Once all the pieces were collected together, Isobel began wielding her needle and thread. Both the body pieces were sewn together (leaving spaces for the arms to be fitted at the appropriate time). Then all the other pieces (except the ears - which were already sewn together, and which caused the drying process to go on a little longer) were sewn up, including the head. Both the arms had the paws sewn on before the under-arm seams were finished off - by being over-sewn along all the seams, to preserve the integrity of the whole toy for the future.
This picture shows Tigger ready to be stuffed - his fur does look a much lighter colour, does it not?
The head also has new glass eyes fitted. Tigger’s original ones were made with some green double knitting yarn, which had some sort of glitter substance weaving through it. His eyes really did not show up, and Isobel also felt that once he’d been taken to pieces, the yarn would not stay in place for long. So we’ve included two glass eyes which we’ve had in stock for some time, and Isobel has both sewn them in place, as well as leaving a long piece of yarn on each eye which she then tied together. Little fingers, when playing with Tigger should not now be able to pull them out - hopefully!
Here the process of putting Tigger together is nearly complete - his body is fully stuffed and so is the head, and he also has a black nose and a mouth. (When he arrived, his nose was brown - and did not really show up that well - and he had no mouth at all).
Tigger’s original white felt collar was far too big for him and was badly stained to boot. So Isobel used the collar pattern she uses for the other dressed toys, and drew Tigger’s just a little larger. She then sewed a new white felt collar around Tigger’s neck and attached the grey/pink diamond and bow felt decoration with which he’d arrived.
This is what Tigger now looks like. Pretty much the same as when he arrived (you can see how that was in our last post on August 26, 2012). We think he’s ready for many more playtimes with Little People visiting PamL’s home.
Meanwhile, he’s waiting for two more toys to be treated in the Clinic, before he, Little Brown Ted and the remaining Patients can be posted back to their Toy Box home in Nottinghamshire.
See you around soon: meanwhile, I am watching as Isobel gets on with the three new versions of Tigger Long Legs. These may be delayed a bit, because unfortunately, she had a fall this morning and seems to have strained some ligaments in her right hand. Her little finger and the next finger were bent backwards when she fell, and there is quite a bit of bruising involved. It means she keeps hitting the wrong keys on the computer key-board, but otherwise hasn’t inflicted any permanent damage. However, she has yet to see what effect it has had on her sewing and stuffing abilities. I think she’s putting it off for a while - although she’s had ice packs on her hand (which reduced the swelling greatly) and has taken anti-inflammatory pills, which will probably send her off to sleep earlier tonight than usual. It did mean that she missed Zumba today, because having hit her head slightly, she felt it was wiser not to go there and dance heartily - something she enjoys doing, but in the circumstances, might not be good for her overall, long-term health.
Right, that’s all from me for this post. Thanks for calling in and commenting! Look forward to the next time! All the best - Cy Bear
