Berry distracted !

I have been somewhat sidetracked from bearmaking. That tends to happen in the summer. Those who are waiting to see that lilac bear, it should be ready very soon ( I hope) .

In the meantime, I've been making all things berry.....strawberry jam, fruit smoothies, freezing berries etc. We picked them ourselves and I still have about 10 boxes left to use. Do you want to join me for some strawberry shortcake ? Or, maybe I can use some to dye mohair. What a gorgeous color bear that would be !!! It would match my red stained fingers and kitchen countertop LOL. Regardless, aren't these plump berries just such a pretty color to look at :)

If you have any favorite strawberry recipes I would love to see them. Just email me anytime.

Reverse Trapunto

I am making slow progress on this bear. It has been so hot and humid that I just don't have the energy to hold thick, warm mohair on my lap. I do have most of the pieces sewn though.

I decided to try a new method for the pawpads this time. It is called reverse trapunto. Usually with trapunto I sew the ultrasuede and a cotton layer on the bottom side of the top pawpad, then cut out the shape on the front. With reverse trapunto you sew the design shape on the top of the mohair pad, trim the edges-kind of like an applique.

You then make a small slit on the backside, stuff and close the hole. I am excited to finish the paws and shade to see the final result.

Lilac & Cream

Hmmm....I wonder what is in the works now ?? This KID mohair is so soft and thick, and smells delicious too. Who said laundry couldn't be fun :) I love this color combination and can't wait to see how it turns out as a bear.

Please meet Ling-Lee

Here he is ready to meet the world. I am happy with the way he turned out and hope you are too. I really like this fur, and the fact that I was able to re-use the beautiful grey fur from a coat.

Ling-Lee is available from me on my website - click here to see more information

Back to bears ....

I have a new project in the works. This bear is an alpaca/mohair blend and will hopefully turn out to be a lovable panda. The grey is from a gorgeous alpaca coat that I happened upon the other day. It is in perfect condition so I snatched it up !

This bear doesn't look like much yet ,but there is still hope ;)

Happy Canada Day !

Time to vote !

I finally received my copy of the Golden Teddy Voting issue of Teddy Bear Review . It is so exciting , and a bit surreal seeing my bear , Kade, listed there will all the other nominees.

I encourage you all to get a copy of the magazine and vote for your favorites to support the competition. I'm not sure who I'll vote for in some of the categories.... all of the nominees are wonderful and unique !

The voting deadline is July 11th .