On the last leg: Alternative Version of our Missionary Bear now ready.

Hello once more Everyone!  

Cy Bear delighted to be back and to be able to share the progress - first reported in last week's post - about our Alternative Missionary Bear.  He's now complete and has joined the other Clerical Bears awaiting the BIG REVEAL - towards the beginning of September, which is getting ever closer.

His head and ears are level, although they may not look it in this photograph. We think he looks a very welcoming sort of Bear Toy, and are hopeful he and his fellow Clerical Bears will soon find  Forever Homes - as Toys or as Ornamental Decor Items in lots of people's homes, and so become good fund-raising tools for the St. Barnabas Cathedral Roof Maintenance Fund  in Nottingham.

A frontal view 

Looking at this photo, though, he does look as one of his ears could do with a bit of adjustment!  The line of buttons also doesn't look straight, but actually that is the way the picture has been taken, as well as the way the garment hangs on the Bear's body!  (Close-up, they are below each other in a straightline!)  Isobel will see to the ear,  before he is shown to the St. Barnabas Cathedral Craft Group tomorrow, when she is due to attend a gathering in the afternoon.  (She has also still got to sew that "ColdhamCuddlies" label into the Original Missionary Bear too! - she's been quite busy this week, though, with one thing and another.)

A side-ways view: where the ear doesn't look too bad!!

Followed by one from his rear:

And now, from the other side:

And finally, here's Missionary Bear Two waving to you all (or providing a "blessing" maybe?)

The construction of the final member of the Clerical Bear Collection is well under way - with the Free Church Bear cut out, with head sewn and ready for the facial features to be added.  Isobel is currently making a start on sewing up the body.  The footwear needs to be sewn, and then will come a different set of garments.  Keep a watch out folks:  next week should see this last addition completed, and work begun on the Two Plush Teddy Bears headed at the end of this year for Papua New Guinea (firsts for a COLDHAMCUDDLIES family member!).

Have a great week.  By the way - it's unlikely that we will be posting next week, as the family is involved in an August Bank Holiday event being held outdoors in Kirkby in Ashfield next Sunday, and obviously Isobel cannot be in two places at the same time.  Let's hope it will be blessed with the kind of weather we have had up to this week, and not the rather cool, threatening rain one we are having as this post is being prepared.

See you all again soon.  Your Friend, Cy Bear.

New Clerical Bears to See, but not yet Touch.

Hello Everyone - Cy Bear back again!

Here we are  - a Sunday afternoon once more, and time to update you on the COLDHAMCUDDLIES  Clerical Bears Project. (Last week's post was missed, because there was little more to add - other than the the Grey Plush Tiger Puppet was still en route to his Forever Home.  I'm delighted to tell you that he did get delivered on 7th August.)   This week has seen Sister Bear completed, and also one of the two versions we propose to offer for our Missionary Bears.  

The first to be ready for introduction to the St. Barnabas Cathedral Craft Group last Monday, using the toffee-colour fleece fabric with which most of the Collection will be made, was the one currently being referred to as Sister Bear:

Isobel decided to give her black boots - based on the pattern we use for our dressed Lady Rabbit, Foxes and Wolf Toys - rather than the pattern she's using for the Padre Bear and his male companions.  Based on this picture, we think Sister Bear is currently looking a little "naked" around her neck region, and we're thinking about possibly giving her a white collar.  With the current veil she has on her head, there wasn't enough body space for the cape that Isobel had prepared for her, so it was left off.  There may therefore be a change in appearance before the final version is revealed to the public early in September.  Watch this space, Everyone!

With every version being produced, Isobel is working faster - and the first version of our proposed Missionary Bear is now done.  The cassock and body were ready to be shown at last Monday's Craft Group meeting at St. Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham, and finally completed (minus the "COLDHAMCUDDLIES" label, which has inadvertently been left off!) yesterday afternoon.

Isobel was delighted with the way she was able to slip the laminated white paper "dog collar"into Missionary Bear's collar.  It's so satisfying when these "experimental" suggestions actually work!  You can see the difference in the footwear- in the "shoes" this Ornamental Bear is "wearing" in this picture, but even better in the final photograph at the end of this post.

The next Clerical Bear to be worked on is the "Brother" Missionary Bear - which Isobel began by cutting out last evening.  This is where she's got to - 

The Head is sewn, and now waits for nose and eyes to be fitted in place - before being stuffed and sewn at the neck.  Below the Head are the arms, and the label which will be fitted somewhere on the finished Ornamental Toy.  Below the unfinished arms, are the cut out shoes, including cardboard bases which are fitted into the shoes before the stuffing is put in - to make it easier to get the finished Toys to stand without being propped up.  (The second label is the one destined to be sewn into the finished original Missionary Bear).

On the right of this picture can be seen the body waiting to be sewn together, as well as the cut out cassock pattern.  At the top is the back of the garment, with the lower pieces being the fronts - which are produced somewhat back to front.  In most garments (for toys or anywhere else) the garment fold is usually at the front.  However, with all the buttons that need to be sewn to a real Priest's garment (33 for a human - 10 in the case of this Missionary Bear) the fold is in the front of the cassock. 

Unusually, Isobel doesn't seem to have any light brown lining with which to complete the second Missionary Bear's ears, so tomorrow will see her travelling to one of her fabric suppliers to see if they can provide her with what she has in her minds eye.  "With luck - and a following wind", as the saying goes - the preliminary Clerical Bear models will be completed by the end of next week.  

We have an order for two Cuddly Teddy Bears - destined to be Forever Friends for two young boys who are going to be living with their parents - coincidentally with their Dad headed to become a pilot flying missionaries in Papua New Guinea, Oceania later this year!  (The Cuddly Bears are to be in plush fabric - different colours, so no quarrels will ensue! - and thus will be bigger than these Clerical Bears).   Then, we'll be returning to stock up the Clerical Bears - in time for their public appearance at the start of September, to be followed by being on sale at the upcoming Christmas Bazaar the Cathedral Craft Group members are working towards which is scheduled for early October.  

Good Heavens:  Christmas Bazaars already?  It only seems yesterday, we were all preparing for the last one the Cuddlies appeared at last November at Thoresby Hall.  Where did the time go?

See you all next week:

Your Friend,

Cy Bear

This Week's Progress Reports on COLDHAMCUDDLIES Activities

Greetings once again, Everyone:  

Cy Bear back in harness with further news on the Clerical Bears project - as well as an update on the the journey undertaken by the newest Arm Puppet Activity Toy to be created by Isobel. 

 

Grey Tiger Puppet - "in motion"

He's still en route, taking a little longer than hoped because for some reason or another, the parcel was thought to be "suspicious" by United States Customs Service.  That is not an unexpected hiccup by the way:  even with the Customs Declaration Form correctly filled in, Customs Services all round the world have to be careful of packages entering their environs, and regrettably, Toys (especially Arm Puppets) could well be used to try to smuggle "undesirable" products into their respective countries.  COLDHAMCUDDLIES travelling to Canada have been particularly susceptible in the past.   A GIANT PARCEL containing 8 pairs of COLDHAMCUDDLIES Novelty Fluffy Slippers as Christmas presents for Isobel's Niece's family looked as though it had been invaded by the time it got to its destination - with part of the packaging ripped off the top where the packages had evidently been removed and individually scanned!!  However, this is the first time there appears to have been more than a day involved in any smooth progress from the United Kingdom to  an USA ultimate destination.

Grey Tiger Puppet's Itinerary to Date:

Package In-Transit Updates 

Tracking History

August 5, 2018, 5:54 am 
Departed USPS Regional Facility 
SCRANTON PA DISTRIBUTION CENTER  
Your item departed our USPS facility in SCRANTON PA DISTRIBUTION CENTER on August 5, 2018 at 5:54 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination. 

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August 5, 2018, 4:48 am 
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility 
SCRANTON PA DISTRIBUTION CENTER  

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August 5, 2018, 3:18 am 
Departed USPS Regional Facility 
LEHIGH VALLEY PA DISTRIBUTION CENTER  

---

August 4, 2018, 11:31 pm 
Arrived at USPS Regional Destination Facility 
LEHIGH VALLEY PA DISTRIBUTION CENTER  

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August 2, 2018, 2:32 pm 
Inbound Out of Customs 

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Inbound Into Customs 

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August 1, 2018, 9:51 pm 
Processed Through Facility 
ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS)  

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Origin Post is Preparing Shipment 

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July 30, 2018, 11:50 pm 
Processed Through Facility 
LANGLEY HWDC, UNITED KINGDOM 

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July 28, 2018, 11:50 am 
Acceptance 
UNITED KINGDOM 

Thus, with any luck, MrGG should be getting his package delivered to him early next week - USPS willing!  This tracker service is a great help - as well as rather a fun thing to do - especially, if like Isobel, you like to know EXACTLY where a Cuddly is, when they are travelling to their respective Forever Homes.  She particularly enjoys using the Tracker facility because a close family member was involved in the team that thought up and provided the programme for use by Royal Mail several years ago.  

Rear View of Grey Tiger Puppet - being handled

On the other Cuddlies production front - the Clerical Bears, there is good progress to report there too.  Sister Bear now has a head and almost has a completed habit.  (Her ears were still only pinned on, as was her veil - they are now in their permanent position, which will be revealed when she is ready for presenting to the public!)

She's not meant to depict a  Sister of an actual Religious Order, but merely to be a recognisable concept of one.  Her Head looks like this currently, and Isobel isn't intending to change it much more at the moment.  Although future models may well get made in a different order.  That's why our First Attempts can take a lot longer to make than those that follow.  (It can involve a lot of trial and error!)

Since this photo was taken earlier in the week, she has her two arms in place, and the hem is currently being worked on.  She now just needs to have her head attached to the body, and a white cape sewn in place around her shoulders, (that's ready to be attached)  as well as a pair of black shoes at the end of her legs.  (Isobel is currently in two minds as to which pattern she will be using for Sister Bear - the one she's used already for the Padre Bears:  or the pattern she uses for the Dressed Lady Rabbits, Foxes and Wolves).  That will be visible the next time we post here!

Meanwhile, yesterday, Isobel travelled to visit one of our haberdashery outlets -  in nearby Mansfield.  There she purchased several more sets of eyes, noses and fabric with which to make the bodies of our proposed Missionary Bear model (which we propose to offer in two versions - to be clarified as and when they are both made!) and the trousers for our Reverend Bear (hopefully to attract customers of all faiths - or None, not just Catholics!)  

When all the models are assembled, Isobel is planning on taking photos of each of them, together with one all in a group, and doing an article about them - and then sending it to a former member of the Cathedral Parish Choir (the one that leads the singing at St. Barnabas Cathedral's 1000 BST Mass each Sunday.  There are other Choirs at the Cathedral as well).  She works for a prominent UK Catholic weekly publication - and may well be happy to have the package for placing "on the spike", as it was described when Isobel's late husband, Peter, used to work in the publishing industry (viz. a useful story to fill a gap in a journal page, and one which could appeal to a lot of their readership!)  Fingers crossed that the plan can be accomplished as it could help to "spread the word" and lead to enhancement of the St. Barnabas Cathedral Roof Maintenance Appeal.   Which in the end, is the real reason for the Clerical Bears in the first place!!

Right Everyone, that's it for this week. Great to be with you again - and do hope you're all enjoying your various summer vacations - wherever that may be!  See you all soon - hopefully.

Your Friend, Cy Bear