The Latest Cuddlies Updates after a busy Week

Hello there Everyone - Cy Bear back again.

It's been a busy old week for us in the ColdhamCuddlies Shop (www.COLDHAMCUDDLIES.etsy.com) and as official Mascot for the enterprise, it's been decided that I'm the one to do this post this week.


It's shorter than usual - Isobel is headed for the Helper's Party being thrown for all those who assist the Clergy at St. Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham, and as one of the regular Readers, she's been included in the mass invitation.  Clare, Alan and GrandsonE are also included, and it's the sort of occasion that goes on as long as it goes on.......until the last man/woman decides it's time to go home and resume "normal" life.  So, this is being drafted on Saturday, and will be posted when Isobel returns to our Flat "on the day".

Early in the week, we checked our Etsy Accounts page to find that payment for the Black Plush Baby Rabbit ordered at the beginning of last week-end by MrAP from Neumacher, Aberdeen, Scotland was en route to the Shop's bank account in the UK.  So having established which one of these four Baby Bunnies was the one destined to make the journey - 

Isobel packed up the selected Toy, wrapped it up and carried out her usual administrative tasks associated with sending a Coldham Cuddly to meet his Forever Friend.  

This time, MrAP chose an all Black Baby Rabbit (the one between the white-chested Baby Rabbit and the one with an orange ribbon around his neck) - which can be difficult to differentiate when we are placed close together for the purposes of a Farewell ceremonial photograph.  (You can just see him appearing over my right shoulder).

We also established that the said Forever Friend is a Baby (many of our Baby Toys do actually find themselves as gifts to adults, you know!), the usual Farewell Ceremony took place before the wrapped  Baby Rabbit disappeared into the polythene postal envelope in which our departing friends make their journeys - globally quite often, but this time as far as Scotland, UK.

Then, excitingly, on Thursday afternoon, we received an enquiry regarding possible restorative therapy for a damaged Puffin Toy, the much-treasured companion for a young boy called NR, living with his family in Rhode Island, New York, USA.  DadR had contacted one of the members of an Etsy Team for which Isobel is a Leader, and as the lady herself could not assist him,  she introduced DadR to Isobel.  Alas, the Puffin had been involved in a "discussion" with a family friend's Dog, and  had come off worst in the encounter.  Puffin and NR  have been very close companions, since NR's first birthday,  and DadR was desperate to see if  our Stuffed Animal Toy Restoration Clinic 

(https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/79124185/stuffed-toy-animal-restoration?ref=shop_home_active_1) could accept Puffin as a Patient.


Some photographs were sent showing the extent of Puffin's injuries, one of which is shown below:

DadR provided three pics, but these are the ones indicating the worst damage.

The excited canine had torn poor Puffin and had a great time extracting the stuffing!  By the look of the injuries, it seems a not insurmountable task, so Isobel  said she'd like to have a go at meeting the challenge of restoring Puffin to his former look.


DadR  gave us the following information when we last heard from him on Friday evening:

"We plan on taking Puffin to the post office in the morning, pack him with some travel treats, and say good-bye while he undertakes the trans-Atlantic journey from Rhode Island to Kirby in Ashfield. It will be a Puffin adventure worth telling for a generation."

We'll be able to give DadR a better idea of what will be involved  when Puffin reaches us, but the main problem is likely to be finding the right matching fabric with which to undertake the necessary repairs. Permission has been granted for us to provide a blow-by-blow account of the treatment here in the blog as it proceeds, so we've got at least a couple of posts for you to look forward to in the not too distant future.  As usual, day to day care of our prospective Patient will be left to me.

See you all again soon:

Your friend,  

Cy Bear.

In the steps of the Pilgrim Fathers....

Hello Everyone!


Cy Bear is taking a back seat this week, because he was on guard at home in Nottinghamshire when this visit to Plymouth, Devon took place in early Autumn last year.  When deciding to give you a change from Toy News, this week, I had not intended to choose this piece for exactly this week-end: however, with America in the news as rarely before, it does seem to be an appropriate heading for this week's blog!

Last September, elder daughter, Philippa and I were spending a few days exploring this bit of the UK - me for the first time: Philippa  on this day, catching up with her best friend from University days, and renewing her acquaintance with  her honorary nephew and nieces.  Having found our way from where we'd been spending our holiday to Devon, we were taken to the ferry point which would deliver us to the centre of Plymouth, which was our intended destination.

This is the view of The Dockyard - from Plymouth Hooe, near the spot where Sir Francis Drake is reputed to have played bowls as he waited for the arrival of the Spanish Armada way back circa 1588.  The Fort buildings stand guard still and face the mouth of the River Plym, as it enters the English Channel.

Once we'd left the car, we made our way down to the boat station - and I have to confess to being a little leery of the impending journey across the water.  The trip was only due to take a matter of minutes,but I've never been that good on TOP of water. even though I'd managed well enough the day before during our visit to Dartmouth - but that trip had involved literally crossing a narrow strip of water: this looked a whole lot more open - and the boat we were heading for did not look that sturdy!!

The boat goes over pretty well every quarter of an hour or so, so we all piled in and set off - with me resolutely look anywhere but the immediate horizon - although as you can see from the photo below, the sea was as calm as millpond.  

Having reached dry land quickly and safely, we then had a thoroughly pleasant hour walking through the cobbled streets of Plymouth - with many of the buildings really not matching parts of the age of the road, due to the Town Centre having been all but obliterated during the WW11 Blitz of the City. 

We were headed for the tall tower at the end of the street - the Headquarters of  Plymouth Gin.  As we had youngsters with us, and really weren't in the mood to top our spirit supplies that day,  I just took a picture of the factory - closer up

and then we headed off down the side streets - which are well worth browsing through.  Then we found ourselves getting nearer the dockside once more.

While we waited for the ferry to return and pick us up for the return journey, we were followed by the miniature train which chuffs it's way around the City - and was in this case headed in the direction of the Fort.

Just before we got on the boat, I managed to take this picture of the steps from where the Pilgrim Fathers are said to have finally embarked on their journey to the New World.  Thought our American Followers would be interested in seeing them - and they lend credence to the title of this post.  The sun wasn't really in the best place to show the steps to their best advantage, but I think you can get the drift!

Having suffered no ill effects on the way in to the Town Centre, I was not quite so hesitant about the return journey.  Even managed to take this photo of the water back to our starting point - which showed that we were going slightly against the tide, and therefore creating a bit of a swell behind us.

However, no ill effects were felt and we returned to our friend's home for light refreshment before returning back to Paignton, where we were staying with my Cousin.  Once again, we were fortunate in the weather.

The technical issues I've been having with my Facebook accounts might be beginning to get solved,   Not quite sure, but links seem to once again be becoming established in the right way.  Hopefully this will result in all the work I've been doing on that media site actually having the right effect in increasing views and visits to our Shop.  I'm deeply grateful that the Facebook Help site seems to have understood my plaintive calls for help - fingers crossed!!  Now let's hope I don't create mayhem once again as the future unfolds!

The final Golf Club Handle Cover (replacing the one send just after Christmas to our customer in Runcorn) is finished - and now resides in our newly established stash of Handle Covers. From the lack of contact from our Cheshire-based customer, it would seem that the Yogi Bear Golf Club Cover did fit one of her Friend's clubs.  A very satisfactory outcome if that is the case.


Next in the construction stakes is a replacement pair of  Polar Bear Slippers, which forms one of our two new listings I'm planning on publishing later today.  I've not sufficient photographs of these Baby Slippers on their own, but some with both Panda Bear Kids Slippers that the Polar Bears travelled with to Italy (in October last year) are being used as a starter.  Now that Christmas is well and truly over, I feel it is appropriate for both to be published, and once the replacement Polar Bear models are completed, I'll replace the photographs in the listing.

Hopefully, the new Polar Bear Slippers will be almost done by this time next week, and then I can get on with some more Small Animal replacements.  New arrangements for displaying a selection of our small animal toys - Monkeys, Bears, Rabbits, and Piglets, as well as a selection of our Nursery Mobiles - in the new premises of our friends "The Artful Buttoner" have been made.  Several Cuddlies found new homes over the last year through that outlet, and we are hopeful that this year's selection will be equally successful.


With that, I'll end this week's bulletin - hope everyone has a great one Next Week!


Your Friend, Isobel.

Golf Club Covers - with New Handles on Offer!

Cy Bear calling in once again to wish Everyone a Good Day!

Last week, I told you that Isobel was deep in the production of new Golf Club Handle Covers and I'm pleased to tell you that now not only do we have a set of new Handle Covers for our Yellow Plush Bear Head Covers  - which currently look like this:

But they now could have handle covers looking like any one of these three new offerings.

Not only has Isobel made these three new versions, but she's done the same for our current Tiger Head Club Covers too.  The patterns could be changed if folks wanted to suggest a new order - but the basic, double rib knitting stitch would still remain the same.  It provides a thoroughly elastic handle cover, capable of being stretched over the Golf Club Head and then returned to the long handled straight shape without losing it's elongated look.

In my post last week, I mentioned that Isobel was working on some new handles for our current Orange Tiger Print Golf Club Covers - and these three have been the outcome of her labours.

The current version looks like this - and we currently have two of them in stock in our Shop at www.COLDHAMCUDDLIES.etsy.com.

We have learned that the Yogi Bear type Cover - which formed the basis of our last week's bulletin -did arrive safely, but MsMS emailed Isobel to say she was not sure that it would cover her Friend's Club that she had in mind when ordering it before Christmas.  She had been looking for a Cover for a Driver - which is what Isobel has always thought our Golf Club was also called.  Naturally, we've offered MsMS a total refund for both the Cover and the initial Shipping charge, but she came back to say that she would like to see if our Yogi Bear Cover might fit another of her Friend's Clubs. We've not heard anything more, so are naturally hoping that another Club in the Friend's Golf Club Bag can benefit from our Cover's sheltering capabilities:  but are more than prepared to find our Yogi Bear-type Cover back in the fold here in Nottinghamshire sometime next week.  I'll update you naturally, as and when.

However, Isobel now needs to find someone locally who can give us some  access to their Golf Clubs which she can use to measure our pattern templates.  The Golf Club we were kindly given several years ago was one from a set of clubs that were no longer in use by its then owner - who had replaced his golf clubs with a set of "whizzy" new ones.  We believe that the most modern Drivers have complicated innards - not previously part of the old-fashioned wooden ones, of which our model is one - so it may well be that they are  now a bit bigger and our patterns need to reflect the changed size.  So - that's one of the new challenges ahead for us in the coming weeks.  

It won't affect the Club Handle Covers, whose dimensions will remain the same  - we've still got one more Handle Cover to knit - the replacement for the one last heard of in the Runcorn area of Great Britain, unless it is already on its way back to us here in Nottinghamshire.   Isobel's hands are a little tired after all that knitting in the past two weeks or so - something she hasn't done as much of in the last three or four years.  

Meanwhile, here's a photograph of me with the remaining Brown Patterned Golf Club Handles, awaiting the replacement Handle in the next few days:

The next week or two is going to have Isobel busy in the Shop rearranging the items, giving them some new tags (labels) and titles and hopefully giving the Shop a bit of a new look for 2017.  We've got a few new items to list as well - so if there isn't a Cuddlies  blog in the next week or so, please don't think we've gone away.  We may resort to a non-Cuddly post or two - so keep watching this space.  We've got photos taken while Isobel was away last September in Devon yet to show you - and this might be the perfect opportunity to do so.

Also, Isobel has signed up for a "bootcamp" she found on Facebook last week - not sure what she's going to learn from it - but she seems to finding lots of notes to scribble on a  "Bootcamp Blueprint" that she printed off during last week - so that's been keeping her busy as well.

See you all around soon.

Your Friend, Cy Bear.

Welcome to 2017 - With some New Look Golf Club Covers

Hello Everyone - and a Happy New Year to One and All.  Cy Bear being allowed to offer this post- our first for the New Year.

Last week, New Year's Day, fell on a Sunday, Isobel was invited out to attend the 10th Birthday Party of  her daughter's Godson, and got back later than she intended.  Somehow, what with Christmas Day also being on a Sunday, our normal weekly blog routine got out of kilter.  Also, Isobel has been busy finishing our last order for 2016 - which arrived shortly before the cut off date for any orders to be delivered to UK destinations before Christmas.  The problem was compounded by the fact that MsMS wanted us to send her our Yogi Bear Golf Club Cover, which had already found a new home.  However, she was willing to allow Isobel to make a new version - and for it to be sent to her after the Holiday, so that's what happened between the end of the Christmas festivities and this last Saturday (January 7th).

We've been considering changing the look of our Golf Club Covers - to give them a more "artistic" look.  They're being given a patterned boost, hoping in the process to attract more of the worldwide golfing community to consider offering our Covers a slot in their golf club bags.  So, this is what the new Yogi Bear Golf Club Covers can look like - featuring the one that was dispatched to Runcorn, Cheshire, England, UK on Saturday 7th January - as well as offering others a choice in future.

Our New Yogi Bear Type Head on our resident Golf Club

The current choice of Yogi Bear type Golf Club Handle Covers

Isobel sent a photo of the three choices to our Customer, MsMS,  and asked her to choose which one she would like us to send.  As it's for a friend of hers, and she didn't have a particular favourite, she left the choice to us.  So, we chose this one  .....

Frontal view of  our new Golf Club Cover

and the Rear View

.....  and hope that she approves!  Isobel will then knit the replacement, and place it in a specific storage space - for future use.   The parcel was dispatched on via Royal Mail Special Delivery - meaning it should be at it's destination by mid-day (at the latest) on Monday morning, 9th January.

It's been an interesting exercise, actually. We've now got a much better idea about the length of time it takes us to make one of these items.  Once she had run to earth the template for the Yogi Bear Head, it appears to take Isobel a couple of evenings to sew one - from cutting out to completion. And the handle covers take approximately the same time too. (That's if there's no television on in the background!! Listening to talking is too distracting to keep a pattern going - without effort: however, if there is soothing music, usually of the classical variety on the radio, knitting these patterned handles goes fast!)  The Tiger Head template was in its envelope in the Pattern Library, but for reasons best known to our Resident Poltergeist, the correct-sized Bear Head was nowhere to be found. So, a rapid replacement exercise was instituted and carried out! (The so-called Resident Poltergeist gets blamed for everything that goes astray in our home!!!  It's quite amazing how often that seems to happen, by the way!)

We already have some knitted handle covers, with different knitted patterns, in stock.

Our Panda Bear Golf Club Covers

as well as our Tiger Head Covers:

Isobel is currently knitting up some black and yellow knitted handle covers, which she intends to offer for our Yellow Bear Head Golf Club Covers - which currently only come with  the plain black handle cover.

We'll let you see them when they're all finished.  (Currently two out of the three are done: with the third almost completed).  


Plans are also afoot to make some Orange and Black patterned handles for our Tigers - for as long as our supply of this orange fabric lasts, that is.  Since these were originally offered in our Shop (www.COLDHAMCUDDLIES.etsy.com), we've been able to source some more "realistic" Tiger print fabric - as shown in one of our Tiger Arm Puppets - and Isobel plans on creating some Tiger Head Golf Club Covers with this fabric as well.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/237064583/puppet-tiger-activity toy-light-brown?

 Let's hope the weather encourages lots of Golfers out onto their respective courses, WORLDWIDE - because of course COLDHAMCUDDLIES does offer worldwide shipping! - and they feel the need to save their clubs from wear and tear in their golf club bags as they play their respective games!


Lots of other plans are afoot - and we'll be telling you about them as the weeks go by.  Meanwhile, have a great week Everyone.  It's good to be back here again - and look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Your Friend, Cy Bear