Just checking in - and playing catch up as well

I cannot believe that it is nine days since I posted here - so think it's appropriate that a degree of catch up takes place with me notifying you of what you're likely to be seeing from both the Etsy shop (www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com) where we have a definite departure scheduled for later this week, and six new listings.  Both items will probably form the subject of at least one blog post.

The Greatest Coffee Morning in the World in aid of MacMillan Cancer's 100th Anniversary took place as scheduled on September 30.  Attendance, according to the regular participants, was not as great as usual.  That  may have been because the temperatures were soaring into the high 70's-low 80's and people's minds were just not focussed on Christmas present purchasing - more likely to be how they could pack the family off for the week-end to the nearest coastal town to bask in the promised sunshine.  Nevertheless, from the Cuddlies' point of view, we had three sales in the two hour session - one of which was a newly-launched Glove Puppet.  I'll be posting a separate blog about all of them, of course, but meanwhile here is a taster:

Six Little Glove Puppets sitting on a Bench

I'll not identify the one on her way to a  2 year-old New Best Friend for Christmas.  That can wait till the blog itself appears.  All the Glove Puppets were received with enthusiasm and have been listed at www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com with their own Glove Puppets Section.  It is my intention to make more of them, once I've sorted myself out.  They are attractive, individual, reasonably quick to make (2-3 days maximum) and I think are an exciting addition to the ColdhamCuddlies family. All five remaining ones have already been favourited by one of my fellow Etsians - and they were only listed late on  Saturday evening!  Even allowing for the fact that the USA is behind us in time zones, think that is a pretty amazing result!

The venue for the Charity Bazaar is a pretty amazing one - Slater's Barn  is a specially constructed facility which presumably is used for outside functions, besides the annual MacMillan Cancer jamboree.  It has it's own kitchen facilities and is carpetted, has central heating (so can be used year round) and good lighting (which was not required on Friday morning - given that blazing sunlight was streaming through the windows).  I know I said I would take the camera with me to take pictures of the display table - alas, in the rush to get out in time to set up, although I took spare batteries, the camera did not make it into the bag!  (All was not lost, however:  one of our neighbours was dragged by his wife to the bazaar, he had his camera with him and he kindly has provided some snapshots - which give an indication of the stall and it's owner!) 

However, I have a cunning plan:  the property owner is a fellow attendee at the weekly Zumba Gold exercise sessions I have recently started to attend.  We had a brief chat at the Bazaar, and this Tuesday, I'm going to ask if I can go round and have a clicking session on my own.  If that happens, think Slater's Barn history would make an interesting change of subject for a future post.  It is set in idyllic parkland, about 3 minutes drive from our home. There are several examples of lovely parkland settings  in this delightfully picturesque village - and provided the weather plays ball (which it looks as though it's not going to!), that can make the fifth future post  lined up for your edification!  Must be something of a record - at least for this embryonic blogger!

Then I'm pleased to say that one of my dressed Male Rabbits has found a new home - in Everett, Washington State and will be on his way early in the week.  It's Uncle Brendan Brown Rabbit (Etsy Listing #56013030) who has been selected, so that's another replacement project to be scheduled in between the rejuvenation of Tommy Teddy and Big Koala - the two remaining patients in the Soft Toy Clinic (Listing #79124185) .  Here is a picture of Uncle Brendan to remind you of how he looks:

There's another potential new development too.  For the past few weeks, I've been discussing with Ed Ted's Best Friend, RFE the possibility of having some special ColdhamCuddlies labels woven. (RFE  is a very capabale Graphics Designer, whom we have known since we returned from Canada in 1987, now based in Italy, but travelling regularly to Dubai and, occasionally, the UK!  Thank goodness for the internet - how did we manage without it for such matters, I sometimes wonder?)  One never knows - sometime in the future, the current Cuddlies might one day become valuable vintage toys - whose value can only be enhanced if there is a recognised label attached.  My husband has been keen to see if the idea was practical and it is increasingly looking as thought it might be!  We've got the artwork, we're in the process of getting quotes - and I hope to be attaching the chosen labels to future Cuddlies in the not too distant future.  That could form the basis of yet another blog, methinks.  I'll have to make a list - or I'll forget what I'm going to do - I'm not immune to "senior moments" these days, alas!

Right, I think I have caught up - will be posting, with Cy Bear's help, in the next few days.  Meanwhile - good bye for the moment!  Isobel

Replacement Koalas - Part 2

I really must stop saying I'm going to blog and then give a definite day - it never, ever works out that way.  Maybe I can be forgiven, though, because we've got car trouble - AGAIN - and getting that sorted, and coping without a vehicle - has taken up a lot more time than anticipated!  Doesn't everyone find that?  One gets so dependent on the flipping things (I don't really mean that - but this is not the right forum in which to let off the amount of steam that I'd like to) doesn't one?

Anyway, back to the nub of this post - the completion of the Koala replacement project. (They can be found at www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com/Etsy Listing #55190188). When I left off last time, I was going to carry on the Koala production line while watching an evening of television.  This took place, and the programme(s) were as good as hoped, so I relaxed as well as sewing another couple of the little bears.  The fourth one was completed next day and I set about the next stage of construction.

This involves stuffing the two bits of each bear (head and bodies).  For once, I did not make my usual mistake (stuffing the heads, before putting in the eyes!).  It's so annoying to have to unstuff the heads, and then put in the eyes!  Sometimes, I think I'll never learn.  However, this time it was achieved satisfactorily, without having to take too much time making sure they were level.  Some of my animals have ended up with their eyes not quite matching!  Which then means one has to take them out and replace them, as the safety backing is so safe that it's almost impossible to correct matters with the original eye!  As I make more toys, though, I'm discovering I can sometimes move the backing and re-use the whole thing.  However, in order to guarantee the integrity of the toy, I feel it is normally best to go the whole way, and replace everything!

Anyway, this time around all four pairs went in first time around, and the stuffing duly went ahead.  The limbs of the Koalas are quite small, so the stuffing has to be put into them first, using small pinches of the polyester fibre at a time - otherwise I find they can develop kinks where the limbs join the torso and the resulting bear does not look comfortably stuffed!  It's a bit fiddly, but worth the effort.

They were all completed on Friday - the day the car episode occurred - and I was then unable to photograph the completed foursome, because I'd run out of batteries for my digital camera.  Mine just eats the things - I do wonder if it is just my camera, or whether it is a general thing with these gizmos?  Admittedly, mine is not as modern as all these things on the market at the moment, but on the whole I achieve reasonably good results and I'm normally quite happy with the final picture. 

Here are two of the foursome, sitting on the arm of a bench outside one of my neighbours' bungalows.  The other two are shown below:

The hydrangea bush they are hiding in is beginning to die on us, alas, but it has been a really beautiful pink this year.  There's sufficient left, fortunately, to show off the little guys, though, isn't there?  Looking at these photos, I do assure you, the eyes are level - it's just the way they've been photographed and they way they are sitting on the bench!

I've now almost completed the replacement Baby Rabbits (those sold at the Produce Sale in Heytesbury Church the week-end before last).  The little Brown one (Etsy Listing #73079287) just needs a ribbon sewn on, and the White One (Etsy Listing #5503616) has just got to have his bob-tail and ears attached, as well as his ribbon, and the stock will be up to snuff once more.  Once this post is complete, I'll be doing these finishing off items.

Talking about the Little White Baby Rabbits, the two that set off to New South Wales a couple of weeks ago arrived safely at the end of last week - and beat their intended Best Friend recipients, who have still to make their appearance!  Am still waiting to hear about the safe arrival,  in Saudi Arabia, of Panda Bear (Etsy Listing #55036116) - but he left the UK a couple of days after the White Rabbits, and he's had to negotiate all the timings involved with Ramadan and so on, so I'm expecting a message sometime later this week. 

Right, that's it for this post.  I'll end with a picture I took this afternoon with Ed Ted, Cy Bear - who will be posting again, soon, I promise - as well as Big Koala, whose Best Friend is Ed Ted's, and who arrived a week or so ago for renovation therapy in the Soft Toy Clinic (Etsy Listing #79124185).  He is in not too bad shape, but his stuffing is incredibly hard.  I just cannot imagine what it is, but it certainly does not encourage cuddling. He also requires a new nose, ears and claws!

Until the next post - Goodnight and God Bless!  Isobel

Replacement Koalas under way

While I wait to get the pricing information I've requested for the two patients currently undergoing treatment in the Soft Toy Clinic (Etsy Listing #79124185) - Brr Bear and Tommy Teddy - decided to get the replacement Koalas (or Tree Bears - Etsy Listing #55190188)  underway.

So, last night I prepared enough patterns on the selected fabric for four more examples.  Using a permanent Ink Pen (which I normally use to label my chutneys, jams and other provisions I store for our future needs) I drew round the template I've used for some time.  The resulting picture is not as clear as some I take in daylight, but it was raining cats and dogs last evening, it was jolly cold as well, so curtains were drawn, and the electric light switched on.  The resulting slightly yellow tone of the photo is thus explained - but you can see the layout.  I'm making all four with all white chests.

This is the reverse side of the very furry plush fabric I use for such toys - which come to me as off cuts from a local upholstery factory in nearby Frome, Somerset - about eight miles away.  I found them when we first arrived in Heytesbury in 2008 by using the local Yellow Pages!  Not only do I get these off cuts, but they are also my source for the polyester fibre that I use in all my toys (both in the shop at www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com) but also for those I renovate in the Soft Toy Clinic (Etsy Listing #79124185) so they are a very vital, useful contact for the Cuddlies enterprise.

The material is extraordinarily furry and once the scissors get going, fur flies everywhere.  I find the only way I can cope is to shut the door (so it doesn't go all over the house), cut everything out and then organise them in piles.  I'm currently using my ironing board as a sewing table, when it's not being used for it's legitimate work!  The trouble is that ironing is not possible after cutting out - unless, and until, the "Dustbuster" hand held vacuum has been used to clear up the resulting fluff.  Here is a photo of the "organised" piles of four Koalas, already for the needles and thread to be applied.

Having done this I usually begin by creating the head first.  One needs to sew the ears first, slot them into each side of the head piece and then sew through all the layers.  Then one sews the seam which results in a completed head.  Turn the completed piece inside out and voila!  one has a Koala head, minus the stuffing.  One then gets the white furry fabric, place the brown fabric right sides together and sew all round the body, leaving a two inch (5 cm) gap in the back seam to allow for stuffing.  This pattern has a circular piece that fits into the neck area once the side seams are complete - and I have, in the past, placed a hole in the middle of this so that I can put a joint in and allow the finished Koala's head to swivel around.  However, I'm not a fan of such mobile limbs for toys that I believe to be suitable for babies from birth to, say, two years old.  A firmly fixed head is somehow a completed, not to mention a safer, toy.  Of course if a buyer has other ideas, I'm more than happy to accommodate them!

Last night I managed to sew one and a half  Koalas - this evening, because there are actually some television programmes I'd like to watch, I'm going to stop blogging, transfer the piles to the sitting-room, and get on with completing as many of the remaining toys as possible, while also watching/listening to the entertainment on offer.  The photo below, was taken today (in daylight - hence the different lighting!) shows the completed efforts to date.

The completed Koala is on the left of the picture, with nose and eyes to be added:  the second head is just next to it, with the bits to be sewn in front. 

Till the next time (tomorrow, maybe - but definitely the next day!) I'm signing off.  Isobel

Ed Ted - Treatment complete

Cy Bear and Isobel are both pleased (and not a little relieved, respectively) to announce that Ed Ted's rejuvenating treatment is satisfactorily completed.  Here he is  - NOW!

Taken in a neighbour's garden

And just to remind you all, because it is nearly a month since the therapy began, here he was when he arrived early in July:

Ed Ted - first glimpse

The final stage was not without some excitement.  Once the head was attached, Isobel stuffed Ed Ted really firmly, only to find that the left arm did not lie right.  So, she unstuffed him, and after a bit of difficulty managed to fit the arm in the correct position.  Now, he's a very proud Associate Member of the Coldham Cuddlies family, and whilst not able - yet - to feature in the shop at www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com, he soon will be, as Isobel intends to officially announce the opening of the ColdhamCuddlies Soft Toy Clinic sometime this coming week.  She intends to use similar pictures of both Ed Ted and Little Red Ted to illustrate how the Soft Toy Clinic will operate.

The Clinic's impending opening has been bought forward, as we now have two more patients awaiting treatment.  We'll introduce them here in this post and talk about them at greater length in forthcoming posts.  Their names are Brr Bear, whose best friends are Mrs. DK and Mrs. HR (the latter being the daughter of the former). 

Brr Bear in front of Tommy Teddy

Tommy Teddy is one of the Morrell Family Bears - currently in elder daughter, Philippa's, collection and has been with us since the early 1970's.  He was originally pink and blue in colour:  he's faded somewhat, so Isobel is going to give him a new coat - hopefully in similar colours, and re-stuff him with safe polyester fibre as he's currently stuffed with rubber foam,  that could be dangerously inflammable.  Foam rubber in the 1970's here in the UK was not treated and was often used to stuff cushions (and toys) before it was found to be so dangerous when involved in fires.

With that, we'll both end our updates from the Coldham Cuddlies fold for today.  Good night all - Cy Bear and Isobel

Starting a new project or two

Still no joy on the missing washer for Ed Ted - so he is languishing in the work-room waiting for his head to be joined to his body.  However, as Susan from Bear Basics and I are due to meet for the first time next Tuesday (July 26) she's probably decided not to risk posting such a small bit of plastic via the "tender mercies" of Royal Mail, and I've thus decided that I'll take Ed's head with me when we have a family outing that day - about which I will post tomorrow evening.  Then we can make sure that the joint will fit and not result in a wobbly head for Ed Ted - even if it means getting a packet of 10 of the same size!  I'll not waste them!

In the meantime, I have cut out my next toy:  looking at the left-over mohair I've been using to re-cover Ed Ted,  I suspected that there might just be enough to make an Old Gold version of Little Red Ted - whose pattern template I filed away after completing that project.  Just to remind folks what he looked like, here is a picture:

Sitting in the garden with Cy Bear

It was great to be proved right, so I immediately drew out Little Red on the remaining mohair material, also cut out the same brown suedette paw pads, and after completing this post tonight, will be starting sew the pieces together.  For the purposes of labelling, I think I'll call this one Little Ed Ted, as hopefully he will turn out a smaller version of our current friend.  Not  a terribly original name I admit, but then that's not necessarily my forte.

The other thing I'm working on - which has been mentioned in convos on Etsy (www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com) in recent weeks as well as here - is an idea for expanding the renovation/rejuvenation service that I really have enjoyed doing.  I have loved sharing it with all you lovely folks who have been kind enough to visit - and in some cases, comment on as well.  It's been great (and very encouraging) to hear from you.

The idea is to begin the ColdhamCuddlies Soft Toy Clinic. "Hospitals" conjure up images of large buildings and are usually such large, impersonal things, so I think a "Clinic" offers the possibility of a more personal service.  I know one should not get too involved with one's patients in real life - but where toys are concerned, I think personal involvement is vital.

                    (IT WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING TO KNOW EVERYONE'S VIEWS....?.)

How would it work you ask?   Well here is my current thinking.  I'd initially charge a "Consultation Fee" of say 25.00 GBP (which at today's conversion rate equates to 40.75 USD).  That would cover my time assessing what was needed, costing the materials required and convoing with the Toy's Best Friend, ending with a provisional quotation of the total cost and, once the OK had been given, ordering the required material.  Think that the quote would be based on the size of each projected toy and would be similar in cost(s) to the finished plush toys in the ColdhamCuddlies shop at www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com.  Based on Ed Ted, who is about the same size as the big Bears (who are the biggest plushies), that would be a further 55.00 USD on top of the consultation fee.

Then, after August 31, 2011, when the postal charges will once again be operating (or not, depending on the number of orders I get while the special offer is in place) there will be a postal rate to be added to the total.  Let me explain my postal charges at the moment.

Here in the UK we have two main rates for parcels - the First Class Postal rate which is always higher than the Standard Small Packet rate.  Now, most Cuddlies (with the big Bears being an exception) qualify to travel at the lower rate.  Thus, everyone who orders a Cuddly are likely to get a refund, which kicks in immediately the consignment is shipped.  If there is  more than one item in any one package, and there is a higher charge involved, then no further action will be taken until the Buyer has been consulted - either via e-mail or convo.  The requirement for a figure to be placed on the Etsy order form  for "more than one item" is therefore something of a "guess" because there may be lots of items of differing sizes.   But in order to be able to complete the listing, I had to put in something!  So far, all my orders have attracted a refund - which has been calculated once I have had the parcel weighed and in all cases so far,  posted without referrals to buyers.  And, the refunds have been gratefully received, without exception!   Obviously, if there is an excess charge, the parcel will be kept home until the Buyer has been notified and given me the all clear, and then sent on its way.  Postage details, which can include a tracking number (charges for that extra cost start from around a further 5.00 GBP (or 8.15 USD at today's conversion rate.) form the final convo/email for that transaction from my end:  I then just wait to hear of the safe arrival at its destination (I hope and pray!)

Hope that explains the situation?  Some folks have commented on these rates in the past - but were reassured when  the likely cost was quoted.  I have to keep these figures simple:  as maths and I have never been happy companions!

So, I'll close this post for tonight:  really am interested to hear your reactions, both to the idea of the Clinic and likely charges, which are not written in stone.  I'm open to reasonable suggestions!!  Bye for now.  Isobel