Computer troubles - again: a trip to France, plus a New Direction for Cy Bear and Friends.

Hello Everybody - it seems a long time since both Cy Bear and I were blogging here, but life has been somewhat of a whirlwind of late, and it has not been aided by the continuing saga of my battle with the new computer.  I love the computer itself, but it seems to have a fatal attraction for viruses - no matter the security protection against such invasions that are in place.  To the point that, for the second time in the three months  I've had the darn thing, a second screen appeared - (almost by magic).  It slowed everything down;   every- thing I did got duplicated - while I was bombarded with special offers.  Plus the announcements that I'd won things I didn't want, while being prevented in doing what needed to be done!

 The first time it occurred I laid the blame entirely on myself and unfamiliarity with Windows 8:  the second time has made me think it might just not be ALL my fault.   Having the benefit of a friendly young techie relatively handy (but not free from charging!) I got the whole thing cleaned up for me first time around.  However, the thought of another paid session with said young techie (they're all young to me, these days!), I decided to contact HP Support to see what, if anything, they could suggest.    Having spent an inordinate time on the telephone with the helpful Hewlett Packard techies yesterday - they rang me back half-way through the long-distance session, fortunately - I was told how to return the computer to its "factory default" position (to quote one of my new- found friends):   and then told how to start up again.  The trouble is that I now don't trust the computer.  Nor do I want to waste my time loading everything I need onto it - for everything to go wrong again in a few weeks.  I cannot spare the time involved- more anon!

 So, as I've got something like 289 days of Warranty Cover  in hand, am going to exercise my consumer rights to see if I can get a brand new Sleekbook 15 Laptop model - and hope that I can develop the same friendly relationship with it that I've had with my back up computer - a Compaq Presario, on which I am happily producing this post, that has served me well for several years.  The prime reason I decided to go for a new one was that the hinges broke - plastic fatigue.  A lap top needing to be propped up with three reels of cellotape is not exactly compatible with an efficient workplace.  It was also becoming somewhat out of date!  Besides, I need a reliable computer - which brings me, in a round about fashion, to the second bit of this post.

When Cy Bear and I last posted earlier in mid-May, I was about to go for a holiday to Normandy - and it's since returning that all the computer problems re-emerged.  The trip over the English Channel was as smooth as travelling on glass - thank goodness.  Because it was the first SeaCat voyage of the 2013 season, all passengers (not many, as it was an 0700 BST start, on a frosty Thursday morning) were offered a free glass of wine, courtesy of "Le Capitaine" half-way through the crossing.  Having accepted - it was good drop of red wine that I chose! -  felt brave enough to even get up from my comfortable seat and wander around the boat.  That did not last long:  after looking out of a nearby window, I was sufficiently alarmed at just how close the English Channel surface was to the floor on which I was walking, to rapidly return to where I'd started and buried my head into a copy of "The Lady" magazine, to which I subscribe weekly,  until the end of the voyage.

Le Havre - as we came into port - the sea was like that  all the way over!

This time around, the weather was not as bad as it had been in October.  We actually managed to have lunch  al fresco twice  -

and I was able to see something of the Normandy countryside - very pretty, with all the pear and apple orchards in blossom, with the promise of a good crop of fruit to produce the cider and perry (pear cider) for which the area is famous.  (Reminded me of my young adult days, when I spent week-ends in Kent before many of the orchards - for which the county was famous - were dug up).  Kent was not called the "Garden of England" for nothing!

Nearby Farm, with it's Orchard in blossom

We still had plenty of rain for most of the time, but it didn't stop one being able to take the dog for walks (even managed to do a 12 kilometre jaunt - about three and half miles - one day), taking in the local views.  

I was also able catch up with Cy Bear's twin - Peter Bear - seen here on the left.  He was made last year and used up the rest of the Beaver Lamb coat from which Cy Bear was created. When making him, I corrected the mistakes  made in Cy's production, so he is a safer option for Little People to handle.

Peter Bear's Forever Home is now with MmeIM, my sister-in-law, who is also the Forever Friend of Mme Lapin and Mons. Reynard - both former patients in the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic (Etsy Listing #79124185)  and both the subjects of their own posts here on this blog.  Peter Bear now occupies pride of place on MmeIM's dressing table, while the other two Associate Cuddlies have been wrapped up in preparation for becoming New Best Friends to MmeIM's little grand daughter, CM - when she is a older.  She's just four, and still at the age where  toys can be roughly handled.    After all that Mme Lapin and Mons. Reynard have gone through, and in deference to their age,  it is felt that Little One needs to be  older to properly appreciate them.

However, all three of these Cuddlies formed the basis of a story that Cy Bear authored a few weeks' ago which I submitted for a competition being run by the Academy of Children's Writers - who are based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, UK.  I learned about this competition via "The Lady" and, having been encouraged by some of you wonderful Followers' comments on this blog to consider writing for children I decided to try my luck:  "nothing ventured:  nothing won" etc. et al.  Closing date for entries was April 30, and to be honest, I'd forgotten about it while away in France.

A Normandy Spring Scene

Yesterday, the following letter arrived from the Academy of Children's Writers, which opens up some interesting new possibilities for Cy Bear, the Blog and myself.  Forgive me if I quote it quite extensively - because the contents are extremely exciting, and I want to share it with you all - since it's thanks to your support that this new opportunity has occurred.

"CONGRATULATIONS on your recent entry "Cy Bear's ColdhamCuddlies Blog" for our 2013 "Write a Story for Children" competition.  We received over 2,000 entries again this year and the overall standard was extremely high.  A list of winners is printed below for your information.  We hope to have the winners' permission to place their stories on our website shortly.

Although your story did not win one of the prizes you did reach the final 250.  To reach the final 10% the judges thought that you have an understanding of what young people like to read and that impressed them.  This is a quality that is invaluable to a would-be children's writer.  The judges suggested that I make this particular point when writing to you about your entry as we are only writing to the 10% of entrants who are short-listed.

I suspect that you have had some experience in this field - possibly in telling stories to young relatives and friends.  This suggests to me that with a little effort your talent could be developed to enable you to produce work of publication standard........"

The letter was signed by "Shirley A Cousins, Director"

The letter further contains an invitation to consider participating in their 10-unit writing course - details of which are available to those who are interested at www.childrens-writers.co.uk.  Not one to let a chance like this pass me by, I'm going to have a go.  Where I'm going to find the time to fit the studying in, I don't know.   However, we are given 2 years to be published - guaranteed by the course apparently:  otherwise the entire course fee is refunded!  So, wish me luck - and here Cy Bear and I go!

La Boffetiere - where I stayed - with a field of Rapeseed in the foreground

Regular bulletins will appear, normal toy construction will carry on - with some new items on schedule for introduction in the next day or so.  Meanwhile, Good Night from both of us!  Isobel

Unusual Patients in the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic

Hello Everyone - Cy Bear calling in to see how you all are, as well as to tell you about some unexpected Patients in the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic (Etsty Listing 79124185) who have been occupying Isobel for the past few days.

 While the job is now satisfactorily over, have to tell you that her mood has not been as happy as normal, because - as I think she has made plain in previous posts, as well as in her listing for the Shop at www.ColdhamCuddliescalling.blogspot.com - she's not really "into Dolls".  However, an acquaintance here in Heytesbury heard about her Clinic, and the fact that she's a Toymaker, and kept pleading with her to help her special doll friends to get some new boots.  Eventually Isobel had to agree and so the Chad Valley Dolls came to visit.  They are called that because the label under their skirts says so.

There were 10 of them in the end, and these are the first two.  All of them had names, which could be found on the aforesaid labels under their skirts (on the flip side), but Isobel did not really get to know them, and just dealt with them one at a time.  We took these two back, and once they were completed got three more and replaced their boots. Then Isobel went to collect what she thought were the remaining four.  However, in the interim, an extra doll emerged from the pile of other toys which the Lady, who I shall refer to as MrsP, collects, so she came back with the remaining five, finally completing the task on Sunday afternoon.  They were returned Monday  morning and are now happily ensconced  in their usual place on a bed in MrsP's home.

This photograph clearly illustrates the problem:  the boots with which they were supplied when originally purchased (we're not sure exactly when) had just simply fallen to pieces, and the Dolls' legs were all covered with socks belonging to MrsP's husband, MrB (shown in the foreground).  He wanted his socks back - understandably - so Isobel got to work. The Doll at the rear has had the plastic boots removed, and in the process Isobel discovered that the legs are made with stockinette and stuffed with nylon fibrefill.  Now she's not too keen on the latter - it can be somewhat inflammable - but as she had not been asked to re-stuff them  (they didn't really need it) and she wanted to get them home again as soon as possible, she left that bit alone.

While stripping off the already disintegrating bits of boot was quite easy, actually unpicking the seams to get rid of the turnover at the top of each boot was a nightmare, as Isobel found out with the first foot - as was removing ALL the plastic bits - demonstrated here.  Being stockinette it ladders very easily - with the result the first foot looked this when the treatment was completed. You can see there is little, if any, plastic covering left - but it was actually keeping the seams in place.  So, after this first attempt, Isobel left a little plastic in each seam, and so stopped the laddering taking place quite as badly.

As time went on, Isobel also became more adept at removing the plastic turnover which was very tightly sewn in with red cotton and a thicker white twine, but the first one was a bit of a disaster. Also, she had to sew the seams up as she went along, otherwise the stuffing would come out and the foot would become separated from the upper leg.  In all, each boot took about an hour and a half to take to pieces and sew together again, and then have the new brown boots sewn in place.  After the first two or three Dolls, this became a somewhat repetitive process:  so while to begin with, Isobel made them one at a time, by the time the last group of five arrived, she made ALL  the boots together, and somehow it made the process seem a whole lot faster!

Here are the first two with their new boots - I think these two were called Susie and Debbie - and one had white ric rac trimming round the turnover of her boots and the other had some yellow trimming.  Isobel also used light green and dark green ric rac trimming, and in the end three dolls had the light green and yellow decorations, while there were two each with white and dark green.  Isobel has now exhausted her supply of all her ric rac, so will be replenishing when she comes back from France in about ten days' time (or she might see what she can find while in France!)

The boots themselves were made with the fabric  Isobel normally uses for the paw pads for us Bears, of which - fortunately - she has quite a large stock.  Despite the amount used for this task (enough for 20 separate boots), we still have plenty left for future Bears, so there's no problem there.

Before being returned, the final five Chad Valley Dolls were lined up on Isobel's bed, leaning against the pillows, with me perched in the middle just to see that they behaved themselves.  Actually, they were all impeccably well-behaved I am pleased to report, and we hope that they will be comfortable in their new smart boots - as well as MrB being pleased to get his socks back!

(  Isobel intervening here:  Everyone is allowed a change of heart - and I'm no exception.

 Having completed this task, despite the drawbacks listed by Cy Bear in this post, I have taken the grand decision of being prepared to accept some Dolls as future Patients in the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic - suppose a change of title will now be required:  I'm open to all reasonable suggestions.  The point has been made that there must be many dolls of a similar vintage as the Chad Valley Dolls who may be requiring re-stuffing or a makeover similar in content to these girls (Cabbage Patch Dolls spring to mind).  It seems a silly stance to take if I can help put them right and make them last for some more years - so they give pleasure to another generation. 

 So - henceforth:  Dolls with ATTACHED  stuffed arms and legs,  but NOT those with the difficult joints involved in keeping them attached to their torso, or those with china heads etc., will be welcome to visit the Clinic.  I look forward to meeting them - but just hope they don't invade in quite such numbers! 

Similar pricing arrangements will apply as those currently used for Bears and Co. - namely 

 Minimum charge = USD 38.25 (GBP) £25.00 (a.k.a Consultation Fee), plus cost of materials and labour - latter being VERY reasonable!

Postage - customer responsible for sending Patient:  ColdhamCuddlies responsible for the return journey. )

Now, this post will be the last, from either of us I think, until Isobel returns from France on May 23:  she's going to visit Peter's brother and his wife in Normandy (as she did in October last year) and we both hope the weather will be better this time than it was then.  She's going as a foot-passenger on the Catamaran (whatever that is!) service from Portsmouth to Le Havre - and has to be at the dockside by 0600 BST on May 16.  That is early, and no train would get her there from Warminster for that time, so she is leaving the afternoon before, and will be overnighting with a niece whom she has only met once before - and that was 40 years (almost to the day!) ago.  I'm looking forward to hearing all about that meeting, as well as the trip to France.

So, until the next time, take good care of yourselves.  Cy Bear!

Introducing the Barn Owl Twins - with pictures taken before one left for Canadian parts!

Sorry to have been away from ColdhamCuddliescalling.blogspot.com for so long - but it has been due to matters somewhat outside my control.  The new computer and I do not seem to the best of friends at the moment - because having got rid of unwelcome visitors in the form of unwanted adware and trojans, connections then got "corrupted".  These various descriptions are not only unfamiliar territory, they sound simply terrifying to one as technophobic as me. The replacement router/hub/call it what you will arrived mid-day today, and after having the computer taken over by a techie based in India, for heaven's sake!, I'm up and almost running at full steam.  There's one more hurdle to overcome:  in the meantime, I'm becoming very friendly with my ISP technical support desks, who have been most helpful and doubtless will be called up again before too long.  The remaining hiccup seems to be the responsibility of either the computer manufacturer (HP) or the software provider (you guessed it, since I'm still struggling to get to grips with Windows8).  It's getting to contact someone that takes the time, I'm finding!

Meanwhile, some replacement ColdhamCuddlies have been made (and two dispatched almost immediately - as described in our last post "Some Hails and Farewells to tell you about" (29/04/2013) - and I now have a potential new line which will be worked on over the summer in time but is principally aimed  for the Christmas market although they will be on offer prior to that future date.  Given the way the weeks pass by these days, that will be upon us before we know where are!  I'll fill in the new line details in another post, but meanwhile thought you'd like to see the remaining new Barn Owl Twin - with most of the photographs taken outside in our garden here in Heytesbury.  The pictures do include the one who safely arrived in Canada by the way.

Barn Owl Twin - Etsy Listing #99686556

The reason I am so sure he's still in our shop at www.Etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies is that his beak is somewhat straighter than the Twin now in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. who is shown in right of this picture taken of them sitting on a convenient nearby tree stump.

The Owl Twins's pictures were taken outside on one of the first Spring-like day in April - when the sunshine managed to pierce the seemingly everlasting gloom that has persisted since the New Year, although the wind was still mighty chilly!  We've also been lucky enough to have some lovely, warm sunshine over our recent May Bank Holiday week-end:  we're all just hoping that means we will have a summer this year - because it was lovely to feel the warmth of the sun on one's back as one took photographs or walked around the village with visiting friends.

Here are the Owl Twins spreading their wings to catch the sun's rays while sitting on one of the many stone walls in our lovely garden here in Heytesbury.  The following two shots are showing them at different angles!

Both these guys took me about a week to make, and although I mostly followed the instructions contained in my pattern book, I'm finding that as I continue to make the Cuddlies, I'm developing my own way of doing things, not necessarily in the order that the pattern states.  Suppose that's to be expected,  but I do admit to feeling a real sense of satisfaction in achieving the final results - DESPITE how the pattern recommends!  In any case, if it looks all right when completed, what's the problem with the actual modus operandi?

In the next post, Cy Bear (or I - depending on how we're feeling) will include a similar photographic story of the arrival of the new Frog Cuddlies.  Meanwhile, it's good to be back, although proceedings will be interrupted for a week after May 15 - when I'm off to Normandy once more, and hoping that this time I'll be able to actually see the countryside with the sun shining.  The portents are not good:  but here's hoping!

Good night and here's to the next time - in a day or two.  Isobel

Some Hails and Farewells to tell you about!

Warm and Happy Greetings to you all - Cy Bear signing in to bring you up to date on various happenings in the ColdhamCuddlies world.

Now that the computer has been returned, Isobel seems to be getting to grips with things although there are still some problems.  She's found a programme (whatever that is - it's foreign to us Bears, of course) that will tell her how to work with Windows8, and looks out for it in the daily post.  It hasn't arrived yet, but when it does, guess there won't be too many posts happening while she plays with the computer and, hopefully, digests the contents of what ever is in the package when it arrives.

Meanwhile, in between computer hassles, Isobel has been busy with some replacements.  Starting off with our Barn Owl friends, she decided to make two of everything when she replaces Cuddlies who have found their Forever Homes.  Just as well she did in the case of the Owls, as no sooner had she made the two of them, and even before she renewed them in the Etsy Listings for the Shop, one of them was purchased and is even now on its way to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - his Forever Home is going to be with AndyB's Grandma - who, according to HeatherB (Andy's  Mum) is "very fond of Owls".  He was parcelled up and sent off before we could have one of our traditional Farewell pictures (with me in the photographs), but here is a picture of the Owl Twins before one of them left us.

The Twin on his way to Canada is the one on the right of the photograph.  Isobel put numbered labels under each Owl's talons, and HeatherB chose the one she wanted her Mum to get.  So, there will now have to be another replacement Owl once the other jobs have been completed.

The next replacement project Isobel had on her list was to produce another Green Frog.  She duly cut him out and was almost ready to stuff him, when she showed him to the lady who comes to look after Isobel's feet (I believe they are called Podiatrists).  Well, no sooner had MrsJulietW seen the unfinished Frog, but she said she'd buy him once he was completed.  Isobel told her that she still had the Green & Orange Frog (Etsy Listing #116285186) if she would like to see  him before making up her mind finally.

MrsJulietW took one look at the fellow on the right, and bought him on the spot.  Apparently she is "Frog Mad" - as she described herself, and I'm told that when Isobel went into Warminster after her treatment, her car is full of frogs - of all shapes and sizes.  At least six others were on the back window ledge, there were some hanging in the car itself and there were even some on the dashboard!!  So our Frog won't be lonely!  I've since learned that her house is called "Frogwell", and that MrsJulietW has some real frogs, as well as us toys ones!  This meant that we had to have another two new Frogs in the Shop at www.Etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies.  They are slightly different - because we now have an Orange and Green Frog (the colours are switched from the that shown in the previous photograph) as well as a Green Frog (in the same two shades of Green).  Isobel will be doing a post about how she makes Frogs sometime soon, so we'll show you the two new Cuddlies properly then.

Then, at the week-end, we learned that Beau Fox has a new Forever Home.  His Forever Friend has a birthday coming up later this month, and her friend HelenS asked if we could possibly send him to Lochgilphead in Scotland.   I think that is in the UK, because the parcel that has been made up so that he can be posted off tomorrow (Tuesday, April 30) doesn't have an Air Mail sticker on it.  So, this afternoon, before Beau Fox was wrapped up in tissue paper and bubble wrap, and while the sun was shining, Isobel had a photo session in and around our grounds here at Heytesbury.  Here is the official Farewell photograph of Beau Fox before he goes to his Forever Friend.

Then, because it was such a lovely day, we decided to take a photograph of me with the remaining Barn Owl Twin.

Then, we can show you all the Cuddlies we've been telling you about today - including the two new Frogs.

Which is why this post has been entitled "Some Hails and Farewells to tell you about".    Good night - until the next time.  Cy Bear!

The Latest Foxes and how they joined the Coldham Cuddlies

Earlier in April  - 08/04/2013 to be exact, under the title "Attempting to Re-start the Posting Process...", I threatened to tell you how our Country Gentleman Fox and Beau Fox appeared in our shop at www.Etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies.  The post was really a repeat of the Etsy listing for each Fox, plus a few extra items to make it a little more interesting (hopefully!).    I hadn't intended the gap in the process to be quite a long as it has been, but having completed the reports on Turner Bear's treatment, there were some unexpected delays in getting the new computer back, and it's really only today that I've been able to try to post about the production process for Foxes.  So, here goes:

As ever. these Cuddlies are made with separate calico bodies, which are then stuffed and made ready to have their clothing attached.

Country Gentleman Fox (CGF) 

As I go along, I'm finding that it's better for me to get all the bits and pieces sewn together so that heads, tails, boots, jacket (with arms and paws attached in this case) are ready to be put on the body as soon as trousers and waistcoat are in place too.

While waiting to attached the jacket, I used some rubber bands to hold CGF's newly-cut tassels in place at the top of his boots.  The suede leather was a tad inclined to stick out instead of facing downwards, and I experimented with the rubber bands which just happened to be at hand.  It actually worked quite well, and  I shall be using this as a patented Morrell method in future - when the need arises.

This rear view of CFG shows the white tip that all my Gentlemen Foxes are given - to distinguish them (as in real life) from the Ladies whose brushes are all in natural chestnut plush.

Once this fellow was completed, the process began all over again for Beau Fox -  whose apricot
pink fleece trousers make a change from the white felt johdpurs that my Gentlemen Foxes tend to appear with. The fabric happens to be left over from making the The Pig Twins earlier this year.  As I didn't have sufficient for another whole Pig, Beau Fox's johdpur trousers seemed the best place to use the remnant up.

 The waistcoat is a rather smart blue plaid fabric, which was part of the haul I received when I last picked  up  my fabric supply from the Fine Quality Feather Company in Frome, Somerset some weeks' ago.  (The Three Buchanan Foxes' dresses - described in our posts "Making the Buchanan Foxes, Parts One and Two - 18/02/2013 and 25/02/2013) - were part of that consignment), and I have some other unusual plaid fabrics to use in future - whose destiny has yet to be decided.

As I was finishing the waistcoat, I decided to see what might happen if I put the sleeves in at this point, rather than waiting to insert them in the overcoat/jacket.  I had some rather nice royal blue velvet remnant to hand, so decided to use it for Beau Fox - to show up the waistcoat, and also decided not to hide it when attaching the outer garment.  I also thought that a little light blue ric rac added a certain "je ne sais quois" to the overall look - what think you?

His boots are made with a lovely crimson soft glove leather remnant I have in my leather collection, and I then added the white stock to finish the overall look.  At that point, I did waver:  because he actually looks quite smart as he is - without the full jacket.  However, having cut out the jacket, I went ahead and completed it - and actually think he looks even smarter than before, especially with the double breasted fastening, which allows the waistcoat to be viewed, as well as the scorpion type emblem embroidered on the white felt stock.  This is what makes creating my Cuddlies such enormous fun - without an original pattern, I'm absolutely lost:  but give me a pattern, and my creativity has almost no bounds!

This last photograph was taken just a few days ago, with the sunshine blazing and the garden here at The Hospital of St. John just beginning to burst into flower.  I also took some of CGF at the same time, as well as one or two of them together.

Now that Spring is beginning to show it's hand, I shall endeavour to take as many photographs outside as I can.  Obviously, while the production process is in hand that does also mean that some still have to be taken in the work-room, but I do think daylight makes such a difference to showing off our Cuddlies!  Hope you do too.

Have got some outside shots of the Owl Twins (now only one still looking for a new home) as well as two new Frogs to show you.  That will have to wait until next time.  In the interim, I'll close this post  - and wish you all a great week-end.  Seems like it was  only yesterday when I was posting about AndyB's Christening in Edmonton, Aberta! - and yet it is 6 days ago, already and Clare arrived back in the UK earlier today!   How the time flies!   Isobel 

Celebrating a very Special Occasion - with the help of a Cuddly or two

Cy Bear and I are delighted to bring you a post which is all about some Cuddlies who found their Forever Home just before Christmas last year, but whom we have not told you about before, or if we have, it has been in passing.  Because we are still having computer problems, we are not absolutely sure that this post will actually go ahead today.  But in any case, as England is 7 hours ahead of Alberta, Canada, we may still be able to get it published (and read even) on the Special Day itself, because my new computer is due to return to duty sometime tomorrow afternoon/evening.

At the moment, Clare - who normally is based in Nottinghamshire, England, UK  - is holidaying with a school friend in Edmonton, Alberta.  They've been friends since they first met in Junior High School (Grades V-V11) and have kept in touch (spasmodically at times, admittedly) ever since.  When they met, though, report has it that it didn't feel like 26 years since the last saw each other!  In December last year, HeatherB (incidently she and her family have been our most prolific customer in Canada!) and her husband welcomed the arrival of AndyB into their family, and invited Clare to become his Godmother.  So, last Monday, she got a 'plane to Edmonton, and has been re-living childhood memories, meeting some of Peter's and my (and hers) Canadian chums and getting ready to take up the responsibilities of this important relationship (for the third time, incidentally!).

As is usual in the ColdhamCuddlies world, Cy Bear made sure he witnessed the departure of Mr. Coyote (Mr.C) and our Baby Yellow Bunny when they were dispatched to Clare, so she could send them as a Welcome to the World present when AndyB arrived early in December.  MrC, was specifically chosen by Clare, as she understood HeatherB often played with her dogs and baby Coyotes in fields nearby her home on the outskirts of Edmonton.  Otherwise, we might have sent a Fox instead, but chestnut coloured foxes -  like our English ones  - are not to be found in Alberta, so we felt he would be more appropriate as a playtime friend for young AndyB as he grows up.

Mr. C and Cy Bear before being prepared to travel 

The Yellow Baby Bunny is the last of his kind, and actually was made from material I used to make when we lived in Canada in the 1980's.  I've made Baby Bunnies like this for newly-arrived Little People ever since, and the one now with AndyB finished the supply of that particular fabric.  So, he's a special Baby Bunny for a special little Boy.

The photograph of Baby Bunny on his own, is one taken in the garden here at Heytesbury and has been used in our shop www.Etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies.  He'd been on his own for some time, so it was lovely we could send him to AndyB, because he is most like my very first Baby Bunny, made for daughter Philippa when she was about the same age as AndyB is now - and the model for many different coloured Baby Bunnies since!

The Bunny in front is the model for the Snowy March Hares (Etsy Listing #125962011

Once AndyB arrived, and the date for his Baptism was set, I asked HeatherB if she could send me some photos of the young man and his toys.  She kindly did so, and here they are.  Captions are really not required, are they?

Have a great day Andy:  may you cry when the Priest pours water over you - so the Devil leaves you! and my best wishes to you,  Mum Heather, Dad Clint and God Mother Clare - as well as all the families to which you belong!

Lots of love - Isobel and Cy Bear!

Turner Bear's Treatment - Part Two

Hello Everyone - Cy Bear being allowed to take over the story of Turner Bear's return to full, smart health.  In the interim, since Isobel took you up to and including his wash and dry-out, we've been joined by two Barn Owl Cuddlies.  One being a replacement for Ben Barn Owl  (who will be re-listed later) and the other being an order placed by a Family Friend from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - who will be on his way early this week.  Doubtless, their production process will form part of a future post - but in the meantime, let's get back to Turner Bear.

Once Isobel had collected all his pieces together from the clothes airer, it was a question of tacking them on to the new coat pieces.  When that part of the treatment was finished, they looked like this:

Each time we have a Bear in for treatment, Isobel seems to find a better way to put them back together again.  This time, she decided, once she had tacked all his old pieces on to the new ones, she would stuff the limbs from the bottom, as opposed to the top.  She also put in the joint discs too.  It worked out much easier this time around, and adding the new beige paw pads was easier this time around as well.  The next stage was to put in Turner's new eyes (his old ones had been buttons, rather than the more modern plastic safety backed ones now on the market).

Once these were in place, the old eyes were put into a plastic bag together with all the old cotter pin joints, and original ears (which were slightly smaller than his new ones and would have looked out of place if they had been attached to this new heard).  We keep all the old pieces to give back to our Patients' Forever Friends - in case they want to keep them.  In Turner's case, MrsJS decided to take them home with her, but didn't think she'd be keeping them for too long: probably, just so she could show them to her family.  

There's just one more picture to be included:  it's one of Turner's original paw pads.  In close-up, you can see just how small the seam was.  As Isobel said in our previous post, it's something of a miracle that he lasted as long as he did - and a tribute to the strength of the original mohair fabric with which he was made.  This paw pad was in some sort of felt material, which was much thicker than the felt now available.

Once the eyes were in, Isobel then proceeded to stuff each limb and once it was sewn up they were placed on his body.  The head went on first - and was quite a struggle to fit because the new material's pile did seem to be thicker than the neck joint's pillar length.  Eventually, Isobel succeeded and then it was relatively plain sailing until Turner looked like this.

As you can see - this is the first picture we've been able to take outside this year.  Isobel took advantage of some Spring sunshine, and took this and a few more just to celebrate - both the completion of Turner's treatment, and also the fact that the awfully long winter seems finally to be retreating and summer may not now be too long in its arrival.  

And just one more - one of our farewell photographs in which I like to be present.  Turner and I got to know each other quite well while he was with us - as he did seem to be unhappy with only one ear.  So, I tried to comfort him by having him sit next to me on Isobel's bed each day.

As Turner used to look without his ear

As he looked when he went home with his Forever Friend, MrsJS  last week.  It's been great knowing him, and I hope he'll enjoy life getting to know his Family.

Good night and good bye for the time being.  Cy Bear.

Turner Bear's Treatment - Part One

 Cy Bear and I are pleased to be able to tell you that Turner Bear has now been treated in our Soft Toy Restoration Clinic (Etsy Listing #79124185) and was picked up to return home this afternoon.  MrsJS, his Forever Friend is very happy with end result.

First of all, we thought you'd like to know how he got his unusual name?  Well, Turner actually belonged to MrsJS's Mother and she had never allowed her daughter to play with him as most Bears get played with!  When Mother died, Turner arrived to stay with MrsJS, and by that time she still did not feel that close to him and he was just Bear, and lived for years in a drawer.  When MrsJS saw the finished version of Edward Bear ((How Edward Bear became a New Bear Part 1
 20.01.13 and Part 2 - 22.01.13, and Oops, Edward Bear Needs a Nose Job - 31.01.13)        ), she asked me to have a look at her Bear (I noticed he did not then have a name) to see if I could do anything for him.  He looked like this at the time:

As far as I was concerned, he was in pretty good condition - when one recalls the state of some of my previous Clinic Patients, so I did not foresee too many problems and was quite prepared to accept him as a patient.  However, I do like to be able to have a name by which the Patients can be distinguished between each other.  MrsJS was asked to put her thinking cap on.  The choice came two to between Llewellen Bear (her Mother's maiden name) or Turner Bear (MrsJS's maiden name). As I have a problem typing, let alone saying the former, we both decided on the latter!  So, Turner Bear he became when he joined us at the end of January this year.

Then came the search for as close a match as possible to his rather unusual Bear colouring.  Whilst pale yellow and gold bears are quite common as Patients, and Brown Bears of different shades and Silvery Brown Bears are to be found in our shop at www.Etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies, Red Bears are not as frequently seen.  So the first step in our search was for Turner to lose his left ear, so that it could be sent away to my mohair fabric supplier - Mohair Bear Making Supplies of Telford, Shropshire. 

 (To ensure that Turner's Ear did not meet the same fate that Edward Bear's had, it was sent by Recorded Delivery - ensuring that a signature was collected at the other end of the journey!)

 

Turner Bear and Cy Bear - with the former minus an ear

While we waited with fingers crossed, I got on with Treating TW Bear making The Buchanan
Foxes (Etsy Listing #65456642) and the Snowy March Hares (Etsy Listing #125962011).  When the match came back, it was absolutely spot on - but I couldn't proceed without MrsJS' input.  We both are regular Zumba attendees so it can be convenient to exchange such details there.  On this occasion,  however, she visited us at my home.  I was given the go-ahead, and a couple of days after, the treatment began.

It turned out not to be as easy as has been the case with our other Bear Patients.  We worked out that Turner was likely to be over 100 years' old - if he'd been with his original Forever Friend since she was a baby.  Whoever made him used very, very tiny machine stitches and the seams were less than an eighth of an inch wide.  It is something of a miracle that he stayed in one piece as well as he did - even though he had obviously not been cuddled as much as some Bears can be.  I think the secret lies in the fact that the original tacking had been left in.

The purple tacking can be seen in place on the  back seam

Consequently, the unpicking process took me a whole 6 hours - but eventually we reached the point where all his pieces were ready to be immersed in a luke warm bath - to remove the dust and left-over stuffing.

Stuffing:  paw pieces and cotter pins used for Turner's head and limbs

L to R - Legs, fronts, head and 1 ear, arms and back pieces

The stuffing was actually somewhat different to that I've been used to dealing with.  While it felt like wood, it wasn't the chippings I've had to discard previously and held it's shape much better when parted from the fabric.  It also did not leave the material as dusty as the normal chippings do. So, Turner did not need an all night soak in the end, merely a quick soapy wash and rinse, after a couple of hours soaking in the luke warm water I find so useful in removing the superficial dust that lingers on these occasions.

After a bath, I don't wring out any Bear  (or any other old toy for that matter).  I put each piece on to a flat towel, and then roll the towel up very tightly.  Once the towel gets unfolded, most of the moisture has left the Bear pieces and they are ready to be hung up on my clothes airer (over night in Turner's case), and he was then ready for the next stage(s).  These will be unfolded in our next post - which Cy Bear is itching to undertake!

Until then, we leave you with the hope that everyone is well - and our thanks for continuing to view this blog in increasing numbers.  When I looked earlier today, we've got to 13,600+ which is wonderfully encouraging!  Good night - and God Bless.  Isobel

Attempting to re-start the posting process - here goes!

It seems a long, long time since I posted here - and yet it's only been two weeks!  However, in that time I've discovered a lot of things about computers that I never knew (nor wished to!), but have  I've now sussed how to upload pictures to Etsy, so there are two more Cuddlies in our shop at www.Etsy.com/shop.coldhamcuddlies.  Obeying the suggestions received via Tim Adams of Handmadeology Team on Etsy to then post the item to one's blog, I'm now going to try and do it there today and thus prove that I have indeed mastered the arcane route through Windows 8 and all.

 (To be fair to Tim:  he did suggest it should be done immediately after listing on Etsy - but frankly I was so exhausted by the effort needed to do the listing yesterday, that I decided today would be better late than never!)

Etsy Listing #59809283

Our latest Country Gentleman Fox is a Retro Collectable Chestnut Plush Furry Fox Toy, dressed in Hunting Pink - the latest version of a popular ColdhamCuddlies toy.  He's actually a re-listing of one of the original ColdhamCuddlies listed on Etsy in September 2010 - one version of whom found a Forever Home on the outskirts of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada early in 2012.

(He was purchased early by a lady from our village of Heytesbury for her daughter who still lives in British Columbia.  It later transpired, as these things do in subsequent conversations, that not only did she know where on Vancouver Island our home was at that time, but also that I worked for her father's accountant in Victoria, during our sojourn on the Island!!)

His body is made separately with calico and stuffed with polyester fibre which meets all international safety standards.  He has a waistcoat which is made with Red Felt, over a striped Brown and White waistcoat, which is not actually visible.  Like all our Collectable Toys, this Country Gentleman is not made to be undressed, and is ideally suitable for children aged 3 years upwards. His riding trousers are made with white felt and his boots are made from Black Suede Glove quality Leather, with self-colour tassles as a turnover at his calf.  His jacket is made with red felt.  He has a white felt stock round his neck and his head paws and tail are made with chestnut brown plush furry material  His tail is tipped with white plush furry material to distinguish him from the lady foxes.

This Country Gentleman Fox measures 17.5 inches (40.45 cms) from tip of ears to the sole of his boots, with a tail measuring 5 inches (10.03 cms).  He weighs approximately 250g and is stuffed with polyester fibrefill meeting all international safety standards.  This allows him to be treated as a Small Packet when travelling via the UK Royal Mail's standard parcel postal rate.

This Country Gentleman also has a companion - by name Beau Fox:  allow me to introduce him here:

Etsy Listing #128704624

O.A.A.K.Beau Fox, the latest in a line of ColdhamCuddlies Retro Collectable  Fox Toys, is made with Chestnut Plush fabric and  dressed in a Royal Blue Velvet Coat, trimmed at the wrist with light blue ric rac trimming.  He has blue tartan waistcoat, which can be glimpsed under the coat front, which is fastened with two silver gilt buttons.  His bushy tail has the white tip that all Gentleman Foxes grow up with.  His Apricot Felt trousers are made in the traditional riding habit estyle and are set off with Crimson Leather Boots with a self colour tassle turnover at the calf.  The leather is glove quality and very soft.  He has a white stock, decorated with a red emblem,  to set off the Royal Blue Velvet Coat. As a Collectable Toy, Beau cannot be undressed - but he makes a cuddly armful for children ideally aged 3 years and upwards.  He is not recommended for younger children because of the buttons on his coat, which might be vulnerable to prying little folks' fingers.   Previous incarnations of Mr. Fox have become Company Mascots.

(I've just remembered that one early Mr. Fox - dressed like our Country Gentleman (before ColdhamCuddlies became more than a hobby) sat on a bookcase in Peter's office.  He was a Father's Day present one year, as he admitted he'd always envied our daughters their Foxes in Edmonton, Alberta and became a conversation piece when visitors came for meetings!  Alas, he is no longer - having not survived our moves around the UK).

Beau measures 17.5 inches (40.45 cms) from the tip of his ears over his muzzle to the sole of his feet.  His tail is 5 inches long (10.03 cms and he weighs approximately 250 g.  This would allow him to travel as a standard Small Package via the Royal Mail International parcels system.  He is stuffed with polyester fibrefill meeting all international safety standards and has plastic brown eyes fixed with a safety backing.  His facial features have been applied with black double knitting yarn and his fluffy ears are lined with light fawn satin.

These Foxes usually take between 3-6 days to produce from pattern to final article, and Buyers should be aware that I no longer drive and am thus reliant on rural public transport in order to reach Royal Mail outlets capable of handling international packages.  This I do on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays of most weeks - so in cases where deadlines are a factor, please take this fact into consideration when placing your orders.

As is my custom here, I'll be doing a blow-by-blow description of each Fox's construction, in later posts, but just to end with - and to rejoice in my having achieved what I did begin to think an impossibility - here is a final picture of both gentlemen, sharing the limelight together.

It's good to be back - and here's to the next time:  soon.  God Bless.  Isobel

Life with a New Computer - A Rant: or TheTribulations of a Soft Toy Maker

Getting a new computer has been a mixed blessing in recent days - great excitement to begin with, followed by increasing frustration as the days go by and I'm still not functioning on all cylinders - please forgive the mixed metaphors but it does describe my current feeling.

Cy Bear with Little Red Ted and Big Red Ted 

The River Wylye passes through Heytesbury Village:  the bench was Peter's favourite seat when he rested on his daily walks about the village.

The computer itself is a snazzy HP Sleekbook laptop, crimson and black, and looks magnificently efficient on my desk. ( I'd take a photo and upload it here - but at the moment, that's not an option.  More anon!)  Open it up and boot it in, however, and one is faced with Windows8 which may well be snazzy to look at, but for one used to the old Microsoft Operating systems, somewhat daunting.  (I had been warned - but breezily decided I could live with it!)   User friendly it may be - for the techy-minded, but for this silver surfer at any rate, sometimes frustrating in the extreme - because it is SO non-logical!! (at least to a 72+ mind).    Also, I suspect I have discovered the reason why computers are now so much more reasonable to acquire (I don't say cheap, you will notice!)  Previously, they came loaded with all the programmes one could reasonably need:  now they have to be acquired separately or the accompanying relevant APPs downloaded (if you know how) from something called the APP Store, included in the computer programme.  Thank goodness, Alan, my wonderful son-on-law was on hand to do most of this for me initially!   Since then I've been on my own - thinking I was making progress, but finding it's not as fast as I would like.  I appreciate that the best way of finding outhow everything works is to have a go - but........

This last week has therefore has  been spent by me getting acquainted with my new tool of trade, getting annoyed that I am so far unable to exercise that trade fully, and waiting patiently for some extra tools (e.g.  external disc drive for loading vital programmes) and happily clicking on buttons relating (I hope) to programmes that are available free as APPs!  Many of my Followers and Friends are aware of my ability to click on buttons - with far reaching, not necessarily, correct or helpful  results!  So far, nothing too dramatic has occurred, but..... watch this space!

The Christmas Bazaar in Heytesbury Church - 2011

Now, to date, I have lived happily enough without the need of such things as APPS - indeed, if invited to use one in the recent past, I have hastily declined.  This computer has a whole section with APPS for almost everything under the sun that Hewlett Packard consider to be necessary for successful operation of this machine - alas, the titles by which they appear in their APP Store (for free, I hasten to add) are labelled in such a way that I'm not actually sure whether I can operate without them - or absolutely need to have them.  I'm not keen to overload the machine, although Alan did assure me that everything on the old machine only took up an eighth of the space available to him on his Data Key when he was removing stuff from my old Presario (of fond memory;  still with me, but unused - although I am tempted), so I can upload as much as like, without fear of choking the machine.

Oh, yes, and I've had to get one of those too (a Data Key I mean) - because the memory disc that came with the Presario is now extinct as a means of transferring data from one machine to another!!  I believe that is classed as Progress?

This morning - a Monday, and not necessarily the best day of the week for me - the External Drive arrived and was immediately unpacked - in the hope that by day's end I would at least be able to upload my Camera programme and user manual discs,  and edit my pictures of the two newly-constructed Gentleman Foxes, with a view to listing them and offering them for sale at www.Etsy.com/shop/coldhamcuddlies.  (Despite Alan's best efforts to find a free download on the internet, the specific model of Canon Camera I use and of which I am very fond, I hasten to add, could not be found.  Hence the External Drive acquisition.  Alas, once I'd got the darn thing out of it's tightly-packed cardboard packaging, the black, fearsome looking object - which so far I cannot fathom how to open, let alone use - has been replaced within it's packaging.  The sellers had somehow omitted to include a user manual - which they recommended I use!  So, a feedback message has been left via Amazon to that effect, and I patiently await developments on that particular front.

Thus.... no new pictures to offer I am afraid, but having now found out how to upload the pictures I already have on file, here are a few random ones just to break up this post - and hopefully relieve the gloom being cast by my current rant against all things technical.  I presently cannot upload all the pictures in my Picassa Library, which is duplicated on my computer via OpenOffice.org and my desk top file/folders or what have you.  However, I've discovered I can upload them from the latter, so all is not lost. (Little Red Ted, featured in the top picture here, is the inspiration for the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic (Etsy Listing #79124185).  He was the very first patient.) 

 It's been very exciting looking at the Picassa Library by the way - photographs I thought I'd long ago expunged from my collection are somehow miraculously still available - even if I may not be able to transfer them as yet to my blog or wherever else I may decide to try and show them.  It's been lovely to reacquaint myself with some of the original ColdhamCuddlies - and I cannot wait to show them off, because many of them pre-date www.ColdhamCuddliescalling.blogspot.com!  Indeed, some never made it onto the Etsy Shop site at all.  Think I have to upload some 113 files to Google+ or somewhere, and then I'll be able to upload them from that source!!  So, have plenty to find out - and do - in the coming days and weeks.

As mentioned above, I have not been idle in between attempts to master my new Big Toy.  Two Foxes - one dressed in Hunting Pink (scarlet to the rest of us) and a relaxed Country Gentleman in a Royal Blue Velvet Smoking Jacket are ready to be listed and to join the Buchanan Foxes (Etsy Listing #654656642) as their dancing partners in any foxy jamboree on offer.  Turner Bear is about to begin his treatment in the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic (Etsy Listing #79124285) - the mohair fabric matching his existing skin arrived about 10 days ago, but I have been somewhat otherwise engaged!!

Now that the Foxes are complete, I decided not to delay Turner's treatment - apart from anything else, funds to cover all my new technical purchases are needed - so once I have completed this post, the Quic-Unpic will be flourished, and Turner will be "attacked" - ready for his warm-water soaking prior to being rebuilt.

 Cy Bear and I will be back as quickly as we can.  Meanwhile, if I don't blog again this week - we both wish everyone a Blessed and Happy Easter!  Looks like we're going to have a White One!!

One last thing:  like Alice in Wonderland, the machine somehow managed to shrink this page siz twice:   I've now corrected it to the normal twice while preparing it for publishing:  so far, without knowing how I achieved either result!  Life is exciting .....  as I said before - watch this space.......!