A Bear from Bulgaria and Four from England

 
 
Here is my latest old bear find.  He came to me all the way from Bulgaria and is such an unusual looking teddy.  He is in the open mouthed style of many Austrian bears, particularly Fechter.
I have not been able to find the name of his maker yet, but have had a few clues. 

There are bears on the internet very similar to him and one has an original label pinned to his chest with the letters MB on it and a cardboard label with just the word Mohair on it.



A happy bear

I have quite a few more bears to list when I get round to it.
The one I am looking forward to finishing is the large Chiltern who's paws needed mending. I knew I had to replace the right foot paw as there was hardly any fabric left on it, but I hoped to just patch the other and his 'hands'.

Pinned paw

 I pinned the patch under the remaining fabric ready to sew it in place, leaving as much as the original on show as possible.

Pinned foot

I had to give up in the end and replace the paws completely.  The fabric that was remaining was just too fragile and split every time I tried to pull a stitch tight. 

Here he is with his replacement paws, trying to fit on the shelf with his new friends.  I just have to clean him and give him new eyes now.  He will be a handsome bear when he is finished.

 

I have already listed these 3 characters. Left to right - a Gwentoys bear c 1960s, an English bear that I think may be Farnell or Invicta (sold), and a lovely old, nearly bald bear, possibly Chad Valley.  They just needed minimal mending, ears stitching back on, seams mending, a mouth and a broken squeaker removal (the wire spring was tearing the mohair).
I cannot be sure of the last twos' origins as they have no labels, although the Gwentoys one does have his label.  They are in my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/PollysVintageBears

Chiltern Bear Little Jimmy Before and After 'Plastic' Surgery

I had a pretty little 14" Chiltern bear to mend before he could be put for sale.
His nose had a hole in it about the size of a 50p piece.

 



I found a piece of mohair of a similar colour and trimmed it back so it looked a bit worn.  It was then pinned into place ready for sewing.



Patch sewn into place

Pinned ready for sewing

 

 


Little Jimmy is now SOLD

 

See my other bears at  www.etsy.com/shop/pollysvintagebears 





Restoring Chiltern Bear George - Part 1 of 2

I finally plucked up courage yesterday to start the restoring process on old George, a beautiful large Chiltern bear.
He is quite off colour, partly with being a bit dusty, partly to fading with age.  A dry bath should improve that, and soften his lovely mohair. 

His paws were the worst of any of the bears I have restored, with one of his foot pads virtually non-existent and the other 3 all needing work.

This pad was missing



Left paw



Right foot Replacement pad

I have pinned the new material in place, underneath what is remaining of the old paw pads.  The right foot pad had to be replaced altogether.  That meant I had to take the leg off to take the stuffing out, and turn it inside out to stitch the new one in place.  The Kapok was horrible to remove,  as it was old and really dusty it seemed to fly everywhere.  I was concerned about breathing it in, so wrapped a scarf around my nose and mouth while I was doing it, much to the amusement of my husband and son, who said I looked like a gangster.

Left foot pad

Right paw

Whilst I had the bear unpicked to remove the leg I took the opportunity to have a look at his voice box.  It was not a growler as I had thought, but an oval, double squeaker.  It was not working so I gently used a blunt wool sewing needle and tweezers to get the bits of wood wool and Kapok from inside it.  It still didn't work so I resealed the sides of the squeaker part with glue.  Still no noise.  The only thing left was to re tape the whole sides of the box as the coating had disintegrated, and was letting the air through.  A bit of thin masking tape did the trick, and when I pressed it there was a lovely loud squeak came from it.  Sounded more like a duck, we thought, than a bear but still I had got it working. 


Harry (left) and Sidney having a bad hair day

I spent a few minutes teasing Harry with it, as even though he is very deaf he seemed to be able to hear the squeak and kept listening with his head on one side, and turning to look at me every time I pressed it.





 

So now George is at the stage where he has a voice, and his stuffing is no longer in danger of falling out through holes in his paws.

The next step will be to fasten the paw repairs with very fine stitching, removing the pins as I go along.  That will be the difficult part done, all that will be left to do is a good clean, brushing and inserting new eyes.  Then we will see a beautiful old Chiltern bear looking back at us.




Dolls from the Past

A couple more little dolls that I have dressed.
Here they are before I set to work on them (I had already made a vest for the one on the right).

The first is a 3 inch baby with a diamond mark and  open/close eyes.
I do not know her maker.  She is probably a mass produced doll from the 1960's.

 

The other one is 2.7 inches long and is clockwork and crawls when wound up.  This is a really cute little doll.  I had a bit of a job working out how to dress her so that she could still crawl.  I am really pleased with the result, especially the frilly knickers.

The next job has to be making more Pud Bears.  The holiday season should be starting shortly  (if the snow and wind goes away), so the bear shops will be getting more customers and I have to be ready to restock when they sell some of my bears.  Also, the craft fairs start in May and I like to take a few Pud Bears along as I have a few return customers who are bear collectors. 

Hopefully I will be able to sit long enough to man a stall.  If not my husband will help out as he has before, so that I can have a break.  This darn arthritis and back problems make me so frustrated at times.  I used to be an active person and now a short spell on my feet, or sitting in one position for too long, and that is me finished for the day - and probably the next one too. 

My 'To Do' Box of Bears

I didn't realise I was building up a box full of restoration projects until I removed them from the corner of the store area and put them all together in a box.

The Teddy Hospital 'Waiting Room'

They are now huddled together in their cosy box waiting to see who is first to be mended/cleaned ready for a new home.  They've probably got the right idea, it is freezing here on the East Coast of England.  The cold, biting wind blowing off the sea doesn't seem to want to go away and it has felt so cold it hurts your eyes to walk into it (the wind).
Let me introduce you to the residents of the box :-

Minibrix Bear

This handsome chap is a Minibrix bear.  I have never come across one before and I would say he is pretty rare. He has a label tucked under his (very damaged) arm that says 'Minibrix Hygenic Toys' Apparently the firm usually made toy bricks (like Lego, but rubber), but made a few other toys between 1959-1961, then the factory caught fire and they ceased production.
I thought he was a Lefray bear until I saw his label. Has anyone else come across one of these bears?

Leather nosed bear SOLD and grey Chiltern cat

The grey cat is a Chiltern.  These were made in at least two sizes, this being the larger one.  He needs a good clean and brushing, but his fur is quite thick and his felt ears are all intact.  They sometimes look as if the cat has been in a fight with the local alley cats!  He (or she) also has the original pink ribbon.
The chubby bear is one that my husband found at a boot fair.  I have no idea at the moment who made him but he is a cute little chap with a kind face. He could be a one off home made bear, anytime from the 1950's  to 1980's - one to research I think.

The red duo came in job lot boxes. The rabbit is really cute with his big red ears and little felt coat.  There are no makers labels on him so, again no idea who made him.  There is quite a bit of delicate stitching still to do on his red felt.  I did make a start and then got waylaid with another project.

The pretty little red and white bear has a label, and is made by 'Acme Hygenic Toys'.  He is very lightweight and just requires a few stitches to his seams.  He has the most beautiful red eyes.


The scruffy looking Chiltern cartoon bear with the dirty face needs a good clean and brush.
His companion is a small Chiltern from c1940's.  He has his facial features intact, but needs 'surgery' on a large hole at the side of his nose (see close up). 

This is another bear purchased by my husband.  He needs a matching pair of eyes.  Again, I think he could be a one off home made bear.

And of course, not forgetting the large Chiltern Hugmee bear that I have named George.  He needs major surgery on one of his foot pads and eyes.  Also a good clean to his mohair.


I think I have got a busy time ahead, sorting out this little lot.  There are also a couple of dog nightdress cases to tidy up and two miniature baby dolls to dress. 

The Dolls are Trying to Take Over the Bears' House!

I have always been a soft toy person.  I even preferred my teddy Cuddly, to any dolls that I was given as a child.
Just lately though I find myself drawn to 1950's dolls - miniatures and small baby dolls especially.
I found these tiny 3" baby dolls with no clothes, and had great fun dressing them.  They are all dressed using lace, with cotton brodiere anglais type lace being my preferred material.  I gave them all names, as I do my bears and they are proving very popular with my customers.



Little SOLD



Eric SOLD

Chrissie SOLD

Beatrice SOLD



Bella SOLD

Anna SOLD

 I then searched for more to do as I enjoyed them so much.  I couldn't find more tiny ones and found these four 6", 8", 10" and 11" already dressed, but needed a bit of tidying up.


Add caption



Haley

Rosy



Ceppiratti Doll Co

Blue Box Toys SOLD

I particularly like Rosy in the pink coat.  Her wrists are even jointed enabling her to twist her hands in different positions.  Her maker is a mystery, she has AGAESPOLY  0206 Hong Kong on her back and I have not as yet found out who used this wording.

The bottom left one is a really cute little doll made in Italy by the Ceppratti Doll Co.  I identified her by the 'Stork carrying a baby' mark on her back.

Blue Box Toys (doll bottom right) is a Hong Kong company that has been making dolls since 1952, starting with the first drink and wet doll.  They are still producing toys, including Thomas the Tank and Hello Kitty, and have won many awards for toy excellence.

Haley is a very lightweight celluloid doll who used to have a 'Mama' sound box, but sadly it is now missing.  Her all in one underwear covers the hole that is left in her back.  She is the only one of the four without open/close eyes, but her blue eyes are very large and pretty.

For the bear lovers amongst you, don't worry I still have 3-4 lovely old bears to tidy up for my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/pollysvintagebears including this large Chiltern bear.

 

 



 

Nev Goes over the Fence

.....and back again!

You remember this little fellow, and that I said my daughter was going to try letting him out now he is older.
Well, she rang me up on Monday, laughing and told me of his adventures.  She had let him out in her small back garden which is surround by a 6 foot fence.  He had a roam around the garden and then climbed a trellis to get to the top of the fence.  Over he went and she went out of the gate to see what he was doing.  He was wandering up the grass path at the back and taking a look down the dyke.
So far, so good - so she went indoors to do a bit of housework and left him to it.
After a while she opened the back door to see if he would come in when called only to be nearly bowled over by him as he dashed indoors.
We don't know what he saw over the fence, but it spooked him and he has not dared to set foot out of the garden since.  She says he walks around, glances at the fence, then comes back in, as if to say "there's no way I'm going over there again". :)
She rang me up when she let him out yesterday and it was snowing a bit.  He didn't like the snowflakes falling on his head and she was in laughing at him.  The laughter suddenly increased as the snow started falling heavier and he shot in the door in a panic.
My grandson said "Nev's not a pussycat, he's a wussycat".

I think my daughter is secretly hoping that he will not want to go any further than the back garden, but I think come Summer, he will be off, over the fence on his adventures to face the scary 'whatevers' that are out there.

Our Spring Neighbours are Moving in

Well, it is that time of the year again, when everyone's thoughts turn to the warmer months to come and love is in the air.
Unfortunately it is also the time of the year when our noisy neighbours return.
Yes, Mr and Mrs Seagull are back!

Taken a few days ago

They have been sitting on the roof of the bungalow behind us, chatting about starting a family and what colour to decorate the nursery. 
The first year we lived here it was amusing and interesting, watching the young birds grow, learn to flap their wings and eventually fly off.
We were probably making as much noise as them that year as we were knocking walls down and replacing windows etc.
The last couple of years the novelty has worn off as the Seagulls swoop and scream over our little garden, leaving nasty splodges on our patio doors, and occasionally on Foggypuss if he is in the firing line.

Foggy waiting to pop up when he
hears a Seagull coming

Last year he decided he might be able to catch a Seagull as they flew over.  He positioned himself on the fence and it was quite amusing to watch him pop up and take a swipe at the Seagull everytime it divebombed him.  The only worry I had was that if he connected with one it would have probably
knocked him off the fence or broken his leg, as they fly fast and are quite big birds. 
I think Foggy has an inflated idea of his own strength and size.

When the young are about the parents defend their territory (which includes the air space over our garden apparently) with a great passion.  I have been seen running from the shed to the patio door as Mum swoops down, screeching at me to get away from her babies.  I don't want them, they are ugly little things when they are young.
Each year I hope they have found a new place to bring up their young, but it looks as if it is not going to be this year :(

Neville

Nev November 2012

Let me introduce you to Neville, my daughter's kitten.  She kept putting off getting a pet, but gave in last November and this little character came to live with her and the boys.  My Grandsons are 11 and 8 now so both old enough to help with looking after him.  





He has fitted into the household beautifully, and even two very loud and lively boys do not seem to phase him.  He seems to be just as lively as them, and is gradually learning to be noisy too.

Having a cuddle with Nanny

 

As all kittens are, he is very playful, running around with toy mice and playing with anything that moves when he taps it.  He seems to be very intelligent and has learned to play 'fetch' with his mice.  I have heard of cats doing this but never seen it until now.  It is really cute, he trots back carrying the mouse by it's tail, looking so proud of himself.  If you ignore him he puts it on top of your shoe so that you throw it again.





He loves a box too

He is growing into a beauty, soon be time for him to face the great outdoors.  The cat flap is ready to be fitted.  It is one of those that works with his micro-chip so no other cats can use it.

Growing up

He had his first walk round the back patio today, but got scooped up when he was heading towards a hole in the fence.  I don't think my daughter is quite ready to let him stand on his own four feet just yet.  She is determined that he will be allowed out, but is worried about letting him go as we all are for that first time. 

I can remember when my Foggypuss went out for the first time.  I was terrified that he wouldn't find his way home.  No worries there, he now meows loudly and hammers on the door everytime he wants to come back in. We have never fitted a cat flap, Foggy just visits the neighbour if we are out when he comes back.



"Have you finished taking photos yet? 
I want to scratch my ear."