The Teeth Have It

Here's another rabbit. Boy are they multiplying! It's kind of a quick picture that I took before heading off to the doll show.

His teeth are made from Sculpey. Kind of hard to go back to more normal animals after him IMHO.

This is the reason I create. It's what keeps me fueled to keep going on the next critter.

About Time

Time flies no matter what you're doing. Since February is almost over I thought I might get a word in.

I just did a doll show in New Braunfels, Texas. Six of my critters found new homes. I gave one of my bears away to a woman who'd bought two bears from me and she also bought two bears from me when I did a show in Fredericksburg, Texas.

I'm also looking forward to a bear retreat in Fredricksburg the end of March. Ten bearmakers will be getting together for a weekend of classes and bear talk and general bear bonding. I'm looking forward to being with bear buddies.

Now it's back to what to make again. I've got a boxful of fabric I won from e-bay that's been tempting me and a huge piece of long-piled mohair that could be a dog. I'd like to get a few more new things done since I'm doing a show in Albuquerque on May 20 and another one in Austin on June 24.

The Sun Might Come Out Tomorrow

No sun, but there was enough light to take some rabbit pictures. Something to do while I get inspiration for the next rabbit. Here he is!

Let the Shows Begin!

That rascally rabbit is done. I'd say he turned out very well. I know I've been talking about it for weeks. Today I should have a picture of him and I'll put it on later. The sun isn't out right now so he wouldn't show up. Now the hardest thing to do is come up with a name.

I'm tempted to start working on another creation but the show season is coming near. The first show is February 10; the second is May 20 in Albuquerque; and the third is June 24 in Austin. I need to check out all the critters to make sure they're ready. A few need tags and a couple need names.

There's also another rabbit that I'm working on. This one will have a needlefelted face. He's all put together so I need to get my roving together and the needles ready.

Now I've got a dog rolling around in my head. I'm stuck on how to do the legs. I don't want him to just stand there; I want them to pose. It's been done so I know it's doable.

Just A Hare Short

I'm still working on this pesky rabbit. After all the trials and tribulations he's evolving slowly but surely. I get satisfied with him one way and another pops into my head. I think I'm narrowing down the possibilities. There's a little time before Easter.

I'm going to to the doll show in New Braunfels on February 10. I haven't done a doll show since Yuma. I'll get to see my bearmaking buddies Sandy, Patti, and Luann which will be fun. Doing different venues once in a while is good.

Old Man Winter

I guess we're not far enough south to miss the winter weather. A winter storm has decided to land here in Texas and should be around for a couple of days. I think we're far enough west so that we're not going to get hit as badly as San Antonio.

Because of this I "have" to stay inside and cuddle up while I make some new creations. What a dilemma! LOL!!

Here's one of my newest creations. He's yet unnamed. My DH says he looks like a lion.

Now it's on to rabbits. I've finally weathered through the missing pieces and the Ultrasuede matching and they're all sewn together. Now it's on to the stuffing and bringing them to life.

Out of the Closet

The Ultrasuede arrived in the mail yesterday and the luck was with me. I got a match so I can finish the rabbit. Or, so I thought. I started basting the pieces together and was merrily sewing along when I got to the last pair of arms. What! I only made three? I was SURE I cut out all the necessary parts (except for the inner ear which is Ultrasuede) but I was minus one piece. I didn't panic or use bad words but dilligently looked through my new box of mohair and my supply box; under the bed or under anything I could. No luck. So, I tried to piece an arm out of what was left. It would have been four pieces--not good to write in this blog for any collector that might be reading this. Then an idea came to me. I had stored the pieces in a bag in the closet so I looked on the shelf and no luck. I was about to close the door when I looked down and there it was. Thank you, thank you!

So today it's finishing the rabbit that's been stored in closet. Plus I have another thumperesque one that I might work on too.

But then there's Valentine's day coming up and I should do something for that. What a sweet dilema!

Mohair, Mohair, Everywhere!

The box of mohair finally arrived. It looks like someone sat on it but nothing was harmed. There are so many wonderful pieces in there I'm leaving it in the closet until I finish the projects I'm working on.

My patience is again being tested. I ordered the Ultrasuede last Monday or Tuesday and it's still not here. I guess since the ordering was so fast I expect the shipment to get here as fast.

I'm making good progress on my projects. I have a bagful of unstuffed bears (and a rabbit). When I get tired of stuffing one I go to the next one. Of course, stuffing isn't my favorite thing but bears without it aren't too cuddly.

Stereo Postings

As long as I'm posting on my other blog, I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts while I'm in here.

I'm working on three rabbits and two panda-like creatures. I say panda-like because they're not the black and white versions that one sees in real life. One panda is made from a brown mohair that was a substitute for one I had ordered. Can't say I'm happy with the substitute but it's a soft mohair and I think it will turn out okay. It did, however, have some type of glue on the back. I don't know if that was to hold the mohair in or what. After I finished sewing it I had to get the cleaner out to get the gunk off of my sewing machine. That's the first time I've encountered that. There's a small piece of it left and I may wash it first. The glue was creepy.

The rabbits are on hold. Hopefully I've ordered the right colors of Ultrasuede for the inside of the ears. Otherwise there isn't enough material left from the rabbit itself. It's been a frustration trying to piece the ears to make one whole ear. I'm crossing my fingers that this new shipment will do the trick.

I also bid on some leftover mohair from a wonderful artist in the Netherlands. She shipped it the first week in December and it's still not here yet. She did some checking and it took a small vacation in the Chicago post office so hopefully it's on it's way to Texas as I speak.

And . . . I have a small lion on e-bay that has 4 watchers so maybe I'll garner some more good feedback.

Speaking of pandas I'm making a purple and pink rabbit that I suppose you could classify as panda-like. I think I'll work on that today

Happy New Year!

Another year to create new creatures. Another year to play with mohair and the like. How exciting!!

Today I plan on working on a rabbit and two bears. A great start!

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!

Craft Show

We're here in Uvalde, Texas, and there's a craft show in the downtown square on Saturday. I thought a new venue might be nice so I booked a table amid the Christmas decorations and the live oaks.

I'm also on e-bay and I'm trying not to be discouraged with no bids after re-listing two items. I do have some watchers if that means anything.

I just finished an elf bear last night for the craft fair. Haven't come up with a name yet. I"m also working on a brown bear that will probably stand. Don't know if he's turning out quite the way I had envisioned. We'll see.

Onward and Upward

I finally put procrastination aside and listed Rrrascal on e-bay. It looks like there's one person watching. It wasn't too hard to do. I think next I'll list my monkey.

There's an arts and crafts fair here in Ulvalde on November 25. I'm going to sign up for it. I hope the weather is good. Nothing like a new venue.

Now that I'm listed on e-bay, maybe I'll do the Teddy Patch.

Next?

I finished my pawtrait and now it's on to the next project. What should it be? I have some brown mohair that I swapped with Linda and then highlighted with dishwasher detergent. That's kind of calling my name; but what kind of bear--or critter--could it be. Should my quest for an open mouth continue or sit on the back burner? I guess if I was going to do an open mouth it should be on that mohair since it's not the high-priced stuff and I wouldn't feel as bad if I ruined it. I'll have to think about it.

I do have a little guy to work on while I'm thinking.

I've been doing a lot of bearing but haven't been talking about it. My friend Linda and I have beared the last month of Sundays. We're both an inspiration to each other. She has some wonderful imagination with her bears and I'm really excited for her to get her website going.




I'm on a quest to make an open mouth bear. I've done it with a dog but he's so hairy that you can't really see it. This unnamed bruin's mouth, I think, is a little too open but it gives him a wonderfully happy look. I'm going for more realistic.

There's also a pawtrait I'm working on for an order. It's going well and I will post a picture when it's done.

Time Flies

I can't believe it's almost been a month since my last post. If you look close you might see a sheepish grin since I was going on and on about how addicting this is.



My excuse--lots of bearing! I entered the challenge on Teddy Talk using Sue Ann Holcomb's pattern. Not quite my style but was fun to do. Now I'm working on two large bears. One is about 22 inches tall and I think the other one is about the same. They look so huge because I've been working on mostly smaller bears. I can't stand having scraps of materal laying around. They're too big to throw away considering the initial cost and they're too small to make a regular sized bear. I love the challenge of trying to get a bear out of a limited amount of material.

Back to Bearing

I've been a little sidetracked this week from bearing because I'm working on a quilt for my new niece. It's finished now so I can concentrate on the bears.

I have been working on a new bear that's kind of rusty colored with a gold tummy and muzzle. I haven't decided how I'll finish him yet. I have a few ideas but then I'd be emmulating other artists and it wouldn't be my look. I know I'll figure it out.

I'm also going to list some bears on Teddy Patch and Bid4Bears and maybe even e-bay. I figure if I say this often enough the procrastination will break it's hold on me and I'll actually do it.