Doing what families do best ..

My sister Tina and her family live a couple of hours' drive away, so my sister Fiona and I aren't able to just 'pop in' for a cuppa regularly like we do with one another - to remedy this, now and again we schedule a day visit to Portchester for a sisterly catch up, more often than not with a variety of offspring and their partners in tow ... 'Auntie Tina's' it seems, is a popular outing!

The rabble ...
(And a rare shot of the 'lesser spotted Tina' on the far right!)

Last weekend, we arrived mob handed with Stuart's grandson, my daughter, my son, his girlfriend, my sister Fiona, her partner, daughter and their granddaughter, in time for a lovely lunch followed by a tromp round the armouries at Fort Nelson.  

Walking and talking ...

Unfortunately a rain squall blew up from the Solent, so we couldn't explore as much of the fort grounds as we would have liked, but we still had a great time exploring the fort's tunnels ... and the boys spent ages inspecting the museum's massive guns, as I suppose most boys are apt to do!

My son immersing himself in big gun history

The girls were understandably slightly less enthused by weapons of destruction, but even so, enjoyed the opportunity to be out and about, doing something a bit different together.

Fay inspecting arms!

Never quite off duty, Tina, a professional photographer by trade, snapped away on her camera while the rest of us went exploring ...

... and one little boy proved to be a very popular subject!

For Stuart, it was a special day packed full of boy stuff with his grandson ...

Stuart and his grandson doing boy stuff

... and for all of us, it was a day to relax, chat, laugh and share family time together ...

Wet and windy, walking with my daughter

My niece and her mum

Playing!

Chatting

... because that is what families should always do best!

Tina!

Incidentally, catching Tina on camera is nigh on impossible as she always has a camera pressed to her nose!  Thanks Tina, for capturing these special family memories for us all and most of all, for a lovely day ... here's to next time, see you again soon xxx

Most of the photographs above were taken by my sister Tina ... if you would like to see her professional photographic work, you are welcome to visit: 

www.tinaallinghamphotography.co.uk

Happy Birthday Boy!

We celebrated my little boy's 28th birthday at the weekend and I know this is almost a cliche, but really, where does the time go?!

Anthony aged about 5

Ants and his lovely girlfriend Hannah make a great team, they've been together through thick and thin since they were fifteen and over the past two years, have worked very hard to create a beautiful home together.  On Saturday Han invited us to share Anthony's birthday and made him this amazing Maltezer and chocolate fingers 'Mr Bump' cake - that girl certainly knows her man!!!  

Putting on the finishing touches!

Ta da!!!!

It seems only a blink ago that Anthony was a slightly shy, very cheeky lad who loved to play practical jokes on us all and now, at a strapping 6'3", he completely dwarfs me (and most other folk!) still has the same cheeky twinkle in his eye and can never quite resist the urge to indulge in a spot of mischief!  He won't thank me for telling you this, but he also has a heart of gold, has been a huge support to me during very tough times, never lets me down and has made me an extremely proud mum.

Anthony, all grown up?!

Happy Birthday Boy, with all my love always, Your Muva xxx

Maisy-May

I had intended to start work on my next shop order of Tiddler bears at the end of last week, but made the mistake of painting a pair of pleading eyes on the doll below ... try ignoring a pair of eyes pleading 'please finish me' as you move around your workroom, believe me, it really can't be done!  So 'Maisy-May' came to life and found her new mum straightaway and today I will start a fresh batch of Tiddlers ... 'all's well that end's well', as they say!

'Maisy-May'

My Prim Dolly Doodles are so much fun to make I have decided to let them have their own Facebook page to play on ... if you would like to visit them, please click the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/PaulasPrimDollyDoodles

Sunshine days ahead!

The daffodils are blooming, the roses in my garden are leafing and we have Spring weather forecast for the weekend ... it's official, Winter has at long last passed!

'Rosie Red'

To celebrate the change in season, I'd like to introduce 'Rosie Red', my first Prim Dolly Doodle of 2013 and yes, before you ask, she is wearing knickers!

And to warm the cockles of your heart, a splash of daffodil yellow ... here's to sunshine days ahead!

Doodling!

Following on from my 'Doodles Discombobulate' post last week, this is Dolly Doodle's progress report and as you can see, she's not quite finished yet, but it won't be too much longer before this little lady will be able to meet her new mum!

After my previous post, I stuffed Dolly's arms and stitched her limbs to her body.  It's fair to say my dollies always look a bit strange at this stage!

Next I painted her shoes and pinned her head in place temporarily, to see if she was coming to life ... judging from her slightly embarrassed expression, she was!

Then it was time to cover her modesty, so I made a dress from pretty rose print cotton fabric and removed Dolly's head (poor girl!) for a dress fitting. From past experience, I have learned fitting the dress without the head in place makes life so much easier!

After gathering the sleeves of her frock, I stitched Dolly's head in place and cut a few strands of wool for her hair - she's hoping for a cute little snippy fringe and lovely full bunches, so there's more hair styling to do ... and I'd better not forget before I send her off on her travels, my little lady still needs her knickers made!!!!!

Not quite the usual hair stylist technique, but effective nonetheless!

Her hair needs a trim and some red hair ties, and there's a little more finishing to do, but all in all, my first Dolly Doodle of 2013 is almost ready to meet her public!

Paws a-while ..

She has been what feels like a long time in the pipeline, but at last I can introduce you to the newest member of our family ...

She's a wee bit too little to come home just yet, so we are busily preparing for her arrival with puppy paraphernalia arriving daily to make the transition from her litter of beautiful brothers and sisters, as welcoming as possible.

While her siblings played happily in their pen, one little girl waddled over and rolled onto her back, inviting my daughter to tickle her tummy.  A snuggly cuddle later and it seemed we'd passed muster ... this perfect little lady had adopted us!

Knitting through the decades

By rights our Great British daffodils should have brightened Easter Bank Holiday, but it's still so cold here they couldn't quite bring themselves to open and who could blame them?!  If the weather had been a little warmer, a walk might would have been on our agenda for the weekend but chill winds defeated us, so instead I settled into my armchair with my latest knitting project, a cotton cardigan for the Spring ... that's if it ever arrives of course!

Spring 2013, my new knitting project!

I'm knitting a lovely textured pattern by Kim Hargreaves in Rowan's 'hand knit cotton' in the hope that when it's finished I will be able to wear it over t-shirts and jeans. Fingers crossed it fits when it's completed - it's been years since I knitted myself anything to wear!

1988 with my son at Chessington Zoo

Since I wrote my last sentence I couldn't resist hunting in the loft for old photo albums ... thankfully there aren't many pics of me wearing my own hand knits, but I did find a couple of 'interesting' ones to entertain you with!  The 'dog-tooth' mohair jacket in the photo above, taken with my son (also wearing one of my knits) on a visit to Chessington Zoo, was quite a corker and the over-sized pink 'basket weave' jacket below has haunted me for many a long year since I knitted it in 1988 and wore it for my daughter's 5th birthday trip to London Zoo with my mum on a bitterly cold March day ... as I recall there wasn't much sign of Spring then either! 

Visiting London Zoo with Mum and my kids, back in 1988

I first taught myself to knit in 1982 at the tender age of nineteen ... my Mum always had a knitting project on the go, but had no success teaching me, a hopeless leftie, so when my first baby was due, I borrowed an instruction book and battled through my frustration to knit some warm baby clothes ... and now, thirty one years later, I still have my knitting needles beside my armchair ready for use.  Let's hope I finish the Kim Hargreaves' cardigan I've just started, so that in thirty years I will be able to remember it as fondly as my earlier hand knitted jackets ... let's also hope the design doesn't date quite as quickly as that blue mohair dog tooth check jacket!

It's a fact, Dolly Doodles dissolve discombobulation!

I had intended to pop out to the Post Office this afternoon, to return a pair of Cinderella shoes I'd decided against for my niece's wedding in August, but after the small, but not insubstantial shock of receiving an email from my Dad's email address this morning, I'm feeling a little discombobulated and the shoe refund will have to wait.  Instead I'm going to eat a large slice of chocolate cake, wash it down with a mug of hot chocolate and curse those hateful email stealing spammers for their heartless theft of Dad's good name.  How dare they treat Dad's friends and family in this cavalier manner now that he is no longer with us?! I called the email hosting company after receiving the email, explained that sadly Dad is no longer with us, his email has been hijacked by spammers ... thankfully they closed the account immediately .

So, on to Prim Dolly Doodles.  Time to focus on a very welcome diversion this afternoon, some Spring doll making!  My Dolly Doodles have been on the back burner since Christmas, so it's about time I allocated them a few days sewing time. Yesterday I had fun selecting cotton fabrics for frocks and bloomers and picking out hand dyed yarn for hairdo's.

Then I drew out three dolls (a nice number to work on in one doodling session) cut out my pattern pieces, stitched them and turned the pieces the right way out. I'm still playing with where best to stitch my lovely new satin 'Paula's Prim Dolly Doodle' labels, so this batch will be fixed into the back of one of dolly's leg seams, beneath the bloomers, but above the shoes.

I prefer my dollies to sit comfortably, so like to box off the bottom of the body sack to make a good solid seating area. 

Then I make a little slit in the back of the body and weight the bottom third with either glass beads or polyester pellets.

Before I wound up my day yesterday, I stuffed the bodies firmly with polyester fibre, making sure the neck areas were strong enough to take the weight of a doll's head, (which will be attached separately).  I also stuffed a couple of pair of striped legs, but only as far as the knee ... that way each dolly will be able to perch happily on a shelf with her feet dangling!

That's better, now I feel in a far better mood and can start working on the third pair of dingly dangly dolly legs - yes it's a fact, Dolly Doodles do dissolve discombobulation!

Buddies in The Bear Shop!

When a shop asks me to create three lovely big bears to showcase, I am always delighted to oblige!  Robert at 'The Bear Shop' in Norwich is one such super shop owner and he is an absolute pleasure to work with.

17" Hugo

For this order, I opted to take traditional design through to modern classic, for my group of shop exclusive bear buddies.

17" Natty

As you can see, Hugo is a notably traditional fellow and his pals Natty and Buddy, although still undeniably classic bears, have a slightly more contemporary edge with their fuller figures and expressive hand painted glass eyes.

19" Buddy

Hopefully these three bears will offer 'The Bear Shop' in Norwich something to meet all customer tastes!

My Girl

Thirty years ago on the 22nd March, this little bundle came into my world and changed my destiny forever ...

1983

She arrived at 7.50 am weighing 7lbs and 12 ozs (isn't it strange how mums never forget these details?!) with ten tiny fingers, ten tiny toes and the prettiest little face I had ever seen.

Since then she has grown into the most beautiful young woman, bright, bubbly, ambitious and loyal. She has a kind heart and a strong, generous spirit. To share both her strengths and her weaknesses is a privilege and as her mum, I can honestly say, I wouldn't change her for the world.  

The past thirty years have been a gift.

Happy Birthday Fay Anne xxx

Blogging for the Guild!

I have my 'Guild Admin' hat on today (although still haven't managed to write this week's or last week's newsletters ..where does the time go?!) but on a more productive note, have at last managed to create a Guild Blog!  

This idea was suggested to me by a clever member via the Guild's 'Suggestion Box' some months ago and at the time I thought it was a great idea but wasn't entirely sure how best to make it work, so put it on the back burner thinking that if the concept was a good one, it would nudge me again when the time was right and today I am delighted to tell you, is that very day!

www.masterbearcrafters.blogspot.com

I hope our shiny new Guild blog will be of benefit to Guild members and also to anyone with an interest in the wonderful world of teddy bear artistry.  I plan to share members' creations on the new blog and introduce readers to our very talented teddy bear artist members ... and of course, chat about some of the projects we are involved with and any other Guild news that might be relevant.

With a little luck and your kind support, I think our new Guild blog should evolve into an interesting, fun and informative look at the fabulous international teddy bear creativity currently on offer.

If you could take a moment to visit the Guild Blog

 www.masterbearcrafters.blogspot.com 

... and follow its progress, I would be delighted, thank you so much!

A Bear of Significant Proportion!

Back to my roots this week with a bear of significant proportion. Sometimes a piece of mohair is simply so glorious, it would be criminal to do any less than showcase it in all its glory as a properly big teddy bear ... those little 'uns are all fine and good, but only a really substantial bear can truly do justice to this kind of luxury!

21" Orson - a bear of significant proportion!

Throughout my many years of bear-making, the German company Schulte has, in my humble opinion, always offered the ultimate in teddy bear mohair.  Dense and delicious ... it really is a complete joy to work with!

A job's a job?

Whenever I'm asked about my job, I always say I'm a bearmaker and have been for almost twenty years, which of course is true, but that's not my most important job ...

First and foremost I am proud to say I'm a mum and have been for thirty years.

My two playing together, just over twenty years ago.

Sharing their passion for music at a gig in 2010.

Being a mum continues to make my world turn even now my kids are adults and in control of turning their own worlds.  So thanks kids, for showing me on Mothering Sunday who I am to you ... the cards, gifts and flowers were a lovely treat, but the most precious gift of all for me, is you two, just being you.

Me 'n my kids

They'll groan and tell me off if I get too cheesy, so suffice it to say, I have two great kids and am one incredibly proud mum!

Long may he reign supreme!

Not that I don't enjoy the challenge of contemporary design, but traditional bears were my first love and they still know how to tug at my heartstrings today ...

'Becks and Scrump' circa 1996

In fact, I remember my early classic bears as old friends.  'Becks' and 'Scrump' for example, two super teddy bears made by my sister and I, way back in the mid 1990's.  They were made from glorious Schulte mohair in two alternative shades of gold.  My sister Fiona designed Scrump (right) and I created Becks (left).  We didn't collaborate beyond choosing the mohair together over a cuppa and yet when completed, our bears looked just as though they were brothers, meant to be together!

'Orwell' Circa Circa 1995

Then there was Orwell, another early 90's bear, beautifully big and totally traditional. I think I made about ten of these bears, but never kept one for myself ... now I so wish I had!  I recall being absolutely delighted with this 25" teddy bear as it was the first time I felt as though I had succeeded in creating the kind of teddy bear I would like to buy for myself.

'Timeless' Circa 1995

Not long after Orwell, came 'Timeless', a whopping 26" growler.  He was made for the  final Hugglets' 'Festival of Artist Bears' show, in Stratford Upon Avon.  I stood behind the table with Fiona and as the doors opened a lady flew across the room to scoop him into her arms ... we watched as she fell hook, line and sinker in love with him!  We had a super time at that show standing among the most fabulous bear artists of the time - it was a completely thrilling day for two bear-making sisters quite new to selling their work!

'Gorgeous George' Circa 2007

Luckily for me, traditional bears really are timeless and a decade later they were still very much in demand.  'Gorgeous George' was another bear of whom I was very proud. I gave him a gentle nod to modernity by introducing hand painted glass eyes and subtle shading to the eye socket, but as you can see, he remained true to his forebears.

'Bellamy' 2009

Since the traditional teddy bear heyday of the 1990's, I have made many, many teddies of all shapes, colours, styles and sizes, but throughout those years have never been distracted from my first love and what I consider to be 'a proper teddy bear'.  Leaping forward some fourteen years, brings us to 'Bellamy,' a magnificent 23" bear commissioned by a devoted gentleman collector.  Once again, I used only the very best Schulte mohair to help me create a bear I could be proud of.  There's something so special about Schulte mohair, not only is it fabulously silky, dense, gloriously rich in colour and strong ... it is also absolutely perfect for creating teddy bears of distinction!

'Stirling' 2011

There's no doubt in my mind, traditional teddy bears should never grow old or become outmoded.  They are bears to care about, bears to cherish and most definitely bears to take with us into the future.

Hip hip horaay for our traditional teddy bear!
Long may he reign supreme!