I've just completed an experimental new addition to the Coldham Cuddlies Family. He was finished in time for daughter Philippa's arrival and proved to be a major sensation as far as she was concerned. He's meant to be a Badger - using a pattern included in the book present from daughter Clare for our UK Mothering Sunday in March. The book is entitled "Making Soft Toys for Children" and the author is Pamela Peake and my version was first printed in 1988 and reprinted in 1991. The patterns in the book required enlargement - which I was able to have done by our Village Newsagent/Printshop: but the end result was far too big for my purpose. So I reduced each pattern pieces on my home printer and then tried to get the head to look right for use as a Glove Puppet. Whilst that has yet to be achieved, I'm still very pleased with this result!
When I came to actually examine the plush fur pieces, I found that the striped plush off-cuts suitable for a Badger were not as many, or as large, as I had initially thought, but they could make a One of a Kind toy - and that is what happened!. While some folks will say he looks like a Badger - being very kind people - he's not really, but does remind me of a Badger/Dog cross! Philippa immediately said he was a Wombat - even though real Wombats are not stripey!
(When one is in the Cuddly Toy market, exact replicas are not always necessary - but this is really my first venture into such territory. Promise you, it won't be the last, as I've quite enjoyed seeing what happens when I begin to experiment!)
So, please allow me to introduce you to the O.o.a.K.Winston Wombat Hot Water Bottle Cover or Bed Adornment or a really Cuddly Plush Toy. After that long title, his Etsy Listing is #99230084, for those who want to see more about him and he took his place in the shop at www.etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies yesterday evening (BST). The plush fur is so tactile that one's immediate instinct is to stroke him - and everyone who has seen him, has done so.
Winston Wombat's "stuffing" is actually a separate pillow, stuffed with the usual polyester fibre material I use for all the Cuddlies.
When required to become a Hot Water Bottle Cover, the pillow can be extracted and the bottle inserted. The bottle's top is slotted into Winston's tail, which I have made as a pocket - with the underside side made in black felt, and the top side using the plush fur material. You can see that the pillow has it's own label (refer to my last post - 05/05/2012 - if you don't know what I'm talking about!), and there is an additional label stitched to the inside hem lining of the pocket.
This striped version of Winston Wombat is a One of a Kind, but Philippa has been sufficiently smitten with the original, that she has decided her Christmas/Birthday presents this year for her Little People Friends around the country will be a Wombat Hot Water Bottle Cover. Her versions (she has ordered 4 of them) will be made in the same material used for the Silver/Brown Bear made earlier this year (Etsy Listing #95205668) - which, in fact, actually resembles a Real Wombat's coat!
There is also a lot more of that plush material available to me at the moment, than there is of the striped plush - but I'm still determined to try and create a Badger Glove Puppet!. I'll be able to mix and match with my usual brown and white plush fabrics, used in conjunction with the striped stuff I've used for Winston. Just keep watching this space, please!
Before closing: I've been invited to join a new blogging team - www.etsy.com/teams/misanthropy-creations-blog-team - and this post will be the first of mine to be sent to the Team Leader for her to edit and publish in due course. Michelle, the Team Leader, is well plugged into the social media scene - and the objective of the team members is publicise our blogs (as well as our shops), using her existing social media exposure to the mutual benefit of us all. Not sure how long I'll last, but I'm willing to have a go. I have to prepare this whole post in a HTML version and send it to her email - and then leave it to her. Will keep you posted (or you may want to watch out on Stumble, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, WeHeartThis and Tumblr, amongst others!.
See you around soon. Isobel
