We're having a heatwave

 

We're having a heatwave

As I sit here, relishing the breeze wafting across my shoulders from the fan conveniently placed behind me, with my dogs snoozing in front of yet another large floor fan, I must admit I feel rather lazy and a little bit sleepy! The summer heat is back here in the UK and that means the temperature in my workroom is on par with a sauna, the garden is scorching as the strong sunshine beats down outside ... and my energy for all things creative, is well and truly zapped!

It has been a while since my last blog post, so now seems as good time a time as any, to tap away on my keyboard...

Besides making teddy bears and walking my three dogs, I have recently re-introduced my 'Tiddler' sized teddy bears after their brief sabbatical.  If I am totally honest, they are not my favourite to make, simply because at only slightly bigger than my coffee mug, I find the small scale a fiddle... but even I can't deny their cute appeal and they certainly do look super cute perched among my bigger bears. How some bearmakers cope creating miniature teddy bears, I really do not know. That is a skill far from the ability of my own bear-making fingertips... the Tiddlers are the smallest bears I think I am ever likely to make.

Last week, the postie delivered some fabulous mohair all the way from the US. One piece I must set aside for a special commission order, promised for early Autumn. The other two pieces are so glorious, I may decide to use them together to create a summer clown bear ... although I am also tempted to save the wonderfully vibrant orange for Halloween ... Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Summer can be a strange time for making teddy bears. Working with mohair becomes tricky when the weather is so warm and my workroom becomes stuffy. No bearmaker really enjoys working with their hands when they are hot and sweaty! Also, teddy bear collectors are usually otherwise occupied at this time of year, with 'treat funds' naturally redirected towards family holidays, summer wardrobes and special days out... and of course, school holidays mean my 'Nana Duty' is reinstated with long days to fill entertaining two lively Grandchildren... not that it is a chore you understand, we really do love our time together, but of course, it means that just for a few weeks, there will be a little less time available for work.

With luck, we may take a last minute short break somewhere with the dogs too; after all, summer wouldn't be summer without giving them the chance to splash through a few waves! Fingers crossed I can whistle something up, I am definitely craving a change of scenery ...

In the meantime, I have been ploughing through a stack of paperback novels to while the afternoon heat away... today I placed Rob Rinder's second novel, an engaging legal thriller titled 'The Suspect', on my 'ready-to-pass-on' pile and slipped a bookmark (aka All Bear postcard) into the cover of David Nicholls' latest book titled 'You are here'. I watched the author interviewed on 'This Morning' recently and thought his book sounded like my cup of tea, so ordered it straightaway, much as I dislike ordering brand new books... (at heart I am a secondhand book reader and always try to buy used copies where possible. However, this time, I made an exception and by the magic of Amazon, a shiny new hardback copy arrived yesterday, with perfect timing!) I also read books by Kristin Hannah, Percival Everett and Rebecca F. Kuang over the past couple of weeks ... the Kristin Hannah books were by far my favourites, so I will definitely read more of those; the other two books were okay but not really to my lazy day, easy read, summer heat, requirements.

Hopefully this wearisome heat and humidity will ease soon. It is the second heatwave we have endured of late and already I am bored with it, so are the dogs. By August, days usually start to feel more pleasant with a promise of autumn ...  so for me, a much nicer time for making teddy bears ... and perhaps some knitting too!

Anyway, I seem to have rambled for quite a considerable while, so I will sign off now. Please bear with me if the website seems on the quiet side through the coming weeks; I will still be working on new teddy bears, but likely at a slightly more leisurely place!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.

Catch up soon,
Paula x

Nothing Ventured!

 

1930's Chiltern Hugmee restoration project

Nothing ventured!

Those who know me well, know I was a collector, long before I was a bearmaker. I have always loved Chiltern Hugmee teddy bears especially and was lucky enough to collect several over the years. Well, recently the collecting bug bit me again when I spotted a beautiful, if somewhat grubby, 1930's Chiltern Hugmee, on a well known auction site. After talking myself in and out of making an offer, eventually 'in' won and now this lovely bear lives with me and I have undertaken my first serious teddy bear restoration project! 

My initial inspection unveiled several areas of concern for this lovely bear's future, a very wobbly head, glass eyes that were not secured, a grubby but beautiful mohair coat and tragically, split paw pads. I decided to undertake radical surgery and plucked up courage to take my bear to pieces ... completely! I sought advice in a restoration group and was told in no uncertain terms I should not have done so and that thirty years of bear-making did not qualify me as a restorer, which was probably fair comment, but I decided 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' ... and as this bear was my own, not for resale, I went ahead anyway.

The mohair revealed fabulously rich colouring hidden around the joints and the only way to bring it completely back to life was to wash the pieces thoroughly by hand, to the horror of some of the professional restoration artists. I have to say, I am feeling rather smug as the result is stunning! A century of dirt and dust washed to reveal a glorious orange gold mohair, a beautiful today as it would have been when it was first created. 

My next job was to rebuild the head, secure the eyes safely and replace the head joint. The head was stuffed with woodwool (excelsior) and it was ultra important I retain the original look of the bear, if I wanted to claw back any credibility after my apparent recklessness (!) so I worked carefully, taking great care to ensure his eyes were secured back into their original holes and the muzzle was stuffed sympathetically, retaining the original nose stitching, which has naturally faded over the years. I had to replace the mouth stitched as the original embroidery thread disintegrated but fortunately, I use the same perle thread on my own teddy bear designs, so that wasn't a problem... I simply ensured the mouth was exactly the same shape and position at it had been originally. 

This week I have lined the original arm paws with cotton velvet inside, to support the existing velveteen fabric, restuffed the arms taking care not to overstuff and reassembled in the original holes, using new hardboard discs and cotter pins, which should last my bear for at least another hundred years. The most delicate job will be to create new velvet footpads to replace the original split ones, which unfortunately are not able to be saved... so I plan to insert new pads into the mohair, with the original cardboard liners, which I plan to use to create the footpad pattern. 

I am taking this project slowly and very much enjoying the process. So far my beautiful Hugmee bear has clean mohair, which is suprisingly rich in colour and still dense, a hundred years since his manufacture, plus head and arms now securely attached. Once I have braved making him new footpads, his legs will be reassembled, his body stuffed and the original non-working bellows growler reinstated safely in his tummy for posterity. I will then close the final seam, knit him something smart to wear to protect his beautiful mohair, put him with his pals ... and sit back and simply enjoy him! 

NB: If you have a much loved elderly teddy bear in need of a little restoration, please don't try this at home folks! Professional restorers' work is undertaken with utmost respect for teddy's heritage and with great skill. Teddy bear restoration is a serious undertaking and should be done sympathetically. A skilled teddy bear restorer can work miracles!