ColdhamCuddliescalling: The start-up of Mr. Fox

ColdhamCuddliescalling: 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. Daytim..."

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

The Making of Mrs. Fox - Part 2

Hello once again.

I really got carried away last night when sending my news about the production of Mrs. Fox and sent multiple editions to the Facebook link.  Apologies to any Friends who visited my page earlier today, as it must have been a bit of a surprise to see 4 posts saying exactly the same thing!  Giving the information was important, but not that much!  I have since corrected the mistake, and hope that when today's post is ready for circulation the same thing won't happen!                                                                                                                                 

So, to today's post:  having made the body and dressed it suitably, the next step is to make the head.  I do this by sewing the ears with their lining first and then putting the head pattern pieces together.  Once that's done, I put the eyes in and then stuff the head.  Getting the eyes level and in the right spot is very important - because it can affect how the completed toy looks!   It's also important to do it BEFORE one stuffs the toy, because it's impossible to achieve if one doesn't.  Many is the time that I've stuffed the head, got it exactly as I've wanted it, and then realised that there are no eyes!  Frustration is not in it - because one can never get the same result twice:  or, at least, I cannot!

Mrs. Fox's head, minus facial features

I'm told that, having settled down with their friends at the BOSS Federation, Freda and Freddy Fox (www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com/#62236267 and #62236009 respectively) office visitors and my daughter do find that they are somewhat "boss-eyed" (pun not intended) when facing them, with one eye being slightly above the other;  when viewed sideways, the problem  is not as apparent!  Since making them in November 2010 and having the problem pointed out, I now make sure that I thread-mark eye positions before inserting them and,  so far, have not repeated the error. 

Once the stuffing is complete, and the neck space sewn by gathering together and then oversewing the resultant seam, the time comes to attach the ears.  Placement of these too can affect the final look of the toy, and in this case, with the addition of a contrasting bonnet, one has to consider where to put the holes in the hat so that the ears can pop through at the end!  I buttonhole-stitch the slits I make in the bonnet, thus preserving the integrity of the fabric.  

I don't always include a bonnet when making my lady Foxes. Since starting my Etsy shop (www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com) I have chosen to put bonnets on those that are to be customised.  In which case, the name of the intended recipient is embroidered on to the shopping bag that Mrs Fox carries on her arm..  If it is to be used as a Mascot, then the initials/logo of the company/school/etc can be embroidered there too.  If Mrs. Fox is to become a companion toy, then she is less formally attired - no hat, no bag, no special labelling! 

Then comes the important bit of putting head and body together, not my favourite bit of the operation, because it's fiddly and my arthritic fingers can (and often do) object to all the digit movement that this can entail.  In Mrs. Fox's case, this time was reasonably easy.  The head is attached to the body using a ladder stictch, which hides the stitches nicely.  Once firmly on. I attach the collar.  In Mrs. Fox's case, it is a plain white felt collar:  some of my other mother toys have decorated collars, or collars that compliment the material from which their dresses are constructed.  This time, as the material is somewhat "busy" and colourful, I did not feel any further decoration is warranted.

Now, as I've yet to transfer the pictures of the final step in Mrs. Fox's preparation from my camera to the computer, I'll end this post and complete the job description tomorrow.  Hoping that the distribution process is more smooth tonight, I'll close.    Isobel

I

The Making of Mrs. Fox - Part 1

Having spent the last few weeks making Bears (two Hairy Bears and Cy Bear himself) decided that I needed to have a change in toy-making procedures.  Since November, when the replacement Foxes for Freda and Freddy Boss Fox ( www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com/etsy listing #62236207 and #62236009 respectively) found their way to Western Canada and a new home with my little great neice, I've been meaning to get round to it, but something always intervened.

Making foxes has always been a favourite pastime for me - the first  one made was for my elder daughter, when we were living in Edmonton, Alberta and it was also the first toy I'd made for about 15 years.    She called her Fanny and if memory serves, her dress was made using a small blue gingham printed cotton material.  It was in the late 1970's/early 1980's that this happened, and I don't think this version survives.  On the other hand, I made one a year or two later for my younger daughter, and that one is still going strong! 

So, last week-end, I dug around in my material cupboard - keep forgetting what I've been given., so it was a lot of fun - until I had to put everything back again!  Must  not complain, because I  have really been so lucky with the generous folks hereabouts (even though I suspect I am doing them a favour sometimes - as it's giving them more space in their cupboards).  Having selected some colourful material and cut out the patterns for a Mrs. Fox, I found that the selected remnant was big enough to give me three outfits.  So once the current Mrs. Fox is completed, I may two a couple more - or then, I may do another Mrs. Rabbit ....  In't it wonderful to have the luxury of being able to choose?  Though I'd just as soon welcome some more commissions as well.

Anyway, back to my current story.  Once the pattern pieces are all cut out, then the sewing begins.  One begins with the body, for which I use plain material  - calico, sheeting or something similar for preference.  At this stage, I often resort to my sewing machine to do the seams - takes less time and the seams hold as well as those that are hand made.  I attach the sleeves from the dress to the paws, stuff them and attach them at the appropriate places to the body.  I do two lines of stitches where the legs join the body - the top one with a curve, which allows the toy to sit  Then the body is stuffed.  The pattern for all my lady toys  allows the toy to sit, rather than stand.  Standing is an occupation reserved for the Mr. Foxes.

Then the felt shoes (pale blue fleece type material - again a donation) are sewn up, stuffed and attached to the legs.  Then come the pantaloons, decorated with a pale blue zig-zag braid I had in stock from another commission and the waist is gathered up and the whole thing sewn to the body, both at the waist and ankles.

Showing shoes and pantaloons

Then I make the dress skirt and top.  This is the time that I fix any additional decoration on.  In this case, I sewed on red zig-zig braid to the lower skirt, just above the hem and at the waist - picking out the red parts in the material design.  The dress top is attached to the arms with ladder stitch (resulting in "invisible" stitches) and the dress is completed by being gathered at the neck and stitched to the body.  It is also stitched to the body at the waist, with the top over the gathered skirt.  (This is when the braid is attached to the waistline).

Mrs Fox, Stage 1, with sewing aids

I'll finish the description of how Mrs. Foxes are made with the next post.  Meanwhile, I'll close for tonight.  Isobel

Updating folks on what's happening (or not!)

Cy Bear having done the last two blogs is having a rest!  He performed one of his official duties yesterday when he monitored me packing Brown Hairy Bear - ordered by YvonneB-P from Saudi Arabia for her baby nephew, R who lives in Portsmouth, England, UK.  Having wrapped Hairy Bear in two sheets of chemical free tissue paper, he then had a layer of bubble wrap put around him.  Next, he was slipped into a polyester Royal Mail envelope complete with "FRAGILE" labels prominently displayed.  Hopefully he should arrive at his destination in the next day or two. We took a picture of Cy "waving" Hairy Bear off on his journey, but we won't be publishing it, because the address is too prominent - and we've got to protect such confidential details -  however small the intended recipient may be.

Meanwhile, I've been working on a new Mrs. Fox.  She has her dress on, I'm stuffing her tail and will be completling head, ears and bonnet in the next day or so.  I shall take pictures to show her progress for another post.

She is the replacement for Freda Boss Fox, who is a sample of a Mascot Toy and doesn't now exist in the shop at www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com.  As explained in her description in the Shop, she is now a fulltime employee of the Boss Federation - as a fund-raiser for their benevolent fund.  She and Freddy Boss Fox (Etsy Listing #62236267 and #62236009 respectively) were "recruited" by  my elder daughter, who is General Manager of the Boss Federation (British Office Supplies and Services Federation in full) and is also Secretary of their Benevolent Fund.  Both Foxes attend major industry events and occupy prominent positions on the BOSS stall.  The idea is that if any orders are generated from folks who visit the Boss Stall, then the 10% I usually give to charity is sent to the Fund.  They have received one donation already - and as the Industry Events season is about to start, I'm hopeful that there will be more orders coming from that direction.

The colour scheme for their clothing reflect the Boss Federation corporate ones.  They seem to have attracted a lot of favour with fellow Etsians, as they are often "favourited" by them on the Etsy activity site. Hope that the new ones will be as popular when they appear in the shop.  Had to order more Chesnut Plush fur fabric before I could cut the new Mr. Fox out.  That arrived yesterday, so have no excuse now for delaying their completion (except for the fact that I don't have 48 hours in the day in which to do so!).

Today was the monthly meeting of the Women's Section of the Royal British Legion who meet in the Resident's Hall here at the Hospital of St. John - we had an interesting talk, illustrated by a video, from a gentleman who spent 44 years working fulltime at the Royal Mews in London, followed by a further 11 years as a part-time employee.  His most recent involvement was to ensure that the coach carrying the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge from Westminster Abbey after their recent wedding stopped exactly opposite the red carpet at both the Abbey and Buckingham Palace.  That move necessitated some "fancy footwork" by fast car between the two venues to ensure he was in the right spot in time to help their Royal Highnesses out of the carriage, and clear the other carriages out of the way in time for Her Majesty to alight upon her arrival after the ceremony.  Apparently, some of the bridal attendants, having thoroughly enjoyed the trip back in their carriages, were somewhat reluctant to alight and had to be gently "encouraged"!  Simply fascinating talk, and much enjoyed by all of us (25 plus) who attended.

The point of telling you about this is to say that I was able to donate a further £11.00 to the British Legion funds, making a total of  nearly £20.00 since the beginning of the year, when orders to www.coldhamcuddlies.etsy.com began to drift in. I'll end by including a picture of both Freda and Freddy, because once their replacements are made, I'll be withdrawing them from the shop.  If anyone needs a mascot for their promotional activities, then any of the Cuddlies would be willing to fulfill that need - just contact us and we'll be happy to try and meet your requirements.

Freda and Freddy Boss Fox

That's it for tonight.  Until the next time.  Isobel