Autumn Gold.

I've lost count of the number of times I have walked around Mote Park over the years.  The first time must have been at least thirty five years ago.  There are 450 acres of open parkland surrounding the lake and every inch of this great outdoors is enjoyed by young and old alike; dog walkers hurl sticks for 'Rover' to chase, small children wobble along pathways on bicycles, families picnic, couples stroll hand in hand, lads kick balls and gaggles of girls giggle on benches, admiring lads.

The lake

As a teenager I would often wile away the hours, gossiping with friends on the grass in summertime and as a student, would avoid tedious economic history lessons by sitting on a bench with my nose buried in a novel, when I should have been in class.  When my own children were growing up, we would tramp around the park in all weathers, feeding ducks, stuffing anorak pockets with acorns and conkers, playing 'Poohsticks' under the old stone bridge and puddle jumping on wet afternoons. 

Of all the seasons to visit, I love Mote Park best in her Autumn golds.  She puts on a wonderfully flamboyant show before Winter steals away her colourful landscape with his frosty chills.

When Stuart and I visited for a breath of fresh air yesterday afternoon, work had been actioned to 'improve' the park.  Muddy pathways had been widened, levelled and tarmacked, lakeside areas stripped clear of unruly foliage and construction of a smart steel bridge was in progress across part of the lake, all in the name of progress. 

I'm sure when we visit again in Spring next year, these upgrades will be ready for the public to use and will look less harsh with the season's new growth to soften the manmade edges. I just pray the planners won't diminish the essence of our natural parkland by over titivating, because I for one love the freedom of muddy, meandering walks around this beautiful park and hope future generations of local townsfolk will continue to enjoy that special sense of freedom too.

Nose to the grindstone.

My poor nose has been so firmly pressed to the bear-making grindstone lately, I haven't had time to scribe even the quickest of blog posts.  I've been busy making bears for the 'One More Bear' shop in Trentham and also for the 'Christmas Treasures' online webshow, which takes place in November ... and when those bears are completed, I have yet another festive shop order to fill before the end of November. Christmas is a-coming that's for sure!

I don't have new bear pics to share just yet, but please pop back soon because my Winter bears are very nearly ready to show off!

'The Teddy Bear' - a bear magazine for adults

Today I'm singing the praises of 'The Teddy Bear' ... but not the furry kind, no, this time we're talking about our excellent new UK magazine!  

'The Teddy Bear' is published by Warners Group Publications

The Autumn/Winter issue of 'The Teddy Bear' has just been published and like the two previous issues, it's an absolute gem bursting with well-written, informative features and delightful photographs.  All credit for this excellent publication must go to Kathy Martin, for her commitment to the subject and also for her complete professionalism.  Kathy is internationally respected for her exceptional understanding of the teddy bear, both historical and contemporary; together with her talented editorial team, she approaches the subject from many fascinating perspectives.

And if I may be permitted the tiniest trumpet of my own, I can't tell you how  thrilled I am to have my name included in the list of contributors for this issue!  Kathy kindly invited me to write a piece introducing 'The Guild of Master Bearcrafters' to the magazine's readership and having my article in print is a huge privilege!

I really can't recommend 'The Teddy Bear' too highly.  It is full of interesting features and written for adults, by experts.  We need to protect the future of this great publication, so please visit Collect It to purchase your copy.  

Incidentally, the first two back issues are also available to order (my bear Morris was the front cover star on the first issue!) so why not indulge yourself with all three mags - you'll thoroughly enjoy the read!

Simple Sunday

Who would have thought having new carpet laid could create so much work?  Furniture out, furniture in, dusting, vacuuming, polishing ... by the time we'd set our home straight on Saturday afternoon, I was fit to drop!  I've been battling a bit of a chest infection for the past few weeks too, so on Sunday afternoon, rather than walk anywhere, work, or help Stuart tidy the garden for the winter, I laid full stretch on the conservatory couch in the sunshine, with my book, a cuppa and my cats.

So today I have nothing new to report; not a single bear, or cheeky Prim Dolly Doodle to show you, no photographs of my local great outdoors - in fact, I don't even have a flickering of the tiniest creative flame to share.  All I have to offer is this very ordinary snap of my Puddle cat stretched out in the October sunshine with my book and mug by her side. 

So that was my Sunday ... a day to stop, smell the coffee and simply catch up with myself.  No more, no less.

2011 Golden Teddy Award winners, featuring Ken Yenke!

You may remember I was delighted to receive a 'Golden Teddy' award nomination earlier this year.  I didn't win my category (but was happy to lose to Kelly Dean, a very old friend and fabulous bear maker!) 

I would like to share the awards presentation with you.  It gives a great sense of the importance of international competitive work and for me, it's such a huge thrill to hear my name being read out in the presence of world expert Ken Yenke!  By the way, please watch the video right through to the end because there is a very charming talk given by Ken about how 'teddy' came into being and it's well worth waiting for!

If you would like to know more about Ken Yenke and his work, please visit his website at:

Ken Yenke

Aside from being museum curator for 'The Chelsea Toy Museum', leading teddy bear authority Ken has also written several books about teddy bears and their fascinating history.  I am lucky enough to own 'Bing Bears and Toys' (published by Schiffer) and can tell you his passion for the subject really shines through!

 Bing Bears and Toys, by Ken Yenke

The Golden Teddy Awards are hosted annually by American teddy bear magazine 'Teddy Bear Review' and as you can see from the slideshow, competition for the coveted 'Golden Teddy' is fierce!

Staying true to Sunday

The best kind of Sundays for me, have always been family days.  When my sisters and I were growing up, the Government hadn't yet introduced Sunday trading, so the hussle and bussle of town was strictly reserved for Saturday and our Sundays were spent playing, reading books, listening to music, going for walks and of course, squabbling with each other. 

A family visit to London Zoo with my four sisters, in the mid 70's.

We would wake on a Sunday morning to the sound of Jim Reeves, Nat King Cole or Perry Como crooning from the radiogram.  There would be a comforting smell of warm fabric conditioner filling the house as Mum tackled an enormous pile of family ironing and more often than not, Dad would be singing 'O Mein Papa', or 'Danny Boy' at the top of his voice in the kitchen as he prepared our weekly family roast - no mean feat considering there were seven of us living at home at the time!

Me and Fo, with our new baby sister Tina

And if the weather was fair, there was many a Sunday afternoon when Dad would pack us into his car and drive us to the local woods or seashore, to let us 'run off some stream', as he called it.

A rather blurry pic I took back in the 70's, of Dad with my four younger sisters.

Despite the passage of almost half a century, the heart of a Sunday for me has always been and I hope always will be, family.  Our lives are under constant demand to be ever busier these days and keeping hold of what's important can be challenging, but when it is possible to share a traditional Sunday with family, it really doesn't get much better than that.

Stuart, Fay, Fo, Simon, Ants, Han and of course, Bugsy!

If you are a regular 'Bearing All' reader, you may know I love to visit Knole Park in the Autumn.  It has been almost a year since I last gathered my lot together for a clomp through this spectacular deerpark, so yesterday we arranged to meet there and had a lovely time walking, talking and laughing together.

Life may have changed shape over the years, but for me and I'm sure for my sister Fiona too, the essence of Dad's family Sunday is as important today, as ever it was.

This beautiful ancient deer park is open all year round for walking, so if you would like to visit Knole Park in Sevenoaks, Kent, please click the link below to be taken to the National Trust website for further details:

Knole Park

An Honourable Mention!

Well, well, well, I certainly wasn't expecting that!  I opened my email this morning to learn my entry 'Kefalonia' has received an 'Honourable Mention' in the 2011 URSA Awards! 

'Kefalonia' - an 'Honorable Mention' in the 2011 URSA Awards!

The main competition nominees were announced quite some time ago and as Kefalonia didn't make the top three in her 'big bears/undressed' category, I assumed that was it, game over - but no, apparently Kefalonia achieved a very respectable fourth place and as the final category placements were so close, she has been honoured her with this lovely ribbon award ... which has made my day!

Vanishing Act!

We're enjoying an Indian summer here in England with temperatures up in the eighties ... phew!  With so much sunshine beaming through my workroom window this week, working on Halloween pieces seemed a little topsy turvy, but I had fun anyway!

I've had my camera out this afternoon and can at last show you my finished Witchypoo Dolly Doodle ... complete with bloomers, I'm happy to say!

 

Polly Pumpkinwitch

I have also been working on a little black bear cub.  I called him Merlin and believe me, this little fellow was every bit as meddlesome as his namesake when I pointed my camera at him ... black bears are so tricky to photograph!

 

12" Merlin

Well, that's me and Halloween just about done for this year. I have a shop order to work on next and after that, it will be time for thinking Christmas thoughts.  One thing's for sure, with or without any hocus pocus, 2011 is fast doing a vanishing act!

A Third Hat Trick!

Since becoming a recent convert to the joys of modern telephonic communication, I have developed a secret guilty pleasure - that of collecting my email and checking my Facebook account on my Iphone, from under my snuggly duvet each morning.  So imagine my delight this morning, when even before I had raised my head from my pillow, I spotted a link to the 2011 'Teddy Bear Artists and Friends' Award winners webpage and there listed, were three of my own entries, each of which had scooped third place in their category!

'Elwyn' - 3rd place in the 'polar bears' category

'Autumn' - third place in the 'groups' category

'Fleur' - third place in the 'creative doll' category

Thank you so much to everyone who voted for my work!

What a lovely start to this beautifully sunny Autumn day!

If you would like to see all the TBAAF Award winners, please visit:

TBAAF Award Winners

Simple Pleasures

While Dolly waits patiently for her bloomers (her knicker fabric hasn't arrived in the post yet!) I hope you will enjoy sharing a few of my favourite pics snapped yesterday afternoon, as Stuart and I strolled along the coastline at Riverside Country Park in Gillingham.

If you pop in to my blog for a regular read, you may remember we first visited this area back in May, taking a very blustery walk along the Saxon Shore Way, towards Motney Hill.

So this time, rather than turning right at the wooden signpost, we turned left towards Copperhouse Lane.

I love the strong visual contrast between natural coastline and the imposing power station on the horizon.  The path we took yesterday was rich with seasonal browns and golds ... such a treat for the soul in the warm autumnal sunshine.

As I mentioned when we were last here, there are many wrecked boats abandoned along this route and as the years pass they rust and rot, blending peacefully into the natural landscape. I can't help but wonder what tales these forgotten boats could tell!

Rather than take my handy pocket sized 'point 'n' shoot, I made sure I took my Canon SLR camera this time, to allow me the opportunity to tweak settings and capture nature in a little more detail - it was bulkier to carry, but I am glad I made the effort.

As we strolled, my eye was drawn back time and time again to the view of the power station ...

And finally, after ambling along in the sunshine for a very enjoyable couple of hours, we headed back to 'Horrid Hill', plonked ourselves on a bench to admire the view of the rusting hulk below, then drove home to put the kettle on for a well-earned cuppa!

I hope there will be a few more beautiful autumn afternoons to enjoy outdoors before the winter chills set in. Stuart and I both love to go walking ... simple pleasures are definitely the best.

If you would like to take a stroll along the Saxon Shore Way here in Kent, I can highly recommend a visit to:

 Riverside Country Park, Medway, Kent

A fascinating shoreline and safe, comfortable walking ... what more could anyone ask for?!

If you would like to read the blog post and see the photographs I posted in May, please click the following link: What lies beyond ...

Prim, but not quite proper!

Just to prove I can (very occasionally) do as I am told (those who know me far too well will be choking with disbelief right now!) here is yesterday's Dolly Doodle again, this time at 'Paula's Hairdressing Salon'.

Hairdo in progress!

I can't quite bring myself to give this 'Witchlett-in-waiting' a wickedly wild hairdo, so instead I'm using a lovely burnt orangey chunky yarn, plaited into into cute pigtails ...

Hmmn, I still don't think she's Witchypoo enough yet.  She is prim and almost proper (she's not wearing any bloomers yet, so really not proper at all!) but something's missing ... of course, not only does she need her knickers (!) she also needs a smart pointy hat to wear out on her big night!

Well that's it for today's Witchypoo progress report.  When this mischievous miss's undergarments and hat are finished, I'll grab my camera and take a proper pic to share with you ...

Halloween Happenings

It has been a whole year since I last made one of my 'Prim Dolly Doodles' ... I can hardly believe so much time has slipped away without a single daft dolly to share.  With Halloween only weeks away, now is the perfect time to put that to rights!

I've had a pair of pointy-toed dolly legs waiting patiently in my work basket since last year's Halloween, so yesterday I decided to see if I could remember how to make a cloth doll after my long sabbatical ...

First things first, time to hunt out paint brushes and give those pointy-toes a quick undercoat  ...

And while they were drying, I sewed the rest of my doll, stuffed her firmly and set to work on the fun stuff - creating a face with pens, paints, crayons, chalks and embroidery threads!

By tea-time yesterday, I had completely lost track of time, not even realising dusk had fallen when Stuart popped his head into my workroom after work!  My daft dolly had taken shape though, with limbs and head attached, smart blue pointy shoes on her feet and a matching Halloween frock to wear!

And now she's perched on the edge of my desk raising her eyes as if to say 'do come away from that blog and make me some hair!'

So just this once, I suppose I'd better do as I'm told!

Four Seasons

My sister Fiona and I had planned to visit a special event at Chatham Historic Dockyard yesterday to celebrate our Dad's life in lively 1940's style, but unfortunately I hurt my leg whilst jogging on the treadmill in my slippers a few days ago (!) which scuppered our 'first anniversary' plans.  So instead, Stuart and I rustled up a roast beef dinner Dad himself would have thoroughly enjoyed, put the 'Glen Miller Orchestra' on the stereo and invited Fo, Simon, my niece Lauren and my daughter Fay to eat with us and raise a glass of Chapel Down Vineyard's finest, in Dad's memory.

Stuart, Fay, Fo, Simon and Lauren

After a leisurely lunch, the six of us took a slow stroll (more of a hobble in my case!) through local woodland and across the pear orchards in glorious autumnal sunshine.

My sister Fiona

I think Fiona would agree with me when I say even now, after the passing of four full seasons, our sense of loss hasn't lessened, but the shock of losing Dad so unexpectedly a year ago, has almost imperceptibly eased into a quiet acceptance ... and for that, one year on, we are grateful.

Challenged ... part 2!

As I was about to tell you yesterday, before I started work on my challenge bear's white bits I discovered I didn't have any suitable blue paw fabric;  fortunately though, I did have a piece of white felt tucked away in a storage box, so before I could go any further with my project, I had to nip back down to the stove ....

And after a little more hubble bubble, my scrap of white felt soon became the perfect matching shade of blue!

My plan for this project was to tackle the advanced element of the Guild's 'A Teddy Bear World' challenge by creating a 1950's 'Chiltern Hugmee' style bear, in clown style.  After scouring the internet for information about the Chiltern Hygenic Toy Company, I only managed to find a couple of photographs of their clown bears dating back to the 1930's, but that was enough to tell me Chiltern had once manufactured teddy bears in clown style!

1930's Chiltern clown/harlequin style bear

As my first childhood teddy was a 1950's Chiltern Hugmee and I have always had a fondness for this most English of bears, I decided to meet the Guild challenge criteria by attempting to create a 1950's Hugmee type bear in patriotic clown style ...

My mohair dye bath worked perfectly, giving me the vibrant red and blue colours of our national Union Jack flag.

And once sewn, I could begin to see my design taking shape!

As the Chiltern Toy Company used excelsior in their bears' heads, I decided I would give it a go too ... but it was such a messy job, I don't think it's something I'll be repeating in a hurry!

Chiltern Hugmee bears were stuffed with a natural fibre called kapok, so that's what I chose to use for my challenge bear.  Boy did that stuff tickle my nose ...  from now on, I will be forever grateful for my usual, non-tickly, polyester!

Something old, something new!

I have really enjoyed the opportunity this Guild challenge has given me to step away from my usual style of work and do something completely different.

 So here he is, introducing my challenge submission 'Jack' ...

I do hope you think he might have made an acceptable addition to the 1950's Chiltern Hugmee range of teddy bears!