Dressed Toy Production Line - Foxes and Wolves as a start

Hello Everyone: Cy Bear being allowed to chat with you once again.  Don't know how long this will last, but I'll take advantage of it every time it's offered! Here's a picture of part of the production line mentioned in our title today.

You can see three (out of four that have been cut out and stuffed) bodies for more Cuddlies.  Two of them will be Dressed Boy Foxes and the other two are destined to become Dressed Boy Wolves.   (It has been decided that in future our male toys are going to be referred to as Boys (as opposed to Gentlemen - Isobel is wondering if that is why they are not finding as many Forever Homes as our undressed Cuddlies do.  Likewise, our formerly Lady Dressed Cuddlies will be known as Girls - for precisely the same reason.)

That red speck you can see on the right hand Girl's body comes off the frayed edges of the fabric that has already been cut out for some of the Boys' clothes. (That's going to mean that all seams in the items sewn will have to be over sewn to ensure the integrity of the clothing). Isobel decided to see how she would cope with doing multiples of the Toys, and spent a good three hours yesterday sorting herself out. In the flat as we now have there's some sense to doing it this way:  because all the fabric is stashed away in two cupboards, down the corridor, near the front door.  So it saves time, energy and Isobel's legs to have all the selected fabrics in the living room (which then looks like another fabric store!).   She's just got another jacket to cut out, and all the leather boots, and then she can get going on the sewing.  These are all destined to replace Cuddlies who have found Forever Homes over recent weeks - either via the Etsy sales system or during the two Craft Sales we attended in November and December.    (There are 7 replacements in this batch - leaving another 9 to be made as quickly as possible thereafter - as Isobel does want to introduce some new Cuddlies this year if she can.  We've still got a couple of Tulsa-based Puppets to make yet, as you may recall:  the fabric for those is due to . arrive sometime this week.  All in all, Isobel is going to busy!)

These fabrics could end up as dresses for the Girls, who are likely to end up as two Foxes and One Wolf.  Our previous Wolves were made with faux fur and ended up looking a little out of balance - with heads and paws looking a bit big for their bodies.  Isobel has decided to see what they'll look like and is thinking of making them with this Silver Plush fabric - I think it looks rather nice: wonder what you think of it?

The Fox Plush pieces for the Boys have already been cut out and are piled up ready to be applied to the bodies and clothing piles.

The White plush showing at the top of the left pile is for the end of the the Boys brushes (tails to those of you unfamiliar with Foxes.  Boy Wolves for some reason don't have this differentiation from their Girl Friends).

The following pics show the other leather from which the Boys' boots could be made - the Girls have shoes made with felt, which allow their pantaloons to be fitted  more easily and look better under dresses.  (The decision has not yet been finalised - which is the way Isobel tends to work:  she often starts out with an idea in mind, and can change it as the Toy evolves.)

In case you're wondering, the blue-green leather will actually go very well with the jacket Isobel has already cut out for the fourth body.  All will be revealed in our next post! Before I leave though - an update on the fate of  the Hairy Bears.  The day after I told you last week that we were waiting to hear which one of them would be wending his way to Glendale, Missouri, MrsTB emailed us to say she would like Hairy Bear No11 to be sent to her (he was the one Isobel did make with MrsTB specifically in mind).  So on Tuesday he was duly wrapped up and mailed to her.    Just to remind you, this is what he looks like.

  So now, Hairy Bear No10 and I sit on Isobel's bed each day, while she decides exactly where to put him!

This picture of the two of us was taken before the Hairy Bears had been given their distinguishing ribbons.  They looked like this before No11 departed for the U.S.A.

Right folks:  that's it for this week's post - hopefully, when we meet again, there will be a few finished Foxes/Wolves/Boys and Girls to show you.  Until then - have a good week all of you. Your Friend - Cy Bear.

A Bear Beauty Parade - Meet Hairy Bears 10 and 11

Hello again, Everyone.   Cy Bear back, this time at our usual time for posting news from the Coldham Cuddlies Shop (www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES). Well, the two Hairy Bears are completed and now look like this (the cord hanging over my head is the light switch - very convenient for Isobel when she gets into bed.  She forgot to tie it up before taking the photograph!)

In our last post they were referred to as No10 (he's the one on the right of this photograph) and No11 and that's how I'll continue to call them, because although we've sent this picture and some others which will follow shortly to MrsTB in Glendale, Missouri, we've yet to receive a response as to which one she's going to want us to post to her.  It will make it easier to distinguish between them that Isobel has put different colour ribbons around their necks. Also No11 (on the left of the picture) looks a little smaller.  Please believe me, he's been made from the same pattern from which both No10 and myself have been made.  But because No11 has the bigger head, we've had to lower his arms a bit.  Also, so that he didn't look too top heavy, Isobel also fixed his legs a little higher up his body.  That makes him look a little shorter when standing up. 

  The ribbons around the Hairy Bears' necks are a recent purchase from the supermarket both Isobel and Clare go to get their weekly food shopping done.  From time to time they have fabulous offers for all things haberdashery, and Isobel takes advantage of them.  This time, she got five rolls of this satin ribbon, some plain, some with small polka dots (what ever they are?) and others with gingham pattern on.  All will come in handy when Isobel begins replacements and makes more new Cuddlies in the coming weeks - although we have a pretty good stash of ribbons, there's always room for more it would seem!

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Here's No11 standing all on his own - putting the legs a little further up each side of his body makes him sturdier and he's doing it without needing to be propped up by the pillow.

This sitting down photograph shows that No11 is just as hairy as his brother, No10!

It's been great fun this week having both of them to sit between and I shall miss whichever one does eventually leave for Glendale, Missouri, U.S.A.  The remaining one will sit with me for a while - until we find space for him in the flat or Toy Store (a.k.a. The Body Bag).  
(When Isobel, Peter and the Girls returned from Canada in 1987, they packed all their clothes in four of these big canvas bags and the clothing travelled well given the distances involved.  We still have them, and one is used to house all the Cuddlies and it's reasonably easy to transport them to Craft Fairs when we attend them.) Oh, and talking of  Stores - a new Craft Shop has opened in the last two weeks in Kirkby-in-Ashfield (where we now live) and there is a definite possibility that some of us Cuddlies will be exhibited on the shelves there.  With Easter coming up shortly, Isobel and the Shop Owner, Claire, have agreed that some of the Rabbit Family will be the first to appear.  I'll let you know how they all get on.   It may be that some of our Bears might be displayed there too - it will make a nice change from being in a chest of drawers.  Us Bears take up a lot more space than do the Rabbits, Foxes etc and my other Bear Friends currently lie in relative comfort in two of the drawers of the chest of drawers at the end of Isobel's bed. Returning to the Hairy Bears, though, it's unusual for us not to have heard back from MrsTB, because when discussing the colour of the Hairy Bears' eyes and other details, the responses have been pretty immediate.  However, I believe that Missouri is in a part of the United States that is suffering some awful wintry weather, and it may just be that internet communication in that part of the world  has been affected.  

When we do hear back, the chosen one will be wrapped up - as usual - in chemical free tissue and then surrounded with bubble-wrap to give him some protection for the rough handling that I'm told does happen to parcels when they travel around the world. (I'm always glad that I've not had to face such difficult conditions!) In my last post, I mentioned that we'd asked MrJS of Tulsa if we could tell you more about how he hopes to use the Tiger Puppets that have been made, as well as the Puppet Bodies.  Yesterday, Isobel received an email saying that he would be delighted for us to tell you all - as he'd be interested in hearing your reactions to what he is hoping to do with them.  So ......  watch this space.  I think it will be Isobel who will be writing about those things.  She understands such things better than me.  But before I leave tonight, here is a final photograph of us three Bear Friends, sitting on Isobel's bed - enjoying each other's company and basking in the Spring sunshine coming through the bedroom window one day last week.

Good Night to you All.  Your Friend, Cy Bear

Production of the Hairy Bears in progress - Introducing Hairy Bear No10.

Hello Everyone!

Cy Bear back to tell you all about a new Friend of mine - Hairy Bear No10.  He's just been finished and is awaiting the completion of Hairy Bear No11 before we organise a Bear Catwalk Parade, so that MrsTB from Missouri, U.S.A   can decide which one she'd like to adopt.

This close-up makes it look as though he doesn't have a mouth:  but, because there's SO MUCH fur around his face, the black yarn Isobel uses to embroider noses and mouths doesn't really show up that much.

We managed to find the polyester hollowfibre stuffing Isobel was looking for in High Wycombe, and have just opened one of the bags she purchased to finish No10 off yesterday afternoon, after some hiccups along the way.  This is what the two Bears looked like before we started to stuff them.

One head is slightly bigger than the other, because MrsTB specifically requested that her Bear had a big head:  she finds that very appealing in a Teddy.  So, hopefully, that is what will end up happening.  I think, but cannot confirm, that the one on the left of the picture is No10.  As this post is being prepared, No11 has got all limbs attached to the body, and the arms have been sewn up.  Just the legs need to be finally stuffed and sewn, and then will come the inevitable battle involved in getting the head attached to the body.

(This post is being prepared while we have floor laying experts in our home re-laying the floors in our kitchen and bathroom - so everything in the flat is upside down and all about! Isobel cannot reach anything in the kitchen, and she's not sure she will have access to the bathroom this evening, so emergency arrangements are in hand for her to sleep over at Clare's.  She's dining there this evening at any rate!)

These Hairy Bears are so hairy, that when it comes to putting the limbs together and attaching them to the body, there can be a real problem deciding the right way they should be facing.  On this occasion, all four limbs were fixed on, but Isobel then found the arms were facing one way, and the legs the other!  So, as we need to make a fairly substantial  hole in the fabric to pass the plastic discs through, one leg had to be re-sewn entirely.  Whilst we could have got away with darning the hole and allowing the hairy fur to cover it in some cases, because there is so much fur involved, here we had to cut away the top layer of pile around the hole (on both the body and limb) so that they can move slightly when fully made. (To begin with, the limbs are very stiff - but as the years go by, and they become less firm - a natural maturing process for Teddy Bears - that stiffness will relax.)

These two pictures demonstrate just how hairy, No10 really is!  And you can see his mouth a bit better  in the one above, from this angle too!

He looks a lot bigger than me standing up, and he does it better than I do too - when he's not on the duvet on the bed!  But when both of us are sitting down, there's not that much of a difference - except in fluffiness!  But then, Beaver Lamb fur is not as fluffy as faux fur fabric can be - and my hide is nearly 100 years old to boot!

I'm very pleased to be able to tell you that the Tulsa-bound Puppet Bodies dispatched by Isobel before she left for High Wycombe actually arrived at the end of last week - their journey taking a few days longer than they were supposed to, but a jolly sight faster than the previous three packages did.  So, the result is that for the remaining two puppets we have to make and send, we will be using the Royal Mail International Tracker route.

That's about all for me to tell you today - we are both sorry for this post being a bit late, but until Isobel had managed to sort herself out after getting back from High Wycombe,   plus dealing with one or two other things that interrupted her planned life, in the end there was nothing much to tell you until, No10 was finished yesterday.

We think we're going to be able to tell and show you how some of the Puppet Bodies have been used too, as MrJS  has sent us photos as and when they've been completed, and Isobel has requested permission for us to post and talk about them here.  So that could account for a couple more posts here, at least.

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