Patience pays off - Little Ed Ted finds his Forever Home.

Good afternoon Everyone - just dropping in while staying away from base with daughter Philippa in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire - which is not far from London, for those of you unfamiliar with the UK. 

 

Being driven here by daughter Clare last Thursday meant that I was able to bring more sewing paraphernalia with me that I would have been able to manage had I travelled by train, and so far one Hairy Bear is ready to be put together and stuffed, while the other one has two legs and two ears sewn together.  (The head, body and two arms remain to be produced (hopefully later this evening and tomorrow).  Plans call for me to be driven back to Nottinghamshire on Wednesday this week, and so far despite the weather forecasters' gloomy forecasters for biting cold etc. the temperatures have not be that bad - and we've managed to achieve everything we needed to outside without being uncomfortably chilled. 

 

I've brought some stuffing - but insufficient to fill two Bears of the Hairy Bear dimensions.  I'm researching the local haberdashery stores in this vicinity, but so far have not managed to get into the shop I'd identified.  When Philippa and I called at the shop this Friday, the proprietor was otherwise engaged - at Friday Prayers.  We'd intended to go in yesterday, but alas, some domestic upheavals required me to stay in so that the washing machine's hiccups could be checked.  Hopefully, on Monday or Tuesday, we'll be able to find sufficient polyester fibre for me to finish both Bears, and then one Hairy Bear will be off to somewhere in Missouri, USA  shortly after I return home.

 

Cy Bear remains in charge of the Cuddlies - sitting on my bed at Old Chapel Close in Nottinghamshire, but I did manage to take photographs of the latest farewell ceremony for a Cuddly en route to his Forever Home - Little Ed Ted.  (Now, of course, that is what he is called when he is with us:  his new Forever Friend may well choose to call him something quite different:  that is their privilege, and hopefully we will find out a bit more when they eventually meet).

 

Little Ed was posted to his Buyer who works at a Museum in Oxford, England, UK.  The lady wanted him as a gift for her Mother, so we hope that he will settle in well when they eventually meet.  He's been in our Shop (www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES) waiting for a new home for quite a long time and has an unusual story as to how he came to be a member of the Cuddlies Family. 

The Steiff Schulte Mohair fabric with which he is made was left over from one of the first Patients  treated  in our Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic - Ed Ted.  Ed was  quite a big bear, and as I was still new at the restoration process, I over-estimated the amount of fabric needed for his extensive make-over.  Just before I treated Ed Ted, I'd been asked to give a small Bear some much-needed recovery treatment, and as he was a Red Bear,  and a small one, for the sake of my records, I christened him Little Red Ted.  (Incidentally, this little chap was the first Bear I'd ever treated - and became the inspiration for that part of the Coldham Cuddlies Shop services).

The mohair fabric left overs looked as though they could be used for a smaller Ed Ted version - so I used the template created for Red Ted after he'd had his usual restorative bath.  Little Red Ted had a somewhat longer neck than most Bears I've come across, so I decided to give Little Ed a scarf .  Digging through my yarn supplies produced pattern using royal blue for the main scarf , and providing light blue and white stripes at each end of the finished item.  There was a little yarn left over, which were made into tassels, which were added with a crochet hook.

Because he is made with Mohair - made from a cashmere goat - there is a significant difference in the cost of the fabric - when compared with either plush or faux fur equivalents.  Can't help but think that was one reason why he didn't find his Adoptive Home earlier.  We at Coldham Cuddlies are so pleased he has now found a Forever Friend for whom he can become a Cuddly Companion.

When ending our last post, I mentioned that I had yet to hear from MsHG regarding the safe arrival of the two Baby Koalas that left us the week before.  As is my wont, I had sent a copy of the blog post in which their departure from the Coldham Cuddlies Family home was described - and learned that the reason for that uncharacteristic omission was that MsHG had been away from her office all week.  Subsequently, a message arrived.  The parcel was indeed in her office, but with a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, she was reserving the pleasure of actually meeting her two new Companion Toys until that anniversary arrived.  Watch this space, as I'm sure there will be some pictorial evidence to show the re-union with Sleepy Koala and the two Baby Koala Bears.

One final update on previous  blog posts.  The reason for the delays in arrival of parcels posted to Tulsa, Oklahoma from Kirkby-in-Ashfield could be that the address to which they have been posted to date includes a Post Box Number - rather than an actual brick-and-mortar address.  The Royal Mail route I had inadvertently selected doesn't "do" Post Box Numbers, so despite the higher postage paid, the parcels had travelled at the standard international airmail speed.  The last package sent to Tulsa this week, and written about in our post last week, was sent International Tracked Air Mail Parcel rate - guaranteed to arrive within 5 Working Days of departure, and capable of being tracked at both ends of the journey.  That fifth day is either Monday or Tuesday of this coming week - depending on when Royal Mail chooses to start counting!  So, watch this space for an update about this too.

Don't sit up and waiting all day or night though!  Because I'm now about to close down and get on with the manufacture of the Hairy Bears mentioned earlier in this chat.  Until next time then, when Cy Bear may well be posting, Good Night and Good Bye.

Isobel