MEGAN CHAMBERLAIN

2012-01-17T15:40:00.000-08:00

This is what is on my work table today and I have just realised that four of the bears are still blind.
Hope everyone is having a good week, it has got so cold here that I am sitting wrapped in a blanket as I sew.

2012-01-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

Sunrise from a few days ago, it was the most magnificent start to the day.

And then yesterday morning we woke up to frost and the temperature has really dropped, the leaves look so amazing, like iced decorations. The cats weren't very happy about walking on the frosted grass, so their time outside has been almost none existent.
I have had a very good weekend with lots of stitching finished.

Juliette (above) and Finley have both been on ebay recently and are on the way to their new homes.

I have two other bears waiting to be dressed and a new pattern is almost done, finally I feel as if I am getting some work finished.
I have developed another addiction though, I have joined Pinterest and become totally hooked, so many incredible things to see and share. Hope everyone had a good weekend, more work to show you later in the week.

2012-01-07T02:23:00.000-08:00

My rather late start to the new year and wishing everyone the best and happiest year to come.
Welcome to my new followers and thank you to everyone for the wonderful comments, I do read them but have not been feeling up to replying and visiting all my favourite blogs.
I should have some photos to share with you soon, lots of little bears and other stitching has been done, now they just need to be finished and photographed.

2011-12-21T15:56:00.000-08:00

Gabriel the Snow Santa with Stella Polaris the littlest polar bear are on ebay at the moment.
Each year I make a special one-of-a-kind Santa set and this is the special pair for 2011.

Today is Winter Solstice and there seems to be magic in the air, a sense of lightness and joy that the long nights are ending. Wishing everyone a wonderful Solstice celebration.

2011-12-10T02:21:00.000-08:00

I think this is becoming a monthly update rather than a regular blog. I can't believe how the time flies past. Nothing very exciting going on here and not very many new bears to show you, lots of orders and shop bears which I can't show you yet.
Lincoln is an order bear made as a companion for a little girl that I made a few months ago called Liberty. He is in his new home just in time for Christmas.

In my spare time, normally the fifteen minutes before I go to bed, I do my cross stitching. At the moment I am stitching Part 4 of the The Thread Basket SAL with C Mon Monde. I am a bit behind as time to stitch is not available but it is looking lovely and I am really enjoying it. Just ignore all the half finished bits.

And a final photo, the kitties are feeling the cold and try to find any patch of sun when it appears. Only one can have prime position but a little bit of sun will do.

Christmas Treasures Online Bear Show

2011-11-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

The online show has started. To view our bears go here www.teddiesworldwide.com

2011-11-06T01:26:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished a couple of my cross stitch pieces and put them in the etsy shop. More to follow as time and bear making allows.
I hope everyone is having a good weekend, we had a lovely day yesterday with my brother Austin, YoonMi and my beautiful niece, Victoria visiting.

2011-11-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

Rose Witch is on ebay at the moment. I have done a special Halloween piece each year for a long time but this year everything got crazy and I just didn't manage. So Rose is a compromise, a tribute to Halloween and very pretty in her rose dress.
I found her dress fabric tucked away in the box of quilting fabric and it brought back so many memories. It really is vintage fabric, I had a rag doll that Wendy made me years ago that had a dress made out of this fabric to match one of my dresses. I wonder what happened to the doll, she must have got misplaced in one of our moves.
I am finally over the dreadful flu that I had and am feeling almost normal. I am trying to keep up with the bear orders but have been a bit slow, there are a few new bears for ebay and the bears for the online show are being stitched at the moment. I hope everyone is keeping well and warm (or cool if you are down south) winter has been delayed here but I am sure it is on its way.

2011-10-31T03:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween

The sign on the front door.

The window display, it is not the best photo because of the reflection.

Mishka had to come and see what was going on, he looks so cute sitting next to the black cat.

2011-10-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

I have been busy stitching order bears for the last few weeks and we have also been trying to sort out some of the clutter in our lives.
The garage is now neat and tidy and the boxes are in better order to find fabric, ribbons, books etc. One day we will have a bigger workroom where we can actually store things properly but at least things are more organised.
Summer is on her way to America and I have a little cream and apricot bear waiting to be dressed.

Briony and Benjamin bunnies are on the webpage at the moment.

I should have some more bears to show you next week, so many stitched pieces and now I have to stuff, one of my least favourite things.

2011-09-28T04:48:00.000-07:00

I have just finished Caroline, a new pattern and kit. I have listed the pattern on etsy and will be listing the kit later today.

Leila trying to be inconspicuous under the bird feeder. It doesn't work very well when you are a black cat.

Please excuse the jungle look to the garden. The lawn mower died the week before the bear fair and it was not a priority to sort it out.

On the drive home from the bear fair we saw the most amazing rainbow. Unfortunately trying to take photos from a moving car isn't easy. The rainbow was really beautiful, at least this shows a bit of it.

This is just one of the sections of road on the way home from London, once you get off the motorway the drive is lovely, lots of beautiful trees and tiny villages with old houses. We keep on saying we will have to stop and explore each of the villages, something else to add to the list of places to visit.

More bears are coming, just trying to finish orders and design a couple more new patterns.

2011-09-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Not much has been happening here the past week except a lot of stitching with nothing finished to show you yet.
So I will share a couple of photos from around the house. Roses from the garden, they smell so lovely.

The old window frame has been placed on top of the shelves in our workroom.
I found it half buried in the ground when we where in France. The house that we were living in was next door to a very overgrown and neglected property which was used to dump everything you could think of. I think there were at least two old cars, piles of wood, a chicken coop and who knows what else.
So anyway I was trying to find Mishka kitty who was playing hide and seek and found the frame sticking out of a pile of junk. Wrestled it home and it has travelled with us since. I finally got my Dad to sand it lightly, didn't want to lose too much of the old colour (sort of a washed out yellow and duck egg blue) and now here it is.
I had planned to put either chalkboard or fabric in the openings to use it as a pin board but at the moment at least it is out looking pretty.

Hope everyone's week is going well. We are off to London tomorrow to visit my niece Victoria.

2011-09-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely day at the show on Sunday, it started off quietly but got very busy and we had a wonderful time meeting up with friends and collectors.
Unfortunately the photo is not the best, the lighting in the hall makes it really difficult to photograph the table.
Only a couple of bears are still looking for new homes, they are on our webpage if you want to have a look.

The only thing I came home with was some new pieces of fabric. Lovely stripes for kitties and beautiful duck egg blue, I already have ideas for new bears.

We spent the last couple of days parcelling bears up to take to the post office and cleaning the house from top to bottom (it got rather neglected the last two weeks) and now we have time to sit down and start stitching again. Lots of orders to complete and I am hoping to get some new patterns and kits done.

2011-09-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

The bears are all finished and packed in the suitcase ready for tomorrow. The preview is up on the website if you would like to have a look. www.essentialbears.net
Looking forward to seeing some of you tomorrow and I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend.

2011-09-06T02:17:00.000-07:00

Life here is in full panic mode, less than a week to the bear fair and just about half way finished. Needles are flying, fabric and trims are everywhere, the family only gets fed when we remember (only sort of joking about that) but we will be finished in time, we really will :-)

Violet was on ebay last week and is off to her new home today.

No others to show you at the moment, they are all for the show. We will have a preview on Friday or Saturday.

The kitties have been enjoying the lovely weather we have had for the last few days, they spend their short time outside sunbathing.

Of course they wouldn't think of co-operating and sitting where I could get a nice group photo of them.

Mishka loves the sun.

Merlin in the front with Leila behind him. Sitting in front of all the tomato plants.

Looking at these photos I can't believe it was only a couple of days ago, it is pouring with rain and gale force winds today and the kitties are watching the outside world through the window.

Hope everyone is having a good start to the week. Welcome to my new followers, thank you for visiting me.

2011-08-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

I have just finished Blackberry Bunny , she is a special order for a customer and I am so happy with how she has turned out. I am in love with the little face and dress and of course the bunny ears.
There will definitely be some more bunnies being made.

I was the very lucky winner of an adorable giveaway on http://michellepalmerart.blogspot.com/

I love Michelle's amazing artwork and couldn't believe it when I won this beautiful little dress with the bird drawn on it. Please go and visit her blog and look at her wonderful work. Thank you so much Michelle, I am so thrilled, the little dress is going to be treasured.

2011-08-06T03:25:00.000-07:00

We have been having a bit of a mini heatwave here in the UK, nowhere near as bad as in America but hot for this country. My work slows down when I get too hot but I have finished a new little girl for eBay. Juniper is available at the moment if you want to visit her.

The strawberries seem to thrive in the heat and we have been getting some lovely sweet ones from the garden. They get eaten too quickly to have a big bunch together but this is what got picked this morning.

Last week we caught the bus into Cambridge, had a lovely time looking around and took lots of photos. Here is a selection of random beautiful buildings. I will have more bears and updates on the cross stitch to share soon. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

2011-07-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

I took my camera along when I went for a walk last night. The days are starting to get shorter, the sun starts to set at 9:00. The church roof line looks lovely silhouetted against the sky.

The lychgate into the church grounds with the avenue of trees leading you around the church.

One of the very old farmhouses in the village.

The village hall, I am standing next to the turf maze which I forgot to take a photo of.

I hope you enjoyed the brief walk around my beautiful little village, I forget to take my camera with me most of the time so miss out on taking some lovely photos.

Merlin the studio assistant was sleeping on the job. Kitties really do love sleeping in strange places.

Welcome to my new followers, it is lovely to have you visiting my little corner of the world. I will hopefully have some new bears to show you soon, after the online show I have been a bit slow and have bears waiting to be dressed.

Where Bloggers Create 2011

2011-07-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

Karen Valentine from My Desert Cottage hosts an amazing blog party once a year.
I have participated for the past three years and have a wonderful time visiting everyone's creative spaces.
To see all the participants you might like to visit :
http://mydesertcottage.blogspot.com

Welcome to my creative space, it is small but a lot of things happen here. I make miniature teddy bears, jewellery and embroidered items which get sold from my website, ebay and etsy.

My work desk, it is the centre of my world. My computer is also here which can be a bit distracting.

Finished work and some collectibles are displayed on the shelves next to my desk. My dad made the spice rack many years ago and now it is very useful in the studio. Living in a rented house means never being able to hang anything on the walls so the shelves sit on a table that is at an angle to my desk. The glass jars have old reels of thread, vintage buttons and other old sewing supplies and collectibles.

My favourite item is the very old apothecary drawers that I received for my birthday a couple of years ago.A wonderful find from a Brocante shop whilst living in France they have been carefully transported during the subsequent house moves.

I sit here to do my embroidery, lots of wip cross stitch. I am trying to discipline myself to not start anything new until at least one of these is completed!

This is the less interesting side of the room, all the beads and fabric and boring paperwork is stored here.

A couple of little bears waiting to be completed. My work table is home to lots of little bears in various stages of finishing as and when creative time is available.

I recently made Bobbi, the Pin Keeper who is now on her way to a new home in the States.

Thank you for visiting my little corner of the world, I hope you enjoy visiting the other wonderful creative spaces where bloggers create.

2011-07-13T04:53:00.000-07:00

Last week I joined the French SAL Guimauve et Violette, I had a bit of catching up to do as Parts 1 and 2 had been done but it is a lovely easy design and I have managed to get up to date.

If you want to see all the lovely stitching or join in, go here .
I am stitching on 32ct pale pink linen using DMC and HDT. Part 3 is due out on the 16th July.

2011-06-30T02:39:00.000-07:00

I have been busy working and stitching bears and the time has been racing past. It is full panic stations here as the deadline for the online show is looming and the bears are in various stages of undress or not even stitched.
We had a heatwave for a couple of days and that slowed the work almost to a halt, the weather is back to a nicer temperature thank goodness, houses in this country are not designed to keep you cool.
I also have such bad hay fever at the moment, the coughing and sneezing in the morning is not a nice sound.
I finished one bear for eBay. Petronella and Lulu are my latest little girls dressed in pink.

This morning while I was hanging washing outside a hot air balloon drifted past overhead. By the time I had got back inside, fallen over cats trying to get out and found my camera it had got a bit further away but still looked beautiful.

The view from up there must be magnificent and the weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky and the sun shining brightly. Maybe if I get over my fear of heights I will take a balloon ride.

2011-06-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have finally finished a new pattern. Please meet Blossom Elephant, she is adorable and looks so cute sitting in the little bowl.
The pattern is for sale in our Etsy shop and I will be listing her kit tomorrow.

2011-06-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

A quick update before I get back to stitching a bear. Mishka looking lovely in the sun on the landing, please just ignore all the cables in the background.

A barn with graffiti on the road between Cambridge and Huntingdon. I have always wanted to photograph it but the motor way is so busy and there is nowhere to pull off so this was taken hanging out the window of the car.

Our latest trip to a boot market last week was very successful. Lots of lovely lace and buttons.

The poppies by the window in the front are looking beautiful. More are opening each day and I am waiting to get a photo when they are all open.

2011-05-29T00:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had to go shopping so we went into St Ives, it is a much prettier town than Huntingdon and also closer to home.

We spent most of the time looking in the charity shops and came home with some nice stuff. A linen tablecloth, a hank of embroidery thread (very needed as we use so much thread embroidering the little girl's dresses), a cross stitch kit, crocheted doilies and a lovely little silver bowl (the lion's heads are wonderful).

Look what arrived in the post this past week. I just had to get this little box when I saw it on Etsy, had to use food money to buy it but I could do with not eating for awhile and it was not expensive. I paid almost as much for the postage as the box.

I know, it doesn't look very nice. I love old sewing supplies and this is hiding a wonderful secret.

The little wooden spools with old thread and the tiny scissors, just amazing. It was obviously someone's treasured work box.
Hopefully one day I will have a proper place to put this out on display with all the other bits and pieces I have managed to find.

One bear to share with you. Georgette was a special order for a wonderful collecter, she is off to her new home. Her dress looks even better than I hoped when I started, I love pink and the embroidery looks so delicate.

I am off to work now, lots of bears waiting for their outfits when I get home.

2011-05-26T07:24:00.000-07:00

I am finally back, I have my usual excuse of the time flying by and also sometimes not really having anything exciting to share with you.
Lots of bears have been made and gone to new homes, I will share some photos soon.
Last Saturday we went to Buckden Towers, a 12th century fortified manor house. We have visited this amazing building before but on Saturday a plant sale was held in the grounds of the building and the knot garden was open to the public.
The knot garden is named in honour of Queen Katherine of Aragon who lived there for awhile.

The weather was perfect and it was wonderful looking at the beautiful gardens and the magnificent old buildings.

2011-04-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

Little bears all lined up together, they look so cute, almost like a family portrait. I am finally getting some work finished and now that the sun seems to have left, the garden isn't such a big distraction.
I hope everyone had a lovely weekend, here in the UK we have another four day weekend to look forward to. Lots more time to stitch bears and maybe even do some more cross stitching.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T02:54:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter weekend. The weather is lovely here and we have spent a lot of time in the garden.

Napoleon is on ebay at the moment. I love making old, vintage looking bears or as much as I am able, some people manage to make them look so battered and aged but this is as far as I go. He has a lovely ruff made from really beautiful old lace.

I managed to get some cross stitching done but am not too sure of the 'tree' in the middle. It needs ironing so please don't look at that but if I am going to redo something I didn't think there was any point ironing it.

The 'tree' was originally supposed to be the same colour as the acorns and I thought that was too insipid but I now think that the dark green is too dark. Any comments would be appreciated.

2011-04-20T02:52:00.000-07:00

Life is quiet here at the moment and it feels like summer has arrived already. The sun is out and the weather is wonderful, we do need rain desperately but it has been heavenly the past couple of weeks.

Work moved outside for the afternoon, I sat under a tree and stuffed bear bits for a few hours and watched the birds going about their business while Max the dog got a suntan sleeping right in the sun.

All the trees are in bloom and the flowers are out. I now have lots of bears waiting to be put together and that is unfortunately inside work. I should have new bears to show you soon if I don't get distracted and disappear out into the garden.

2011-04-16T02:34:00.000-07:00

So much for the regular blog updates. It is crazy here, bear bits and clothing everywhere but order will be restored, eventually.
Some bears have been finished and sent off. Selina is an order for a shop.

Forget-me-not is a new pattern and kit. I love the rose print fabric that her waistcoat is made in.

Blossom was on ebay and is now flying to her new home.

The sun is out again this weekend, it is so lovely at the moment and all I want to do is sit outside in the garden but I have to work this weekend and today Austin and Yoon Mi are bringing Victoria to visit. Can't wait to see the precious baby and see how much she has grown.

2011-04-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

I am finally back, so much time has gone by. Thank you for visiting and sticking around and not giving up on my blog.
March was one of those months that you wish you could rewind and do over, I had dreadful flu, my dad ended up in hospital, the car had to have very, very expensive repairs, our broadband service was intermittent for eight weeks and all sorts of other drama. I was so tired all the time, a left over from the flu I think but things slowly got worked out and now life is almost back to normal.

We had a few good things happen, my niece Victoria was born on the 17th March. She is the most beautiful baby girl and is adored by the whole family, she had a few problems to start with but is now fine and giving her parents the usual problems by not sleeping at night.

April has started off nice and quietly with the weather being lovely, the sun has come out and we have had a few very warm days. The photos are of some of the flowers already appearing. The garden is looking amazing and I have taken so many photos.
On the bear making front I am busy stitching and making, an order is almost ready, a bear for ebay is getting her face done, a pattern bear is awaiting clothes and shop orders are cut out and ready to stitch. I should have some photos to share soon and will be very much more active on the blog updates.

2011-02-25T02:14:00.000-08:00

Merlin decided we needed his help in choosing what fabric to use. The bright blue caught his attention straight away.

Oops, I dropped it on the floor.

Please can you pick it up. I don't feel like getting down and I really like that colour.

Merlin now has a piece of blue fabric to add to his toy collection, I don't think I can make a bear from it after a cat has been chewing on the fabric.

The bears for the show are at the almost done stage, just one more tiny 1 1/2" bear to finish for a set, and a special request to make. Today I have to photograph them all so that Wendy can do the website preview tomorrow. Then it is just the labelling and packing.
I didn't think we were going to finish but it is almost all done.

Elizabeth is on ebay at the moment if you want to visit her. I realised that I haven't been knitting many jerseys lately, I love the little bears wearing jerseys but just don't seem to find the time to do the knitting.

2011-02-18T11:14:00.000-08:00

I am in full panic mode at the moment, just over a week to go to the Hugglets show and only a few bears completely finished and a few more waiting for their clothes and still more waiting to be finished. I never seem to work at a normal pace, it is dreadful, my creativity only seems to thrive in absolute chaos.
I would love to be an organised person who works to a schedule but I think I must accept at this stage in my life that it just not possible.

This is a little girl all ready for the show, I had such an lovely time embroidering her dress and trimming it with old lace, now she just needs a name.

To add to the chaos, we have had such a problem with our broadband. For the last two weeks it has been sporadic internet service, it took a week of me phoning the call centre to get them to send a technician out. It is fine our end, so the problem is at the exchange, another week and they finally send someone to the exchange and we are still having problems.
If you have a choice, don't use BT, nothing like being told to follow the steps on their webpage to solve broadband problems and when you point out that you can't access the internet to look at the page you have the person just sit on the phone in silence for a few minutes, totally clueless.

Then today my sister's car wouldn't start, so we drove her to work and then Wendy (my Mom) had to find someone to fix it.
Now back to the sewing, I will be taking some more photos tomorrow so will have more bears to show you soon.

2011-02-09T02:04:00.000-08:00

I meant to do a new post a few days ago when I finished dressing my latest bear but time slipped away as usual. So here is Candyfloss, she is already on her way to her new home in America.

Spring is slowly arriving, after days of howling wind we had a beautiful sunny day yesterday. We even got to hang the washing outside. This morning it was back to a grey winter sky but it is getting warmer. This is the one of the trees in the garden, it started flowering about a month ago and has bunches of beautiful pink flowers.

Yesterday was spent stitching little bears and clothes. It got to about 3:00 and I realised I had to get to the post office. So I parcelled up Candyfloss, grabbed my coat and handbag and set off. It was only when I was standing in the queue that I realised I was wearing red stockings, black skirt, blue top and a pale purple jersey. Definitely not colour co-ordinated, one of the nice things about working at home, you don't (normally) have to worry about what you are wearing.

2011-02-01T03:47:00.000-08:00

It was back to work (at my second job) yesterday, a big change just as I had got into a nice routine with the bear making, but that is life.

On Saturday we went out for the day even though it was freezing cold, the Siberian wind from Russia that comes here sometimes takes a bit of getting used to.
First stop was a bead shop in Haddenham and although they had nice stuff I only got some thread for sewing on little bears ears.
Then it was off to Soham to a huge scrapbooking warehouse. I don't do scrapbooking, my sister does but I sure did manage to find stuff that had to come home with me.

Everything except the paper and pen was on sale so I didn't spend too much money. I had to get the Halloween stuff, such lovely trimmings for the bears and the boxes are always useful.
Then it was off to Ely, I love this city, if we ever have enough money to buy a house I think it will be here. As you drive towards the city you see the cathedral silhouetted on the skyline, of course it is so flat in Cambridgeshire that it is inevitable. I think the cathedral was built on the highest piece of ground because it makes such an impact.
We wandered around the market and looked in the charity shops and by the time we got back to the car we where frozen to the bone, winter has returned, no snow yet but I wouldn't be surprised if we had a bit more before spring gets here.

2011-01-26T02:32:00.000-08:00

I have been busy stitching clothes and bears all week and am finally starting to see some results. The two little girls, Cassandra and Aimee are a shop order, they are off on their travels tomorrow.

Robin is on ebay, I love the little pixie hats, they take so long to knit but look so adorable on the bears. I must start another one soon, if you have one on the go and pick it up when you have a minute you don't realise the many hours involved.

The weather is certainly perfect for hibernating indoors with your sewing and knitting, I don't think I have seen the sun for days and because of all the rain it is just mud outside in the garden. Spring is on its way though, all the bulbs that we planted (very late planting) are starting to send up little green shoots, it is going to be so lovely when they are all flowering.

2011-01-21T03:54:00.000-08:00

I feel as if I have been stitching and stitching with no visible results but there are a few bears waiting to be dressed and a lot waiting to be stuffed.
I had to do a tiny bear for a special order and it is standing at the feet of the second bear from the left. The tallest bear that I make with one of the smallest that I make.
I also have a knitted pixie hat waiting for the bear to be finished.

Tearose is on ebay at the moment. I had fun seeing how the batik fabric came out, she looks like a little harlequin bear.

I have been on holiday for the past week, had to use up my holiday allowance at work and didn't realise that I had just randomly booked two weeks off, so I am having a lovely time. It also gives me a chance to get over this dreadful flu, I am still battling with the remnants of it, the stupid cough is the worst.

2011-01-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

Niky from http://niky-nikyscreations.blogspot.com had another contest and I had such fun stitching it up.

Everyone that took part has made beautiful items, they are all on Niky's blog if you want to have a look.
I still need to finish some of the other cross stitch pieces that I have been doing but the bear orders are piling up and new bears are wanting to be finished.

2011-01-06T14:38:00.000-08:00

A blog update finally, it has been very hard to start again, what to write about , which of the many photos I have taken over the last month to use. I was putting so much pressure on myself and it was just easier to leave it for tomorrow.

So I am going to start slowly, share one of my favourite subjects, my lovely kitties. Leila with her pink mouse.

Merlin playing with a lovely bird ornament that my sister got me for Christmas.

My present from my Dad was this amazing sewing box. We found it at a charity shop and he painted it cream for me (it was a dark brown). As you can see, it is already full, lots of works in progress.

Not a very good photo but it looked so lovely on the night. The conservatory is used as our dining room so on Christmas day we lined the window sills with candles, it was so pretty with the snow outside and the only light coming from the candles.
I feel like I am getting flu so am being a bit slow with stitching but things are getting made, really need more hours in the day. Hope everyone is well and having a good start to the new year.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T02:07:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a Wonderful and Happy New Year.

I hope to do a blog post later today. Got home from work yesterday totally exhausted. We sat watching DVD's until we welcomed the new year in and then I staggered off to bed. I hope everyone had a lovely day yesterday and a nice relaxing day today and that all your dreams and wishes for the coming year come true.

Happy Christmas

2010-12-24T15:20:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a happy and joyous Christmas.

Thank you for all the support, friendship and lovely comments over the past year. I hope you each have a wonderful day and keep warm and safe. I am hoping for a white Christmas, just enough to cover the ground in a beautiful white carpet.

2010-12-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

I have been taking an unintended break from my blog, life has been busy and the days have just slipped past.
The Christmas tree went up a couple of weeks ago and looks so lovely with all the lights on. The cats think it has been put there just for them and love exploring the parcels and playing with the decorations.

The squirrels and birds love the food that we put out for them. We have three little squirrels that come visiting in the mornings.

I have managed to finish a few bears especially for Christmas and this is 'The Holly Santa'.

I also finished a cat, I haven't made one for almost two years (where does the time go). I love Katerina and how her clothing came out.

I hope everyone is keeping warm and safe. The weather here has been interesting, we are certainly getting used to very cold winters.

2010-11-29T04:26:00.000-08:00

Winter has arrived. It snowed on Saturday but by lunchtime it was all gone. On Sunday morning we had temperatures of -7 degrees C, really really cold and icy but no snow.

These are some views of the snow from the upstairs window this morning. The snow has arrived and isn't melting this time. I am still so excited when it snows I could watch it for hours.

Happy Thanksgiving....

2010-11-25T00:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends and followers.

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here but I love the idea of giving thanks for all the good things that happen in your life. So to share in the festivities we are having a sale in our etsy shops.

http://EssentialBears.etsy.com

use the coupon code

THANKSGIVING2010

and you will get 10% off

http://GraceAndWhimsy.etsy.com

use the coupon code

THANKSGIVING2010

and you will get 15% off

This sale starts now and ends on Monday morning (GMT time)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I am excited as it is supposed to snow this weekend and I do love the snow. Of course getting to work will be interesting, it just makes it more of an adventure.

2010-11-20T05:22:00.000-08:00

http://www.backroadbears.com/teddiesworldwide.htm

The Teddies Worldwide Online Show

starts on Saturday Nov. 20th

at 9am New York time and ends

Sunday Nov. 22nd at 4pm

This is a new show and has some well known artists participating. The sneak peek is open and it is not long till the show starts. We have made four very special pieces especially for the show so please go and have a look.

2010-11-20T03:58:00.000-08:00

I am so bad about updating my blog sometimes. I write the days happenings in my mind when I am in the car, cooking dinner etc and then when I finally sit in front of the computer I think, Oh I am tired or lets just do this first and then the blog entry never happens.
So a weeks worth of news in one short blog.
On Sunday we drove down to London to watch the Remembrance Day parade and to see Yoon Mi.We had a lovely time and the rain held off for the most part. Found some nice things at the charity shops to use for the bears and set off home.

On the big A1 motorway out of London just past the Hatfield tunnel (bloody scary road, tunnel and never ending traffic) we got a puncture. This section of road has had major roadworks ever since we arrived in this country, so it is not the best place to have to stop.We are sitting in the car with a totally flat tyre waiting to be rescued. Our breakdown service can't come out because the roadworks people have to tow you away from that area first (very complicated) and then only can they come and get us. Then this angel of a man pulls up behind us and changes the tyre and sends us on our way. There are some amazingly kind people in the world and he was one of them. We can never thank him enough and it really was one of the kindest things that anyone has ever done for me.

This is the only photo I took that day. I don't know if this is an entrance to a house or not but it is amazing and we always see it when we drive down to High Barnet.

I love walking around the village, it is a very quiet and tranquil place and very rural. The trees have lost most of their leaves and the sky is always grey but it still looks beautiful.

This is 'Oak Tree Farm', one of the really old houses in the village, it seems to me to be the exact image that most of us think of when we think of England.

One last photo to share. The latest finds from the charity shops in St Ives, we had to go there yesterday and just couldn't resist looking in the shops.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, I start work again on Monday after having a holiday the past week.

2010-11-11T06:24:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy stitching bears but most of them I can't share as they are for the upcoming web show, new kits and orders.
I have listed a new little girl on ebay. Constance is wearing the most adorable romper and jacket outfit, I really had fun embroidering her clothes.

I have some fantastic news to share, our bears are included in the miniature article in the latest Teddy Bear & Friends winter 2010 magazine. The photos are not great, I let Wendy do all the hard work of scanning the article and then just borrowed the images from her blog :-)

My brother is stationed in Afghanistan at the moment and this is my favourite new photo of him. We are a family who loves animals, especially cats and we always manage to find a cat to keep company with.

Hope everyone is keeping well and warm. Winter has arrived in our little part of the world, it has been grey, miserable and rainy with gale force winds for the last few days. I love standing outside with the wind blowing around me but can't do it for too long as it gets rather cold.

Pincushion Swap

2010-11-06T03:15:00.000-07:00

I love pincushions so had to take part in the pincushion swap hosted by http://quiltingjeannet.blogspot.com/
Last week I received a lovely quilted pincushion from http://mayaquilt.web-log.nl/

She even made me a needlebook to match. They are made so beautifully and I love all the different fabrics.

This is what I made, a rose cross stitched pincushion with a scissor keep in a matching design. I hope she likes them and that they have got to her in time.

2010-10-31T02:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween

I managed to carve the pumpkin this morning and am getting faster at doing them each year.

The decorations are not very visible in the day time but you get an idea. The table has my wonderful white pumpkin placed in the centre.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and doesn't eat too much candy.

2010-10-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging for a while again, bears and work have been keeping me busy, I need more hours in the day. Last Saturday we had a day out and had a lovely time even though the weather was very dull and grey and it rained on and off.
We drove through to Norfolk Lavender farm http://www.norfolk-lavender.co.uk/ it is the wrong time of the year to see the fields of lavender but we had a wonderful time.

There are three amazing shops and a fantastic garden to look at and they have an animal centre with some very unusual residents.

Yes, I know a rooster is not unusual but the wallaby and the other unknown furry creature are. And the rooster is magnificent.

The poor wallaby seemed to be so cold but he didn't want to go in his house and the other little creature had no name on his enclosure so I don't know what he is but at one stage there where four of them busy building tunnels.

Then we headed off to the seaside, the Norfolk coast line is very interesting but a beach made up of pebbles is very strange. We got there when the tide was out and by out I mean that we couldn't actually see any water,my sister, Bronwen was most put out and still says she hasn't seen the sea, if there isn't any water then it isn't the seaside, I suppose she has a point.

It was very cold but I got to walk bare foot in the bit of sand that was there and we brought some lovely pebbles home.

The next stop was Castle Rising and a beautiful castle to explore. http://www.castlerising.co.uk/main.html

There was a battle reenactment taking place when we visited which was fascinating. I love visiting the old castles and ruins, there is such an amazing sense of history and timelessness in the buildings and you can only imagine the stories that are contained there.

It was an amazing day out and the sun was already setting when we headed home (not as late as you might think - it is almost winter now)

My favourite scene, the wind turbines silhouetted against the horizon.

2010-10-17T01:49:00.000-07:00

Look what arrived in the post yesterday. I got home from work and this lovely parcel was waiting for me. My beautiful white pumpkin was wrapped in amazing tissue paper and Michelle had included some of her favourite tea and chocolate. Well the chocolate has been eaten already ( it was lovely) and the tea will be used later today. It was such a wonderful parcel and really made my day.
I will post a photo when I put pumpkin in the right place, at the moment he is on my work table being admired by everyone and investigated by the cats.

I did manage to finish a couple of bears and 'Chantilly and Rosebud' are on ebay if you have a minute to look.
I am working on more bears and trying to finish the order bears but have to get ready to go to work. The sun is actually shining today and I have to go to work - typical.

2010-10-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we drove to Colchester to see Austin (my brother), it was our last chance to see him before he goes to Afghanistan. Colchester is an amazing town with a lot of history, it is the oldest town in the UK and has a lot to explore. We wanted to spend as much time with Austin as possible so will have to return for a sightseeing trip some other time.

We had an early lunch at the cafe in the park and just wandered around for awhile. The squirrels where amazing, they were coming up to us to see if we had any food. They were so tame and quite trusting of humans. The only thing I could find to give them was a flapjack bar, they seemed to be happy with it and would carefully take a piece from my hand.

It was a lovely day but of course we were in tears when it finally came to saying goodbye. I know six months goes quickly but I miss him already and worry about him being safe.

I am off to finish stuffing a bear, it is getting colder here and the days are getting much shorter, I think it is time to start getting the winter clothes out. I noticed in the first photo that the leaves are changing colour and falling off the trees, it is almost Halloween and that means that the Halloween bears need to be finished.

2010-10-10T00:21:00.000-07:00

I have been so lucky, I am the winner of 'the great white pumpkin giveaway'
Michelle May of http://theraspberryrabbits.blogspot.com had a giveaway on her blog and I won.
You need to go and visit her and her beautiful bunnies (if I didn't love cats so much I think they would have competition from bunnies) and see all her lovely stitchery projects. I was doing a happy dance when I read my mail.

The great white pumpkin is perfect for autumn and Halloween decorating. I can't wait until it arrives.

2010-10-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Autumn has arrived, it is getting colder and has been raining on and off for the last week. We are waking up to dark mornings and it is dark at seven in the evenings. I do love this time of the year, I just seem to have more energy.

I have had a couple of comments and emails about my Lavender biscuits so am going to share the recipe, I love eating them and would have made more but ran out of butter (still not in full baking mode yet)
Always remember to use lavender that is pesticide free. I pick it fresh from the garden just before I am going to make the biscuits.

Lavender Biscuits
(makes 36 biscuits)
175g unsalted butter
175g sugar
1 large egg
175g self-raising flour, sifted
6-7 fresh lavender buds, finely chopped

1. Prepare a baking tray by greasing. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale in colour.
2. Add the egg and beat into mixture. Add the flour a little bit at a time to prevent curdling. Stir in the lavender.
3. Spoon a teaspoon of the mixture on the tray for each biscuit. bake in preheated oven for 10mins at 200 degrees C/ 400 degrees F/ Gas mark6.
4. Remove from oven, leave to cool for a moment , then put on rack to cool.
Note: they spread a bit so leave space around each biscuit on the baking tray, also they puff up in the oven and flatten when cool to end up slightly chewy in the middle, so good to eat.

Hope you enjoy making them. We are off to London tomorrow, will just have to be careful where we go. I should have some new bears to share with you soon. Wendy has a lovely little boy and his pull-along elephant on ebay at the moment.

Giveaway Winner

2010-10-04T03:07:00.000-07:00

We have a winner, I just wish I could give everyone who commented a bear but I will have another giveaway so there is always next time.

Raewyn of 'the lady loves bears' was the name I picked out of the dish, so Cassidy will be flying off to Australia.

Thank you for all the lovely comments, I am still visiting all your blogs and having a wonderful time meeting each of you.

2010-09-30T02:27:00.000-07:00

I have got over my flu relatively well, only have a stupid cough which is very annoying. Wendy is still sick, she has now developed severe bronchitis and just doesn't seem to be getting any better. Hopefully a few more days of resting and she will be on the mend.

It has been raining for the last three days and the ground is so water logged and muddy. I love the rain and when you see the raindrops on the plants they look like little diamonds.

I have been baking again. The last time I made anything must be at least two years ago before the epic moves. I am having to learn how to use the tiny oven in this house which is interesting.

This is the mixture for cupcakes. Last week I made these and had a bit of trouble, I ran out of flour and then sugar so had to substitute with cornflour and brown sugar. Not a great start, this time I had everything on hand and made cupcakes and lavender biscuits.

Back to stitching, the order bears are piling up and I seem to be so slow. Don't forget to leave a comment for my giveaway, there are still a few days left.

2010-09-22T01:08:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone that has commented on my blog giveaway. I love visiting other peoples blogs and am going down the list.
Well the dreaded flu has got me, I am sitting here coughing and sneezing and not getting an awful lot of work done. Hopefully I will get over it quickly.

The weather has been wonderful here the past few weeks, the sun is out without it being hot and we have really been enjoying spending time outside. Wendy has done wonders with the garden and I sometimes forget that we have only been here for 4 1/2 months.

Don't forget to enter my blog giveaway. I am busy working on order bears and some new bears for ebay. Will post photos as soon as they are finished.

Giveaway

2010-09-19T00:34:00.000-07:00

One day late for the giveaway news, my life really does run behind schedule. Wendy (my mom) and my sister, Bronwen are so sick with flu and I am just hoping that I don't get it.

Now the important part. Summer is over and the days are shortening with a definite feeling of autumn in the air. To celebrate my favourite season of the year I will be having a giveaway.

This special little bear is called Cassidy. She is 3 1/2" tall, made from vintage long pile upholstery velvet and her clothes are trimmed with vintage french lace, silk ribbon, velvet flowers and hand embroidered rosebuds.

I want to keep this as simple as possible. So if you leave me a comment you get one entry. If you become a follower or are already one you get a second entry.

The giveaway closes in two weeks time on Sunday the 3rd of October.

Please leave your e-mail address so that I can contact the winner. Good luck!

2010-09-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

Aside from the bears I love to do cross stitch and tatting. Cross stitch has taken over at the moment and I have a very bad habit of starting new designs and not finishing anything.
I only stitch for about 15 - 30 minutes before I go to bed so my time is limited but I have got to the stage of having about twelve UFO's lying around.

So I am officially setting myself a goal, no new starts until all of the above are finished. Of course that means that the parcel that arrived today has to stay in the box.

Look at the lovely threads and kit that arrived in the post from Nina in Hungary. She has the most amazing hand dyed threads and some very nice patterns, visit her blog to have a look http://xszemkozt.blogspot.com

I did manage to get one thing finished. Niky from http://niky-nikyscreations.blogspot.com had a contest and last week (yes at the same time as the frantic rush to finish bears) I stitched it up.
So many things to do and never enough time but at least I get to work and play with lovely fabric, threads and ribbon.

I will be having a giveaway. One lucky person will receive one of my special little bears. I will post details on Saturday.

2010-09-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

A bit late but I finally sat down and put the bear fair photos on my computer. We had a good day, got to London very early, I am always so worried about being late that I always arrive too early.
The show was quieter than we are used to but a lot of bears found new homes, it was also lovely to catch up with friends and customers and I really enjoy looking at all the other bears.

Brought some nice fabrics to make new bears, cats and maybe even a giraffe. Lots of pink (my favourite colour) and even some blue.
There are still some bears available on the website, so if you have a minute please go and look.

2010-09-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

The bears are finished, I don't know how we managed (the sewing elves must have helped). Wendy has updated the webpage , www.essentialbears.net please go and have a look.
I am working all day tomorrow but just have to do the labelling and packing up on Saturday. Now I feel at a loose end and being my usual neurotic self am convinced that I have forgotten something.

2010-09-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Finally, another blog update. I have made some progress with finishing bears and have one photo as a preview. Still so much to do and time is running out.
This is my little Thread Keeper, a tiny 2.5" bear, I am so happy with how she has turned out.

A couple of weeks ago I was the lucky winner of a blog giveaway on http://marykathryn.wordpress.com and today my parcel arrived. A lovely cross stitch pattern, silk thread and a little pincushion. It was a lovely surprise and really made my day special.

Yesterday Leila got stuck up a tree, Wendy and I went to the post office and when we got back home my Dad greeted me at the door with a panicked expression. She had got high up in the tree and couldn't get down (she has never climbed a tree before). I had to get the ladder out and shove her with a broom until she crawled/ fell low enough for me to grab her and then she fell out the lower part of the tree anyway. Poor little kitty has shredded her claws and one of them has been pulled out totally, she is okay otherwise but I just hope her claw grows back.

2010-08-19T01:28:00.000-07:00

On our trip to Stevenage we drove through the village of Wimpole and stopped to admire these gates.

They are so imposing and beautiful, we wondered what lay behind them. The stag and lion are in very good condition. It reminds me of the entrance to a French château that we saw in France.

This house is opposite the gates and must be wonderful to live in, the windows are fantastic, I love imaging what the inside looks like. There is even a lion and stag crest above the door to match the ones on the gateposts.

When we got home I did some google research (I love the info you can find on the computer) The gates are the side entrance to Wimpole Hall, the largest house in Cambridgeshire. It belongs to the National Trust so as soon as we have a free weekend we are going to have to go and visit. There are some more photos and info on wikipedia if you want to look http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimpole_Hall

2010-08-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

I know I have been missing in action again, life has been crazy busy. Having to go to work and pack kits and make bears for the Hugglets show and some orders, I need more time in a day. Some people seem so organised, that is just not me unfortunately, I seem to always be behind, but life is never boring.

Work in progress, bits of bears everywhere.

'Tea for Two' is my new ebay listing. I started making these special sets in 2001 and haven't done one since 2004. Each one is unique and I love making them, this set will be the eighth in the series, I want to try and find the photos of the others but I think they are lost in the time warp of unpacked boxes in the garage.

We braved the boxes recently trying to find our paint and some wire, found some ribbon that we had forgotten we were looking for but no paint and the wire was found briefly but then got lost again. Next expedition is scheduled for after the bear fair.

In the time since I last updated my blog three weekends have past, (time just seems to disappear) First weekend we went to London on the Saturday and had a lovely time, came home totally exhausted from all the walking. Next weekend I had to work so nothing exciting happened. This last Sunday we drove down to Stevenage. Bronwen won tickets to a scrapbooking show and we had a lovely time, it was only a half hour drive through beautiful English countryside to get there. Came home with some more ribbon, boxes, thread spools and some pretty paper.
Now it is back to stitching and finishing some of the clothing for the bears that are patiently waiting.

2010-07-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

Leila has found a new favourite place to sleep and she gets to watch all the fun as the humans fall down the stairs trying to get past her without standing on her. But who could get cross when she looks at you with such trust and love.
These photos where taken just after each other, I swear she was saying, look at me, don't I look adorable.

2010-07-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

Huntingdon has a market in the town square on Saturdays and if you go after 2:00 pm they are starting to pack up and you can sometimes get the flowers very cheap.
Wendy managed to get a whole bucket for £3, we didn't even have enough vases to put them all in, yellow and purple tulips, carnations and stock, they look so lovely and smell amazing. There is another vase of purple tulips that I forgot to take a photo of. It is so nice to have fresh flowers around the house.

On my way to work today I was hanging out the car window to try and take a photo of this amazing avenue of trees. It is always so lovely and green and serene looking. Of course it would be better with no other cars around but that is not likely to happen.

2010-07-21T04:24:00.000-07:00

I stitch a lot (goes without saying really) and have always had this habit of collecting little piles of thread wherever I am working, which then get everywhere. The cats wear them and eat them and my clothes always have threads attached. Turns out that I am not the only crazy stitcher and those little pieces of thread actually have a name, an 'ort' is "the snippet of thread left over in the needle after finishing a section of embroidery"
You might like to read this blog to learn all about it
http://own-two-hands.livejournal.com/35610.html

I started putting my threads in a jar which looks a bit boring and ugly so I have made a cross stitch cover for the lid which looks so much better and can even be used as a pin cushion in a hurry.

I have also been busy stitching bears and Tuesday is on ebay at the moment.

And finally I have been designing some new patterns, the first of which is Sawyer who will be making an appearance in the etsy shop later on today.

Hope everyone is well and keeping cool, the heat is getting unbearable and I just don't feel much like working with fabrics, thank goodness for a fan. I do miss the air conditioning we had in South Africa but it seems a bit unnecessary here.

2010-07-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since a blog update. Life has been strange and chaotic and I have just felt overwhelmed.

We had a minor car accident, luckily Wendy and I were fine just some major bruising and a damaged car, so we had no car for two weeks, a bit of a problem in a rural area. Wendy (my Mom) slipped and hit her head and we were so worried she had concussion but she has a hard head and didn't do any major damage. Merlin the cat has a flea allergy and has been so ill the past couple of weeks. All sorts of other minor incidents and then my brother got the news that he is being posted to Afghanistan in October.

It really has been a strange month but I am feeling better and more normal and back to coping with a crazy life. So the blog will be updated on a more regular basis.

I had to share a photo of the kitties in the garden, Leila and Mishka love being outside, Merlin has been hiding but hopefully when his medicine starts working he will feel well enough to join them. I am busy working on new bears and some cross stitch so will post the photos when they are finished.

Thank you for all the lovely comments and emails, it makes my day extra special when I read them.

2010-06-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

A picture of the garden, it is looking so beautiful even if it is baking in the heat.

I have had another interesting week, last Tuesday my computer got a virus when I was browsing and it just locked up all my functions, I could look at my documents and photos but everything else was just inaccessable and it kept on trying to 'dial' out with who knows what info. Luckily I have a computer expert to bother and he told me to just unplug everything and he would come and sort it out, but he would only be able to come on Sunday. My poor brother, he is so patient, I think half the times I phone him it is for computer help.

So I was without a computer for six days, the withdrawal symptoms where extreme, I am so lost without a computer. Sunday comes around and the prognosis is very bad, not only is everything being attacked but windows has decided that my XP is not legitimate and shut the operating system down. I got my computer second hand so don't have any codes or other stuff and I can only presume it was okay. So extreme measures were called for, all the photos and docs get copied and then the computer gets wiped and my brother installed Linux (which he uses and says is excellent).

I forgot about my bookmarks so those are all gone, I will have to start from the beginning, this is one way to tidy up your stuff but not recommended. Now I have to learn my way around a new operating system and a new photo editing program etc, needless to say I am not a very patient person and some swear words have been heard. The photo of the garden is my first attempt at resizing a picture.

I have been suffering from the most severe hayfever, I have spent the last two weeks feeling as if my head is stuffed with cotton wool, it has been dreadful, heavens knows what the neighbours think with me sneezing my head off every couple of seconds. It is getting a bit better, I am taking all sorts of tablets and drinking nettle tea with honey which has really helped but it has not been pleasant. I need the summer to be over so that the pollen goes away and so that it will cool down a bit, the weather has been so hot and dry I wouldn't be surprised if we get drought warnings soon.

To everyone who left such lovely comments about my work space for the 'Where Bloggers Create' party, thank you and I will be visiting all the blogs now that I have a computer again. If you have the time it is such fun to see peoples creative spaces, there are so many talented people in blog land.

Hopefully more photos soon as I figure the program out and there are bears waiting to be finished.

2010-06-19T01:03:00.000-07:00

Karen Valentine hosts the most amazing party with the opportunity to visit with some wonderfully creative people. I joined the fun last year and have moved home twice since then. I have just set up my new creative space. We have only been in this house for a couple of months and we are still at the 'where do we put this' or 'where is it?' stage but welcome to my creative space.

The sign on the door is from our old teddy bear shop in South Africa. Our new workroom is set up in the dining room with the result that we have lots of doors. One leads to the kitchen which can be useful when you are trying to cook dinner and work is waiting to be finished and the deadline is tight!

The view from the kitchen door to the work tables. One whole wall is a glass sliding door to the conservatory which looks out onto the garden, not good at times as the 'bird restaurant' can prove to be a distraction. Our kitties are studio assistants with their beds and toys available. Unfortunately none of them wanted to pose for photos!

This is an old spice rack made by my Dad some years ago, recycled to display our finished work and a portion of our collection of vintage items.

My Mom (Wendy) and I have worked together for many years. We ran a Teddy Bear shop in South Africa and now we work from our new home in Cambridgeshire, England. We create miniature teddy bears, jewellery and embroidered items which we market on e-bay, Etsy and from our web page. We are both very creative and like to learn new techniques such as tatting, needle lace and other crafts to broaden our skills, many of which we incorporate into our other work.

My favourite item, old apothecary drawers which I received for my birthday present last year. Found in a Brocante shop whilst living in France it has been carefully transported in several moves. I feel that the 'aged' appearance is part of its charm and do not wish to re-paint the drawers.

I love old spools of thread and have built up a wonderful collection.

Pictures of some work in progress, little bears are all over the studio.

The less interesting side of the room, where all the beads and fabric is stored, including all the paperwork and really boring but necessary stuff. A lot of things are still in boxes in the large double garage which means we have to go searching for things when needed but most of the important items are close at hand. It is my dream to one day to have my own house with a big studio with space for everything. In the meantime this is a lovely space to work in.

This is the conservatory where we will sit and stitch when winter arrives and the light is not very good for doing fine work. Here again the garden and visiting birds can prove to be rather a distraction.

I hope you have enjoyed my creative workspace, please do go and visit all the amazing blogs with beautiful stuff to feed your creative soul.

2010-06-18T02:39:00.000-07:00

The weeks that were. Or the lost time when I didn't blog. So much has happened and I just kept on putting off sitting in front of the computer and writing.

A brief summary, my Dad's 80th birthday was on the 23 May and we had a lovely time, all the family got together and we had a relaxing day at home. The weather was a hot 28 degrees so it was perfect. That weekend we also lost internet access for a day and a half.

Then my Dad had to go into hospital suddenly, he has developed osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone in his foot. He was there for a week and a half and really scared everyone but is home and getting better all the time although at the moment it seems that he will be on long term antibiotics.

The next weekend we lost internet access for two and a half days, don't use BT if you have another choice, they are a bit useless. We were also trying to finish bears for two shops and for the Stratford-upon-Avon bear fair. Absolute chaos.

On Sunday 6th June my sister Bronwen visited Stratford with us, she and Wendy went sightseeing while I went to the bear fair. Then we had to drive home, it is so amazing that we are only an hour and half away but we drove through the most appalling cloud burst and it took us a bit longer, luckily for us the flooded side of the road was in the opposite direction. There is really extreme weather in this country, it is still taking a lot of getting used to.

Life finally calmed down a bit and got back to normal, my Dad is getting better, the bears got sent off and we have been busy working on orders. I will just post one picture of an ordered bear, she is the most lovely colours.

2010-05-23T01:25:00.000-07:00

Another long time since I did a blog update, I mean to do it and then time slips by. I am just sharing some photos today.

Lily of the valley and lilac from the garden and then two more photos of the lounge, it is my favourite room in the house.

Work in progress, bears are getting ready to be sent all over the place. Some news about one of our bears, when the ash cloud from the volcano in Iceland shut down the airports here in the UK we didn't think that it would affect us at all, we weren't travelling but a bear was and now she is lost. One of our bears was taken to the post office on the 19th April to go to Australia but only left the country on the 23rd and got sent to Russia to help clear the backlog, well she is lost in transit and we can only hope that she will make it to her destination. In the meantime her twin is being made.

Castiel is on ebay at the moment, you can also see Wendy's lovely bear and kitty.

2010-05-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

Petronella and her pocket bunny are on ebay at the moment and we have a couple of bears on the website so if you are interested please go and have a look.

2010-05-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

I have just finished stitching the Gift Of Stitching's Challenge no.6, made it just in time. I have made a small brooch, 4.4cm x 3.7cm and edged it in toning ric rac braid.

Stitched on a small scrap of 18ct cream aida using The Gentle Art Cherry Wine thread. I backed the brooch with matching red dot fabric and added a tiny heart detail. I did wander if I would get this done as I was not sure how to finish off the design but it is such fun taking part.

2010-05-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

I have been neglecting my blog for awhile, so much has been happening and I have been trying to do some of my orders. We have settled into the new house and I think we will be happy here. There are still a lot of unpacked boxes but we are slowly working through them and the workroom is all set up which is the important part.

This is the lounge and we have a lovely fireplace again, only gas though, no burning wood in there but it looks good. The still to be unpacked boxes have been strategically cropped out of view.

The lilac is so beautiful and smells amazing, we are lucky to have found a bush just up the road that we can get more from.

Mishka was deciding which toy to play with and I was lucky enough to get his photo but darn there are those pesky boxes again, just pretend those aren't there.

Just a couple of bear photos to end off with. Willow was on the website but she has already found a new home and is flying off to Australia. Georgina is on ebay and will be going to her new home soon.

2010-04-20T16:05:00.000-07:00

This is the new house, not the prettiest I have ever seen but we can make it look nicer. The garden and the conservatory are the best features and we are all very excited about getting settled in and sorting it out.

There is even a little glass house which just needs to be fixed up and we want to plant a vegetable garden so my Dad is going to be busy.

The worst part about moving is not knowing where your stuff is. I have a bear waiting to be dressed so I sat down tonight, got the clothing patterns out and then realised that the dress fabric is in a box at the other house.

We have spent the last four days packing boxes and then loading the car up, driving to the house and then unloading. Rather backbreaking work. The rest of the week will be more of the same and then on Saturday a man with a van comes and loads all the big stuff so on Sunday we should more or less be in the new house.

2010-04-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a lovely quite two weeks, I can't believe it has been that long since a blog update. I think it is the calm before the chaos of moving and I really didn't realise how the time was passing.
On Monday the 5th of April we went to the Wood Green Animal Shelter's Country Fair, we saw a lot of dogs, some beautiful owls and falcons, a lot of mud and some displays of things. The birds were what fascinated me, they were so calm with all the people rushing around looking at them. This owl is just magnificent.

On Saturday the 10th of April Bronwen, Wendy and I drove down to London to visit the Scrapbooking Show at Alexandra Palace. Bronwen is the scrap booking expert but I can always find stuff to buy at the show, so we had a very enjoyable but exhausting day.
Alexandra Palace is a beautiful old building and we had a chance to walk around looking at the wonderful detailing. The view of London from the Palace is incredible as it is high up in the north of the city.

This is my stash pile, all sorts of lovely stuff to use for the bears, new ribbon, pens and the most amazing wooden buttons.

One final thing to share. I have a lot of scissors (not as many as Wendy, she is the scissor queen) and use most of them but they are always lying around everywhere. On a recent wander around blog land I saw a very clever way to store scissors neatly. The old glass 'holey' things that go in vases of flowers (I don't know what they are called) have a new purpose. And the best part is that last week I went into the local charity shop and what was there but one waiting for me. I feel so organised now but of course I still can't find my scissors as I am not used to them being so easy to find.

Tomorrow is the start of the next big move as we get the keys for the new house and will start the actual packing etc. We have internet access for another week here and then it should be only half a day before we have it set up in the new place so I will try to keep the blog updated. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

2010-04-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

During our travels on Saturday we saw a sign for an 'Old Book and Collectibles Market' in the village hall in Castle Acre and in between visiting old buildings we went to have a look.

I came home with some lovely stuff, some things for the bears and some just for collecting. The scissors will never work again but they are so old and really tiny, they will be so cute in a display of old sewing items.

I have finally finished one of my orders and the little bear will be going to her new home on Tuesday. Sorry for the long delay Jane and thank you for being so patient. A new boy bear is on eBay with his duck so please go and have a look..

2010-04-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we visited the village of Castle Acre in Norfolk. It is about an hour and a half's drive from home which is not bad. The village is surrounded by the remains of a moat and has the most amazing architecture. What we went to look at was the ruins of a Norman castle and priory.

This is the remains of the Castle Acre Castle with the moat still very much in evidence around it. To see the structure you walk along a series of bridges and walkways. This building and the Priory where founded in about 1066, the history around here is so amazing.

Then you take a walk along the path to the Parish Church of St James the Great, this is a medieval church built in the 13th Century, it is outside the towns original defences showing how the town had grown in size.

Then we made our way to the magnificent Priory building, it must have been the most amazing sight when it was built, it is huge and awe inspiring. It still has such beauty and magnificence. The priory was destroyed on the orders of King Henry the 8th in the dissolution of the monasteries. This website has more information on these amazing buildings.

We had a lovely day and the weather was very kind and only started raining on the trip home. Now we just have to decide where to visit next.

2010-04-04T02:19:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful, blessed and peaceful Easter.

2010-04-02T01:02:00.000-07:00

I recently found an online cross stitching magazine called a Gift Of Stitching. They host a cross stitch challenge and I decided to try as it is so much fun to do something different.

So here is my Scissor Keep, in my favourite colours naturally, but I am very happy with how it has turned out. Instead of putting a bead in the centre of each flower I decided to stitch a whole lot of French knots to add some visual interest.

2010-04-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I went down to London to meet Wendy at Heathrow airport. I didn't want to be late so ended up getting there earlier than I needed to.
I decided to visit some old haunts and spent a couple of hours looking at shops in Covent Garden.Of course I think I spent more time battling through crowds of tourists than actually looking at anything but it was fun.
The first photo is of the Market itself then we have St. Paul's Church and then a lovely building taken on my walk back to the tube station. I also spent an hour at the airport watching the world go by and talking to some interesting people.

Wendy picked up the most dreadful flu on her plane trip to SA and is still trying to get rid of it. It is good to have her back and now we have a couple of quiet weeks before the next big move.

2010-03-25T04:09:00.000-07:00

We have some good news, yesterday the letting agents phoned to tell us that we have been approved and we have the house. Fantastic, we have a roof over our heads and the best part is that it is a long lease so we won't be bothered for at least a year or more. So we will be moving from about the 16th April.

Wendy is still in Cape Town and struggling with the heat, it is raining here at the moment and she is having to deal with 25 centigrade temperatures there. She has got all sorts of things to do, sorting out insurance and banks and boring stuff but she also has a list of stuff to buy. There are some things that we miss from our old country that you can't get here so her luggage is going to look very strange coming home.

I have been busy working on orders and listing stuff on eBay and Etsy. Roselle is on eBay, I really had fun using such an unusual coloured fabric.

Floss and Calico are pattern prototype bears that I have put in our Etsy shop for sale. Calico thought he was going to a new home last year but someone else went instead, I have debated about keeping him because I love his face but think he needs to find a home.

2010-03-24T01:31:00.000-07:00

A cautionary tale of woe, always make sure that the embroidery thread you use is coloufast. My cross stitching travels around with me and I work on it in spare moments so I am always worried that it might get a bit grubby. After it is finished I rinse it in cold water and leave it to dry and this is what happened. This poor piece will have to go in the completed box and maybe one day I can figure out what to do with it.

It was Leila's turn on the window sill yesterday. This was Sasha's spot and it is only in the last few days that the other kitties have started exploring and deciding who is elder cat in the tribe and gets the good seat.

2010-03-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

During one of our house hunting expeditions we drove past this lovely old barn and we all thought that it would make an amazing house. Unfortunately it costs a lot of money to convert an old barn, more than building from new and you have to be careful of the National Trust rules, but looking at the photo again it really would be worth it.

Merlin was sleeping in the sun on the workroom window sill and looked so adorable that I had to share the photo.

These wonderful cards arrived in the post this morning from the Netherlands. I saw them on another blog and just had to get some for myself. Visit http://www.labellebrocante.com/ to have a look at all the lovely designs.

Wendy left for Cape Town yesterday, she has got an epic trip of two days to complete and will probably arrive there feeling totally exhausted. She did manage to list a beautiful bear on ebay before she left so please go and have a look if you have the time.

2010-03-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

Real life can be so scary at times. We are not having an easy time and are feeling rather stressed.
When we moved into our house, it was on the understanding that we would be here for a couple of years and we would be able to settle down and catch our breath. No such luck.
The houses are being sold and we have to move out on the 28th of April. So we thought okay fine, we can deal with this, it costs more money and the inconvenience is dreadful but we can cope.
Well, we have spent the last couple of weeks desperately searching for a new place and getting nowhere. Hours have been spent on the computer trawling through house listings and even more fruitless hours spent looking at houses.Some of these English houses are so tiny it isn't funny, how can a room be called a bedroom when you can't even fit a single bed in. We have been getting more desperate as the time goes by with visions of us, the kitties and dog sleeping in the park.

So yesterday we found a house, a nice house actually with a garden and we are allowed to have pets (no easy thing that) but now we have to go through all the credit checks etc, also not an easy task as we haven't been in this country very long and it causes all sorts of problems, so please pray and hold thumbs and cross toes that we get accepted (we are nice people, really). Oh and we also have to hope that we can find the extra money each month as this house is over budget by quite a bit.

Then we had to make a very fast decision and book a flight for Wendy to go to Cape Town, we have to urgently sort out banking and money and insurance and taxes and all sorts of other things. This decision had to be made in two days and she flies to South Africa on Sunday. So .... very eventful times and I am trying not to even think about the moving part yet.

Sorry about the rant but I just had to get it off my chest, I am hoping that life can go back to a bit more sedate pace and I can actually get some work done. One of the worst parts of being self employed, if you don't do any work you don't get any money coming in.
We will now return to regular blog updates and I might even have some new bears to show.

2010-03-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

I have just listed 'Piper' on eBay, I have been having fun embroidering tiny rosebuds again and she is carrying the most adorable little heart and key.

The sun is actually shining this morning, the washing is hanging on the line outside, for the first time in a long time and the kitties have been playing outside. The wind is making it very chilly still so you can't go out without a coat but it is good to see the sun. I am trying to finish some orders and we are still looking for somewhere to live.

2010-03-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

It was my birthday on Tuesday and I had a lovely day. I also got some fantastic presents. A beautiful drawing book and Hello Kitty box from my sister and an amazing Oak Charm pendant from my parents.

It is so lovely and delicate and I love acorns. Oak trees and acorns have an amazing history tied into Celtic mythology and have so many different meanings.

I also got a lovely tatting book, it has been out of print for years and we finally found a copy. Now I just have to find the time to do some tatting.

The crocus's have been looking so beautiful in the garden I just couldn't resist and had to have some inside. I also found one solitary snowdrop plant so had to add the flowers.

The kitties are so happy to see the sun the couple of times that it has actually appeared that they have become little sun worshippers and don't move until it disappears. I think they have taken the move around the world quiet well but one thing they do miss is the almost constant sunshine and they loath the snow, they really have an attitude about the white stuff and won't even go out the door if it is snowing.

2010-03-08T02:51:00.000-08:00

Just some pretty photos to share today. I love vintage velvet flowers and Wendy and I have been lucky to find a few over the years for our collection but I also like using them on the bears. It is not easy to find them and then you don't want to take them apart but I found a lady in the US who sells them and look what arrived in the post. Brought especially for the bears, just perfect with some of the new fabric.

I was reading someone's blog the other day and she had photographed her beautiful charm bracelet and it reminded me to look for mine. I love silver jewellery and any one who has met me knows that I wear a lot of it, rings on every finger and toes etc. My charm bracelet is a bit different in that every charm is a teddy bear, all different and so far 31 in total. I don't wear it much as it is getting very heavy and I am worried about losing it. There is a body less bear on there, his body got separated from his head at a bear fair in SA a few years ago and I couldn't find it. I still love looking at it and remembering where all the charms come from, some are vintage, some where presents and I also looked for them wherever I travelled.

I hope everyone has a good week, we are still house hunting and worrying about another move but it has to be done and things sort themselves out eventually.

2010-03-05T07:34:00.000-08:00

It has taken me a whole week to sort out the photos from the Bear Fair weekend, where does the time go.
The White Rabbit finally got finished just in time for us to pack and drive down to London. It was not a pleasant drive as it really poured with rain as we got to the outskirts of London but we made it to the B&B okay.

The table looked lovely with all the lace and flowers and once all the bears where together we realised we hadn't done to badly with making bears. We had a wonderful day and almost all the bears went to new homes.

I didn't buy very much, the bear that I really fell in love with and Wendy said she would buy for my birthday had gone by the time I stopped procrastinating, serves me right. I did come home with some new fabrics in lovely colours and hopefully will be making some bears out of them soon.

During our shopping trip on Saturday in London we walked past Selfridges in Oxford Street and they had the most amazing window displays for Alice in Wonderland. I love the stories and had made the 'Wonderland Series' for the show so it was fantastic to see. I wish I had taken more detailed photos but this gives you some idea, I think I saw all the windows, I had to take them in a rush as the street was constantly busy and people are rather impatient when you are trying to take photos.

2010-02-26T14:18:00.000-08:00

The last week has been crazy, I have been desperately trying to finish the bears for the show and not getting very far. Most of them are done but a couple are sitting looking at me with very reproachful expressions , no clothes means no going to the show.

Wendy has updated the webpage so please go and have a look at www.essentialbears.net . We are going to London tomorrow to do some shopping and visit my brother which is going to be lovely but means one less work day so I think the sewing box will be going in the car with me. One of my very good reasons for not being able to drive, I can sew in the car, lots more come to mind but that is a good one at the moment.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and I look forward to seeing some of you on Sunday. I will post photos next week of the show.

2010-02-19T13:11:00.000-08:00

It snowed again yesterday and apparently more is on the way. It certainly has been an extreme winter.

Once a year Lisa Swifka hosts a blog giveaway called One World One Heart and you get to visit some lovely blogs and get a chance to win some beautiful items. Well this year I have been lucky and am a winner of an amazing illustration by Sarah of Cottage Garden Studios. Please go and have a look if you have the time, there are so many wonderfully talented people out there.
A work in progress photo, I am really into pastels at the moment and am having such fun with all the soft gentle colours. Maybe I am wishing Spring was here already.
Peach Blossom was on eBay but didn't find a new home so she will be going to the Hugglets show. I have listed some more kits on Etsy and will carry on adding new ones when I have a spare minute or two.

2010-02-14T01:33:00.001-08:00

To all the wonderful and kind people who wrote to me about Sasha, thank you so much. It has meant a lot reading all your letters.
We are slowly getting back to 'normal', the other kitties are eating properly again and not looking for the grey cat everywhere. It is still so quiet without him and I miss the little boy poking me in the eye in the morning because I am too slow to get up and feed them.
I have been stitching a lot of bears and should have some new photos to share soon. 'Fairy Kisses' was on eBay this last week for Valentines day and sold quite well.
Now it is back to making bears for Hugglets show which is rapidly approaching.

2010-02-10T01:49:00.000-08:00

On Monday we had to say goodbye to my precious Sasha cat. He was getting so ill and his medicine was not helping any more so we had to make a very hard decision.

He has left such a gap in our family, he was the gentle elder cat who loved everyone and it is so quite without him.

Goodbye my beautiful boy, we love you and miss you so much.

2010-02-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

Too much to do and never enough time, but that seems to be the story of my life. Below is a photo of my cross stitch and tatting waiting to be finished for the etsy shop, hopefully I will get to do some of it in the next week.

Tallulah is on eBay at the moment if you want to have a look, she is dressed in my favourite colour - pink, even her fur is a slight shade of pink. I now have to start thinking about bears for the Hugglets show as that is coming up at the end of the month.

The other big news is that we will be moving again. The house that we are in has been sold so we have to move out at the end of April. Just as we started to get settled we are on the move again. I don't know how some people do it, I am starting to feel a bit disorientated.

2010-01-28T12:32:00.000-08:00

The time is just flying by, I can't believe it is almost the end of January. I have been unpacking a few more boxes and have found the kit makings so will start trying to get more kits packed but in the meantime I have some listed in our new Etsy shop.
We now have an Etsy shop exclusively for the bears and kits but you can still see all the kits that we have available on our website.

Connor and Riley Elephant are on eBay at the moment if you have a moment to look. Now it is back to stitching and knitting and hopefully I will soon have some new bear photos to share with you.

2010-01-19T03:51:00.000-08:00

Three bears all dressed and posted off on Monday. I am finally managing to get some work done.

On a serious note, last week I had a big fright, someone managed to get hold of my debit card details and was using my card to buy all sorts of things. The bank stopped most of them but a few got approved and now I have no money in my account and have to start going through the process of trying to see if I can get any of it back.
I am lucky I suppose that being a poor artist my bank balance was not very much but in some ways it is also worse as that was all my money. Really sad.
I had to get a new card and now have to start the waiting game to see what happens. The really scary thing is that I am very careful and only buy from reputable shops online but obviously criminals can get information from any where.

We found some of our kits in one of the boxes we were unpacking, so will start putting them in our Etsy shop to sell and hopefully the unpacking will reveal the other kit and pattern boxes.

2010-01-14T15:30:00.000-08:00

Lilybelle is on eBay at the moment if you want to have a look. I am slowly getting the bears dressed and ready to send off. I have a lot of new ideas but just can't seem to stitch fast enough or am too easily distracted but am getting into a routine again which is a good thing.

2010-01-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

The past week has been busy and I am having to get used to the very cold weather. Can you believe that the UK is having the worst winter in 37 years. I knew we would have to get used to the colder climate but this is extreme, my only consolation is that by next year we will be totally acclimatised.

I am getting used to scraping ice and snow off the car first thing in the morning and always having frozen fingers, but I am not complaining, it has been fun playing in the snow and we got to have a white Christmas.
The cats don't go outside at the moment as they just can't seem to understand what this white stuff is and Leila made me laugh by holding a paw up and looking at it in disgust and giving me a very accusing look.

I want to see the sun again and I never thought I would say that. I am not missing the SA climate, a friend wrote and told us that it was 37 degrees the other day, what two extremes but that is just too hot.
This is the garden, still an ice bound image, it has thawed a bit today and we might see some grass tomorrow.

I have been stitching little bears like crazy and hopefully will have them dressed by the weekend. This is a work in progress photo, I will update the photos as the bears get finished.
The latest news on Sasha is good, he went for a check up on Friday and the vet is very pleased with him. He weighed 4.05 kg compared to the 3.7 that he weighed when he went into hospital. So we just have to make sure he drinks a lot of liquid and has his tablet everyday and his next check up is at the end of the month. He is now behaving like a spoilt kitty, he cries every time he wants something and has the whole household running to see if he is okay.

2010-01-02T02:51:00.000-08:00

It started snowing for about two minutes this morning and then stopped. The sun has come out and I think it is going to be a lovely day.

Sasha is recovering slowly everyday, he is eating a bit of food and managing to walk around by himself, he is also getting rather demanding and wants constant attendance.

These are two of the bears that I have for sale.

Calico - $100 + postage

Griffin - $90 + postage

If you have any questions please email me.

2009-12-31T12:04:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a happy, safe and prosperous New Year. Thank you for reading my blog and following my life for the past year and I hope you will continue to visit.

Sasha is home from the hospital. He still has a long way to go but the latest blood tests show some more improvement and he is showing everyone what a strong kitty he is.

He hasn't stopped purring since he got home and has spent the afternoon sleeping on my bed. He still has to eat something and that is the concern at the moment as he doesn't seem to be interested. He has to have a tablet a day to help his kidneys function but that is not a problem.