A few years ago I became interested in craft work. This was in the form of canal art. From there I progressed onto my own design of blue and white. I also love the country kitchen look with cows sheep and chickens. These are painted almost cartoon like. Naive, I think the term may be. All the designs are painted onto unwanted, by other people, teapots, jugs, breadbins, even old irons, which make great doorstops.
A year ago this coming Christmas, when my painting room was cleared (on an annual basis), so we as a family are able to sit and eat the turkey etc I took up knitting needles again after 20 odd years. What did I knit? not something useful for one of the family but a teddy bear.
I then progressed onto a few more, which were then sold and now I am making bears of all different descriptions.
I use mohair, faux fur, and fabric. I love vintage fabrics and I have been lucky enough to be given some 60's Liberty Lawn by a friend and hopefully this will make some lovely bears. I also love the retro fabrics that are all the rage at the moment.
Hunni Bear is a 12" bear made from faux fur with upholstery material for his pads. He is 5 way safety jointed with safety eyes. He has a sad expression on his face because his honey jar is empty.
Cracker is a 12" bear made from long faux fur. his pads are made from a Christmas fabric and he has a little Christmad tree stud on his right footpad. He is 5 way safety jointed with English blue glass eyes.
Tinsle is another Christmas bear made from the same faux fur as Cracker. She has Christmas fabric for her paws and is 5 way safety jointed with button black safety eyes. Tinsle stands at 10" and has been adopted and is winging her way to Australia.
These two little sweeties are made from handmade wool felt, curtesey of Michelle Green. They stand just 3" high and have tiny glass seed beads for eyes. Both are thread jointed. They have been adopted, one to America.
These two are Tuppance and Farthing. They are made from very sparse German mohair with with faux cashmere pads and black glass bead eyes. They stand 5" high and are thread jointed.
Arthur is a 10" bear made from dense faux fur. He is 5 way safety jointed with safety eyes. He has a hand knitted scarf and glasses. Arthur has been adopted.I am involved with a little craft shop in Selsey, near to where I live and this is where some of my painting and bears are sold. I also attend craft shows and am a member of the Wessex Guid of Craftsmen.This is Albert. He is a 10" bear made from faux fur, 5 way safety jointed with safety eyes. He has a little handmade waistcoat and spectacles. Albert has been adopted.
I will now attempt to post some photos for you to see, there will be none of my painting at the moment, as I have changed computors and there are none saved in the new computor as yet.
