We're having (another) heatwave!

 

Another sweltering hot afternoon in the All Bear workroom...

So hot in fact, I pulled the window blind down (I let it up for a moment to take this photo) and the room is in darkness. The fan is blowing hot air feebly around the room and to be honest, I am wilting. The weather forecast seems to offer no relief for the forseeable future, so my apologies if website updates seem a little on the slow side at present.

Sadly, my garden is also wilting. Hosepipes are now a convenience of dim and distant memory, permissable only at rainy and cold times of year when they are least needed, or so it seems. The roses put on a brave stand against this heatwave and I do what I can to help them, by lugging heavy watering cans around the garden in the evenings, but what once took only a few minutes with a hosepipe, has become a slog under the new regime ... and I swear I use exactly the same amount of water. Sometimes there is little rhyme or reason to the edicts of water companies!

In all seriousness though, this week drought orders have been issued to seven areas in the UK. Kent isn't yet on the least but it may well happen. Given that the streets regularly pour with water from broken pipes and some areas, my daughter's included, have been without water to their houses because of poor management and broken pipes, the current situation is frustrating to many folk, as you can imagine.

Of course, I speak of mere inconvenience, but there are also reports of serious wildfires in Europe and now in the UK too. So frightening for residents and wildlife as those of you who live with such yearly threats overseas, will understand firsthand.

Here in All Bear Land, we are simply sweaty, weary and frankly, pretty bored of relentless sunshine, which quickly loses appeal without cool running water to keep the Grandchildren entertained and the garden green. If I sound a tad disgruntled, I confess I am. Such heat drains me these days and I am missing my midday walks with the dogs, who are in danger of becoming couch potatoes!

Anyway, enough of my overheated moaning. Normal service will resume and I am sure it won't be too long before we Brits are all complaining about the rain instead. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed a peek at the bears and dolls on the cabinet behind me!

Blazing June

 

Here we are in June and after the heatwave ... it now feels like autumn! What is happening with the UK weather?! Last week I was gasping for cool air and today, I'm actually chilly. Yesterday it hammered down with rain. It's a crazy world we live in!

The roses are now in full bloom, heavily laden with the most beautiful flowers this year. Our gardens is a riot of colour and the roses never fail to inspire me. So, this week I am introducing a fabulous new teddy bear created from the most glorious dense burnt orange mohair, with sunset yellow tips. A real showpiece. He is simply stunning! 

The eagle-eyed collectors among you may remember 'Sunset', a beautiful 22" teddy bear, made using the same mohair back in the Summer of 2024. That bear is now owned by a lovely UK collector. 'Blaze' is a smaller bear at 18", but still a lovely substantial fellow, unique in his own right, but with all the characteristics of a younger brother bear. (If you would like to see a pic Sunset, he's featured in the gallery on my website.)

Hopefully, this bold young cub will soon find a caring home with someone who appreciates a confident teddy bear!

Summer Smiles

 

'SUMMER SMILES'

This summery trio of 18" teddy bears, was recently commissioned by an overseas collector.

I was so pleased with them I couldn't resist sharing them with you here!

xxxxx

If you would like to chat about having a special teddy bear created especially for you, please drop me a line!

Skylark

I have been pottering my way through the summer holidays, enjoying walks with my dogs and funshine days, playing and reading with my grandchildren. Between times, whenever the weather was cool enough, I made time to work on an occasional summery teddy bear.

There is the slightest hint of Autumn creeping into early mornings now, so I don't suppose it will be long before my bears take an autumnal turn and my thoughts turn to knitting needles and cosy yarns. Before Autumn happens though, there is just enough time to introduce a lovely summer clown, created from softest peach and pale bluey-grey mohair. I called him 'Skylark' and popped him onto my website this very morning.

19" Skylark

Skylark is a striking teddy bear, with chunky proportions and a tilt growler in his tummy. If he tugs at your heartstrings, I would be delighted to hear from you...

To find out more about this lovely clown bear, please pop over to my website:

www.allbearbypaula.com

Thank you!

:-)

Summer

Summer is in full swing in the UK and so here is the perfect teddy bear to celebrate our sunshine season ...

15" Summer

Butterflies, flowers, peach mohair and a carnival pink striped nose ...  definitely Summer in a teddy bear!

This pretty girl was snapped up super fast from my website yesterday and I am delighted to say, is now on her way to Germany meet her new family.

:-)

Lovely Lupin

I have just finished this beautiful teddy bear ...

20" Lupin

Another truly fabulous mohair from the famous Schulte company in Germany; this time, a stunning kid mohair with a soft wave to the pile ... in possibly the prettiest shade of lavender ever.

In fact, I think this is the perfect mohair with which to celebrate Summer!

Lovely Lupin is now available for adoption from my website. 

I hope she makes you smile!

www.allbearbypaula.com

:-)

Update: Lupin has now been adopted and will be flying to the US!

Soggy doggy days

It has been a weekend for pottering about and doing nothing much in particular, with a brief exception when I popped out to visit my daughter for a cuppa and a catch up.  Unfortunately the weather is continuing the rainy theme I mentioned on Friday and Saturday's walk with my dogs must rate as the soggiest for quite some time ... in fact I was soaked right through to my undies after tromping along in torrential rain with them for an hour an a half. Madness!

Thankfully Sunday's walk in Jeskyns Community Woodland was a little drier and a whole lot more fun ...

Polly and Betty had a lovely time racing around through pretty meadows and along woody pathways, then finished their walk with a splash in the duck pond ... although neither was quite brave enough to venture in for a proper swim as that meant stepping from a ledge and dropping into deeper water. Big they may be, but brave they are most definitely not!

And as if I haven't been quite wet enough already, this week has begun with storm warnings and yet more torrential rain. As I write, rain is crashing onto the glass roof of my conservatory and my poor roses are struggling to stay upright in the garden. Not a good day for walking dogs that's for sure, but we'll don raincoats and I'll hunt out my wellies anyway ... urgh.

On a happier note, it is the perfect day for staying cosy in my workroom sewing and yes, that means a new teddy bear is on the (hopefully sunnier!) horizon!

:-)

Weaving a landscape

I created Loveday Tweedy from Harris Tweed, the only fabric in the world governed by its own Act of Parliament! This wonderful cloth is hand woven on traditional looms by independent weavers throughout the Hebridean Isles.

'Loveday Tweedy' is 19" tall

The Harris Tweed I selected for Loveday, is reminiscent of the pretty pastels found in a shimmering summer sea and like many of the tweeds woven on the Hebridean Islands, takes inspiration from wonderful colours found in the local landscape, from sea to moorland.

It has been a real privilege to combine this unique hand crafted cloth with my own teddy bear designs ... 

If you would like to know more about Loveday Tweedy, please pop over to visit him on my website.

www.allbearbypaula.com

:-)

Update: Loveday Tweedy has been adopted and will be flying to Australia!

A Tweedy Summer

I received the most beautiful piece of Harris Tweed from an independent weaver on the tiny Hebridean island of Scalpay recently. A soft stripe in the prettiest of muted pastels, with a beautiful summery sea green stripe running through it. I thought would be absolutely perfect for a Summery Tweedy Ted!

I love these fresh colourful designs woven by local independent weavers on traditional looms. I think they are very exciting and am looking forward to introducing more of them in my Tweedy Teds range. 

I so hope you will enjoy them as much as I am!

:-)

Artie

It is a quiet time of year for teddy bear collecting, so at the moment, I am simply enjoying days with family, walking my dogs and creating an occasional teddy bear when the mood takes me, as I countdown to our Summer holiday.

11" Artie

I finished this little one yesterday, it was a beautiful day, so I sat in the garden to knit his jacket while the roses started to bloom in the sunshine. There are definitely worse ways to pass a few hours! 

I popped Artie onto my website last night, so if you would like to know more about him, please pop over to:

www.allbearbypaula.com 

And of course, if you would like to adopt Artie or any of his friends, I would be very happy to hear from you!

:-)

Update: Artie has been adopted.

Business as usual

I had planned to introduce Duchesse on my blog but she sold within seconds of appearing on my website, then in the flurry of paperwork and packaging to send her on her way, I completely forgot to write my promised blog post ... sorry! She was a pretty, gentle looking teddy bear, created from lovely Schulte mohair.

20" Duchesse

After finishing Duchesse last week, I made another teddy bear from lovely Harris Tweed cloth.  I sized him down to be a bit smaller than the first Tweedy Bears, and at 17" 'Pippin' is a perfect size for cuddles. By the way, I used gorgeous autumnal shades for this bear, so he looks very cosy!

17" Pippin

Pippin is now available to adopt from my website, together with big brother 'McBlue', a very handsome 20" Tweedy Ted. I am planning to change McBlue's buttons and ribbon, as after mulling things over, I think matching grey tweed buttons and bow-tie would suit him better.

20" McBlue

I am looking forward to starting work on another Tweedy Ted this week, a special commission order for a collector. This one will be a teddy girl in pretty herringbone lilac and pink stripes,  hand woven by an independent weaver from the Isle of Lewis. It is such a joy to create teddy bears from such special cloth!

I also have a more vintage style teddy bear in the pipeline and maybe a Tiddler or two on the cards ...  or at least a couple of smallish bears; in fact, I have a head full of teddy bear waiting to bring to life at the moment!

So, it will be business as usual this summer in the All Bear workroom, then hopefully a change of pace and scenery in the Autumn, when I plan to squeeze in a ramble along Cornish cliffs and indulge myself in a spot of gazing out to sea and soaking up the view. 

Can't wait!

:-)

A little Schulte luxury

If I had to choose, from all the mohair I have had the privilege of creating teddy bears from over the years, this one by the world renowned Schulte Company would have to be my all time favourite as it's silky, curly, luscious and put simply, pure luxury.

15" 'Tiffany Rose'

Tiffany Rose is my latest teddy bear. I finished her today and stitched her ears on this evening. I think she's an absolute stunner and am hoping there is someone special waiting in the wings to adopt this pretty teddy girl!

If you would like further details, please visit Tiffany Rose on my website. 

Thank you!

www.allbearbypaula.com

:-)

Update: Tiffany Rose has been adopted!

In an English country garden

I finished this lovely pale pink traditional teddy bear yesterday and while I was running through potential names in my head, kept being drawn towards cottage garden flowers as cottage gardens are always packed full of the prettiest flowers! One of my favourites is the hollyhock ... I love how tall and elegant they are!  So, I've named my teddy 'Hollyhock'. I think it is the perfect name, I hope you do too!

17" Hollyhock

Hollyhock is now available to adopt. 

For full details, please feel free to pop over to visit my website, thank you!

www.allbearbypaula.com

:-)

Update: Hollyhock has been adopted!

Blowing through the cobwebs in my mind

Goodness it's been hot! Way too hot 'n humid to work comfortably with mohair that's for sure! Rather than struggle on, I've been busy updating the Guild of Master Bearcrafters website, playing in the paddling pool with my grandson, reading arty type books, sketching and painting, eating ice-lollies and generally staying as cool as possible at home.

It has been fun to give myself a little time to mentally meander while it has been hot, but now the heatwave has broken with a lovely cooling thunderstorm this morning (horaay!) I find myself looking forward to making my way back into my workroom later today, to try to finish a pretty teddy bear I began work on before I began to overheat.

My poor dogs and cats struggled with the heat too, so we've been making the most of the beautiful evenings, by walking and playing in the garden just before the sun sets. It has been refreshing to be out and about at that time of the evening.

Rodney, now the grand old age of seventeen weeks, has had a great time exploring outdoors in the evening and learning how to climb Dad's plum tree.

And Polly and Betty have loved evening walkies through the orchard and across the field.

As for my elusive Puddlecat, she has been prowling through shady patches in the garden like a small black panther. She's always so hard to spot with a camera lens, but I did just about catch a black shadow lurking behind the lavendar bush yesterday evening.

I am dreaming of coastal holidays of course, but as much as I love a sea breeze on a hot Summer's day, unfortunately a holiday will have to wait until Rodney is a wee bit older. Until then, I plan to be outdoors as much as possible and who knows, I may even find time to write a few more blog posts! After all, everyone needs a Summer break to recharge their batteries ... even we teddy bear makers!

Happy Summer Everyone!

:-)

Build me up, Buttercup!

It has been quite a while since my last smallish bear, let alone a yellow one, so this this little girl is long overdue!



'Buttercup', is a 12" teddy girl.  I do hope she makes you smile!  During the twenty years of my bear making career, I haven't created many yellow bears (proper yellow mohair, rather than pale gold, is quite hard to source) so I was delighted to discover this pretty lemon yellow Schulte mohair, a few months ago. I tucked it away in my stash 'til Summer arrived, as it's a perfect Summer teddy colour!

I knitted Buttercup's lace dress from a vintage dolly knitting pattern; vintage doll's clothes patterns are perfect for teddies, with a few tweaks to the pattern to ensure a perfect fit.  It has been lovely sitting knitting under my garden parasol, sipping coffee in the gorgeous sunshine this week.

I hope you will be happy to learn, Buttercup is now available to adopt from my website and hopes to find a lovely new owner very soon.

Please visit the link below if you would like further details:

www.allbearbypaula.com

Update: Buttercup has been adopted!

We're having a heatwave!

As pavements sizzled and temperatures bubbled into the 90's here in Kent yesterday, there was nothing for it but to dip my toes and join my Grandson for a welcome paddle.

With a parasol to shade us and water to cool us, we managed to enjoy our afternoon safely.  Polly and Betty (my golden retrievers), slept indoors on the kitchen floor for most of the day, instinctively hiding themselves away from the scorching rays until sunset, when it felt fresh enough to take them for a lovely walk around our local bean field.

It is so warm here this week, working on my teddy bears isn't an option, so best to eat ice lollies, dip toes in the paddling pool and enjoy the Mediterranean blue sky from beneath my garden parasol!  I've no doubt we will soon be treated to the 'crash bang flash' of heatwave thunderstorms and until then, we intend to stay as cool and sunburn free as possible.

Normal bear-making service will resume again shortly, just as soon as this sizzling weather eases ... phew!

:-)

Summer breeze please!

The weather has been way too hot for making bears today, but with a cold drink to sip and the shade of my parasol to shade me, I did manage to add the finishing touches to my new alpaca teddy this afternoon.

I found a shady spot among the flowerpots to take Fuchsia's photograph, then popped indoors to upload her to my website and send out a newsletter introducing her to all my mailing list collectors.  Being inside on the computer was a welcome relief from the heat of the day outside I can tell you ... my goodness it's been hot out there!

Fuchsia flew off my website to a new owner in a heartbeat, so if you visited and missed her, I am sorry for any disappointment and promise to have another lovely new bear to share with you very soon.

:-)

Rambling Inspiration

I have been enjoying my garden this summer, planting pots, pruning roses, sitting and breathing the summery scent.  It has been lovely to have my gardening mojo back as it went into hibernation when Dad passed away. Dad lived in a countryside cottage and was a keen gardener, often regaling me with stories of how his plants were doing and what he'd been up to in his garden ... he always preferred to be outdoors rather than in.  I think of him often these days, when I'm pottering in my own garden.  

Anyway, I digress!  Recently, I was admiring a honeysuckle I had planted in a big terracotta pot, in the hope it might climb and disguise a drainpipe.  This summer it climbed high, wrapping that boring black drainpipe with lovely soft green leaves and delighting me with dainty peach and pink flowers.

As often happens, nature kindly provided me with a teddy bear inspiration and my rambling honeysuckle led to 'Honeysuckle', a 19" teddy bear!

Full details for Honeysuckle may now be found on my website. 

I hope you enjoy your visit:

www.allbearbypaula.com

:-)

Update: Honeysuckle has been adopted.

Making a Statement..

It has been a little while since I made an enormous teddy bear, so I was thrilled to be asked to create this summer clown for a keen collector ...

'Peaches' is a whopping 25" tall when standing!

Making such a large bear is jolly hard work, but very rewarding. I enjoy making BIG bears (as long standing readers will already know).  They take a heap of stuffing and are tricky to manoeuvre when it comes to stitching on ears, but the end result is always worth the extra elbow power required to bring them to life.  

I think it's fair to say, a huge bear makes a huge statement in any teddy bear collector's hug and I think this bear's statement is something along the lines of, 'Summer is beautiful, so let's have fun together!'

:-)

Elizabeth Rose

So, while I was waiting for fabric to arrive from Germany and enjoying my roses, I decided to finish work on a Summer bear I started a little while ago and as I pondered what to call her, it dawned on me our amazing Queen has been celebrating her 90th birthday this weekend, so my pretty pink girl teddy bear has been named 'Elizabeth Rose' in her honour ... wishing you a very Happy Birthday Ma'am!

20" Elizabeth Rose is now available for adoption from my website.  If she tugs at your heartstrings, please pop over to:

www.allbearbypaula.com 

Thank you!

Update: Elizabeth Rose has been adopted!