh?

Penny

Hi Winney

I've never weighed or measured the amount of skins needed and i've never dyed a whole 1/2 yard so it will have to be guesswork i'm afraid. I usually throw in as much as it takes to get the required depth of colour. You can always add  more, so start with what you think and then just keep on adding.
The final colour will depend on what colour your mohair was to start off with - have an experiment, it's great - it's like being back at school (without all the studying)!

Let me kow how you get on

Penny

I don't think it's weird Darleen - after all the personality we stitch into our bears we should'nt wonder that they have feelings too!

I don't know if i'll ever be able to sell another bear now

Penny ::/

Millie - you can come and visit me anytime you want Hon!
We've got loads of room - bring your bears on a cultural trip, we could nip over to France or Italy too!!!!

Penny

:Hi Millie

My brother-in-law is a total animal maniac.

As a kid he would bring home all kinds of sick animals - he once bought home a squirrel which he tamed and trained to do all sorts of naughty things - it was unable to return to the wild you understand, he would'nt have just kept it otherwise.

When he grew up he knew exactly what he wanted to do and he is now a primatologist (study of monkeys to you and me) and has travelled all over the world studying these animals and has set up a wildlife sanctuary on Gibralter - they have Macaques all over the island there - i'm not sure if macaques are monkeys or apes. ooooops! He has set up a primate breeding programme too to help save endangered species.

Anyway he just loves animals and will save anything, even the animals that are'nt particularly cuddly! Spiders YUK!

Penny ;)

P.S. of course you'll go to heaven Millie and you'll be able to talk to the animals there - that's what my Mum used to tell me anyway

Hi Darleen and Millie

I have actually sobbed when packing up bears.

It's the little look they give you, as if to say - 'why are you sending me away?' :(

There was one bear i made that i absolutely adored, her name was Harper and when i came to pack her off to her new home i could swear she was crying! OH GOD I FELT SOOOOO MEAN! I still wonder how she is.

I now no longer sell the bears that i really have a thing for - this spares me all the heartache and i know that they are OK.

Millie - your lady who lives by the sea in the UK, her name is'nt Mary is it? Let me know as i have a lovely lady who has bought loads of bears from me and she lives by the sea - i know we've got a lot of coastline here so maybe i'm being stupid (no change there then).

Penny

Thanks Darleen - can't wait to try this out.
Anything that helps with drawing up patterns is going to be a God-send!

Penny

Hi Darleen.

Welcome to the nicest beary group you'll ever find!

I adore your avatar bear - what a lovely chubby bear.

Linen thread is great is'nt it? I use the upholsterers strength for all sorts of work, it makes sooper sticky-up Gollie hair too!

Penny

Millie - You will surely go to heaven for your kindness to this lovely horse. I hate cruelty or neglect of animals - it drives me crazy to see animals ill treated.

I've got 3 ancient cats who are all a bit dotty now. One of them has had 2 strokes, is practically blind and is as deaf as a post! But Boy, does he know how to get around! I found him stuck on the top of a 6 foot fence the other day, he could get up but could'nt see to jump down. Bless!

I did have 7 cats - 2 goats - a rabbit - 2 snakes - a guinea pig - a ferret (ate the guinea pig sadly) and a goldfish.

We also used to hand rear lambs  - gosh that was really lovely, but we gave it up when we could no longer bear to give them back to the farmer for - gulp - slaughter. We became veggies shortly after.

Penny

Hello Darleen.
It sounds great but you're going to have to explain how exactly to use them as i have'nt got a clue! Sorry, i'm a bit thick!

Penny

Hi Winney.
Yes try coffee too, it does give a completely different colour to tea. I find that you need a quite strong solution though - tea is much stronger and i find it has a more 'tan' tinge to it. Coffee produces a softer more brown shade but i've found coffee is superb for overdying light greys and blues.

Try it all out on some scraps of mohair Winney - it's loads of fun!

Main Tip - keep a record of the tea/coffee ratio to water and time how long you leave the mohair in the solution. That way you can reproduce the same colour again if you need to.

If you're feeling more adventurous you can try onion skins, both red onion and ordinary. Beetroot is fab for reddy browny pinky shades - but don't leave the mohair in too long if you want a soft shade. And this is a good one - when you get a new pair of jeans try putting some neutral coloured mohair in a bath of water with them, you get amazing wishy washy drab shades from doing this - but the final colour depends on the original colour of your jeans! Great for distressed old looking bears.

Hugs All

Penny