My First Auction Bears

I have never purchased bears from an auction before, but thought I would try my hand when a collection of well worn bears were listed at a local one.
Most lots went well above my 'absentee' bids.  I couldn't attend in person as I was 100 miles away looking after my Grandsons.  However I managed to get 2 lots and this great hug of bears came home with me. :)

Pedigree mohair, Unkown plush, Lefray mohair

Lefray plush, Deans mohair, Chad Valley mohair

 The first to have a makeover was this little Pedigree bear.  He is not in bad condition, and just needed a good clean and brush.  He is available in my Etsy shop.



Next came this big English plush bear with a deep growl who I named Big Boy.

He was listed on Etsy and sold within 24 hours to a customer of mine who lives in Japan.  As we speak, he is winging his way overseas, as he was posted yesterday.  He caused a bit of amusement in the Post Office as every time his parcel was tipped over he complained in his deep growly voice.

The next to be mended and cleaned up was the Lefray plush bear.

His arm needed a new joint and while I was at it I took a look at his non working squeaker.  He can now make a little squeak with a poke in the tummy (not surprising, it would make me squeak if someone did that to me!).  He is listed in my Etsy shop.

I have started mending the paws of the Chad Valley bear, but his hand paws will need patches.

The 1930's Deans bear I looked at late one night and got so engrossed in sorting out his problems that it was past midnight before I got to bed!  He needs a new head joint, and new hand paws.  He only had one ear so I have found suitable mohair in my offcuts and dyed it as close as I can to the original.  The original two pieces of ear will form the fronts of his 2 new ears, with the dyed pieces at the back.  I think he will be a handsome bear when he is finished.

Finally, the Lefray mohair bear, who needs his arm joints mending.

So, between restoring these. and making up a stock of little Pud Bears, I will be busy for a few weeks. :)  If you would like to know when these bears and the new artist bears go on sale, go to my FB page and 'like' it to get updates on the bears' progress.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pud-Bears-and-Pollys-Vintage-Bears/174222365967942

My Etsy shops are  www.etsy.com/shop/PollysVintageBears and www.etsy.com/shop/pollyspinsandneedles

 

Pedigree Patsy - The Restoration Process

I have tried to take a few photos as I was restoring this next bear.
She came to me in a sorry state.  I think she had been living in an attic for quite a few years and had got very dirty and dusty.  Her nose was gone completely, although there were stitches where it would have been.

What a sorry state to be in - poor girl!
(this is the photo I bought her from)



You can clearly see where the
original nose was

I have seen one or two of these 1950's Pedigree bears now, enough to recognise one, even in her poor condition.  It confirmed to me that she was indeed a Pedigree when I saw the stitches where her original felt nose would have been stitched.

She spent the first 48 hours in a carrier bag in my spare freezer, to kill of any bugs or beetles larvae that may be in her stuffing.  My grandsons are quite amused that Nanny keeps bears and such in her freezer.


The next job was to clean her, I could see that she was originally a pretty cinnamon colour as it was still bright in her ear seams.  She stayed in her dry bath for 24 hours to allow any smells to be drawn away into it.  I do not usually leave the bears in the 'bath' this long, but she was exceptionally grubby.

I then sat on the swing seat outside with a fine tooth comb and my trusty bristle hairbrush (it is quite old and I'm not sure where it came from, but it does the job well).  An hour or so later and the dry oats had been brushed and combed out of her mohair and she looked much cleaner and fluffier.

She had some sort of sound box inside her, and I investigated to see if it could be mended.  It was a huge growler and had just come apart.  A bit of cleaning and sticking back together and it worked again.  Not as good as it would have done, but hey, she gives a little growl when tipped!

Stitching up after a major operation, look away if you are squeamish

The next job was to mend her poorly arm and leg.  A few stitches did the trick on the leg, but the arm took a bit longer to fix.

Her arm was nearly off

This had been roughly stitched with black cotton

 

An ultrasuede black nose, a bit classier than her original felt one, but she deserved it after her ordeal. Then her mouth stitches back in place and she was ready to face the world in her pretty new dress.

Pedigree Patsy, available at www.etsy.com/shop/pollysvintagebears

Pedigree Musical Bear

I loved this bear as soon as I unwrapped him.  He has a gentle face and his mohair is lovely and soft.
He has bells in his ears that jingle with the slightest movement.

I took a look to see if I could mend what I thought was his squeaker, but it turned out to be a musical box.
The evidence of this was staring me in the face really as this worn circle on his back gave it away.

The music box wouldn't work anymore so I have replaced it with a new one.  The worn area was very delicate and threadbare so I found a piece of mohair that was a good match and carefully sewed a patch on.  It has blended in very well, I am very pleased with the result.

Here is Jasper, the Pedigree bear after he has been restored.  He needed major surgery to one of his paws and one of his foot pads.  I do not like to cover original pads and if at all possible will just put a patch on the worn area. 
He is now more beautiful than ever after his makeover and is in my Etsy shop waiting for a new home.  www/etsy.com/shop/pollysvintagebears