Farewell to some Bunnies: introducing more Hares

Good evening everyone:  Cy Bear signing in for another conversation with you all.

We seem to be inundated with little toys at the moment, what with all those Baby Bunny renewals and then the new Snowy Baby Hares.  In her last post introducing them, Isobel mentioned that she was about to start producing some traditional coloured Brown Mad March Hares to the ColdhamCuddlies Family;   she's just finished two more.  She'll be changing the photographs on Etsy Listing #125962011 for the Snowy March Hares, as well as the title, after we've done this post together.  As you know, we do like to offer as wide a choice as possible.

Before introducing you to the new Brown Hares though, we thought you'd like to see the Farewell Pictures taken before the three Baby Bunnies set off on their travels to Okeechobee, Florida last week.  We are hoping that because we were able to get them off on Saturday morning - from our Village Post Office this time (the package was small enough for them to handle) - they too will travel as fast as Hairy Bear did to Southbridge, Massachusetts.

 

The Black/White Bunnies don't show up very well with me around!

 MsAB let us know that he arrived in 8 days - again in the middle of a blizzard!  Us Bears do seem choose our times somewhat awkwardly I must say!  However, Isobel has a theory - based on her experience when living in Canada - that if parcels were posted in the UK at a week-end, they did tend to arrive quicker in Edmonton, Alberta (where we then lived) than if they were posted at the beginning of the week.  We wondered then, and are beginning to do so again now, if there are more flights (both passenger and cargo) leaving the UK for America and Canada at the weekends, so there are more options for parcels to be posted.  We're waiting for some photographs of Hairy Bear playing with Ollie and Georgie as he waits to meet his Forever Friend later this year.  We've already got one of what looks like him getting out of his Mailing Envelope, and will include it in another post about the Southbridge Cuddlies as and when photographs are sent to us by MsAB.  Wonder if she's knitting Hairy a smart sweater so he can keep up appearances with Ollie and Georgie?

Anyway, here, as promised are some pictures of the new Brown March Hares - they're too young to be called Mad March Hares we think!

Finally, here is a picture of all four of the March Hares together - lively-looking little bunch, aren't they?  We're going to have our work cut out to keep them in control, methinks!

That's all for this post.  Will be back with you again shortly.  Isobel hopes to see Turner Bear's Forever Friend tomorrow at her Zumba Class where she will be showing her the swatch of Red Mohair we've found that we hope to use for Turner's new fur coat.  More of that and other matters anon!

Meanwhile, Good Night to you all!  Cy Bear

A Change from Baby Rabbits: here are Hares!

Etsy Listing # 125962011

These little fellows are Retro Snowy March Hare Babies just listed in our shop at www.Etsy.com/shop.coldhamcuddlies.   As they've been posted on all the Etsy Team forums I've signed up for, thought I'd complete the job by doing this extra post this evening!

Last summer, we welcomed a patient to the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic (Etsy Listing # 79124185) who was called Bunny.  He had been a much loved plaything for the son of  really good friend of our family MrsPC, who is also the Forever Friend of Fred Bear, who incidentally was also a Patient (see our Posts recording his Treatment - The Rejuvenation of Fred Bear was posted 08/08/2012 and Part Two on 14/09/12).  Bunny had lost a lot of weight over the years and really only needed a good wash and restuff - which did not take long.  However, while he was in pieces having his bath, I took a template for future use - and these Snowy March Hare Babies are the first results.  The intention is to also make some Brown March Hares too - which I'll cut out and attend to tomorrow once this post is complete.  It's the ears of these guys that makes me feel they are Hares rather than Rabbits!

Bunny had been forgotten and hidden in MrsPC's craft contents cupboard for many years, and while she was clearing out the contents (most of which were donated to me!) Bunny emerged and is now back  home with Fred Bear, with the intention of being re-introduced to MrsPC's son!  That reminds me, I must enquire as to whether that event has taken place, and what the result is!

This full-on view of the two Baby Hares was taken in our Photographic Studio, and I think the results speak for themselves.  Certainly, using the tripod, does mean that my hand doesn't shake as I click the button!

Solo pictures of each Baby Hare

And finally, here is a photograph of their tail ends - just to complete the picture!

 Looking forward to your reactions to them!  Meanwhile,  all the best - as ever.  Isobel

Reintroducing the Baby Bunny Families

 Our Baby Bunnies have long been stalwarts of the ColdhamCuddlies Family - even before www.coldhamcuddlies.Etsy.com was a twinkle in my eye!  One of the first toys I made for elder daughter, Philippa, was little yellow and white chappie, who was christened Treasure.  That was largely because Philippa herself - when she was being a good girl - was addressed as such by her doting Grandmother, and often by her Father and Mother as well!  Treasure was much loved and eventually went the way of all beloved toys - to Toy Heaven, but the tradition lives on, with Plush colour variations of Light Brown, with or without White Plush chests, Black with or without White chests, Grey - again with or without White Chests and all White versions.  We've also got Fleece variations in Pink, Baby Blue, White and Purple (again with or without White Chests).

Fleece Bunny Wreath in 2011 - Etsy Listing  #89020911

The Plush and Fleece versions are very popular, especially with Little People, when the Cuddlies participate in the local Craft Fairs and Bazaars and during 2012, the supply had drained away - without my being aware of it.  So, while I was away with Philippa recently, I decided to keep the old fingers working.  Thus, prior to leaving home  I cut out 15 different Plush bunnies to be sewn up.  The idea being that once I returned, they could be rapidly stuffed and put into the Family Stores!

 It's been some time since I undertook such a multiple task -  the 6 Christmas Bears were simple in comparison, because they were so much larger and thus less exercise for the arthritic fingers.  I'd forgotten just how much bending is required to put eyes in (two per bunny), sew ears on (two per bunny), embroider their facial features - a doddle! and finished off with stuffing bobtails on all 15 (definitely fiddly!) and adding them in the appropriate spot.  Instead of  completing them within  three or four sessions, it took me about 9 days to do them, and by the time the last one was finished, I'd resorted to referring to them as "those pesky little critters"!   I've yet to resupply the Fleece versions:  that can wait a bit:  I'm all bunnied out!  Although, obviously, if someone wants one and I don't have that colour in stock, naturally a speedy response will occur!!!

Here is a photograph of the renewed White Plush Baby Bunnies as they were listed on Thursday.

 Etsy Listing #70181260

(Mind you, I've also been doing all the social media stuff as well;  plus  fighting to get Firefox to talk to Facebook, and vice versa - giving up the struggle this afternoon.  Am now firmly in the Google Chrome fold, and likely to remain there as both Philippa and Clare use that browser from choice, and when I'm with them, I obviously use it too while borrowing time on their respective machines.  And, yes, Facebook and I are now once more communicating - even though I still operate two accounts, with one Coldham Cuddlies page.  I know that's a complication that most sensible folks would have sorted by now - but I don't want to merge one with the other (largely because I'm not sure which page is the one actually connected to Etsy and I obviously don't want to lose that union!!!!)  Nor do I want to badger all my lovely Friends to become Friends with me again, just because they have been inadvertently dropped off if I were to merge!!  Life is awfully complicated for a mature Silver Surfer sometimes!)

Anyway, I digress:  once the new Bunnies were ready for introduction to the public, I spent Thursday listing (as well as renewing)  them on Etsy, having retaken all their photographs.  This time, instead of  just snapping and using the graphics programme built in on my computer, I actually set up my mini Photographic Studio, complete with tripod, and using natural daylight, had another go.  The White Bunnies were done first, and here are two of them in close-up;

I'm using up some of the ribbons I was lucky enough to be given at the end of last year, although not all of them are be-ribboned (to demonstrate what they can look like!  It makes a nice change from the usual pastel, baby colours I've used in the past I think.  Your reactions, by the way, would be very welcome!  They don't take long to attach, and they are easily removed  if the Forever Friends demand their withdrawal!

Next come the Black Bunnies - this time, most of the replacement bunnies have Orange ribbons - they'd make great Halloween decorations would they not?

Etsy Listing #55187979

 The Bunnies in the middle of each of the group photographs are those left in the stock from last year - and you can see that this time around, their ears have white linings rather than the light brown ones.  Think they look a little livelier with the lighter colours.

Here are group photos of the Light Brown Bunnies - they are shown with or without ribbons, and where they are decorated, there is a choice of brown checked ribbons or primrose yellow ones.  They make a nice contrast to their plush coats, methinks.  Not sure why, but I don't actually have new photos of a couple of them in close-up to include here.  So sorry about that!

Etsy Listing # 73079287

Then, finally, come the Grey Bunnies:  these come in two different Greys and are now somewhat limited in supply as I'm coming to the end of my fabric store for these little guys.  Its rare that one can get exactly the same colour in Greys I find, so the dark Grey ones are definitely a Limited Edition of three - there's no more material for any more of them.  The Light Grey ones might well be increased by another couple of fellows and then I'll have to scout around the haberdashery outlets available to me here and on the internet to see what I can use next.

Etsy Listing #73147998

Believe it or not, these all are made from exactly the same pattern:  the difference in size and rotundity is down to the variation in fabrics and the fact that some expand more than others when the polyester fibre is applied!

And to finish off on a positive note:  one Brown/White, one Black/White and one Dark Grey/White Bunny will be wending their way to Okeechobee, Florida, USA tomorrow morning - hopefully in time to reach their Forever Friends and Homes in time for Easter!  Three weeks is surely time enough for them to negotiate the international postal routes?  Let's keep our fingers crossed anyway.

Good night - and God Bless!  Isobel

More Cuddlies go to their Forever Homes

Hello again Everyone - Cy Bear signing in again, to do a follow-up post about my friend, Hairy Bear - now on his way to Southbridge, Massachusetts to become a Forever Friend for MsAB's Mother later this year.

However, we've not told you about Ben, the Barn Owl finding his Forever Home either, so as Isobel is needing a rest from Baby Bunny making (she's done 5 out of 15 - so she's a third of the way through this particular replacement task), we thought we'd post about him as well.

Ben's Forever Home is now in London, England, UK - and there's a funny story about his purchase.  All our Etsy orders to our Shop, www.coldhamcuddlies.Etsy.com are of course processed in the U.S.A and paid for in American Dollars.  However, when Ben was purchased by MrWH just before Valentine's Day, he asked if it would be possible for us to get him to his home by Thursday, February 14 - (we got the order on February 10 which was the Sunday before).  Once Isobel had made sure the funds had reached her Warminster bank account on the Monday, Ben was ready for his journey;

This picture was taken before he was wrapped in the chemical-free tissue paper we use for all journeys and then bubble-wrapped to help keep him as safe as possible and free from the bumps of postal travel. He's actually standing on the paper before being wrapped up in it.   Once wrapped up, Isobel put in the usual letter she sends to our Buyers - which, of course, gives our full address.  When the parcel had been posted on Tuesday, February 12, MrWH was informed by email that it had left the Codford Village Post Office (when Isobel was on her way to her weekly Zumba class).  Well that afternoon, an email arrived thanking us for getting the parcel in the post - and then telling us that MrWH knew exactly where Ben had been posted, as he had lived as a child in another village close by, called Longbridge Deverell!  MrWH ended the message by saying something like "it's good to be trading with the motherland"!  So, an order processed in the USA actually had a connection just 8 miles away!!

 (Isobel here:  and I spend my time telling folks on Etsy, when I'm Following etc. that Etsy is a Big World:  not this time, methinks!)

Now, here's the follow up about Hairy Bear's journey preparations.  Again, once we had confirmed the safe arrival of MsAB's funds for her third Bear order, Isobel got down the wrapping papers and here is Hairy, together with Turner Bear - who is waiting for treatment in the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic (Etsy Listing #79124185).  I'm going to tell you more about him in another post soon, but while he waits for a match to be found for his new skin, he only has one ear, and it has made him look very unhappy. So he's been sitting close to me on Isobel's bed - as he does look rather a sad Bear.  No wonder, as he's spent a great many years just lying, unplayed with, in a drawer in his current Forever Friend's Home.  He originally belonged to MrsJS's Mother, who had him as a baby - which we think was in about 1909!

You can see the tissue paper laid out on top of the bed, together with the bubble-wrap ready for use, as well as the sello-tape roll and scissors necessary to fix the parcel and envelope ready for posting. Us Bears usually need to have two pieces of tissue paper joined together, because we are rather big when all our fur is taken into account!   Hairy Bear actually had some treatment in the Clinic before he left, as MsAB asked if it would be possible for him to have a "Happy Face", rather than the somewhat Solemn one that he had originally.  So, before the packaging materials were arranged, Hairy had a speedy operation - his nose and mouth was cut away and a new one fixed, and a photograph of the new look was sent for approval.  This came back within a couple of hours - and then we were able to prepare Hairy Bear for his journey to the U.S.A.

(Isobel here again:  And, to forestall any questions:  anaesthetic is not applied on these occasions - the procedure does not take long, and Bears are tough characters).  

Hairy Bear is inside this large envelope - which awaits the address, Air Mail Sticker and Fragile label - as well as the Customs Label which all our parcels have on them (except those going to any country within the European Union:  they don't require a Customs Label).  Just hope all you folks know what I'm writing about, because I have not got a clue!!

Hairy Bear was sent off to Southbridge, Massachusetts on Friday morning last week, and we hope that it was in time for him to get one of the week-end flights to America  from UK Airports so that he can quickly get to play with  Ollie and Georgie (posted about in The Travelling Cuddlies post on 01/03/2013), as he waits to go to his Forever Home sometime later this year.  Meanwhile, you can see that Turner does look a very sad bear, so to cheer him up, he sits close to me wherever I am.

 (Isobel again:  while I was away with Philippa, his ear was sent back in a envelope which required my signature - which, obviously, was not available at that time.  So, it was only on Saturday that a convenient time-slot could be arranged and the important ear and matching mohair fabric swatch could be delivered and inspected.  Am glad to say, given that there is a 100-odd year gap between when Turner was originally produced and 2013, we have got an excellent match.  Now we have to arrange a mutually convenient time for MrsJS, Turner's Forever Friend to confirm her acceptance and then we'll be able to order the fabric and get on with his treatment.)

Right Everyone:  that's this post complete, and Isobel now has no excuse not to get back to her Baby Bunny replacement schedule.  She does have to rest up a bit, because being so small, the process really gives her arthritic fingers a work out!  Until the next time - this is Cy Bear signing off (and Isobel too!  It's too late to begin again, this evening, so it will have to wait until the morrow!)

Bulletin from some Travelling Cuddlies

Hello there Everyone - Cy Bear signing in!

We've got some news for you all about how the Golden Teddy Bear Cuddly who left us in January for his Forever Home in Southbridge, Massachusetts is getting on, together with some wonderful photographs that his Forever Friend, MsAB sent us recently.

He arrived, eventually, after a four week journey just after the Big Blizzard (whatever that is) and because he looked so tired, he was sent to bed for some well-earned shut-eye.  When he awoke, he was introduced to the Bear in Residence, who we have been told has been called Georgie.  Now, when he left us in 2011, he was the first ColdhamCuddlies Lt. Brown Bear  to be sold on Etsy at www.coldhamcuddlies.Etsy.com. so it is very nice to know his current title.

Georgie made Golden Bear very welcome, and we now know that he has been given a name, too:  it's Ollie.  Don't the two Bears look smart in their sweaters?  I particularly like Georgie's badge - wonder if Ollie will get one sometime?  Perhaps it's a mark of good behaviour on Georgie's part that he now sports one?

Once Ollie had been fitted with his sweater, it would seem that he didn't keep it on for very long - because MsAB took him for an adventure to explore his new surroundings, and he looked like this at that time.  They went for a cup of hot coffee and a cake - seems as though he's getting ready to tuck in well, doesn't he?

These photographs were received just before Isobel left to stay with daughter, Philippa, in High Wycombe, where of course she was using Philippa's computer whose hard disk (again, whatever that is - the things you Humans get up to!) did not have any of our pictures registered.    The next picture was received while she was away, and it's only today that Isobel remembered how to transfer it from the Etsy Convo site to here.  We're including it, with the explanation which accompanied it, provided by MsAB:

 Message received, February 16, 2013.

" Lastly one more we took today.... After we had some tea and cake Ollie decided to look out of the window of the coffee shop and a man walked by and smiled when he saw Ollie :). I thought it would be a nice photo for your blog.... Teddies spreading smiles :)

Really, don't think I can add any more to that, can I?  However, this last photograph really shows how well Ollie is settling in, I think.


There's another ColdhamCuddlies Bear on his way to MsAB:  she has decided that her Mother, who has a significant birthday coming up in May, and who currently is Bearless should have one to celebrate this anniversary.  (No one, of whatever age, should be Bearless in my opinion.  We make great companions:  never argue, are always there for a cuddle and never give away secrets!)   So, Hairy Bear left Warminster earlier today on his way to Southbridge, MA:  photographs were taken of him being prepared for his journey, and these will form another post shortly.  Maybe, we'll wait until he arrives safely:  or maybe we won't.

Isobel is now busy completing the 15 replacement Baby Bunnies - of different hues - that she sewed up while staying with Philippa.  They're all sewn together, and now all need their eyes fixing, the ColdhamCuddlies label sewn on, and then all of them getting stuffed.  She also did two new White Bunnies - which are a different pattern and thus new to the Family.  These will form a future post too.

(Now that two of the Christmas Bears have found their Forever Homes, they will need to be replaced too! - Isobel)

So, until the next time. Oh, before I go - thanks, MsAB, for sending the photographs, and allowing us to use them for this post.   Everyone have a great week-end!  Cy Bear
 

Making the Buchanan Foxes - Part Two

Well, hello there - after a few days away from Heytesbury, during which a family memorial was attended - I'm now back again at base, and ready to pick up the action once more.  (It was so cold here that Philippa (elder daughter) decided she would accompany me and drive me there. although I had been prepared to travel by train).

 Despite the best laid plans - to draft this post, and some others that are brewing in my mind, while away from home - this is the first opportunity I've had to compose Part Two of the Buchanan Foxes' story, so here it is:

Having collected all the various pieces of each Buchanan Fox and "collated" them, the next step was to dress the calico torso.  The order in which the items are put together is - pantaloons (which have their legs gathered at the ankle and attached firmly to each leg):  followed by the waist being gathered and sewn in place, with the gathers evenly arranged around the body.  Then the skirt is attached.  As this is the first time I've made a skirt with a woolen fabric, and because we are dealing with a plaid here, I decided to pleat the skirt first,  and then gather it to fit (reflecting the traditional use of plaid for kilts).  This actually worked rather well, as it enabled the skirt to get some bant and hopefully to result in the toy becoming a stand-alone (if needed).

Then the bodice, to which the arms had been sewn first, was pulled over the gathered waist line of the skirt and sewn in place in it's turn.  Having worked with the first Fox, the other two soon followed.

The printer (under the orange cloth - originally a curtain), which usually performs the function of being the photographic platform while I'm making up the Cuddlies, proved to be a bit small on this occasion, but you get the drift!.  At this stage, all three of the headless torsos did stand alone.

Before going any further, we thought you might like to see the name of the mill from which these offcuts originated.  This label was attached to one of the pieces I originally discovered when opening up the off-cut haul  received earlier this year, and which was alluded to in my previous post (Part One). The reverse of the label, indicates that the cloth in question is the Buchanan.  I did take a picture of that side, but for some reason or another it has got mislaid between camera and file!  Not concentrating - in the rush to get at least one post published before leaving on my break is the reason, I suspect!

The next step in the fabrication process was to sew on the white felt collar.  Now usually I decorate the edges of the Cuddlies' felt collars with some embroidery;  but on this occasion felt that the RicRac around the hemline, together with the multiple colours in the plaid, were sufficiently eye-catching - and that a plain collar would actually make the wholedressed toy stand out better.  Accordingly, plain white collars were each stitched in place - and then the three Foxes got their heads.

Their bonnets are made with some felt material (again an off-cut from my Frome, Somerset source) which is lime green on the outside with a white lining.  (The fabric first was used late last year as the body for the Green & Orange Frog - Etsy Listing #116285186).   The bonnets are edged with  primrose seam binding attached with a machined zig zag stitch in the same green cotton used to sew the dresses and shoes.  They are now tied under each Fox's chin with a primrose yellow satin ribbon (used for baby layettes normally, but equally applicable here, don't you think?)  Each Fox has a different length of ribbon - just to differentiate them from one another - as well as the different RicRac decoration on each toy's skirt.  Another departure:  the bonnets are detachable.

( Normally, all dressed Cuddlies have their entire outfits attached to the calico body.  Apart from the fact that the pattern calls for this, I do feel that it confirms the concept of the Cuddlies being Collectable Toys, as opposed to just being a plaything:  although, of  course, playing is the primary reason for their being made.)

The Buchanan Foxes were about to be listed, when I suddenly discovered that none of them had their tails!  Now that would have been a criminal omission:  so, without more ado, three tails were cut out, sewn up and stuffed - and rapidly attached. with the following result:

Etsy  Listing # 65456642

This multiple approach does have its drawbacks!  However, the longer I am involved with the Cuddlies, the more I am finding it is easier in the long run to cut out and work with more than one model.  That's for now:  one never knows how things will develop, because this is not how I was originally taught to make toys or how the process was carried out until recently!

That's all for this post:  another will follow shortly, and this time Cy Bear will take over.  His custodial performance while I've been away, has been impeccable, and deserves to be rewarded:  he does like to take the limelight whenever possible!

Good night and God Bless!  Isobel

Making of the Buchanan foxes - Part One

As regular Followers (now 300 - the magic number has been surpassed:  finally!) of this Blog will recall, whilst I do purchase fabrics for the manufacture of the ColdhamCuddlies, I do try mostly to use off-cuts where they are available.  I am lucky to have a ready source of such materials from an upholstery factory in nearby Frome, Somerset (about 10 miles from where I live here in Heytesbury, Wiltshire).  If I did not take these off-cuts (and they tend to be mostly the unusual furry fabrics  used for my Teddy Bears, Wombats and Hedgehogs), these unwanted pieces of fabric would end up on local land-fill sites and land for such rubbish is not unlimited (especially in a small island like the United Kingdom!)

I also purchase my supply of polyester fibre used for stuffing all the ColdhamCuddlies from the same factory (at trade bulk prices, rather than the retail charges  normally available to crafters).  It was when I was picking up 4 one kilo (nearly 9 lbs in all) bags of the fibrefill just after Christmas that I also found a large plastic bag (the same size as the 4 kilo bag illustrated in my penultimate post on Transforming TW Bear - Part Two- 08/02/2013) of choice off-cuts too.  Among the furry fabrics on offer was a separate bag of tartan offcuts, of which the Buchanan plaid was most prolific.

There were three large pieces available - just the right size for the Foxes' skirts - plus several smaller pieces which were used for the bodices and will be just the thing for shirts for the next batch of Gentleman Foxes that are on the "To Do" List.  So, I set about making three versions of the Lady Foxes - and here is a description of the production process.  (There are several other, very colourful , plaid fabrics to be used - but there are no hard and fast plans on how they will be used at the moment!)

First of all, I made the three skirts - and decided to decorate them with different coloured RicRac trimming.  I loathe hemming with a passion - always have:  so, using the RicRac enables me to create a hem  and decorate the dress at the same time!  Always like to find ways of cutting the production process time if possible. The trimming is attached with embroidered French Knots in a contrasting yarn.   These three Ladies have taken me about 8-9 evenings in all - with blogging and other Etsy marketing activities having to be fitted in between (as well as general living chores to undertake!)

The Dress Skirts, decorated and ready for use

All the dressed toys (with the exception of the Coyotes) are usually started by cutting out the bodies in calico (using the sheeting material in which the polyester fibre is supplied - I abhor waste of any kind, so everything that is useable is utilised when I make my Cuddlies).  When I travelled to Normandy in October, I actually took some cut out bodies with me.  The aim being to keep my mind from the English Channel's swell on my return journey, as well as to keep my arthritic fingers moving.  While visiting my family in Normandy and on the return trip back to the UK, I sewed up three Lady and three Gentleman toy bodies.

One of the latter was used for a Coyote that is now living happily in Edmonton Canada, and was a custom order from my younger daughter, Clare who is God Mother to the Coyote's recently arrived Forever Friend, AndyB.  The three lady bodies now comprise the Buchanan Foxes and there are two Gentleman's bodies waiting to be utilised!

Having cut out all the pieces required to make three different versions of the Lady foxes, the the process of putting them together began.

Fox heads, ears, shoes, bodies,skirts and arms x 3

All the bodies pieces for lady Cuddlies have two seams made at the top of the legs. One straight across from left to right (or right to left - if one is that way inclined) and the other starting from one side, making an arc to the orther (with about a quarter of an inch between the two sewing lines).  This enables the toys to sit all the time, whereas the Boys are expected to stand upright!  Once stuffed (from the bottom upwards for the legs and from the top downwards for the body), the shoes are stuffed and added to the body.  Then, the pantaloons are sewn and edged with lace or other appropriate trimming.  In these cases, I had some pretty white cotton edging to hand, and decided to use that instead of lace for a change.

Body, with shoes, pantaloons ready 

The next stage is for the head, and arms (with plush paws attached before stuffing) to be made and sewn on to the bodice for each Toy.  One has to remember that one needs to put the eyes in before one stuffs the head (something I have been known to omit! - with the resulting need to de-stuff and start again!).  Then the ears are made up (lining piece and plush sewn together, turned inside out and then over-sewn at the bottom.  I find this makes it easier to sew the ears on upright when attaching them to the head).  Ears can be a problem for me sometimes - but on this occasion, all three went on first time, which was a pleasant change!

This post has now gone on long enough, and there is a need for me to end anyway as I have to prepare a meal for both Philippa (elder daughter) and myself prior to my returning to High Wycombe (home to Philippa for a few days' away from base.)  While I shall be checking my emails while away, I may not be able to do another post  - but will endeavour to do so if at all possible.  I have sufficent material for at least another three more posts and I may have computer time at some time during the week.  As Philippa works from home, her needs take priority, as I am sure you will all understand.

Cy Bear is therefore on guard duty over the ColdhamCuddlies family, together with providing company to the latest Patient in the Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic - one Turner Bear, whom Cy Bear is most anxious to tell you about as soon as possible, even though his treatment has not yet begun, and he has news to impart about Golden Teddy and Ben, the Barn Owl, who have safely reached their respective Forever Homes.

(This is going to be posted off Philippa's computer, as I'd hoped:  the other posts will need to wait until I return, because obviously (at least to all those computer literate Followers of mine) my pictures are filed on MY OWN hard drive, and not on Philippa's!   I will be able to draft, minus illustrations, though, so will prepare the posts alluded to here, and post them after I return to Heytesbury  - on or after February 25).

Until the next time, then.  Keep safe all of you - and may the weather be kind to everyone.  We've all had some awful experiences in that sphere in recent weeks and months, and it's about time the omens changed, methinks!  Isobel