Hoping for a Happy Ending

I am delighted to be able to tell you, I have now completed my first big bear of 2015!

I've called this cuddlesome fellow 'Benjamin' - a nice smart name for a nice smart teddy bear.

20" Benjamin

After making a spate of smaller teddies lately, it has been so good to create a substantial teddy bear once again!  I've missed my big 'uns!  Benjamin is a super bear to begin this year with ... big, blonde and even if I do say so myself, really rather beautiful.  He will definitely stand out from the crowd. 

If you think this lovely teddy might be the one for you, please pop over to my website to find out all about him ... I am hoping he will find his happy ending very soon!

www.allbearbypaula.com

Update: Benjamin has been adopted.

Slow off the blocks

2015 has been slow to fire up my creativity; usually I'm pretty quick off the blocks, but this year there seem to have been a hundred and one other tasks, not least of which is my Tax Return, stealing time away from my new year's bear-making schedule!

14" Lumi

That said, I've been trying hard to make bears between other commitments and have at last finished a lovely wispy bear, created from softly tipped mohair.  As it's Winter here in the UK, I have called him 'Lumi', meaning 'snow'... not that any has fallen here in Kent yet, but I suppose there is still time!

8.5" Tucker

I popped Tucker on my website right before Christmas, but unfortunately didn't have time to photograph him in my studio and had to make do with a quick snap instead.  Hopefully this clearer photograph will help find him a nice new owner soon.

14" Tian Tian is a shop exclusive

One of the reasons I have been slow to add new bears to my website is that I have also been working on the shop order promised to 'One More Bear' before Christmas ... I didn't manage to complete the order in time because the rotten 'flu bowled me over!  This mohair panda bear is part of that order and so is little 'Guthrie' the alpaca bear in the pic below ...

8.5" Guthrie is a shop exclusive

With any luck, I should have three other shop exclusive bears ready to join them in the next week or so and I have also promised to create a special birthday bear for a collector by the end of this month ...

Once my decks are clear of January's catch up, I intend to take full advantage of my 'no Hugglets show' freedom in February and give myself permission to work on the bears waiting patiently in my head!

Onward Paula!

A Winter Bearfest Break

I should probably mention I will be taking a break from this year's 'Winter Bearfest' show at Kensington Town Hall in London at the end of February.  With too many other prior commitments dominating my time, I thought it highly unlikely I would manage to create sufficient bears for the show this year, so decided reluctantly, to give myself permission to decline my invitation.

My apologies to anyone who may have been hoping to see my bears at the Feb show ... I will miss you!  I will be exhibiting at Hugglets again in September though, so hope to see you there instead.

Dear Dad..

Dear Dad,

Who would have thought four and a quarter years could pass so quickly, proving that pointless old adage ... life does truly go on.

Given less impossible circumstances, we would have shared many a long natter over a cup of tea by now, or put the world to rights on the 'phone ... me curled in my armchair, you, hidden away among your tools, enjoying the privacy of your garden workshop.

Since your departure, you have been much missed at several unmissable family events, but I don't doubt you were with us all in spirit. The birth of your two beautiful Great Grandchildren (a girl and a boy) a Christening, two Engagements, three weddings and a Degree ... one thing's certain, you would have been so proud and thoroughly enjoyed those celebrations!

We're all moving on with our lives now, we miss you of course, but the shock of losing you so unexpectedly did, by some miracle, eventually ease.  As per your usual instruction in times of gloom, we 'girls' did the 'chin up' thing, as best we could and thankfully, are now able to laugh and include you in our conversations with smiles and of course, an occasional raised eyebrow.  Yes, you were right all along, life is for living.

So, I'm taking this quiet moment to wish you, in the only way I know how, what should have been your Happy 79th Birthday.

With all our love on your birthday Dad, from the five of us, your Grand-kids and your Great Grandchildren.
We miss you. 

PJ xxx

Dad, the journey:

http://allbear.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Dad

A retrospective?

No retrospective this year. 

It's time to look forward, rather than behind!

So in 2015 I pledge to be better organised, meet deadlines (please don't hold me to that one!) make the kind of bears I would like to own, explore fresh creative  avenues, delve more deeply into doll design and tackle a target I set for myself back in December of 2012 but failed to complete ... more about that to follow.

On a personal note, my 2015 pledge is to continue to always be the best mum and Nana I can be, share as much of myself as possible with my closest family and of course, be the kind of dog owner I can be proud of.

Yep, I think that about sums things up!

Knitting for a new generation

Do you remember the knitted jacket I showed you a few days ago?

Well, my little Grandson arrived at my house looking very cosy in it on Wednesday, so naturally, I couldn't resist a quick point 'n shoot!  I know I'm biased, but isn't he gorgeous?!  The newborn phase seemed to pass so quickly and at just fourteen weeks, he's already becoming a proper little boy, footballer legs and all!

My Grandson Toby

I've been clacking away merrily every evening this week too and now have another 'Nana Knit' ready for Toby's next visit this weekend; a cosy blue cabled cardigan with smart striped buttons ... I do hope it fits.

When I first taught myself to knit, in preparation for the arrival my first baby almost thirty two years ago, it didn't occur to me that one day I would be knitting for my own Grandson.  Now I am able to do exactly that, I am so glad I mastered my needles all those years ago!

In Black and White

I was toppled by a 'flu bug in December, so unfortunately there was nothing for it but to delay my order for the 'One More Bear' shop until the New Year. 

Now I have four of the five shop exclusive bears in varying stages of un-made-ness in my workroom, waiting patiently to be brought to life over the coming days.  While I set to work on them, here's a quick snap of the 14" panda bear I managed to complete before Christmas, waiting hopefully for his teddy bear pals to join him on the journey to Stoke-on-Trent later this month.

I still need to give this bear a name and find four more names for his pals, so will have to put my thinking cap on ... unless of course, you have any suggestions?!

Hibernation

Being a new Nana gives me a great excuse to fire up my knitting needles ...

I'm hoping my little Grandson will be cosy and warm in his Nana knits this Winter!

Knitting for Toby, with Polly warming my feet as I'm snuggled in my armchair on these dark Winter's evenings, seems to me to be the perfect way to hibernate until Spring!

For the sake of auld lang syne ..

I have never been enthused by New Year's Eve as for me, the party spirit always seems tinged with an inexplicable sense of melancholy. That said, there is absolutely no good reason to turn down an invitation for dinner with my sister and her fiance whatever the day, or time of year!

Eton Mess mixture: meringue, cream, fromage frais, castor sugar, strawberries, blackberries and kiwi fruit.

So we began the final evening of 2014 with a healthy dinner of butternut squash and chilli, lovingly prepared by my keep fit crazy sis, followed by my contribution of a belly busting 'Eton Mess' dessert (so bad it must be good!) which I balanced carefully on my knees as we drove along dark, windy country roads, out to Fo's house.

To keep us awake after dinner, Simon organised a game of kitchen table tennis and dominoes ...

Kitchen table tennis

Dominoes

And after several more glasses of wine for the non-drivers and some fizzy grape juice for me, we chatted and watched a spot of Jools Holland's Hootenanny on the telly, before wrapping up warmly and going outside to see in the New Year Wormshill style, watching fireworks on the horizon beyond the fields and warming ourselves beside Simon's log burner.

Our hosts, Fo 'n Simon

Despite my traditional lack of enthusiasm for New Year's Eve, I will admit to enjoying a relaxed, fun evening as we welcomed in 2015 with Fo 'n Simon, who are not only family, but also our closest friends.

Seeing in the New Year!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my sister Fiona and her fiance Simon, a happy, healthy, successful New Year ahead ... and of course, a wonderful Wormshill wedding day at St Gile's Church in July 2015!

Cheers you two!