Such a Beautiful Day

The sun is shining today and the spring flowers in the garden are coming into bloom, so I couldn't resist taking some of the Teddybuys gang out into the garden.  If this weather continues, we will all need sunglasses!

About a week ago, I made a little bunny using some lovely softly curled Schulte kid mohair in gold and white.   The egg in the basket in the photo below has a story associated with it.  Between the ages of 8 and 13, I lived in Zweibrucken in Germany.  My brothers and I were given lovely papier mache eggs filled with chocolates for Easter.  I have managed to obtain a few eggs from Germany...an example of which is in the photo below (I seem to have managed to place it upside down in the basket!).  It really brings back memories of childhood.

Hazel finally has her leather pads

She's catching a little spring sunshine with William and Camille.

William is a bit of a show off and cannot resist climbing trees.

A few more photos of Hazel

 Lastly, I have been asked to give a talk on teddy making to the Rotary Club tomorrow evening and I'm really looking forward to it.  I intend to take some examples of artist and vintage bears from my collection as well as a few Teddybuys bears.  I'm also going to take a selection of materials and tools to explain the process of bear making.  I hope the members will find the talk interesting.

Hugs to all!!

Not finishing anything!

I have taken a couple of snaps of two new bears, Jet and Hazel.   Head shots only, at present, as I haven't finished their paws and claws.  I find that hand sewing the leather pads quite hard on my hands, so will work on them over the next couple of weeks.  I will try to get on with another couple of projects in the meantime.  I am the sort of person who normally prefers to finish a bear before I start another, so it will be interesting to see if I can change the way I normally work.

Both Jet and Hazel are made with Schulte alpaca.  It always amazes me just how different the feel and appearance of alpaca can be.  Jet's alpaca is 25mm, nearly black,  shiny and very smooth and dense. Hazel's alpaca is 22mm, less shiny, but dense.

Dark bears, like Jet are very difficult to photograph.  When they are finished, I'll get my photo tent and lighting equipment out and try to take some decent photos.  I've noticed that in the second photo, the noses look huge.  I think the camera has focussed on the noses, so will have to get the manual out and work out how to stop that from happening.  Too much to learn...not enough time...!!  Also, Hazel's colour is more realistic in the first photo.  I lightened the second photo so Jet would look less like a black blob, but in the process, Hazel has been lightened as well.  Arghh...

New Pattern - William

I have been busy designing a new pattern for my realistic teddies. I have a couple of bear fairs coming up in early summer, so need to really get busy.  I need to have some interesting bears to offer on my table.   I have changed the head shape (making  the dome of the head wider), changed the body shape (now longer), shortened the arms and altered the shape of the paws, completely changed the shape of legs and feet.  The leg pattern is now much more complex.  So William is the first of my new design.  Although cold, the sun was shining, so I thought I would let him out to play in the trees in the garden.