Panda's and Polars

I have been a little quiet in terms of blogging this week. But I have a very good reason. I'm busily working away on two massive custom bears - a Panda and a Polar. These guys are FAT!!! Both have taken up a full 1/2m of mohair each - which should give you some idea of how chunky their bits were! The request was for them to be cuddly and heavy, with a wobble head. They have been so much fun to stuff (one of the aspects I usually like the least!).


Here is a sneak peek at their heads just sewn up. I'm actually probably only a few hours away from finishing them now, and will pop up a few more final photos once I've sent them off to the collector for approval first.

So far my favourite is the Polar bear. I was working on her yesterday afternoon while Chelsea had a sleep and Mark was watching TV. I was muttering away to the bear saying how gorgeous he was when Mark looked up and asked me if I'd said something. I had to tell him that I was talking to the bear, not him! :P Poor guy!

Oliver's Christmas outfit

Chelsea and I went to the shops today. For bread and milk. We came back with about ten bags of other stuff! Christmas goodies, toys, santa gifts, hair accessories... oh, and an outfit for Oliver!



He didn't really like it :P




Also finished three more SPuNGieS today. These guys are just too much fun to make!

Abrialii Lavender

This is Abrialii - so named as this is a stunning variety of the lavender flower, matching the colouring on this big panda's belly and head. Abrialii is my latest bear, and is currently available. I must admit I'm a little smitten with her too! She's a lovely big girl, standing in at 22" (57cm) tall. I decided to get some photos of Chelsea with her too, to show just how big she is. At least this time Chelsea decided to cooperate! She was a little distracted by Oliver trying to jump up on the table too though.






































Which he is not supposed to be doing! We took him to the vet to get desexed yesterday. He was gone all day, and despite myself I actually missed him! It was nice to be able to get down in the garden and do some weeding without having to deal with him trying to sit in my lap at the same time, but the backyard just seemed a bit empty. Chelsea and I collected him yesterday afternoon, and we were given strict instructions not to let him run around or jump in case he opened up his stitches. That was basically impossible! He was so happy to be home that he was jumping all over the place. He did have a bit of a rest this morning though - and I managed to capture this pic of him, before he came bounding out of his kennel and jumping all over the place again! :P




Then, during Abrialii's photo shoot, he and Chelsea decided it would be a great idea to try and climb the ladder! I think she's a bad influence on him! At least she didn't get very high. And he just stayed at the bottom as a sort of 'look out' I suppose! I really don't know how we're supposed to keep him quiet for another 9 days!!!

Dejan the Bunny

I'm kind of addicted to the luxury mohair at the moment, but felt a need to step away from Panda's for a little while... well, for a day at least!

This little guy is 'Dejan'. He is a patchy cream and chocolate curly mohair bunny, complete with whiskers, bendable ears and a cotton-bud tail.



I was just doing the calculations in my mind then, and realised Chelsea has been incredibly patient with me today. This morning at 9am, Dejan was just a pile of sewn up bunny pieces. And now, 3pm local time, he's finished! Chelsea had a great time unpacking my sewing box while I worked. And I somehow managed to assemble Dejan and keep her away from the really dangerous things - scissors, quick unpicks, sewing needles etc, and the potentially messy things - silk dye, pens, paintbrushes etc. Actually, she's really good now. I think she's watched me sewing so much that she knows what she can and can't touch. If she picks up anything she isn't allowed to have, she hands it straight over to me. Kind of like her version of saying 'this isn't safe mum, put it away!'.


So, after a very productive day, Dejan is now up for adoption and currently listed on bearpile.

More baby toys

To my surprise, my baby toys have been selling reasonably well. Which is great - because I love making them! They're so much different to the bears, allowing a greater sense of freedom in choosing colours and matching ribbons, but still adding a challenge (the last step in creating the SPuNGieS in particular is quite tricky!).

So to celebrate the sales, I've made a few more (now on etsy). I mixed and matched 8 different furs/cotton/ribbon swatches yesterday, and sewed two this afternoon. I don't know which one i like more!

Gingersnap

This is my latest panda in what seems like it's been a bit of a panda epidemic lately! Again inspired by the lovely 'Lyric' - this lady is instead made from a gorgeous ginger with dark chocolate tipped mohair in soft, bouncing curls. Going from memory this would have to be up there with the most I've ever paid for a piece of mohair, but the quality is just stunning, and worth every cent! You can find more mohair like this at Gerry's Teddy and Craft. If I'm honest, the prices there are on the higher scale of things, but the variety and the quality are to die for!

Gingersnap has already been snapped up, but here's her bearpile link if you're interested.

The Ticking Clock

Lately I've been feeling like time is really starting to get away from me. I'm 31 weeks preg tomorrow, which basically means a new baby in our lives in about 2 months. Possibly earlier depending on my blood pressure. This is a really exciting prospect, but also a really scary one. I think it really hit me when i found this image above. Baby is actually quite big already! He just gets a little longer and a little fatter over the next few weeks...

I think I'm mostly anxious because I've worked hard on Chelsea and have her in a really good routine at the moment. I know when she'll be going down for her sleeps which gives me time to do my crafty stuff. And she sleeps through the night... We'll be going all the way back to square one with a newborn again. Only this time I'll have a toddler as well as a newborn. I know I'll survive, but I think the bears will take a serious backseat.

I have so many ideas I want to get made before baby! It feels like there aren't enough hours in the day sometimes!



And then I look back at photos of Chelsea as a newborn, and I can't wait to have a tiny baby in my arms again. Ah, the conflicted emotions of a pregnant woman! :P