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Cleathero CreationsOk I posted this on the other board I frequent so here I go.
How many bears do you make in a week/month/year?
I was really ecstatic with myself when I made 28 bears last year. I work, have 4 young children and try to have some sort of life but I was amazed and in awe to read that someone makes 3 a week.
HOW????
So it begets the question how many do you make, what size, why the number and if it is a large number how?
Patsy Lake BearsI am slow with making my Bears but that is because I cannot sit for too long at a time I think I avarage one bear a week ... if I am not doing other things
Canna Bear PaintMy workload either allows 0 bears a week in the busiest times or up to 2 a week when things are quiet. Between my mother and I both working on bears last year, we probably finished 80-90 in 2005. By far, most were not mine. I think the people that do the most bears per week probably are doing bears as a full-time job (or have sewing assistants, though I don't think that's the case with anyone here).
Interesting question!
Kelly
P.S. I think machine sewing versus hand sewing must make quite a difference in time as well!
BEAR ME SHOOTKAKelly...WOW!!!!
80-90!!!!
I made only 35 last year.. 
I do bears when i have time to sew or have orders..I have to sew now 10 or so bears for my shoppe but have no POWER!! 
I need somebody to push me... 
:redface:
Bronwen
that's an interesting topic.. I'd love to hear the rest of girls!!
I aim to sew 50 per year but in reality probably do between 25 and 30. I work in fits and starts so it's hard to tell. I like to have the motivation of a show as I'm much more disciplined. I work full time and from Feb will be studying too so am not sure where bears will fit in.
I reckon I do about 100 or so per year....I always have about 6 'on the go'...I can't do one at a time..I get bored..I like to do a bit on one then do a bit on another..like noses ...I like to do several at the same time..don't ask me why.
I used to do about 4 or 5 a week till last April I started getting vertigo..and that seriously stopped me in my tracks...but i reckon I am a better bear-maker for doing less bears. I haven't made a bear for 8 weeks...I got flu in October and it's only just gone, amazingly...but I cut out some bears and machined them up on Tuesday...stuffed the heads yesterday...watch this space!!
Newcastle, OntarioHi Bronwen,
I can only manage 25-30 bears/year. I sew everything by hand, but I am also laboriously slow. The more detail I can get into a piece the happier I am. I actually have a type of Attention Deficit that makes me "over focus". I am just never happy and keep adding and adding to a piece until sometimes I overdo it.
Hugs,
Brenda
Jazzy RagsI wouldn't even know how many i make whats wrong with me
Apple Dumpling DesignsI can honestly say that I have no idea... :doh:
Cleathero CreationsAh this is where being compulsive about trivial things comes in handy.
I keep a basic notebook covering materials used, name, size and date made so this is how I know. Each time I finish one it gets jotted into the notebook.
BEAR ME SHOOTKABronwen
I have a folder that contains every detail about each bear I made. And they are all named not by names but numbers of the bear from 1-~ ..... 
That's why I can tell what bear was first what was 25th... 
I like to keep everything in order..
And like Jenny I make several bears at one time...and don't ask me why... :hug:
Huggs, Julia :hug:
BEAR ME SHOOTKA
WOW... Melanie, 23 bears!!! I think that artist didn't sleep at all!!
by the way, 3 bears in a week!! wow to you too!! 
Julia :hug:
Sophie Z'OursOh dear! i am far far behind you all!
I don't think i have made much more 12 bears in the year...
I need 15 days to entirely design handsew one bear plus making him clothes.
I kknow have a sewing machine, so I should be able to work faster.
I noticed I could make a baby bear in a bit less than one week... but I don't make clothes for my baby bears.
Beary hugs,
Sophie.
Cleathero Creations23 bears?!
Did she eat, or move away from her machine at all. I think I am going to have to try and up my making to at least one a week.
I would possibly like to do a couple more shows and sales but that maybe pushing the friendship a bit. Small young children just are not bear friendly.
23 bears? In a week...either she has a lot of help..., bionic hands..or a vivid imagination...
I once made 8 because I was so far behind...but honestly, I am the first to say that they were nothing special really...I didn't have the time to fiddle and faff about doing fancy stuff.
I'll never do it again...ever
I do use a machine ( I can't abide hand sewing...I find machining gets me on to the 'good bit' quicker...i.e the head) and my mum cuts out and trims seams for me...hence why I can make a few more than average...and my mum loves to help....(Sometimes more of a hindrance but ,so what!)
But 23 bears in a week...I hope she sold them all!!!
23 bears in a week sounds supersonic!! Wow!
I certainly couldn't manage that many. For sanity's sake (not to mention quality's sake!) I average 2/3 bears a week. I prefer to get three done per week, but don't manage that every week.
If I need to get more done, I enlist the snipping skills of my daughter and she joins me on the floor with a pile of fabric to cut out!
Maybe that's what she meant....2/3!!!? LOL
I don't work, I sew by machine, and I re-use patterns. In November, I finished 30 bears for an order plus about 3 'coat' bears for an order. My Mother helped me stuff them when I was in Florida on vacation. That is my maximum, unless I get someone to help me cut the bears out, and to stuff. I will cut out a bunch of bears (I have about 10 that I cut out for the workshop waiting) then sew the pieces together, at night I sit and put on the faces, stuff and put together.
Interesting subject. I think I will be sewing all day today since it is ice outside, don't think I want to go out.
Ellen
Wild Thyme OriginalsI am notoriously SLOOOOW! I also sew completely by hand, so I think I get one done every other week or so.... so I'd say I do about 25 a year. I make minis as well as big bears.... the minis take me just as long if not longer than the BIG guys! I'd love to get one done per week... I bet I could if I REALLY put my mind to it....
Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
BEAR ME SHOOTKAKim, I know what you mean!
I sew my bears ALL by hand even the 28" ones..And it takes less time to make big ones then minis!! I wonder why???
Julia :hug:
Back Road BearsHmmmmm.... now that you've made me count how many (or few as the case may be) I made last year I see I need to get OFF THE COMPUTER and in front of my sewing machine!!! 
In my mind I like to think I make 2 a week most weeks. So, that would be about 100 bears in a year. Well, I didn't even make half that in 2005! Of course there was hand suregery and months of not working due to it and the new puppy that caused a distraction for a while..... I guess I could come up with a thousand excuses! :redface:
Must go sew......... 
Ruby Mountain BearsI make about 35 bears in a year. right now I am working on two. I did take some time off after Christmas, didn't touch a bear for about 13 days. I needed to rest up from the hectic, and not worry about anything. I sew by hand too.
I work and have a family too. Plus all the other activities we do, Camping, Hiking, fishing ( my other Obsession). I will be starting a new job next week, that may cut into my bearing, but maybe not. I enjoy sewing at night to unwind after work.
I can't imaging making more than three bears in a week. I made four in two weeks and thought that I was really cranking them out.
Hugs,
Kathy
LuxembearsI have so many bears going at any given time so the number of bears a week often changes. I try to keep a bear on ebay every ten days and sometimes even two at a time. I think I finish one to three but closer to one a week. I work on several different bears so I work on what ever bear I am in the mood for at the time. Most of my bears are sewn by hand. Mostly becuase my three year old wants me with him in the living room and not in my workshop.
I have 14 bears in the works right now. I went on a design binge in December! Normally though, I work on only 3 to 7 bears at a time and finish three in a good week. If I'm cramming for a show I can do 4 a week but that's working seven days long into the evening. I do everything myself (control issues!!) and sew by machine. I've been sewing since I was 12 (I'm now 44) so that part is a breeze for me. Facial details take me the longest, especially the noses. It can take me two hours or more to stitch a nose!! Dressing takes me awhile as well. My bears are so picky about what they want to wear and will sometimes try on a dozen or so outfits before making a decision. Oiy! :o
Another thing too...I don't have the time constraints of small children. Mine are grown and have their own lives now. It's just me and my sweetest love and he doesn't seem to mind if I sit and stuff bears or draw patterns on mohair in the evenings while we watch T.V. He's the best!! :love:
Warmest hugs, :hug:
Aleta
My first year I made 45 from March to December.
This last year, 2005, I made 35, January to December.
Hmmmm... Methinks I'd better stop dorking around on TT so much.
Also, though, I log the disclaimers (as Daphne did; thanks, Daphne, for making it easy and fun!) that:
--- I'm doing some paid design work now
--- My youngest son is IMMERSED in gymnastics which is so frequent and time consuming it's actually become something of MY part time job. I even have to attend parent meetings -- HAVE to! -- and volunteer to clean, cook for special events, sell tickets, etc.
--- I've had some tough personal stuff happen the latter part of the year, which I needed some time to recoup from.
Still... it doesn't do the ol' pocketbook much good to log disclaimers.
Bye bye!!!
