Banner Sponsors
For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
Winneybears and FriendsOh how funny...wonderful stories make the heart so merry.... My hands are OK , I only hand sew the soles and the head pieces on real fur bears...and of course the ears. I do not use leather needle as it poke too big a hoie in the old pelts, I use the skinniest needle I can get away with, usually a Sharps needle.
What a wonderful story about the aged lady. I have a few stories but the one I love the most is about one of the first real fur bears I made.....
I worked at a craft store in the Floral dept. , my superviser did beautiful tole painting and she dearly loved bears...I made bears and we became close friends. Well, she was telling me when her mom passed away all she had from her was a fur collar and a gold locket. I thought how sad... the fur is so soft and the locket had her picture in it.
There was a tole class coming up on a wooden cow clock...cute! Donna offered to paint it for me and I said; " Hey, why don't we trade crafts " ? I will make you a fur bear and you do my clock ! So...next time she came in she brought the fur and collar and I gave her the clock kit to paint.( Ihad never made a real fur bear before).
My hubby picked me up from work, on the drive home I kept thinking ;Gee I wish I could make her a bigger bear, one that she could hug like her mom and one that could wear her mom's locket....wouldn't that be perfect?
So I begin to think...What if ? What, how.... how could I do this IF I could uhhhhh....and it came to me....Oh my gosh ! I will make just the head, paws and feet out of fur and the rest from muslin then dress it ! That's it !
So I designed the pattern. Next day I asked her to bring in some of her favorite color fabric and some white lacey cotton....but I didn't tell her what I was doing.I didn't know what I was doing either but I was going to do it...it has to work .
A week later I brought the bear into work.... in a paper bag. I had dressed her bear " Memory" in a long sleeve white cotton with lace victorian blouse and a pioneer skirt red ,with tiny white dots that had a flounce at the hem and a large bow tied in the back,she also wore white pantaloons.
The best thing tho is she turned out to be 17" tall and wore her mothers locket around her neck.She did look so sweet... Wow, Donna was so surprised, the look on her face was worth a million, then she was just in tears...she said ;" I was expecting a tiney little bear .... how did you do this "? ' Oh I'm gonna love it to pieces !
Later on there was a second boyfriend bear made to match ; " Donnie " with ill fitting pants made from some well worn jeans and he wore a white shirt with red buttons that would not stay tucked in even tho he wore red suspenders. He ahd a few red patches here and there...in his pocket was a ball of string, a penny, a very small plastic harmonica that really worked and a crumpled note with Memory's phone # on it...
I made a red stuffed heart with cotton eyelet ruffle around it from the skirt material ...and I embroidered " Luv Ya Ta Pieces" on the heart ...... End of one happy story....series to be continued later..... Winney
Past Time BearsWhat a great, great story, Winney . . . can't wait for the next one!
Baird'sBearsWonderful, wonderful stories--keep them coming.
I've already told mine (at some length:/), but I'm wondering about the medical background issue.
Stitches come to mind, of course. And I'd rather have holes in my fingers than stress.
Though I don't have a medical background, except through caring for my AnxietyDisordered/OCD'd daughter and sick kittens and squirrels from the Humane Society and various injured/aging beasties, I have been an educator and overtime mom.
I used to quilt like a demon, and it was a thrill to see the pattern come together. But what I like about bears & other critters is that they really, really come ALIVE.
So it could be a nurturing thing, or a Dr. Frankenstein thing, or a God-complex, or a super-nurturing thing, like mothering or nursing or teaching or something similar.
Eileen
Judi.. I LOVE it!! "Well, now..maybe us three can be the "sugar babies" or "Sugar Babes" !!! " :lol:
and that's just awesome about being on World's Funniest Videos! I would have loved to see that one!
OH Dilu, your story was too funny!!
I have to say I have absolutely NO professional medical stuff in my background... but I've done a lot of different things....
My ex and I used to own a photo lab/ + 3 photograhy studios. I helped by taking some of the portraits... but I have to admit I really didn't like taking portraits of people... but I LOVED taking animal portraits!
After our divorce I worked in a deli, and also another photo lab... while I did freelance photography of pets and hotrods (car show photographer) Yes, I know... odd combination! But those were 2 things I enjoyed. Then I needed to make "real" money and got an office job.... but I was NOT happy!! While at the office job, I learned bear making and started my bear biz.... and eventually my current hubby (that sounds terrible :P) told me to quit my office job and just work on bears :D. I've been happy ever since!! I think the common thread here was that I was happy when I was CREATING! I still love photography... but now it's just for fun!
Winneybears and FriendsI have more bear stories if you want to read them...I mean, is it OK to do that on this board ? I think they reveal a lot about the teddy bear as one of the perfect symbols of love....Winney
Absolutely, share your stories, Winney! It's all part of being a community, I think. Can I suggest you create a new thread for each one? That way people can respond to them individually.
Can't wait to hear... 
Posts: 8,574Oh Winney
Absoloutely, please share your stories. Each and every one of us here has a story that just might be something someone else really needs to hear, right at that very moment. Be it inspiration or a good laugh-everyone please keep them coming!!!
Dilu
Posts: 8,574Maybe you gals couild be the SUGAR BEAR BABES?
Wasn't there a cereal along these lines when we were all young and innocent?
The memory is fading...sooo sad....
Dilu
Back Road BearsUs "Medically Challenged" folks (either personally or prefessionally) need nurturing too... hence the bears! That's my theory anyway.
I have a friend in England, also a bear artist, who is an insulin dependant diabetic. She's a sweetheart and is very challenged with her diabetes. She's not so lucky to be healthy like we are. Neither was my ex-husband. He'd also been diabetic since childhood but never took cake of himself, nor was encouraged to by his parents. He's now nearing 40 and the doctor's say he'll be in a wheelchair by 55 and blind. He also has intestinal neuropathy along with the neuropathy in his legs. He's a mess! Perhaps rather than defining what a diabetic looks like we should define what a diabetic who doesn't take care of themselves looks like. That's easier!
Although my folks will never see this I just have to say that, had it not been for my parent's love and care and intense (ok, over-bearing at times) focus on my health, I wouldn't be as healthy as I am today. They got me on the right path in the early stages of my disease and that's made all the difference. Once you develop a complication from diabetes it is usually irreversible. I, knock on wood, have no complications, yet! After all these years! 
So those of you with kids, even though they may get so fed up with the concern and fussing you shower them with now, they'll be thankful someday!
Judi - personal question - do you take shots or are you on the pump? I tried the pump and didn't like it. I'm on 4 shots a day. It's funny, when I tell people that they think I must have 'diabetes really bad'! HA! I have excellent control when I take more shots.
Thank you guys, for being willing to share and listen to eachother's personal lives and challenges. AND Stories!!!!:lol:
Warm Fuzzy Hugs,
Daphne
PS. Shelli, how's your son doing with the cast? What color did he get?
Sugar Bear was the character from Post Sugar Crisp.
The image is from 1965
I too am diabetic. Adult onset type II. That means (according to my doctor) my body still makes insulin, but my cells seem to have forgotten how to use it. I get by on pills and watching my diet. Losing 60 pounds over the past several years (with about 30 more to go) also helped a lot to keep the sugar number in check.
Traveling all over the country for shows makes keeping the diabetes under controll quite a challenge.
Dale
Past Time BearsMy goodness, Dale . . . how did you just "come up" with the Sugar Bear image? You must have a gargantuan file on your computer! It's very nice to get to know bear people via these message boards and I hope everyone will keep posting.
LuxembearsDale, you have just been officially inducted into the Sugar Bear Babes!!! That image is dated the year I was born. Cool! Hey, I would love to see your bears. Do you have a website?
My diabetes is part of the reason I don't travel around doing shows. I really should never be alone , like in a hotel room incase I go low. It has happened.
Daphne, I do the four shots a day. ANd I think it is SO FUNNY what you said about people saying, "Oh you must have it bad" when it is just the opposite...we are in better control this way. I have heard that so many times.
I used an insulin pump for nine years but when my brand was recalled I switched back to multiple injections. I use a novolin pen. It's great and I canuse it in public to inject and no one knows what I am doing...like at a resturaunt.
When I worked as an RN in a nursing home...almost every resident had a teddy bear inthere room. There is something very comforting about having them around.:)
That image is dated the year I was born. Cool! :)
Oh Judi that is too funny.... I was also born in 1965!
Winneybears and FriendsOK..I'm going to start a new thread for anyone's special bear stories to share ...Winney
Posts: 8,574Oh you spring chickens, Laura and Judi!!! Three cheers for Dale coming up with the picture. It's all coming back to me. ....
Daphne, you and Judi through the way you live, express what can be done even with a slight disability.
Dale, good for you. Loosing weight like that can be difficult. I admire your determination.
Look how each of you have touched all the lives of the folks on this web site. No life is insignifigant, and every live has value to add to our world. It really is a wonderful life.
I am so glad you are healthy and here!
Remember, Suffering is Optional
Dilu
Posts: 8,574Wow....what happened to the board? The letters are huge! This old eye can actually read without stressing. Hmmm
Dilu
Nope after writing the above message and sending it, it all came back normal. Oh well
LuxembearsDilu, I love it! "Suffering is optional" Definitely words to live by!
I like that saying too. It's kinda like another favorite of mine: You can get busy living, or get busy dying.
I'm gonna steal that "Suffering is optional" one for my husband's use. He's an MFT and could sometimes use a quick catchphrase like that for use with clients!
Posts: 8,574Glad for you to use it.
Sometimes I have used it and been accused of not understanding pain. either physical or emotional or spiritual. Pain is pain. We don't get out of this world without a hefty dose. But, Suffering is optional.
I keep telling myself this when something hurts, it really helps me to work through whatever is going on at the time.
"Course, nothing helps like a teddy face winking out at you from some corner of the room.
Dilu
