The start-up of Mr. Fox

Hello there!

Yet again, I've been overtaken by the overwhelming urge to link with folks - now that I seem to be getting somewhere.  Daytime and other home life pressures prevent me being able to do too much during the day and it's a question of time allocation - do I blog, sew, or link?  Also since the last blog, I've also been getting on with the production of the new Mr. Fox.  He will have to remain with this formal title until he's finished - when, hopefully, his name will be come obvious.   (As in the case of Miss Prim Fox - www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com/75340524).  His shirt is made in the same material as Miss Prim's dress:    and although blue is the colour theme, he is  his own unique self (as are all the Coldham Cuddlies featured at www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com).

However, before describing the Mr. Fox production process,  here's an update.  As alluded to in my last blog, Charlie Coyote, Mascot for the Wylye Coyote's After School Club, has presided over an award ceremony.  I promised to include the picture which accompanied the report in last week's Warminster Journal - and here it is:

As ever, the quality of the picture suffers from the fact that is taken from a newsprint pic, but one can see Charlie quite clearly being held by the Wylye Coyote on the far right of the pciture.  Permission to include this in our post today has been given by Mrs. Kate Brayne, Manager of the Wylye Coyotes After School Club.

Now to the process of producing Mr. Fox:  obviously, one starts with cutting out the pattern using my special template for the Fox Family.  I have used these since I began making the foxes in the late 1970's while living in Canada (although I have had the pattern book since 1971).  Making the male foxes is a more complicated process than the lady foxes, because there are so many more pattern pieces involved.  Once they are all cut out and the materials vary - using plain sheeting or calico for the body, plush fur for the paws, tail and head, tweeds or similar weight material for the plus-fours and coat, cotton poplin for the waistcoat and completing the outfit with leather for the boots.  Leather finishes the toys off, I feel personally,  even though the original pattern calls for the boots to be made with felt.  I can do so fairly easily at the moment, because we are located close to a Glove Making factory - in business for over a century - (which also makes quality handbags and other leather goods) and I can buy off-cuts from them. 

This time around, I made the body with white sheeting material - of which I am fortunate to have a good supply.  The soft furnishing factory which provides me with their off-cuts (plush fur and tweeds mainly) is also where I purchase the polyester fibre which is used to stuff the toys. They provide it to me at trade rates, which is handy, and I can get it by the kilo (approximately 2.2 pounds weight) for roughly the same price as I could in a haberdashery outlet for 200 grammes (or approximately a quarter of a pound!)  This meets all international safety standards.  The factory usually stuffs the fibre into a pillow made with the sheeting material - and I am able to get several toys out of one pillow's worth of sheeting.

The latest Mr. Fox's body was then stuffed and the waistcoat made and placed on the body shape - as shown in the picture below.

Mr. Fox from the rear

The production process continues - and the description of it will follow in the next post - hopefully, tomorrow.  If he's good, I may let Cy Bear do it this time!  Bye for tonight. Isobel

                                    

Updates on recent posts

Hello there - blogging has taken a back seat recently because I've been busy linking!  Have mentioned in earlier posts that I had not got a clue about how to do it.  Now,  thanks to help given by a fellow Etsian - CuffandCollar (www.Etsy.com/shop/CuffandCollar) - I've finally got the hang of "Liking" etc and have been taking a lot of action along the lines he recommended.  He gave me about a dozen sites on which to log for starters, and I've since gone to several others I've found along the line.  Have left messages on their Facebook pages in particular.  Thanks a million CuffandCollar:  am looking forward to seeing the effect that more folks are being plagued by me is going to have!

Not only have I been doing that, but I've also been reading more of other folks' blogs:  particularly those from Scoutie Girl, who posts to me daily.  As a result I commented/followed (again on Facebook) with nOelle.com who specialises in helping dilly folks like me to communicate about their businesses.  Was terribly fortunate here, because the day after we made initial contact, she very kindly featured ColdhamCuddlies shop and this blog on her own blog - giving me some very constructive hints as to how I can improve this blog.  The subject of her blog (www.nOelle.com) that caught my eye was the need for self-empowerment for us newbies on the internet:  and boy has she given me a boost - am still terrified of what will happen when I get going, but so far with the linking, my confidence is gaining ground!  Whatever happens, I'm deeply grateful to Noelle for the help to date - and her invitation to return if I need to consult!  Have a feeling, I'll be doing so before too long!

Now to the updates promised in today's title:  Miss Prim Fox was listed in the shop at www.Etsy.com/coldhamcuddlies yesterday:  her listing is #75340524, and while I was at it, I renewed all the Foxes/Coyotes section at the same time.  Visiting the shop a little while ago, Miss Prim has already been favourited by one person!  Not bad going for a new girl, is it?

Talking about the Coyotes:  there's been some news in the local newspaper, The Warminster Journal, this week about the Wylie Coyotes and a picture appeared in the edition of Charlie Coyote celebrating the fact that the After School Club had scooped a  Healthy Eating prize after winning the Improving Healthy Eating in Children, Young People and Adults competition.  The award ceremony took place at Salisbury City Hall last month and the competition is being run by Wiltshire Health and Wellbeing Partnership.  The Club provides a home-cooked evening meal every evening for the children who attend, as well as a safe area in which to wait for parents to return home after work.  Will include a scanned item (like the other item included in the blog last month) once I've got permission from Kate Brayne the Coyotes Manager.  It is an even better picture of Charlie Coyote, who is very much in the foreground in this one!

Then a couple of days ago, I received a message from Mrs. B-P from Saudi Arabia.  Apparently the Hairy Bear she ordered to be posted to Portsmouth arrived safely, is adored by his new one-year old friend, who cuddles him, says "aw........" and cannot get enough of him!  So glad - it's nice to have such a satisfied customer - and I've been assured that the Saudi Arabian contact will be continued later in the year and there may even be a picture of Hairy Bear and chum to prove the new friendship as well!

Right - I've babbled enough tonight.  Am going to print off Noelle's comments and recommended improvements and will begin to apply them to both the shop and the blog.  Just hope that I'd don't lose some of the Archive in the process, but then Noelle's introductory article to our association was all about self-empowerment, wasn't it?  Taking a deep breath.......results, good hopefully, soon!

Oh, and finally - a friend was visiting the other day and took some photos of Cy Bear, Miss Prim and I.  Some now appear as profile illustrations at the shop (www.Etsy.com/coldhamcuddlies) and on my Facebook page, as well as on Google.  Makes a change from the originals! It also explains the lack of action on the blog too, hopefully.

Bye for now.  Isobel

The Making of Mrs. Fox - Final chapter

Hello there folks!  Cy Bear being allowed to chip in once more.  Isobel felt that as she had written two posts about Mrs. Fox's production, it might be appropriate for me to write the final post about the process so that I could then officially welcome her to ColdhamCuddlies family in our shop at www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com. by telling you her name.

The blog was left last time with Isobel having to transfer the final photographs of Mrs. Fox to the computer so they could be used to illustrate this post.  Here is a picture of her with hat and bag.  If someone wanted to give her away as a special present, the name of the recipient could be embroidered on the bag (which currently has a bobble decoration made with blue double knitting wool, knotted in the middle and sewn on).  Similarly, if anyone wanted to use her as a Mascot, then the initials and/or a logo could be added (provided the latter is not too complicated).  Artwork is not Isobel's strong point - although she enjoys being creative once she has a needle and thread in her hand.  

Finished:  complete with bag, bonnet and facial features

Her bag and hat are made with a light blue fleece material and the underside of the bonnet has been lined with pale blue voile.  We've got some more pictures of her from different angles, so everyone can get a good idea of how she looks. They'll be appearing in our shop (www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com) when she's listed - probably tomorrow - but in the meantime here is one that we were able to transfer to the blog this evening.  Isobel seems to having a problem doing it, so rather than carry on wasting more time, she's decided not to include any more in  this post - and maybe, when she posts tomorrow (or whenever), she'll be able to show Mrs. Fox and me together!

Showing tail and rear of bonnet

She's a lot more comfortable sitting down than standing:  we've only got her looking like this because she is propped against the wall, and her tail is balanced on the printer!  She's a bit like me in that respect, as I'm not too good standing, either - but then my arms and legs move around, whereas hers do not.

Finally, looking at her fully finished, Isobel decided that Mrs. Fox looked pretty, but prim - rather like an old-fashioned school mistress!  So, as the Cuddlies all have names so that they can be listed in our shop at www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com, she has been named Miss Prim Fox!  Hope you'll enjoy her as much as we do.                                                                                             

Cheers for now:  Cy Bear