Smiles for My Childhood Bears

When I was a child, I enjoyed playing with an elderly teddy bear, probably from the 1930s. He was a good companion and even played with me in the sandbox. He had lost a lot of his fur, and its color was faded from a dark reddish-brown to a caramel color. The other thing he had lost was his smile. I always thought the tear in the fabric under his nose was his mouth! But there were remnants of the black floss that his mouth was stitched with. I had never seen him smile. Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I am not sure what got into me, but I decided that I wanted to see my elderly teddy bear smile. So I set to work with black pearl cotton floss, a long doll-making needle, and my magnifier. I stitched in the exact places where the remaining floss pieces were, and was delighted to see my bear smiling back at me for the first time.

I noticed during stitching that the bear's snout is stuffed with excelsior, also known as wood wool. And on close examination of his remaining darker fur, I found that his fur is actually mohair.

After seeing my elderly bear's smile, I had to give a smile to my little pink childhood bear. I don't remember what her original nose looked like. When I was about 12 or 13 years old, I stitched her black nose in place. I wonder where her original nose went! All this time, she has not had a mouth. But now, she and my elderly bear are both smiling. After all my stitching yesterday, I am feeling motivated to work on my New Avenue Crew bears! Stay tuned, dear reader!

A Bear's Favorite: Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

Source: Internet

Every bear knows that there's nothing better than a cool treat on a hot day. And because bears love honey, and we at New Avenue Crew love bears, I thought I would share my favorite cool treat with you.

Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

1 quart cream (not ultrapasteurized, preferably from grass-fed cows)
1 vanilla bean (or about 1 tablespoon vanilla extract)
5 egg yolks (preferably from pastured chickens)
1/2 cup raw honey (or high-quality maple syrup)
pinch sea salt

For the tastiest, most nutritious ice cream, use the best quality cream you can find, preferably from grass-fed cows. Never use ultrapasteurized cream.

Pour cream into a medium saucepan. Using a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out the vanilla bean "seeds" and add them and the vanilla bean pod to the cream in the saucepan. On medium-high heat, bring the cream to a gentle simmer/boil, stirring with a wooden spoon. Watch carefully; when the cream seems to start to foam a bit, it is done. (If you leave it longer, it can foam over the sides. Yes, that happened to me!)

Take the cream off the heat, cover, and let infuse for 25 to 30 minutes. Then remove the vanilla bean pod. (I save the pod for another batch of ice cream, 30 to 35 minutes.)

Add egg yolks to a large mixing bowl. Beat egg yolks with a wire whisk. Add honey to egg yolks and whisk to combine. Add a pinch of sea salt.

When cream is finished infusing, whisk it to break up the top layer, or remove it if you wish. If the cream is still hot, add only a little at a time to the egg yolk mixture, starting with about a tablespoon. Once you have whisked three or four tablespoons of cream into the egg yolk mixture, you can add larger amounts of cream until it is all mixed.

Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

Process in an ice cream maker (the one I use is below) according to directions, and then add to a chilled container and store in the freezer.

Enjoy!

Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker
Source: Amazon.com

Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday

And one more tidbit I'd like to share for today: teddy bears have allowed me to meet so many lovely people who love bears and create bears. There are two teddy bear creators who live here in the same town as me, and I was able to go to lunch with one of them last week and one this week. I am hoping to have a gathering at my house so we can have tea and talk teddies and even work on them together. Wish you could all come!

Last week, Kelly Dauterman and I met for lunch and had such a grand time talking teddy bears, supplies, shows, and even wounds. She creates her sweet bears under the name Blondheart. Can't wait to get together again!

And this week, I had lunch with Carolyn Robbins. We had a good time getting to know each other and seeing each other's creations. It was fun to see her little bears and friends in person; I especially liked her duck, Jacques. Her bears are called Warm Heart Bears.

There are other bear makers in the Denver area and one or two in the Rocky Mountains. I would love to meet all of them someday.

I don't have pictures for you of our lunch gatherings, but I'll include a photo of my little white guy (who is not finished yet, but don't feel bad for him--he would be getting into mischief were he finished!):

Little white guy, not quite finished

Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday

Welcome to Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday, where you'll hear a tidbit or two about teddy bears.

We're all familiar with our good friend, Teddy, but just how many pieces of fur fabric go into making him? In a standard teddy bear (if there is such a thing as a standard teddy bear), there can be about 23 pieces. Those 23 pieces are as follows: 4 pieces for 2 ears, 3 head pieces, 4 body pieces, 6 pieces for 2 arms, and 6 pieces for 2 legs. Some bears are made with arms and paws that are only 2 pieces each, with legs and paws that are 2 pieces each (as I do), with 2-piece bodies (as I do on my smaller bears), and with 4 (or more) pieces for the head. Some bears have multiple colors and so have many more pattern pieces.

Two bears' pattern pieces

(Goldenstern and Cinnamon have been completed and adopted.)

Yesterday, I completed a new pattern and started tracing the pieces onto the fabric I'll be using for my next bear. I am always optimistic about how long it will take me to draw up a pattern or sew a bear...much more optimistic than realistic, I'm afraid. So the bear is partially cut out. My other little bear is all sewn and is awaiting his stuffing. There's a third bear partly sewn, and a fourth bear ( a little panda) all cut and ready for fur to be trimmed from his seam allowances so he can be pinned and sewn. There's a lot going on in the Crew studio. I hope soon there will be pictures to share and bears available for adoption!

Pattern pieces, paper towel test body, and pink mohair arm and leg
(which belong to Malinka, who has been completed and adopted)

Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday: The Passage of Time

Today on this teddy bear tidbit Tuesday, I thought I would share a little time with you, dear reader. Did you know that I started New Avenue Crew way back in August of 1996? That's 14 years ago! How would you like to see my first Crew member? Introducing Madeleine:

Madeleine is made from white and brown variegated plush that I bought from the fabric store. She is the first bear I made from the first pattern I designed, and she stands about 9 inches tall. (A little bit of trivia for you: Maddie was originally going to be a rabbit, but I couldn't resist making a teddy bear. I started my first rabbit pattern this year and hope to complete it early next year!)

Madeleine still lives here in the Crew studio, and she helps me see how far my bears have come in design and finish work. I much prefer to use mohair with its woven cotton backing; Maddie's synthetic fur has a knit backing that tends to stretch when stuffed.

And now take a look at Cinnamon, one of my newest Crew members. Cinnamon is made from my newest pattern in mohair with wool felt paw pads. I don't really see a family resemblance to Maddie, but that's OK. Each Crew member has his or her own special place in my heart.

Speaking of the passage of time, I thought you might enjoy seeing an antique bear in my collection. No, I didn't make him; he was made by the Chiltern company in England in the 1940s or '50s. As you can see, he was well loved (and I love him now). Oh, the stories he would tell if he could!

Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday: Show Scramble

Today on this teddy bear tidbit Tuesday, I want to give you a taste of my final 11 days before the online Teddies Worldwide show and sale opens on Saturday, November 20.

As the title of this post suggests, I am scrambling to get everything ready for the show. Many things have happened these past few weeks that have derailed my bear making, but I am determined to finish the three bears I've been creating especially for this show.

Let's back up a bit.

I signed up for the show back in September and right away started brainstorming about the bears I wanted to make. Because the show has a holiday theme, I decided I needed to get in the Christmas mood. I didn't even have to bring the holiday music CDs up from the basement; my head offered up a ready supply of Christmas carols for inspiration. I started jotting down many ideas for special bears and then thought about them for a couple of days.

The next step was to paw through my stash of fur for the perfect colors from which to create my little Crew members. Memories from Christmases past and the sights and sounds and smells of that special season filled my head and helped me select just the right mohair pieces.

Out came my patterns and scissors, and I was off and tracing, cutting, trimming, pinning, sewing, combing, turning, and stuffing. I worked on all three simultaneously, which is not usually how I make bears. Most of the time, I create one bear from start to finish before moving on to the next one. It has been kind of fun to make them at the same time and see them progress together.

My favorite part of making bears came next: finishing the head. I partially stuffed all three bears' heads and then chose one to move forward with. I stuffed the chosen head all the way and then trimmed the muzzle area, paying particular attention to the area where I would be embroidering the nose with pearl cotton floss.

After the nose was complete, I sewed the mouth on and then put two black-headed pins in position for the eyes. The next step was sewing the neck joint into the head. And then it was time to put the real glass eyes in. Sinking the eyes on a bear is my favorite part of working on the head because that's when the bear's personality starts to emerge.

(Above is a photo of Juniper when I had just completed his head. I am holding on to the cotter pin neck joint that goes into the body to fasten the head to the body.)

Once the eyes were in place and tied off, I then sewed the bottoms of the ears closed and pinned them in place on the head. As I do when I position the eyes, I view the head in a mirror to check the ear placement before sewing them on.

I also enjoy shading the bear's face to give it some depth. A little here, a little there, and bear #1's head was finished. And you know what? I love this bear.

Moving on, I completed bear #2's head (another cutie!) and then stuffed both bears' paws and feet and added claws. I am now ready to move on to bear #3. And you are up to date on my progress!

There will be some new sew-in labels coming in the mail this week. I am very excited about them; my New Avenue Crew logo has been printed on Ultrasuede labels. When they arrive, I will sew one into the back seam on each of the three bears' bodies and will be able to joint their heads and limbs to their bodies, stuff them, and sew the openings closed. But can I complete all three bears in time for the show? I sure hope so! I am determined to have three sweet Christmas-inspired bears to present to you.

Remember to visit the online Teddies Worldwide show and sale website on Saturday, November 20. Look for the link to Debora Hoffmann and New Avenue Crew, because this blog is NOT where the bear show is being held. If you would like a reminder e-mail from me, you can sign up for my mailing list in the sidebar at right. I hope you'll drop in to visit me and my bears during the show, and I hope you'll like my new Crew members!

Oh, and one more teddy bear tidbit: I updated my blog header last night. What do you think?

Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday

Welcome to Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday, wherein I share with you a tidbit from teddy bear lore. On New Avenue Crew's previous blog, I shared a teddy bear tidbit about the origins of our beloved teddy bears. Today, because many of you may be new to the bear world, I would like to share with you just what a handcrafted or "artist" teddy bear is.

I am not sure if there is a true definition of artist bear floating around out there somewhere, but this is how I define it: a teddy bear that is designed and handmade by one person, from preliminary sketch to pattern to final primping. There are bears out there that are manufactured by a company, and certainly someone is the designer, and most assuredly, someone works on that bear by hand at some stage, but the process is not the same, the uniqueness and intimacy of having one creator are not present.

Bravely appearing on the Crew's blog at right is J. Cub, one of my early bears (made in 1997), named by my sister. He still lives with me because I couldn't bear to part with him. After I made him, I started changing his pattern with each bear I made, and I subsequently abandoned that pattern for new designs. But he has a special place in my heart. A second J. Cub (who bore only a family resemblance to the first one) was adopted and went to live in Japan. That was a thrill for me!

There are so many teddy bear artists at work today all over the world. Some of their blogs are listed at the bottom of the sidebar at right--go on and have a visit. I have been so amazed by the artistry that has been on display lately. A great place to visit in addition to bear artists' blogs is Teddy Talk and its Teddy Bears and Other Friends section. Please let me know if you visit the blogs and Teddy Talk and what you find. I love to hear from you, dear reader!

I have many other tidbits about artist bears I would like to share with you, such as what they are made from, what the bear making process entails, and so on, but those tidbits will be the subjects of further installments of Teddy Bear Tidbit Tuesday. If you have any questions about artist bears, ask away; there's no need to be shy. We're friendly here in the Crew's den, especially J. Cub; he fancies himself something of an expert. It might be due to his "advanced" age and status in the studio.