Blue String Soup - for Bears

Blue Bear (Pussman & Co pattern), 2014

I made this little fellow with a pattern from Pussman & Co Bears, from a piece of discontinued blue on yellow mohair. The pattern is available on her Etsy shop.  He's only small, about 7" tall and has black glass eyes and cotter pin joints. I usually use the plastic snap type safety joints but these have been harder to get hold of recently in a decent quality so I've tried cotter pins out on this chap before I use them in my dogs. I love his big head, small body and pointy nose! I'm a big fan of her bears now and hoping to meet her (and her bears) at the Winter Bearfest in Kensington Town Hall on the 23rd February. It's a great place to see what everyone is making, and to pick up lots of fur bargains and little bits and pieces from the supplies shops. It's quite eccentric though, a huge hall full of teddy bear enthusiasts, but something one should see at least once in one's life ;-)

Brockley Christmas Market, 2013

Brockley Christmas Market 2013, cold and very windy!

Croftmas Fair with my keen assistant! 2013

I did quite a few fairs and events over Christmas, which was good fun and I was glad to sell a Fox Terrier and lots of little cards and pegdolls, and walnut shell mice too. It's a good opportunity to meet people and to see what they choose, which helps me work out what to make more of. I had some very nice conversations with people about my work which is very encouraging as I spend a lot of time working alone with no feedback.

Dachshund Little Toy Dog, 2014

Finally, I've reworked my pattern for the Dachshund and he's looking a lot more realistic now. I started out using the same basic pattern for my early dogs and have now got the hang of making quite drastic adaptations to it to make the different shapes required by different breeds. Next up is a revamped Lurcher, a possible Jack Russell review and new patterns for a Shetland Sheepdog and a Miniature Schnauzer.