Good to be Home Again - with updates on our last posts.

Greetings Everyone 

Cy Bear  back again, and able to update everyone now that Isobel is back from her travels.  By the time she got back last week, she was a bit tired.  So neither did she attend her Zumba class on Tuesday (having only arrived back early evening the night before), but there was so much to catch up with - in the Shop (www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES), and on other social media sites - that no blog was forthcoming from either of us. 

However:  it's good to be able to tell you that the latch hook rug is now complete - except for some tidying up of the edging.  If you refer to our post about it (08/06/2015 - "A Different Craft for Isobel.....") you'll see how the project started and now here is how it looks today.

The current edging is a plastic tape and was put on to keep the canvas backing from fraying on each edge.  Isobel put it on by herself, which did not work very neatly.  So she got another reel, and is hoping to do a better job tomorrow - hoping that some of the other residents will be able to help her during the weekly handicraft get together. 

Entitled "Busy Bees", most of the partcipants busy themselves knitting (toys, baby wear - hats and matinee sets mainly),  These are then sold via a Womens' Institute Market in a nearby town, with proceeds going to a local charity - chosen each year by the residents.  

 Isobel normally gets on with the latest Cuddly project.  But since the beginning of June, every afternoon - for about two hours - has seen her hooking the rug, and it's eaten into her normal activity on the internet on behalf of us  Coldham Cuddlies.  However, after tomorrow, she'll be back - and has a long "To Do" List to work through for the rest of the summer.  (She'll also be exploring how the rug can be raffled to raise the maximum amount of funds of other charitable enterprises, as well as some of the proceeds coming into the Residents' own funds - so that we can organise outings for ourselves around the beautiful countryside that surrounds us here in Kirkby-in-Ashfield). 

In the evenings, since she returned from her travels to the South West of the UK (to where we lived until August last year) - she'll blog about that, probably next week - she's got on with the Foxes I told you about in our last post a couple of week-ends ago (05/07/2015 - "More news from the Foxy Production line").

The first stage at the beginning of this week comprised the attachment of shoes to each of the bodies and making the pantaloons with which all our Lady Dressed Toys are provided.  (Our Lady Dressed Toys have shoes made with felt, or similar fabric:  whereas, most of our Gentleman Toys are given Boots or Shoes made with real Leather).  

Then, over the last two evenings, the bodices and arms have been sewn together.

As you can see, Isobel has had yet another change of mind with regard to the fabrics that will be used for each Fox, Wolf, Fantasy Creature or Coyote.  (That's the beauty of making lots of toys all at the same time - she can change her mind as she goes along! ) 

Now all the arms need to be stuffed, and the bodices fixed onto the bodies.  However, Isobel needs to do the skirts before the latter actions take place.  So - she's off to begin that later this evening.  

Meanwhile, it is good be back telling you about our activities in the Coldham Cuddlies world.  See you all next week-end.  

Your friend, Cy Bear.

More news from the Foxy Family production line

Hello again, Everyone:

As Isobel is busy getting ready for a short visit back to Wiltshire, starting mid-week she's been busy trying to finish the latch-hook rug we wrote about earlier  (our post on 08/08/2015 told you all about it).  That's likely to be an objective to be completed AFTER her return, as well as getting on with the Foxy Family I wrote about last week.  What with creating a hostess gift  to take away with her - pictures of  their family dog, whom Isobel used to look after when they went on holiday - and deciding what she's going to wear when she's away, time has been pretty scarce this last week.

(Alas, the little dog went to Doggy Heaven before we left Wiltshire, but Isobel came across some photos she took of Widget while she was staying with us one time.  Two of them have been made into a collage, and Isobel intends to find a frame to put it into tomorrow).

Nevertheless, some progress has been made with the Foxy creatures that we will be introducing into our shop at www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES soon (but definitely only after Isobel has come back from her holiday).  So there won't be a post from either of us next week, although Isobel might bring back some photographs of  her trip away to share in a post with you sometime after she gets back.  Meanwhile, here are some Foxy photos for you to be going on with.

In our last post, I showed you their heads and tails unstuffed, together with a selection of fabrics that might be used for their frocks.

Here are the Foxy bunch - as they now look:

They are bit closely packed together here, but they just fitted onto one of our side tables so Isobel decided to photograph them like this.

However, the more Isobel looks at the Yellow face on the left of this picture, the more she thinks she will not become a Coyote - as I mentioned might happen last week - but she will become a Fantasy Fox, because the plush fabric is definitely a yellow (and not a light brown - and Isobel thinks she might be able to create a nice story about her sometime in the future too).  

The Grey Plush Head will definitely become a Girl Wolf, and the Chestnut one will obviously become a Fox.  The Brown Chenille head will be the Coyote, and Isobel is particularly pleased with the way she looks - as to begin with, this head was viewed as an experiment.  It's a fabric that is prone to fray, though, so all the seams have to be over sewn to preserve their integrity.  Nevertheless, I think there will certainly be more Coyotes made with this material.  They look more like the original, apparently!!  (Or at least Isobel thinks so - but then she's never seen a real one I'm told!).

At the time of writing this post, the selection of fabric to go with each head looks like this:

On the other hand, Isobel may well change the Fantasy Fox and Coyote fabrics,  so that the former has her frock made with the plain yellow material, and the Coyote is made with the green floral patterned one.  She is also dithering between giving the Fox a purple frock, and giving the proposed Wolf the blue one, so that she can be matched with our Gentleman Wolf already in our shop, which can be seen by using this link -

 https://www.etsy.com/listing/227439336/ooak-wolf-toy-cuddly-stuffed-animal?ref=shop_home_active_20

All will become clear once Isobel comes back from her travels.  Meanwhile, I'll end this post for this week, by wishing all my American friends a belated Happy 4th of July - I'm told it's a great excuse for tremendous celebrations, but being a Beaver Lamb Bear, they doesn't mean as much to me as they will do to you.  Anyway, I just hope you all had a great time - and look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Your Friend - Cy Bear.

More Coldham Cuddlies on the horizon.

Hello Everybody!

Cy Bear here and so glad to be back with you once more.  What a difference a week can make - in contrast to last week, we've had a lovely day, with a lot more sunshine and we've been promised a heatwave (all the way from Spain apparently - wherever that is), 

Also, having posted the parcel containing Daniel Tiger 2015 on Monday, Isobel has managed to get on with some much needed replacements for our shop (www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES).  She's still managed to do a stint each afternoon working on the latched wool rug project, and has cut out and sewn four different versions of foxy heads each evening after her night time meal.   They are now all at the stage of requiring eyes fixing in and being stuffed, and then the fun stuff (as far as Isobel is concerned, anyway) begins - that of dressing the Ladies.

Here is a selection of the fabrics that may, or may not be used in the fashion stakes.

The next two photos are a close up of these:

The fabric on the left here is actually purple and white poplin, but for some reason or another, whenever Isobel takes photos of any Cuddlies made with purple fabric, the colour always comes out looking a lot more blue than purple.

She'd already made three bodies for the Lady Foxes earlier this year - when she made the Gentleman Foxes and Wolves (which we wrote about in a post on 23/03/2015).  They've been sitting in a plastic bag waiting to be worked with since:  they are now looking like this.

She then cut out and completed sewing four sets of heads, tails and ears - they are all different colours, and three use plush fabric.  The fourth, an experiment, is made with a light brown chenille fabric, which Isobel found difficult to work with, since it frays very easily.  Also, because it doesn't have the "fluffy" look of the plush fabrics, the head, tail and ears all look smaller.  So, the body which will be made tomorrow, may have to be a bit smaller too, so that it doesn't look out of kilter.

Here are the chenille and chestnut brown pattern pieces ready for their individual treatments.  You will see the paw pieces still unsewn - because Isobel hasn't yet decided which fabrics will be used to dress which Cuddly and and the paws are sewn directly onto the arms before they are attached to the frock top.  When the  chenille toy is made, he will become a Coyote - all our previous ones have found homes over the past few months, so in a way, we are beginning again.   The Chestnut one will, obviously, become a Fox - and then we have two more (shown below).

The grey one will become a Lady Wolf, and the one on the far right will become another Coyote.

We've made Gentlemen Coyotes in the past - dressing them in straight trousers (as opposed to jodhpurs that we use for our other male dressed Foxes and Rabbits), and the chenille one will definitely become one I think.  Somehow, Isobel feels that Coyotes look better dressed in "country and western" outfits.   The Coyotes also don't have leather boots, although they do have leather shoes.   The head, tail etc of the one on the right, is made with a plush fabric described as "Oatmeal" which can look a little yellow in certain lights.

However, it's the nearest to a light brown plush fabric that Isobel could find locally, so we're going with this to see how it turns out.  When she saw it in our local haberdashery outlet on Saturday, she really liked the look of it.  She reasons that if it looks a bit odd when finished, the toy can always become a "Fantasy Fox" if worst comes to worst.  However, I think this one could look rather nice as a Lady Coyote, so we'll have to wait and see what happens when Isobel gets going with her sewing machine, needle and threads.

Hope the next time I'm with you, there will be some finished Fox, Wolf and Coyote Toys to show you.  It's great that using the same pattern, we can produce three different Animal Toys.   In the interim, here's wishing you all a great week - and hopefully some lovely warm weather for us all to enjoy.

Your Good Friend - Cy Bear.

How the Final Member of the Tulsa Puppet Project arrived - meet Daniel Tiger - 2015 Version

Hello again Everyone. 
Cy Bear greeting you from what is still rather a chilly Nottinghamshire, especially as I'm told today is the Longest Day in the whole year.  We've seen the sun in small doses:  but mostly, this week it has been cold, windy and cloudy - which makes Isobel and her fellow humans far from happy.    Last week, I told you that we'd received the pattern MrJS from Tulsa, Oklahoma wanted us to use to make his puppet Daniel Tiger - the last one in the series of  Puppets on which he and Isobel have been collaborating .  So, she first cut out and made the head.

The fabric that Daniel Tiger is made with is a type of mohair and was purchased from our supplier of such materials - Mohair Bear Supplies Limited, who are based in Telford, Shropshire, England, U.K.  They are reputed to have the largest supply of mohair and faux fur fabrics - for anyone who likes to use such materials - in the UK.  To date, Isobel has had no reason to doubt that claim.  The firm is behind a Teddy Bear Making Competition that is run each year, and this time, Isobel has entered my friend Light Brown Bear with a Yellow Ribbon, shown below:

His photograph and details have been entered, and we await confirmation of their having been received (deadline for entry is 30th June, 2015).  If that goes ahead, the decision will be announced in September or October - so keep your fingers crossed for my friend.  I'll let you know if he's lucky or not, I promise. However, now back to the story of Daniel Tiger.  Using the body pattern MrJS also provided, which is slightly smaller than the one he sent us for the Puppet Bodies we told you about earlier this year, and which were used for the Puppet Royal Family that we also told you about in our posts in May 2015, Isobel cut out Daniel's body, as well as the calico lining which she likes to provide for all her arm puppets.  (Our Hand Puppets - being that much smaller, and usually made with felt - don't really need to be lined).

Now, I can hear folks muttering Tigers have stripes and all the other Tiger Puppets, whether for MrJS or the prototypes listed in our Shop (www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES) have been made with animal print plushs - so why isn't Daniel?   Well, among the many other things he knows, I am told MrJS was taught to paint on fabric by his Grandmother - who also taught him how to sew.  So, for Daniel Puppet 2015, he decided he'd like to paint Daniel's stripes on the fabric himself.  He actually chose the plain fabric on line, at the same time as he chose the fabric used for Henrietta Puppet (shown below).

Once he's done his artistic work, Isobel has asked him to let us have a photograph of the finished Daniel - and be sure, it will be included in a future post here. Meanwhile, Isobel then stuffed Daniel's head and created the finger guide - with cardboard rolled into a small tube and covered with calico sheeting fabric - and attached it into the neck opening.  Having gathered it, she sewed Daniel's head on so that it looked like this.

Then, having fixed the two body pieces (lining and outer body) together, and added a "Coldham Cuddlies" label in the back of the body (sewn into the lining), she put the head on to the body.

She sent the photos to MrJS, making the point that (a) she'd realised she had put the head on back to front (something that could easily be rectified - and has been!) and also she was not happy with the way his mouth looked.   Yesterday, we heard back from Tulsa, and received the suggestion that perhaps Isobel should move the nose (and surrounds) down a bit, so that the red pointed bit matched the head seams.  Overnight, Isobel had actually come to that conclusion too - so last night, scissors, needles and other relevant items were bought into play, and we now have a Daniel Puppet who looks like this:

The original Daniel Puppet, on which this one is based, always had a rather mournful expression, so hopefully this final look will be what he eventually looks like.  However, the double knit yarn is easily removed by anyone with expertise in sewing, so MrJS will be able to decide the final look - once the stripes have been painted on.  That final decoration will make all the difference. Isobel has heard back from Tulsa overnight:  Daniel,  as he looks now, is acceptable.  So, he - together with the excess fabric ordered for both Henrietta Pussycat and Daniel, will accompany the latter when he is packaged and posted off tomorrow.  In the parcel, too, will be a leftover scrap of  the red fabric - which also came from Tulsa and was included in one of the many packages that flew between Nottinghamshire and the US  over the last few months. (Apparently, it is itself a left over from a much-loved shirt, which now no longer exists  as a wearable garment.) On that frugal note, I shall end this post.  Isobel will now embark on the replacement schedule she started  (sometime in February if memory serves) as well as doing some rearranging of the Etsy Shop as well.  (During that time, she's been collecting some lovely fabrics for some new Lady Toys - which I'll be introducing you to as they appear.) I'll be back sitting on Isobel's  bed - until allowed back to chat with you all here.  See you then.  Your Very Good Friend - Cy Bear

The Puppet Saga is drawing to a close - with the Tiger and Cat Puppet prototypes now finished.

Good afternoon everyone (or at least it is here in the UK). 
Cy Bear back again, and this time to introduce you to the completed prototype for Daniel Tiger Puppet - which I wrote about in a post about the Tulsa Puppets and what they now look like a few bulletins ago.

This is what the prototype Tiger's head  looked like when Isobel originally made it (using the pattern received from Tulsa earlier)..  She has now made the mouth a bit bigger, so he doesn't look quite so severe. Then, using the body pattern we were provided by MrJS from Tulsa and changing the arms in the way he showed he'd done for the Royal Family Puppets I told you about in our posts (dated 27/05/2015 and 24/05/2015), Isobel created Daniel Prototype Tiger so he now looks like this.

He's being modelled by the hand of one of  Isobel's fellow residents in the residential complex we now live in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire - and you can see part of the body of another lady friend behind the puppet.  It's a bit difficult taking these photographs sometimes, because we have to catch the residents when they're all together.  Our flats are very comfortable for one or two people at a time, but when they all want to get togther, it has to be in their Residents' Lounge, and then they all seem to sit together and Isobel doesn't like to get them to move once they are comfortable.  Some of them are a lot older than she is I gather - and she tells me that the lady in the picture is the oldest resident in the complex - 95 years young.    Before Daniel's Prototype gets listed, Isobel is going to get either Clare or Alan to model the puppet, and hopefully the background will be plainer.  She has got to take some things round to Clare's house tomorrow, so hopefully she can get something done then - and then both the Cat Prototype Puppet and Daniel's shadow can be listed together in the shop at www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES.

Because the Cat Puppet is that much smaller, Isobel was able to get a better background for him/her, so this is a photo of the finished toy.  He'll have to remain a prototype puppet, because - as you can plainly see from this picture - Isobel made a mistake when cutting the pattern out.  His fur doesn't go the same way on each side of his back.  It won't make any difference to the person playing with it - but doesn't LOOK quite right if you are a perfectionist - as Isobel is.     Before closing here are two more pictures of our Daniel  from the back and side views - just to give you an idea of his stripey markings:

That photo shows Daniel from the side - you can see his prominent orange nose  fairly clearly! This one is his back with the background a slightly lighter colour than his front:

We've finally received the "proper" pattern MrJS wants the REAL DANIEL to be made with, and it's planned that the project will get started this week.  

Meanwhile, Isobel has been able to proceed with the latch hook rug project she told you about last week - and on Friday afternoon received a re-supply of the required wool which will hopefully enable her to finish it without any interruptions during the coming weeks. (The rug wool came in packets of roughly 161 strips each, and she calculated she needed 32 packets of the background colour to finish it!  Let's hope her calculations are accurate!)  She's trying to set aside a couple of hours a day to do it - in daylight - and so far, it's going well.  Working without a real pattern to follow - something she finds challenging at any time, apparently - is proving "interesting"!

With that coment, I'll end this post for this week.  Great to be back - hope everyone is well and that the weather is being summery with you all.  It  has still to get like that here where we are in the UK - but apparently there might be some warmer weather in the offing soon.
Your friend, Cy Bear.

A different craft for Isobel: taking over from another crafter, who lost interest.

Hello there - a day late! 

Cy Bear here just to let you know that all is well, but to also apologise for not posting as usual yesterday.

Earlier this year, one of our Sleepy Koalas ( https://www.etsy.com/listing/219278790/sleepy-koala-bear-grey-and-white-faux?ref=shop_home_active_8) left us for its new Forever Home in Devon, UK, and it was followed shortly thereafter by its Adopting Friend, MsHG ordering first the Grey Baby Koala (https://www.etsy.com/listing/55190188/toy-koala-tree-bear-grey-fleck-and-white?ref=shop_home_active_7) to keep Sleepy company, and then the Brown one - because we're no longer making them, to conserve the faux fur for our Big Light Brown Teddy Bears ( https://www.etsy.com/listing/69778158/teddy-bear-collectable-furrytoy-light?ref=shop_home_active_190).

Because Isobel has got involved in another craft recently, we've not been doing quite as much on the Coldham  Cuddlies front that is new for us to post about.  So, as our computer has also been out of commission today as far as Isobel is concerned (it's been being cleaned out, because there was too much stored on the hard disc), we decided we'd show you this picture of a recent Farewell Ceremony to start with - and then Isobel can take over from here to tell you about the new craft project.

Thank you Cy Bear:  good to be back with everyone and my apologies too for the late post this week.  Yesterday saw me otherwise occupied in family oriented activities (the First Communion of Clare and Alan's godson, followed by a family party) and it was just too late for any blog composition to take place.  

However, I thought I'd let you see how my time is being taken up with a change of craft - which my fellow residents and I hope will result in an injection of funds for our future entertainment.  The Tenants Committee spend time organising outings for us and - naturally - they cost.  So, the Housing Association who runs our complex encourages its residents to undertake independent activities.  While they do contribute some funds towards the cost of such events, they also encourage their tenants to raise their own funds independently.

A few weeks ago, a former resident, who still visits at our regular weekly Coffee mornings, mentioned she had a half-finished latch hook rug that she wanted to get rid of (she had started spring cleaning a bit earlier and needed more space in her current dwelling).  Apparently, the project had been started some 10-15 years ago, when she was living in Cyprus - although she had purchased the wool and canvas here in Kirkby-in-Ashfield either before she moved there, or during a visit home while she was living abroad.  In the interim, she'd lost interest in the rug and still couldn't motivate herself to finish it off.  She offered it to anyone in the room at the time who might like to take it over - with the Residents deciding what to do with the finished item.

I was the only person who had either ever made such a rug (in the 1960's, when I made one for an Aunt and Uncle's 40th Wedding Anniversary!), and I still had the latch hook among my craft tool store.  So, I volunteered to take it over - and three weeks or so later, the package duly arrived, together with the wool supplies she could find in her home.

This is half the rug, and the original crafter had done one side up to the middle white row.  The opposite side was not level, so I started out by working the other side to match.  However, during that exercise,  it rapidly became clear that there was not going to be sufficient green or white yarn for the project to be completed.  (Now anyone with any knowledge of matching yarns when one is actually involved in a project knows that a total match is not always possible - whether one knits, crochets or, as in in this case, hooks rugs.  When there's a 10-15 year break in the mix, the problem is definitely intensified.)  

So I set about seeing  how to  replenish my wool supplies to the point the project could be completed.  Our benefactor told me where she'd got the wool in the first place, so as the market stall was still in existence (although not necessarily in the same hands) I started there.  A total blank - the current stall holder does not sell rug wool any more, and couldn't remember ever having done so.  A similar result was achieved by visiting every haberdashery supplier in the immediate neighbourhood. 

So an internet search was begun and I discovered five or six likely candidates and started approaching them.  One was particularly promising, because not only did they sell rug wools, but they appeared to have a green that might be a good match - (or near-match) - AND they also supply the polyester fibre stuffing needed for the Cuddlies.  My current stock is dwindling, and their prices are very competitive with those I have been accustomed to pay previously in Wiltshire.  

So, having levelled the two sides of the rug, I decided to use the white wool (it's actually a creamy pink, until one has hooked it onto the canvas) and edged the whole pattern as I decided to change the pattern and use up the brown, rust and red colours, as well as the mixed greens,  in a different way. 

 Provided I  get a reasonable match, I'm going to get more cream wool like the sample already received.  Although it's a lot more creamy than the original one - once mixed up together and latched I don't think it will look too peculiar, especially as there's going to be a different pattern (which will be revealed when the project is completed!)

The independent square shown in the second picture, is the replacement cream wool, which is also a little shorter than the original wool piece.  I've made this up, so that I can created a template - it's  approximately 10 mm square (4 inches) - which  will then be used on the blank canvas to calculate how many more packets of the creamy white wool I will need to complete the project. You can see that when it's made up, the colours are not that different where the cream is concerned. 

The green does have more of a difference, but it has been agreed by one and all (the progress is monitored with interest by my fellow residents!) that when complete, it should not look too bad - because it will look as though the colours have been deliberately chosen to look like that!!  (I do profoundly hope that indeed it will be so!)   The intention is to use up the colours in squares alternating with the cream background until the hole in the middle is filled.  I managed to do two green squares this afternoon - I'm planning on spending up to a couple of hours each afternoon until the thing is finished - and it's not looking too bad so far.

Meanwhile, the other tenants are debating how best to use the finished rug as a fund-raising tool - the cost of the replacement wool is being met half from the existing Tenants funds and the rest from the Cuddlies.  We've been offered a 10% discount on any purchases I make from the firm I located after the internet trawl.  

You will be updated - and meanwhile, this evening, as a bit of a respite, I've managed to almost complete the Tiger Prototype Puppet I've been working on, while waiting for the new pattern for Daniel Tiger to arrive from Tulsa.  Am hoping that will come this week, so that I can get on and finish that contract, and then get on with replacement Cuddlies - have got a lovely supply of new poplin fabrics for Lady Toys that I can't wait to make up.

Until then - Cy Bear and I will sign off, while wishing everyone a good week.

Possible new roles for some Cuddlies.

Good afternoon/evening Everyone!
Cy Bear back again because Isobel decided she'd posted enough for a week or two!  I'm delighted because it can get a bit boring just sitting on my own on her bed day after day, when she's busy doing all the other things she gets up to - in addition to making us Cuddlies.
However, to get back to the title of this particular post.  As regular readers here know I have several roles in my life to fulfil.  I'm first and foremost the Mascot for the Shop (https://www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES).  As well as that I am co-author here, and also perform the very important function of being Principal Friend to all the Cuddlies.  The duties there involve welcoming any Patients that come to be treated in our Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/79124185/stuffed-toy-animal-restoration-clinic?ref=shop_home_active_24

Three former Patients, whom I welcomed on arrival and are now back in their respective homes

and, of course, taking part in every Farewell Ceremony (when Isobel doesn't pack the departing Cuddly before I can participate that is!) when a Cuddly is adopted and leaves us for their Forever Homes.  
On the COLDHAMCUDDLIES banner for both the Shop and the Blog, the underlying tag  says that we Cuddlies are "Companion Toys" and "Mascots", and Isobel has decided to add another role for us Cuddlies to undertake.  She's thinking about how we can be used to help new adopted babies/younger children to settle into their own new Forever Homes.  When you think about it, ALL  the Cuddlies are Adopted Toys themselves, so who better to help to introduce Little People to their new surroundings? 

The idea was first mooted when Isobel met the Social Worker originally appointed to deal with Clare and Alan while they proceeded through their own adoption process.  He felt that the fact Isobel made us Cuddlies might well prove to be most helpful as and when their Little One arrived.  Isobel has been pondering since then just how we could be used in such a role.  Alas, he unexpectedly, and unfortunately, died and the idea has since been allowed to remain just that - an Idea.

During the Adoption process  operated by one of the UK agencies (one of whom is supervising the potential arrival of a Little Person into Isobel's Family's lives) at the later stages, the Adopting Parents are asked to create an Introduction Book in which pictures of where they will be living, where they will sleep, who they will be being looked after (the new parents) and any animals that will also share the Little One's space.  In this era of electronic media, this book can now be produced as an E-book (whatever that is), and it even allows the Adopting Parents the chance to record their voices (as well as pictures of themselves) for the Foster Parents looking after the Little People to show/play.  (Isobel, who was adopted herself because her parents died when she was a small baby, says she thinks this is a great idea - she'd love to know what her Mum sounded like or if her Father, who was a Scotsman educated in England, had a Scottish accent or not!)
I've just heard that one of my Purple Fleece Rabbit friends is going to be used in just such a way. He - who is going to be called BOB - is going to be shown  in all the places that the new Little Person will be living in future.  So, for example, Bob will sit in the cot - which is already made up.  Bob will be shown in all the relevant rooms and, probably, in the pram and car seat.  All designed to make the Little Person somewhat familiar with their proposed new surroundings.
Now Isobel just happens to have a Purple Fleece Rabbit - who was made at the same time as Bob - and to remind you what they looks like, here is Bouncer (I've just thought of that name, by the way) standing in two different places in the garden where Isobel and I are now living.

This picture, I am told, is just outside the front door of the block in which we now reside - and the one below shows the small front lawn of the block next door within the lovely garden that surrounds the complex. 

  The garden is  not as big as the one we had in Wiltshire, nor does it have as many nooks and crannies which can be used to take photographs of us Cuddlies.  However, there are sufficient different spaces that Isobel can use, and she intends to retake photographs of everyone still in our store as and when the time and weather permits - when (or if ever) the summer finally arrives!

There's also one new development I'd like to tell you about.  I've recently been involved in a Farewell Ceremony for one of our Light Brown Bears who travelled to Southbridge, Masschusetts.  He arrived safely, I'm pleased to say.  He was part of a duo Isobel made for our Second Best Customer, MrsB.  His partner in crime, Bear with a Yellow Bow (shown here), 

is being submitted for a Teddy Bear Making Competition - that is if Isobel can make the various links work for her.  If that happens, and if by any chance he is successful, you will, of course be  told!  The deadline for submissions is today and judging will take place in September/October this year.  So, don't hold your breaths, please.  (He and I have been sitting together on Isobel's bed since he was made, so that he didn't feel lonely when his chum departed for the USA.  But now he's an entry into this competition, he's been put away in a drawer - so that he doesn't get sold by mistake, or get unnecessarily dusty by sitting outside)

Close up of Lt Brown Bear with Yellow Bow

Until the next time, I hope everyone is well, not suffering from too unpleasant weather conditions - as I hear my Tiger and Cat Puppet Friends family in Tulsa are currently - and that we'll meet again soon.
Good night and God bless  Your Friend, Cy Bear.

What happened next in the Tulsa Puppet Saga

Greetings to Everyone - this is the continuation of our story of the Puppet making collaboration between our Puppeteer Customer, MrJS from Tulsa, Okalahoma and Isobel, which has been in progress since October 2014, and is reaching its final stages. 

 Last week, I told you about DanielS Puppet, who morphed into becoming Collette.   It was a shorter post than usual because it took Isobel so long to work out how to transfer the pictures from MrJS's emails onto this blog page.  This week, after further study and practice, she thinks she's got it sussed, so, I'd now like to show you what happened to Grandpere Tiger, starting with what he looked likejust before he left us:

This was Grandpere before Isobel added a goatee beard and mustache to his facial features.  The next post is of him with the additional details added.

She wasn't entirely happy with this result, but MrJS - whom you will have realised is pretty handy with the needle and thread himself, said he'd "play" around with what we'd attempted and this is what Grandpere now looks like in the Tulsa Puppet Collection.  (His mustache looks much better, and the goatee beard (Isobel's second attempt, actually) looks much more in proportion!)

Isobel then made eight different bodies for MrJS so he could add different heads and dress them up to be some of the characters in the original  "Mr. Roger's Neighbourhood" stories. First he produced "Cornflake" - who in the series ran the Village Shop, apparently.  MrJS's version now looks like this:

Thereafter, over the next few weeks, we were sent pictures of  - firstly:

The Puppet named Lady Elaine.  Now, I think Isobel has said earlier in the Tulsa Puppet Saga, that she herself doesn't actually remember all these characters.  When the programme was shown on television when the Family were living in Canada, it was aired at the same time as she was cooking the evening family meal.  Thus, she can remember hearing the voices and stories, but cannot always put faces to the sounds.  (Both the girls will probably remember them - as they were regular viewers and thoroughly enjoyed meeting the characters.)

This puppet, King Friday, in all his glory, caused MrJS some grief apparently:  looking at his royal robes, both of us can see why.  The fur trimming on his train in particular must have been difficult to do, let alone his shimmering royal robe.  However you can see how his head (and that of Lady Elaine) was attached to our bodies.  (It was described very fully in Isobel's last post a couple of weeks ago here).

Finally, for the final member of the Royal Family in Mr. Rogers' Neighbourhood, came Queen Sarah Saturday the 14th.

The final  Puppet we created, so far, for MrJS was, of course, Henrietta Pussycat.  We had some difficulty in deciding which route to go.  Initially, Isobel was going to make a puppet like we'd already done for the Tigers, using MrJS's original flat body pattern and then attaching a Head looking like the original Henrietta (or as near a copy as we could achieve.)

Our version, and how we made her, can be read in Isobel's blog dated 24/04/2015 - Continuation of the Tulsa Puppet Saga, Part 3.  However, for the purposes of this post, I'll just include one of the photos that appeared in that story.

The original plan was modified to arrive at this one - where we used the head pattern for our Sitting Cat toy  - see  https://www.etsy.com/listing/215101514/cat-fluffy-toy-ginger-white-plush-art?ref=shop_home_active_21 and the body from another Cat Pattern we had in our library, which is still only a prototype and yet to be listed in our Shop  (www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES).

Even though Isobel was slightly quicker at transferring these images this week, it's still taken a long time, and it's time for me to close for this week.  However, I'm pleased to be able to tell you that we've begun the prototype final version of Daniel Tiger for MrJS, and hope to have it done by the middle of next week.  Then, it will be down to the final version of Daniel himself - once the prototype has been approved.

Until then - Goodnight Everyone - Hope you all have a great week and that the weather is kind to you.

Your Friend.  Cy Bear.

Continuing the Tulsa Puppet Saga story - Updates on a Tiger Puppet

Greetings Everyone!

Cy Bear back again, because Isobel thought that it was better for me to bring you up to date news of my friends, DanielS Tiger and Grandpere Tiger - Arm Puppets that she made in November last year for our Puppeteer Friend, MrJS - who was responsible for last week's post showing how he builds Puppets for his collection.

DanielS Tiger was the first one of my Friends that Isobel created for MrJS and his production was described in our post on 25/11/2014 - "Puppet Personalities become Associate Cuddlies".  (You can read this by going to the Blog Archive at the bottom of the right hand column of our blog page here and scrolling down to the appropriate post).

Shortly after he arrived, MrJS  took this photograph showing DanielS settling in after meeting a new friend, "Teddy", who also originated in England.

However shortly thereafter, following a suggestion from  MrJS's daughter, DanielS became Colette and looked like this in a frock that was found to fit her.

However, MrJS  then got to work and Colette Tiger now looks like this:

The ultimate in chic - and to use MrJS's own words - "complete with real designer sweater and matching hat.  Made from one of my son's old sweaters salvaged after it was damaged beyond repair. Only the best for little Colette."

Now it's taken Isobel a lot longer to sort out how to get this photographs from the original email, via the download section of her computer and on to here.  So, this is all for this week.  Next time, hopefully, we'll be able to bring you more news of what has happened to my friend Grandpere Tiger and how he now looks, as well as Henrietta Pussycat and, with luck,  MrJS's son's recording of a song by Henrietta which was used by them in a joint presentation to the Mr. Roger's Foundation in Boston.  (You can see more about that contact in the November 2014 post I alluded to earlier).

Isobel is planning to begin a prototype for the final version of Daniel Tiger this coming week, with a view to sending the "real deal" shortly thereafter.  There's going to be a different head made - based on a pattern send to us by MrJS.

Until then, do hope you all have a great week.  Your friend  Cy Bear.