Bear Vacation

Visiting grandchildren is great! A great time to make bears, it's not. I did bring a couple along to baste together and one to sew by hand but no time.

In one way it's good. I'm making a rabbit and didn't have enough wool to make the foot pads; paw pads and the inside of the ears so I shaved the fabric so I'd have something to match. With a little more time to think I now say that the inside of the ears should be a different color. This time around time was on my side.

Disappointment to Inspiration

I recently thought I had an order for a dog. Unfortunately it didn't come to fruition. Now I have a lot of long-haired mohair that is just begging to be used. The pattern I made for the original dog was way too big (I thought) so now I've scaled down and I'm actually making a slightly smaller and different breed. I'm not disclosing it because who knows what breed it will turn out to be.

I've also bought a few new pieces of mohair from e-bay so I've been inspired with a few new bears and because Easter is coming up a few rabbits. Isn't it funny how they multiply? I've got a big rabbit that's kind of a yellow gold background with brown tips; a little pink bunny with purple legs and arms (panda bunny?) and another one that's rolling around in my head that's yet to be determined with material and size.

I'm also wondering if some angorra mohair pelts that I saw in a store last week will go from the back of my mind and keep calling me until I have to go back and buy it.

The Joy of Bearmaking

I've just been browsing through e-bay looking at all the dogs trying to get some inspiration for a dog order I'm working on. I'm not copying anybody, I just want to see how they do their legs so I can figure out how to do a dog laying down who can also put their legs underneath.

Anyway, my point to this blog is the bids on e-bay. It's tempting to think, "wow, that bear got 22 bids and is up to hundreds of dollars, that must really be worth something!" Then you see an equally adorable bear that didn't get one bid and you wonder why no one wants it. I hope it doesn't diminish all the creativity that's out there. Just because something doesn't sell doesn't mean it's worthless or any less of an expression of an artist's imagination.

When I'm tempted to think that I'm not selling anything because something might be wrong with what I created or it isn't as good as the next person's, I just look at my bears and remember the fun I had creating them and what joy they bring me. Nothing else really matters.

New Mohair On The Way

The craft fair weather was really nice; although it was a little windy at times. There were quite a few people coming through but let's just say that the woman selling $3 necklaces was more popular. Not that my bears weren't appreciated. It just wasn't the right audience (I knew it but I tried anyway).

Now, I'm being challenged to make another dog for a woman who had to give away her favorite pet. It almost looks like the dog I just had on e-bay.

As for other bears, etc. I'm making a bright pink rabbit--really getting a jump on the Easter season and just a regular bear. I took those along on our grandchildren trip knowing I probably wouldn't get a chance to work on them but one never knows.

I just bought some mohair on e-bay and I'm excited with the possibilities of those pieces. The trouble with that is it's rather addicting and I could go broke!