Holding Post #2 - This time waiting for supplies

Hello there again, Everybody! 

I can stand - sometimes - provided I am propped up:  but prefer sitting

I had hoped to be able to introduce another Baby Mobile - or its components at least:  however, due to an oversight we found we'd run out of the smallest joint discs Isobel needs for our Baby Foxes, so she has only been able to almost complete the second (of four - for the Mobile at least).  They fortunately arrived on Thursday.   Then some developments happened at the housing complex where we live which required Isobel's secretarial input, so her mind has been elsewhere - so Cuddlies old and new have had to take a back seat a bit as a result.  (Isobel is Secretary to the Tenants Committee at the complex and her Minute recording abilities were needed for an Extraordinary Meeting this week).

However, having said that, there have been some developments on the Toy front this week - where we've welcomed back some of the Cuddlies who have been on display at one of the Shops in Kirkby-in-Ashfield since earlier this year.  The Shop - The Ark - where they'd been - is unfortunately closing because of lack of volunteers to keep it open. So, although several Cuddlies did find their Forever Homes via that route, the rest were collected by Isobel on Friday and have just been put back into their places in the Cuddlies Storage Bag.

When she comes back from her holiday (which I mentioned last week), Isobel is going to do some serious shop-hunting in other Towns in the area - so more people can find out about us in the Area. There's a lot of work that has to be done before that happens though.

The Wanderers Return

These Cuddlies are now safely tucked up - until new display areas can be found for them, but in the interim, Isobel has managed to get another Baby Fox almost completed.  Just the ears need to be attached, and then at least two more (for a potential mobile) and maybe another two - to be offered singly and unattached to anything - and then ......... well you'll have to wait and see.  (I haven't got a clue, but then I don't get told anything you know!)  New storage facilities have been created in one of the hall cupboards in our flat - where all the new Baby Toys and the Mobiles can be kept in some sort of order.

Potential Partners in Crime, maybe?

So, that's it for this week - hope everyone has a good one in the upcoming one.  Looking forward to being able to tell (and show) more soon.

Sitting on the Cuddlies Storage Bag - which is getting quite full! There's another two thirds to my left!

Your Friend, Cy Bear.

Not much to report this week, so this is a "Holding Post"

Hello there Everyone:

Taken when we still lived in Wiltshire:  me sitting in a branch of a Mulberry Tree

Cy Bear reporting in with really not much to say or offer today.  It's just as well the Olympic Games only happen once every 4 years, because we'd get nothing done in our Shop - www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES.  All this week, when she normally sits and sews new Cuddlies, Isobel has been glued to the television, watching all the splendid action being shown in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (She's not been able to sew and watch (as she normally can), because the action has been so fast and furious!) However, because our wonderful Followers have got used to reading something about us Cuddlies  every Sunday,  when we miss a week-end post, our viewing figures - 50,883 when Isobel checked a moment ago - go down.  As it takes some time for them to build up again, we decided I should just check in.  Since this is likely to happen during September, when Isobel is away on holiday in Devon, UK (and she may not have access to WiFi so we can use the computer) we decided on this "Holding Post" - so that our viewing figures don't drop away too fast as September gets going..

This afternoon as well, on one of the Teams Isobel actively works with on Etsy.com (https://www.etsy.com/uk/teams/24793/etsy-friendsrus ) their Monthly Heart Attack session begins at 0900 EST and goes on until 2100 EST.  This means all members post their new items, or renewed items, and everybody clicks on the individual items' "hearts" so that by the end of the day, lots of extra people get to see the items and it can result in lots of new folk learning about the Shops involved and it can also end in sales of the items too.  So, that's where Isobel is going to spend her time this week.

There are several of the Cuddlies due to be renewed/relisted - take your pick: the result is the same!  A .20c renewal fee, and the chance to be seen by the World for another 4 months, before they are renewed, deactivated or "killed off" - depending on the circumstances.  There will be more that will be listed during the evening/early night.

Here's a selection of Cuddlies that will be being given the treatment first this afternoon, after we've finished chatting here.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/152976020/novelty-rabbit-slippers-yellow-plush?ref=shop_home_active_10

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/99230084/winston-wombat-3-way-bed-pillow-pajama?ref=shop_home_active_1

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/205051356/coyote-hand-puppet-activity-toy-teaching?ref=shop_home_active_10

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/158098231/koala-bear-slippers-adult-novelty?ref=shop_home_active_11

There are several other Cuddlies who are due to be re-listed in coming weeks in August/September, and they may well be given an outing on the FRU HEART ATTACK session too.

Isobel is also planning on officially introducing our Blue Plush Baby Monkeys and the Brown Plush Rabbit Head Shoe Ornament we mentioned in an early post.  So, as she's got a busy afternoon ahead of her so I'll have to end this week's bulletin now.  Good to have chatted - even if it was a bit of a "make do and mend" effort this time around.  We'll try to do better next week.

Have a good one Everybody.  See you then.  Your Friend Cy Bear.

A Week of New Starts

Hello there Folks - Cy Bear back again.

As the title implies it's been a week of new beginnings, even if there's not been too much other activity around on the Coldham Cuddlies front.  

This week's post is therefore likely to be somewhat shorter than of late - but mainly because the call of the Olympic Games,  being beamed from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - with the constant need to switch channels to watch a particular sporting activity which catches Isobel's fancy - has proved a bit of a distraction for her!  She's been doing some sewing:  but not as much as usual.  Thus there has been a bit of a hiccup in the "production line" that has been the norm of late.

First of all, as I told you last week, a Baby Hedgehog was scheduled to leave us for pastures new. Our customer, was given a choice of two Baby Hedgehogs currently in stock -,

and the one on the right was picked out from this photograph - which was included, if memory serves, at the end of last week's post.  The Baby Hedgehog on the right was the winner - and so on Tuesday, he/she/it (your choice!) was duly wrapped up and prepared for its trip to Lindon, Utah - but not before the usual Farewell Photograph had been taken:

Baby Hedgehog duly began its journey into the unknown, but still exciting prospect of its Forever Home on Wednesday afternoon.  (That means replacements need to be factored into Isobel's production programme for our new Cuddlies of the future.)

Then, in between watching the Olympics, Isobel began a new project - which involves a Baby Fox, or two (or more).  She's made a Baby Bear or two recently - as can be seen here:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/397964269/polar-bear-mobile-toy-animal-mobile

Here's the Baby Fox pattern she's been using - for the first time ever, even though it's been in our Toy Pattern Library since she started making Toys way back in the late 1950's at school.  Her book of Animal Patterns has this one (which can be made as a Baby Lamb or Bear), so as she has got an idea for another Baby Mobile, she thought she'd start with this chap(ess):

As you can see, the ears are still to be properly attached - but the "look" is encouraging!  Although the pattern does not call for it, Isobel decided to give this Baby Fox arms that moved - because in the original pattern photo, they looked a little "forced"- for want of a better description.  In the picture, the arms were sticking out and just did not look right!  Allowing them to move seems a better option - but now we've got to source some more discs, as we've only got enough for 3 more (Isobel's has plans for more Cuddlies of this size - which are somewhere between our Baby Rabbit patterns and the one for our Baby Koalas).

These Foxes will be a little larger when finished than are the Rabbits and Piglets we've made recently, and may actually not look right if we attach them to a circular Baby Mobile frame.  That we won't know until more made, and experiments with ribbon sizes etc are done.  We think the final Little Foxes will be just a little smaller than our current Baby Koalas - shown here.

What our Baby Koalas look like sizewise
(https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/55190188/koala-bear-toy-baby-koala-toy-cool-bear?ref=shop_home_active_7 

So, that's what looks like keeping Isobel's fingers occupied this week - in between watching the rest of the Olympic Games, of course!

Until next week - from either myself or Isobel - here's wishing you a great one, wherever you are based.

Your Friend,  Cy Bear.

Here's the completed Fantasy Bear Baby Mobile - and other news as well.

Good afternoon, Everyone - from Cy Bear!  

Yet another week has slipped by, but at least we've had some sunshine during the daytime - although at the moment we're being battered by very strong winds.  Apparently, they're unusually strong for the time of year and it certainly makes taking photographs outside difficult - as Isobel found when she had to take some pics of  two Baby Hedgehogs on Saturday afternoon (more about that later).

As the title of this week's post indicates - the Fantasy Bear Baby Mobile is finished -

All four now have a light aquamarine 7 mm (1/4 inch) satin ribbon around their necks and forming the hanging threads by which they will be strung to the main Mobile frame.  The checked cotton ribbon which forms the hanging handle matches these ribbons, although in the photographs, the colour comes out showing the blue more than the green shade it is in "real life".

The polyester circular frame is 9 inches in diameter (22.86 cms) and it's been covered with white satin ribbon all round.  When Isobel came to use the check ribbon, it became obvious that she didn't have enough to cover the entire frame.  She suddenly remembered she'd used some already for a decorative bow for one of our Light Brown Teddy Bears (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/69778158/light-brown-bear-toy-teddy-bear-cuddly?ref=shop_home_active_4)   before he left for his Forever Home last year, so there wasn't enough for this particular Baby Mobile.

The ribbon had been used on a previous version of these two Bears, which can have ribbons attached if wished.

However, as the ribbon was aquamarine/white check, she decided to use the check ribbon as the handle and then use the white for the frame - there was just enough ribbon, with a small bit left over, from the 5 metres (16ft 4.8 inches) that Isobel had bought earlier when visiting one of our local habadashery stores recently - to be used in just such a circumstance.

Once the ribbon had firmly attached to the frame (it's usually an overnight job!) the rest of the 7 mm satin ribbon was cut into equal lengths, tied to the frame and attached to the ribbon sewn on each Fantasy Bear.  (They now all have their full quota of ears - in last week's post, our Bear at the left front of this photo was sporting just one ear!)   Now Isobel has chosen this method, because the knots used can be untied and the eventual user of the Mobile can adjust each Fanstasy Baby Bear - if that is what they'd like to do - so that the result now looks like this.  

When the wind eventually dies down, Isobel intends to take some outside shots of the latest Baby Mobile, but meanwhile this does give you an idea of what the finished object looks like (and you can see the pretty pastel green shade of the hanging ribbons too).

During the week, we received an order for one of our Baby Hedgehogs.  Isobel needed to take photos of the two Babies currently in stock. (A third is on display in one of the Kirkby in Ashfield Shops, which is currently closed for the month of August!)  The reason was that we needed to establish a "Hedgehog Catwalk Display" so that the Buyer could choose which Toy she would like us to send next week.  

We'll let you know which of these guys our Customer chooses, together with the usual formal Farewell Photograph with me, next week.  We've still to hear from our Customer which one she actually wants.  But, you can see from the way the fur is "moving" just how windy it was yesterday in the sheltered corner of our garden - where the wooden bench, on which the two Hedgehogs are sitting, is placed!  (It's a lot windier today - these fellows would have been blown right across the garden had the photo session been going on today)

Hedgehog Babies - a side view

So that's the news for this week folks.  See you all - everything being equal - this time next week.  

Your Friend, Cy Bear.