Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

So far, so good - well behaved bears, waiting for their Bearfest!

I'm grabbing a few moments to munch an egg and tomato sandwich and gulp down a mug of strong coffee, so while I do that (please excuse the crumbs!) I thought you might like a peek into my 'pre-show' workroom.

With the show only two and a half days away and a trip to my sister's in Hampshire planned for one of those days, I'm feeling pretty 'eek' at the moment because as always, I was hoping to have 'just one more' bear (or maybe two!) for the big day. I thought I was on track when of course, it all went horribly wrong ...

Problematic Panda!

After a long day's bear making yesterday, I finally gave up working at seven in the evening, one very disillusioned bear maker. The lovely chocolate and white panda bear I had spent so much time working on, had to be discarded because I didn't like his face ... I can't quite put my finger on it, but something just isn't working for this poor chap. If I'd had enough spare white fabric to hand I would have still had enough time to make him a new head, then he would have been able to come to the show, but unfortunately his head fabric is on the other side of the Atlantic! Isn't that always the way when a deadline looms? All is not completely lost though, he will after all, make a beautiful panda bear eventually, but sadly not for Sunday's show.

So to plan B! Do you remember my earlier posting about some vintage fabric I purchased a while ago?

Vintage fabrics

Well, this morning I took a deep breath and made firm eye contact with it. This fabric has been tormenting me because it is about a hundred years old, which makes it very special indeed. The colours are muted yet rich and definitely 'antiquey', so quite tricky to put with other fabrics, also the pile is much shorter than I usually work with. I really wanted to be certain I could do this fabric justice and as there was so little available, I knew my bear design would have to fit the piece perfectly .. there would be no margin for error and no sending for 'extra' supplies!

Plan B!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say, so today I have planned my design, created his head in a complementary modern fabric and set determinedly to work; there's no turning back now! With luck I will have this unique bear ready for the Hugglets show on Sunday. So far, so good ... I'm keeping everything crossed for a successful outcome ... gulp!