Well, Isobel did not want to find herself in the same position of having orders, and no way of meeting them. So, when the Honey Plush purchased from Plush Addict of Peterborough had proved a suitable substitute for our favourite, Khaki Premier Plush, she went back to the new supplier, and ordered the normal 2 metre length we go for when stocking up. It arrived, again, almost by return of post, but because the material comes in a different roll width, so we didn't get as much to work with for the long term, but sufficient for the time being.
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| The New Look Tiger Who Lost His Stripes: slightly smaller -due to the different fabric weight. |
As we still had one more outstanding order for a Tiger Puppet, this time heading for Franklin, Wisconsin, Isobel set to and cut out the entire new Coldham Cuddly using the current Honey Plush fabric (making a bit of a dent in our supply). After 14 repeat Tiger Orders, she'd got into a good working routine for these Activity Toys, and the remaining order was completed in two evenings and dispatched early in June. MrsSD, who had been kept informed about the dramas happening before her commission arrived at the head of Isobel's "To Do List" - and was equally happy to accept the new-look Puppet - has yet to respond as to whether the toy has arrived safely. However, as we always send our Cuddlies by International Tracked and Signed For service offered by Royal Mail, (the best travelling route available) Isobel has just checked the Tracker Number under which the Wisconsin Tiger travelled, and sees that it was safely delivered on 13th June. Now that is somewhat longer than our toys normally take to reach their destinations in the United States, but all international travel is taking longer under Covid 19 Pandemic restrictions than it once used to. (So far, too, all our packages sent to the United States have got to their addresses: some people around the UK, have not been as lucky!)
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| The New Look Tiger Puppet has ears that have a furry lining, rather than the usual silky look |
However, it has meant that our Listing in our Shop - https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/650644825/tiger-puppets-without-stripes-tiger?ref=shop_home_active_55 needed to be up-dated, with photographs of the New Look Tiger, rather than the original ones. You can see some of them interspersed with the story here today as well. There are still some of the Old Look Stripe-Less Tiger Puppet - because Isobel does intend to return to the original arrangements - mainly because we get more fabric for our money, than with the new version.
The Honey Plush is narrower in width, so we don't get as much for 2 metres of that material, whereas Khaki Premier Plush comes in a much wider format. Also, this week, we learned that we'll not be able to travel to the Peterborough Warehouse for the foreseeable future, as the firm has decided that they're going to carry on supplying customers on-line for the time being, as they were not sure it was the right modus operandi for them to have people in their building as happened previously. The Pandemic basically showed them the way forward, so we might as well carry on getting our supplies from old, trusted sources.
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| Another view of the New Tiger Who Lost His Stripes, minus its usual Operator's Arm/Hand |
So, while all the Tiger orders were coming in, Isobel also began to get more requests for Clerical Bears. We made a Bishop Bear for starters (one of two orders that arrived on the same day!), after the Wisconsin Tiger left for its Forever Home (or rather the Buyer's home), because like most of the Activity Toys, they tend to be presents for younger members of the buyers' Families and often far distant from the Buyer's actual home.
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| https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/628372290/bear-novelty-collectable-fun-gift-for?ref=shop_home_active_1 |
The destinations for the two Bishop Bears were well apart from each other. One went to Parkville, Maryland and the second was, this time, not too far away from Cuddlies HQ in Kirkby in Ashfield, Notts. He only had to travel to Evesham, Worcestershire, England,UK. Isobel applied her newly acquired skill for making multiples of the same toy, and both of the Bishop Bears were sent off within a day of each other.
One side-effect of all these dispatches, is that Isobel's injured hip is having more exercise than usual - as we now can walk to our local Post Office, whereas, since May 2019, she's been going to the Town's more central Post Office, which has meant reliance on the local 'bus service to access the services needed. It is taking her about 40 minutes each time she does the round trip, and it's not a flat surface she walks on either! (Now that the local 'bus service has resumed, she will have the choice!).
While Bishop Bears production was under way, we received an order for a Treasure Yellow Rabbit - from Isobel's older daughter, Philippa. Fortunately, we still had one in stock, so he/she was on his/her way within a day or so.
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| These live in the Coldham Rabbit "Burrow", and replacements for many of our Baby Rabbits are now required, including these! |
Incidentally, the very first Yellow Baby Rabbit was actually made for her when she was a baby and it was named "Treasure", because that was what her Grandmother called her at the time! The name has stuck ever since for this particular version of our baby plush rabbits. (https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/coldhamcuddlies?ref=seller-platform-mcnav§ion_id=18803204)
At the same time, out of the blue, another order arrived - this time for one of our Halloween Spiders.
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| https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/587570247/yellowblack-spider-finger-puppet?ref=shop_home_active_2 |
This one - which we then found was the last one in the Shop, for the time being - is on its way to Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA - because MsVQ saw it while she was visiting and "liked the look on its face". So, the replacement To Do List is now getting longer, although we're planning on adding some new faces/toys to the Shop before we attack that particular task.
We've got two new additions to tell you about as well - one is a Clerical Bear, which was a Custom Order for one of Isobel's fellow Members of the St. Barnabas Cathedral Arts & Crafts Guild, as well as a brand new Toy - made with one of the "mistake" fabrics recently purchased while the Tiger Saga was under way. Isobel has got patterns for at least another two more new Cuddlies she wants to make, so as you can see, she's been kept on her toes over the past three months while the Lockdown has forced her to stay within the confines of our Flat.
She's still somewhat restricted - by official edict, as well as her walking ability. In November, thanks to one of our vigilant doctors at the local Surgery, she discovered that her injured leg is now 2.2cms shorter than the other one. (No wonder she'd been walking like Donald Duck and beginning to walk with a stoop!) But it now means she has to have any future new shoes altered to account for that difference, so that she can walk upright. Because she'd been going from side to side while getting over the May fall, her pelvic bone was tilting in the direction of the shorter leg, so recently she's had to almost re-learn how to walk again. It's still painful, but she's getting there. Being "confined to barracks" during that time has therefore not been too much of a problem for her, although it has meant that she's not been able to see her local family as much as normal - which hasn't been nice for anyone concerned.
I'll be back to tell you more, next week - hopefully. Meanwhile, stay safe, everyone and have a good one!
Your Friend
Cy Bear
