Black and white challenge bear

This is Molly. She's my contribution to the black and white challenge recently on Teddy Talk . If you'd like to take a look at the other entries just go the the Challenge Gallery and you'll see many imaginative creations.

Molly will be available on Bid4Bear's Artist Power 2008 Campaign which starts on March 9th.

I'll be posting more information about this Campaign next week.

My baby is 25 today!

Happy Birthday, Puppy.

And, as today is the day he and Becky start their road trip back to the southwest, and as the paper says it's snowing today in Chicago, I'm praying for better weather and a safe trip home for them.

Joseph is on the left, Becky is on the right, and their friend, Ryan is in the middle. They were experiencing/celebrating St. Pat's Day in Chicago 2007.

Rusty. . .a new bear

This is Rusty and he's just been posted on Bid4Bears. He's made from 1 1/8" dense, curly Shulte mohair. He has a shorter body than most of my bears and I really like his look. He may have cousins soon.

Esme was adopted last week and is now residing in New Jersey.

I'm still working on my black and white challenge bear...the bear is done, the accessories are not. I have another week to make the deadline so I better get busy.

More changes around here

Joseph is moving home. Yikes! Allyn and I are back where we started with two kids at home. We keep sending them out and they keep coming back.

To be fair, Joseph has been unable to find employment in the Chicago area and Becky, his roommate is moving back to Phoenix for personal reasons. And, the Waggle money tree has lost all its leaves. So they are making arrangements to have their belongings moved and will drive across the country in Becky's car and arrive in Phoenix at the end of the month just in time for her to start her new job on March 3. We'll meet Joseph in Phoenix and bring him home. These two desert kids are also a bit disenchanted with the mid-west weather, I think.

After Ashley finally moved out, and years later when Joseph went off to Cal, we made the two smaller bedrooms into guest rooms and I took over Joseph's larger room as my sewing/quilting room. Then Ashley moved back home and decided her bedroom was too small so we knocked out a wall and made the two small bedrooms one large room to give her space. I still had my sewing room. But, with Ashley's move home, it became "if I don't want it I'll throw it in mom's room" room; I have to find a path to my sewing machine. And now, it needs to become Joseph's bedroom again. So this weekend, Allyn and I are going to somehow find a place for my work table, sewing cabinet, two sewing machines, four bookcases, three file cabinets not to mention what's in and on those things, a closet full of crafting stuff, and a rolling rack holding unfinished quilting projects.

I'm wondering if this is some sneaky plan of my family to make me "get rid of so much stuff" they think I do not need. Of course, I love my kids dearly, but I think I'd prefer to downsize by having them find jobs and moving out on their own. And, Allyn and I would like to have our house back just for us, and Harley, of course. But what are parents for anyway?

New Bear - Esmé

Sleepy Davey and Rose Marie have been adopted together and will soon be on their way to their new home in New Jersey where they'll join Tommy and Peppermint in a wonderful teddy-bear-loving home.

This is Esmé and she has just been listed on Bid4Bears. Her fur is actually a very frosty white and her color comes entirely from the backing fabric. She's 15" standing and 10.5" sitting. Hope you like her.

I'm currently working on two Teddy Talk challenge bears, one a "shades of black and white" bear and the second an "out of your comfort zone" bear. The black and white is nearly done and, hopefully, will be completed by the end-of-February deadline. The other bear is a work in progress and will be smaller than my normal bears. I've always admired miniature and micro-mini bear makers. They so amaze me with so much detail into such tiny pieces. I love the little bears, but all those little pieces just may not be for me.The head is finished and I'm really quite happy with the way it turned out so I'm encouraged.

New Bears

I've just listed two new bears on Bid4Bears which is a great auction site dedicated to teddy bears, their friends, bear-making supplies and other related items.

This is Sleepy Davey and he comes with his own quilt and sleep shirt.

This little lady is Rose Marie and she has a hand embroidered foot pad in the shape of a heart.

Both bears are about 15 inches tall and about 10.5 inches sitting. If you love teddy bears, take a look at Bid4Bears.