Two Blind Chiltern Bears

I found a beautiful old bear the other day, and when I got him I realised he was a large Chiltern Hugmee, a very collectable bear.  His photograph was not very good so I was not able to identify him until I saw him in person (bearson?).

Hubert, waiting patiently for his 'operations'

He needs a bit of sorting out, his paw is nearly hanging off and he has no eyes, but he is still a wonderful bear.
Then I came across this smaller Chiltern with a broken neck, now repaired and looking very handsome.

This is Herbert, he had one eye and a broken neck when I got him, poor boy.

I was on a roll :) and my next purchase was another big Chiltern, this time a softer, Kapok filled version, but very similar to the first one.



This is George, he also has no eyes (is it contagious?) 



And finally a strange little dog called Susie.  I know that is her name as her previous owner told me.

She has been much loved so I will be extra careful to not change her character when I tidy her up. She has a white cotton patch which I will leave as it is part of her history, and I do not think her ears are original.

 

Showing off her little white patch
 

I think she is beautiful (all in the eyes of the beholder I think) and when I am finished she will stand proud with her tail up and a beautiful new ribbon or collar.











Valentines Day is Around the Corner

Valentino

I would call myself a romantic.  It's a pity I have never found a man that is!  As much as  I love my husband, I would not say he is very romantic.  Nor was my ex husband.
I have never had one of those wonderful proposals that you see on the films, although my present marriage started quite romantically as we got married at Gretna Green in Scotland.  That was 24 years ago.  We visited the area last year when we had a holiday in Scotland and were surprised at how commercialised it has become.
We did not have any guests, just me and Alan, which is what we wanted.  We wanted something special but without all of the trimmings that go with an ordinary wedding. 
It was better than I imagined, we asked a couple in the tourist information centre next door to the register office if they would be our witnesses, and went through the short ceremony.
We took our own photographs, except for in the register office when Mr Smith (our witness) took some for us.  We both enjoyed photography and had a good camera with a tripod, so we could set it up to take any shots that we wanted both of us in.
Afterwards we toured the North West of England and flew over to the Isle of Man for me to meet my new Mother in Law and Brother and Sister in Law.  Even though I was 38 at the time, I had never flown before so it was very exciting for me.

The little bear whom I have called Valentino is available from my Etsy shop - www.etsy.com/shop/pollysvintagebears
He is perfect for Valentines Day with his heart shaped eyes, nose, belly button and foot pads.
I have visions of him being used in a romantic proposal, to hold the ring, or as a gift for a new bride if she is a teddy bear fan.

Vintage Dolls

German Dancing Doll

I have been restoring and making Teddy Bears over the years and have never had a great deal of interest in dolls.
Even as a child I preferred my soft toys - a bear called Cuddly, a hand knitted Golly called Kakey (no idea where I got his name from) and a leather Camel that came from a School Fair Bric a Brac Stall.  Then there was my big sister's toys - Jock, a faded blue dog with no ears, another terrier type dog with no name and a little bear that I now know is a Merrythought Baby Bingie.
Of these toys I still have my Cuddly and my sister still has her Bingie (despite my attempts to steal him as I have always wanted him).  She did mention selling him :o recently so I may just give him a home if it comes to that.
I have no idea what became of the Camel, or the dogs, but was told that the Golly got the moths and was thrown away :(

Pair of National Dress Dolls
(any clue to the Country welcome)

Anyway, back to the dolls - I have purchased one or two over the last few months and find myself drawn more to the 1950's ones (as I am with bears), I suppose because that is the era when I was a child.


Eskimo and Dutch Girl

These dolls are available in my Etsy shop - www.etsy.com/shop/pollysvintagebears

I have recently aquired a box of miniature German dolls ranging from 3" to 6".  I am very excited to start sorting these out and cannot decide whether to dress them or to leave them in the buff.
I'm not sure if I could find knitting patterns for a baby doll as small as 3".  The 6" ones would be no problem though.
I love miniature things.  One of my ambitions is to own a large dolls house.  It must be great fun to furnish one as there are so many lovely miniature items that can be bought for them.  I have even seen a set of false teeth in a tumbler in dolls house size!  These items used to fascinate me when I used to do a lot of Bear Fairs in the 1990's.  The fairs were often Dolls, Teddies and Doll's House Miniatures all rolled into one.







The only miniatures I have in my Etsy shop at the moment are these flocked bears.  There are 5 different sets available.  They would be small enough to go in the Nursery of a doll's house.











Vintage Glove Puppets

I have been finding a few glove puppets in my never ending search for old bears and toys (or hand puppets as they are sometimes called).
I only have one left in my Etsy shop at the moment.  He is a Mr Twisty Bun from Merrythought.

Mr & Mrs Twisty Puss and Mrs Twisty Bun 24"/61cm
and the full set in 11"/28cm

The Mr and Mrs Twisty toys were listed in their catalogue from 1965 to 1974.  They also made Mr and Mrs Twisty Puss toys (see picture from book).  They were dressed and had wire frames inside so that they could be twisted into different positions.
My Mr Twisty Bun puppet does not have a wire frame, but has the same character face as the toys.
I think he would have been made a bit later than the toys - late 1970's, possibly 1980's.  He has his Merrythought label stitched onto his back


Mr Twisty Bun Puppet

I have 3 more puppets to come.  Two of them will need a bit of work and at this moment I do not know who they are made by. This is the only picture I have of them.

 

In the meantime I will leave you with pictures of the puppets that have been sold.

Dean's Black Cat

Chad Valley Sooty

 

Chimp (unknown maker)

Steiff Rabbit

I will continue to try to find more of these little characters to put in my collection.

 

As well as the vintage bears I like to source unusual old toys that are usually bear related.

Christmas mini flocked bears



Mini flocked bears - playground

Recently I have found a batch of miniature flocked bears (1.5"/10cm) and I am currently going through some gorgeous teddy bear porcelain figures to prepare them for listing.  Also I have some wind up flocked bears to sort out.

That is as well as the couple of nightdress case dogs that need a clean (and one of them needs eyes), a very large tubby bear, a Chad Valley cartoon faced bear, a rabbit with red felt clothes, a small Merrythought bear with one eye, a Chiltern grey cat that smells really fusty, and a pretty, soft, unjointed bear, possibly a 1960's-70's Chad Valley.

That is in between knitting and sewing more cats, dogs and bears.

 

Oh dear, December is looming and I don't think I have time for Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





More Gifts for Christmas - 49 days to go

Today I am going to show you items in my shop that are for pink lovers - everything that is pink.

Rosalie 6" £42.50 including postage

Rosebud 6" £42.50 including postage

 



Teddy Head Charm £11.50 including postage

Sweetie 4" £32.50 including postage



Christmas Tree Fairies £10.50 each including postage

Buy more than one and only pay one postage

Pair of Christmas stars £6 each including postage

Diddy Dog £12.50 including postage



Pretty hangers £6.50 including postage



Knitted Bears £12.50 including postage

Baby Blanket £23 including postage

Farnell Fur Baby Doll £22 including postage

Pedigree 20" bear Jessie £82 including postage



Bunny Pure Wool Pram Toy
£15.50 including postage

Set of Mice Ornaments
£10 including postage


I hope you enjoyed my pink selections - all of the items are available in my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/pollysvintagebears

I can't believe we are only 7 weeks away from the big day. 

The Thingamebob is Revealed

I couldn't leave him until tomorrow, I just had to get him finished to see what he looked like.

                                                   Here he is, my very first Alley Cat

 As soon as I started making the head I couldn't put him down, and just had to get him finished.




 

I really hope he is popular as I want to make some more in different colours.  I am already planning a blue and lime green one and have thought about a girly pink one with little embroidered flowers on the tummy.  The combinations are endless.

I am hoping that they will go down well at the local craft fairs along with the Diddy Dogs.  I have until Spring to get enough of both made up to fill a table, along with the artist bears.

Diddy Dogs



The Alley Cats have googly eyes and fluffed up wool that makes them unsuitable for young children.

They are really made as display items/ shelf sitters, not as toys.

 



It's a Red and Yellow Thingamebob

This is my latest knitting creation.  I found a really old vintage pattern and decided to give it a go as I liked the look of the finished item.
I have never come across such a complex toy pattern.  Just look at the main part, it's got bits sticking out all over the place.  Whoever designed this was very clever.  How they came up with it is beyond me.



I finished all of the knitted parts this morning and started to stitch it together.  It didn't mention in the pattern that you needed a university degree to assemble it.

Half way through stitching
 



No - it's not an elephant

It is larger than I was expecting at 15"/38cm tall.  I will have to get more polyester stuffing if I am to make any more of these.
If I am pleased with the look of it I have a few more colour schemes in mind.

I will unveil the finished item tomorrow - watch this space!

Is he a Bear? Is he a Mouse? No - he's a She

Dreaming of getting his arms and legs

Last time I showed you the mohair miniature that I was making.  At the time I was wondering if he was a bear or a mouse.
Definately a bear I decided, but something was just not right.  I tried a ribbon around his neck - no that didn't work.  I went to my little jar of decorations - bows, flowers, buttons etc.  

Ready for the Queen's Garden Party

That's it! 
No wonder he didn't look right,
he is a young lady bear, not a boy bear.

 
 I found a little yellow flower made of ribbon and fastened it to her head in the style of a fascinator, the type of modern hat  that everyone who is everyone is wearing.
It transformed her into a pretty young lady bear, and she is now ready for Ascot or Buckingham Palace. :)

She is just 3.75"/9.5cm tall and although my efforts to get her to stand unaided have sort of worked, it still needs more work as she is still not quite balanced enough for my liking. Probably I need steel shot instead of glass beads for the weight.
You can find her in my Etsy shop priced at £25 + postage.
I have one more of these miniature bears to make
up before the Minstead fair on Sunday. This next one is a pale fawn colour in a thicker long pile mohair, so should be quite a fluffy bear.

After that is completed it will be back to the Diddy Dogs as they will give the colour to my table at the fair.