Busy Making New Little Mohair Bears

Having taken 11 bears to the Cromer seafront bear shop, Allsorts of Bears and sending 8 to Alice's Bear Shop in Lyme Regis, I am now busy trying to build up my website and Etsy stock.Here are my latest creations -

Mini Clarence (3) 4.5"

Ted Bear 4.5"

Sweetie 4"

Tumbleweed 8"

Sweetie is the smallest bear I have ever made at 4".  I have enough of the pink tipped mohair to make more of these little bears so I have marked her as an open edition.  However I may use different paw fabrics and will not especially try to make her facial features exactly the same so they will all be slightly different.

The same goes for Mini Clarence.  He will be made in different shades of mohair in the same type as this one, and with different coloured paws. 
This is the 3rd Mini Clarence so here are all three together  to show how different they can look (the first two are at the above shops).

Find me at Alice's Bear Shop, Lyme Regis



Find me at Allsorts of Bears, Cromer



Find me at www.pollysvintagebears.weebly.com

Ta Daaa! The Two Bears are Finished

Here are the two little mohair bears, all finished and brushed, ready for a new home.
Treacle is the 5" brown tipped mohair bear and the 6" blue tipped mohair bear I have called Forget-Me-Not.
I was expecting Forget-Me-Not to be 7" but it seems I had used my 6" pattern for her.

Treacle 5" and Forget-Me-Not 6"

It always amazes me how much difference 1" makes in the look of these little bears.
One of these days I will make a pattern for a 4" or even a 3", but at the moment I am enjoying making these sizes.

I am now making 2x5" brown bears in these mohairs and paw fabrics.  I tend to make bears 2 at a time for some unknown reason.  I did try making more than 2 at once, but stitching 4-5 pairs of ears on all at once was not my idea of fun. :)

I also got some pretty tipped mohair in a short pile cream with tan tip delivered yesterday.  That will make a lovely 6" bear. 

I have used the same mohair in a dark brown tip many years ago and Bisto (edition of 10) was really cute and my customers loved him (sorry about the quality of the picture, it is a photo of a photo).

6" Bisto LE10 (all sold)

The making of A Pretty Blue Bear and a Soft Tipped Mohair Bear - Part 2

The arms and legs have now been stitched up and combed to make sure there is no mohair caught in the seams.
I have attached them to the body using traditional cotterpin joints.  You may think that this is the main part done, but finishing the head takes just as long.
I trim the nose ready for stitching with black Perle cotton.  For these smaller bears I split the cotton into two so that it is not as thick.
Sometimes I have to redo the nose as it is easy to get it stitched crooked, and I am quite fussy over the facial features being straight and in the right places.  The eyes are then positioned using the pins with coloured ends - to make sure they are in line with the nose and rest of the head.  They both have black glass eyes.
Here are the two little bears at this stage.  The smaller one will be 5" and the other 6.5".


2 little bears wondering what you are saying about them.
They can't hear you as they haven't any ears yet!

Tomorrow I will show you the finished bears, complete with ears and full tummies.
I have not decided on names yet.  Any suggestions welcome.

The making of A Pretty Blue Bear and a Soft Tipped Mohair Bear - Part 1

It is a long time since I have showed any work in progress, so I decided to show the two new mohair bears that I am currently making.
The first is a 7" in a white with blue tip sparse and shaggy mohair.  I have never used this mohair before so it is exciting not knowing how he/she is going to turn out.
I have chosen a mid blue ultrasuede for the paws to compliment the blue tip on this pretty mohair.

I don't think my big white Real Soft Toys cat
minds being used as a model for the mohair

The other bear will be 4-5" and is being made from a beautifully soft gold with rust tip which I was told is used a lot for making ducklings.  He will have peach coloured ultrasuede paws.

I have already cut him out and do not have enough of this mohair left to show you it in the 'piece'.

Here is Butterscotch a 6" bear made from the same mohair, but with gold paws.

Butterscotch 6" mohair bear

I have got all the pieces stitched together and have stuffed and jointed the arms and legs.  Recently I purchased some smaller cotterpin joints that will make it much easier to assemble the 4-5" bears.

The head is also stuffed ready for my favourite bit - nose, mouth, eyes and ears. 

First I have to sew up the stuffing seams in the arms and legs and comb out any trapped mohair.

Here are the pieces so far. 

The pieces of the two bears ready for assembling

On my Spaniel tray (found in a second hand shop) there is also my trusty old pincussion, strong thread, two sizes of sharp scissors, two sizes of cotterpin turners, the rest of the joint components I will need and my little homemade stuffing tool.  My husband made it for me years ago and I would be lost without it.  It is a metal crocheting hook inserted and glued hooked end into a bradawl handle and then bound with string.  It is great for stuffing and turning smaller size bears.  

I will show more of the progress of these bears tomorrow.

Butterscotch and many other bears - new handmade mohair and vintage, can be found on my website

www.pollysvintagebears.weebly.com
and in my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/PollysVintageBears

These are What I Call 'Real' Teddy Bears

To me, these are the 'real' teddy bears, the same sort of age and similar mohair as my childhood bear, Cuddly.
These 1940's - 1950's bears really appeal to me.  They are like old friends.
I have a few from this era on my website and in my Etsy shop - see links at bottom of page.
Here are a selection of them.

Charlie and his Pup, a Merrythought Bear

Dean, a Deans Bear

Sailor Bill, a Chiltern Bear

Jessie, a Pedigree Bear

Sandy, an English Bear

www.pollysvintagebears.weebly.com

www.etsy.com/shop/PollysVintageBears

Six Inch Bears

I think that most bear makers have a favourite size of bear that they make.

When I started bear making I made various sizes from 6" to 16".  Over the years the bear world has changed and many collectors prefer the smaller sizes so my business has evolved accordingly.
The largest bears I make now are 8" and the smallest I have gone down to is 4.5". 
These tiny bears are a nightmare to turn and joint,making my fingers and hands ache.

Green and Tan Panda

Puple Panda

I like to make the 8" size, especially the colourful Pandas design.






I think my favourite size has got to be the 6".

They are just the right size to sit on a shelf or dressing table without being over'bear'ing. :)
Here are a collection of my 6" bears, past and present, such cute little characters.

Herbie - Sold

Rosebud

Butterscotch

Teddy

Leonard

Mikey - Sold

Timmy - Sold

Binky - Sold



Snowball

If anyone has a colour in mind or would like one similar to one of the sold bears (it cannot be identical as they are mostly one offs), please contact me with your requirements.   I will make one up for you at no obligation to buy if it does not look as you were expecting.
The available bears are in my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/PollysVintageBears and on my website www.Pollysvintagebears.weebly.com

A purple rabbit called Rascal 2nd

I made a few mohair rabbits last year for the craft shop.  There was one of them that I really liked.  He was called Rascal and had such grumpy expression.
He was sold a few weeks ago and got lost in the post.  I was quite annoyed with GPO because I would sooner have kept him for myself  than not know where he has ended up. 

This is Rascal 1st

The customer asked if I had another like him.  I hadn't as I had made him as a one off, but told him that I had some of the mohair left and would try to make another as close as possible.
He needed to be a bit different (or Rascal 1st wouldn't have been a one off) and as I didn't have quite enough of the purple tipped for his tummy he has a Panda type strip at his neck.
I was really pleased how he turned out and I like him just as much as his 'brother'.  He doesn't look quite as grumpy does he?

Rascal 2nd

He is an 8" design in luxurious German purple mohair with cream/lilac tipped muzzle and tummy and pink ultrasuede paw pads and ear inners.
The customer hasn't bought him yet so if you are interested in him he will be available for general sale shortly.

**He is now available in my online shops**
 www.folksy.com/shops/PudBearsandFriends  (handmade craft site UK only )
 www.pollysvintagebears.weebly.com  (my website containing old and new bears and other animals.)
www.etsy.com/shop/PollyKay11 (Overseas and UK craft site for vintage and new items)

I am in a colourful mood to try to combat all this rain we are getting and finished this 8" Rainbow bear yesterday.  He is available at  www.etsy.com/shop/PollyKay11 for international buyers and www.pollysvintagebears.weebly.com for UK customers, priced at £28 including UK postage.

Rainbow Bear 8"

Real Soft Toys

I found this maker by accident whilst looking around a bootsale.
A big white fluffy toy cat caught my eye and on impulse I bought him.
When I got him home and set about brushing and cleaning him I found a label saying he was made by Real Soft Toys.

Snowy - SOLD

He had the most beautiful expressive eyes and a nice shaped nose which appealed to me so I started looking for more information on this maker. 
Real Soft Toys was a factory in Watford, England.  They were taken over by Lefray in 1980, so any animals by them are 1970's or earlier.

The cat who I named Snowy was a hit with my customers so I searched for more of these toys.
Here are the ones that I have found, some are available on my website and in my Etsy shop, some have found new homes and I still have one or two still to be brushed to bring out their full beauty.

Ginger Tom SOLD

Simba SOLD

Tom Kitten SOLD

Jet SOLD

Yorkie in Boot

I have another Yorkie (see below), and I've managed to get another Tom Kitten and Simba too.  Then there is a RST bear.  I have not had one of the bears before and will be interested to see what response I get from my customers.  The cats and dogs seem to be quite collectable, but not sure if the bears will be as popular.

Ferdie the Fox

I am constantly researching to find the makers of some of the old bears and animals that I get.
Some are easy - they have a label, then it is just tying the label up with a date.  Makers used various labels in different eras.
It is so satisfying after looking for what seems an age for the roots of a bear, dog or other animal to find exactly what they are and to be able to give a name to the design.

This is Ferdie Fox

Ferdie came to me in a job lot of old (some very poorly) animals and bears.  As you can see he is very small.  I was puzzzled by his appearance - he looked a bit like a Hermann type, but I had never seen one made from fluffy pipecleaners before.
He has glass eyes and nose and is really very cute.
This morning, just by chance I was browsing Etsy when I came upon this.  Can you see the resemblance?

This deer is made by Ara Jeterzian.  He made about 200 of these little collectable animals in the 1970's to 1980's.  My research shows that he came from Austria. (at least my Hermann idea was the right sort of area in the World!).  I have found quite a lot of deer, they seem to have been very popular.
Here are a few more that I have found on the net

They came in little clear sided boxes, some are still available boxed.  I think they are really cute and can imagine myself collecting them when I was a youngster.  Sadly, they were not available in my local Wooloworths store where I went to spend my pocket money.

The little Fox is available on my website www.pollysvintagebears.weebly.com or in my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/PollyKay11

The others are from various websites on the Internet.



Gary and Kathy, Two Old Friends

I showed you a couple of Old Timers in a very sorry state a few weeks ago.
This week I decided it was about time they had their makeover.

I started with the bear whom I had called Rumble as he had a hole in his tummy.
As I was stitching and cleaning it became apparent that Rumble was, infact a girl!  The name didn't suit her at all so I had to think of another.  I waited until I had finished her and sat her in front of me thinking how beautiful she was now.  I decided on Kathy as I have always though that Katherine Zeta Jones was really beautiful.

Next was the Pekingese dog.  He is called Gary.  The reason?  Biscuits of course - Garibaldi - get it?
Again I stitched and cleaned, and replaced missing eyes.  Gary has no mohair left at all on his body so I knitted him a blue coat to protect his 'skin' from further damage.

I am so pleased with how the two of them have turned out, I have to keep going to look at them.
There is something so special about these old timers that people have let get in such a state.  If only they could talk, think of the tales they could tell.

Poor old Garibaldi

Gary standing proud in his new coat

Two sad old friends

A little magic - and 'You Shall go to the Ball'

Both Gary and Kathy are available on my website www.pollysvintagebears.weebly.com and for International customers www.etsy.com/shop/PollyKay11

Groundhog Day

Squeaky - NOW SOLD

Apparently today is Groundhog Day in America.  I have seen the film with Tom Hanks in it a couple of times but didn't realise that Groundhog Day actually happens in USA on February 2nd every year.  I thought it was just made up for the film.

Squeaky, above is a Hermann Marmot (Groundhog)  he was available in my Etsy shop although is now sold www.etsy.com/shop/PollyKay11 .  He has been in many Treasuries on Etsy the last few days and has proved very popular with lots of views.

Foggy found him quite interesting when I left him on the table.

He is in excellent condition (Squeaky I mean, but Foggy's pretty good too) complete with his red tag label and a loud squeak when pressed.
If you prefer a private website shop instead of Etsy, this is my websitewww.pollysvintagebears.weebly.com

Happy Groundhog Day!