This weekend I actually had the urge to sew something again after a month or so of complete ennui (translation: stress + exhaustion!) I've had the idea of making a soft toy based on the bear 435 Holly who lives in Katmai National Park, Alaska, and who won the fun Fat Bear contest back in 2019.
She was humungous and was photographed sitting like this and looking like she would explode at any minute!
I have a book of animal patterns but lost it for a long time - let's face it, it was not really lost, just buried in the piles of craft materials in the spare room. When I had to tidy up in order to sleep in there while my partner is recovering from his knee surgery, I unearthed it.
I also had some nice bobbly fleece fabric, so set to. First we had to make the pattern larger as using the pattern straight from the book was far too small.
I hand sewed the whole thing, as if there had been any errors, unpicking a seam from a sewing machine in furry fabric would have been a nightmare. I've used velvet for the nose, fur fabric for the ears, and felt for the paw pads. I stuffed the head with kapok to make it firm and sewed a piece of calico behind the stuffing inside to stop it from migrating. The rest of the bear has been stuffed with polystyrene balls so that she flops fatly just like the real bear.
I was planning on putting this on Etsy but posted it on Facebook beforehand to see if anyone would like to grab it first - it went in one minute flat! That has to be an all time record!
While I have been playing nurse with my two patients over the past month, I have been able to get out in the garden and it is looking rather pretty at the moment.
I re-did the succulent display using an old bonsai dish.
Before Mr.B had his op, we spent the previous weekend building my new greenhouse on the patio. I say 'we' - Mr.B did 99% of the work, I just stood around getting in the way and handing him tools! I am so pleased with how the patio re-vamp has turned out - now it is a very inviting place to go and sit...when the noise from certain neighbours and their dogs doesn't intrude!
The birds and insects are loving it all - we have had a family of great tits nesting in a box on the patio and they fledged successfully last week.
Only three chicks, but they all made it, no cats or magpies got them this time round.
I'm going for flowers rather than vegetables this year - last summer was so abysmal I'm taking no chances. Still got some runner beans in though, and the new greenhouse has plenty of tomatoes, cucumber and even a melon plant.
So now that everyone in the house is recovering/has recovered, I am slowly getting back to work as the orders trickle in.
