...in which I show you MY way to fix baldness....

Yep....I did it.  There I was merrily plucking out a few stray hairs and trying to clean up the nose area where I wanted to embroider his nose.   All of a sudden I realized I was looking at the fabric under the fur, not the fur...damn!!@#  Somehow just plucking on a few hairs had already gotten me too deep into it and the fabric was laid bare.   How could I have been so stupid?  I wasn't even in the exact centre of the nose for heaven's sake.  Me and my eyes.  Very frustrating.  Like I mentioned, they have gotten worse, and, even working with my big magnify9ing glass I still did a stupid thing.  Sigh......................so bloody annoying.

I was contemplating tossing the head in the bin.  Or wondering if I could just make a huge nose and cover up most of the mess...or maybe pluck out some on the other side and match up a bare patch and make a bare fabric snout surrounding the actual nose.  None of the those options appealed.

When Mister BumbleVee came home and asked how the bear making was going I told him my tale of woe.  He said, "Can't you just needle felt some fluff back in?"  HUH??@#!  How the heck would he think of that?  And, of course, at first I poo-poo'ed the idea saying it was rayon and it would probably leave big holes in the fabric and I didn't think it possible to get any kind of result..etc...  but, then, I thought about it and did dig out some felting needles and plucked out some of the rayon curly fluff from near a cut edge of the fabric I was using and needled some into the bare patches.  SUCCESS!!  Wow.  that really worked.

He had remembered that I needle felted a nose onto my scratty bunny.. and figured it could be done on any other animal I suppose.  I do remember doing Eddy, but it was lovely mohair and you can needle felt to your heart's content on that and not ruin it.... rayon, I was not so sure about.  But, I'm hear to tell you....it can be done.  It doesn't look quite the same even when I try really hard to find some shiny new long pieces of fluff..and, try not to needle it much .. so the curls stay a bit...but, it covered up the bare patches and looks great.  His whole snout area looks lighter anyway for some reason...probably because I did snip and trim things a bit ..trying for a nicer shape to the snout.

Click on the pics for close ups....the eyes and also the nose are "test eyes" ... things will move or change in size for sure.  And, his nose will be embroidered.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the bald patches .. so you could see how wrecked the poor little guy was.  But, I do have photos of the fixed areas...and, I can't even tell you where they were really.   Somebody looked petty smug when I showed him the result.   There was a big cheesy grin.  He totally expects to get equal billing when we tell anybody I made the little bear head ornament on the tree I'm sure... and, well....he should....

It's weird when you think your guy is not really paying much attention to what you are doing hobby wise...and, then... they remember some reeellly important thing to help out when you totally forget about ever having done it.   Strange that........ he's definitely a keeper.

This is the first bear I made with this rayon fabric.  A wobble jointed bear named Leonard..he has a ladybug on his foot.  I knew it was a bit tricky to work with ...but, I went ahead with him anyway and he turned out fine.  Very cute actually... so I thought I would use it again.  IT gets a bit matted and flattened after handling and honestly, with rayon? ..you cannot, and I mean CANNOT just fluff it up or brush it out...it fuzzes terribly!  So... my advice ... mostly don't use it.  The chin gusset is part of this guy's nose area...it is softest suede as are the paw pads.

This is what I plucked out to use for needle felting into his nose... the edge bits of some of the fluff.  If I tease it out gently...it doesn't fuzz or get dull .. and, then..try to needle it in with a bit of curl in place.  Tricky, but only jabbed myself one time...ouch... those needles are reeeeellllly sharp..  and then, you do have to wait a bit for the bleeding to stop before continuing.

Here is my Scratty Eddy bunny that I made years ago.  The white snout is all needle felted wool with a pink embroidered nose.   It felts easily into lovely mohair like this...but, I wasn't sure about how the rayon would hold together for repeated stabbing ...somehow it did just fine.

WOYWW

Hi WOYWW snoopers.... c'mon in!

The Viking has done with guarding and keeping things secret....and no, sorry.... still can't show you what the heck was under his care.  But, now, all of a sudden he wants attention.  Seems he has tidied and cleared away most of my desk actually.  Good thing, because I needed some help.  Soon it'll be totally packed away in preparation for our renovation.

He is barking commands at me in some language I don't understand.... but, finally I figured out it is something about his scratty friend here who's lost an eye... needs surgery.... ... or somehow they think I should just re-insert the thing......

Well actually, it is my fault.  I never did actually stitch the eyes in when I was completing the poor little guy...a very bad habit of mine.  Almost every single bear, doll or rabbit, in this case... needs some little thing fixing, finishing or fastening.... I get them to the photographing stage and then.....that's it.  They just sit there and somehow I forget they still need finishing.

Sigh.... I'm a dirty, rotten, procrastinator.....it's in my nature....

But, not today.... Olaf is insisting...

As a matter of fact...he is really getting up in my face about it all.... sheeesh....

That's it....I'm off to get my upholstery thread and permanently stitch in some eyes.... not only for poor Scratty Eddy...but, at least two other characters... and, maybe I'll just finish up some stuffing openings on a few other guys while I'm at it .......yeh...that's it.  It'll make me feel good.
Now where did they put the darn eye? ...

oh.... alright...I see it....

How would you like to see what dozens of other crafters are up to?  Check out the list over at Julie's blog.... surf around and have a peek at other desks and worktables.... some fun stuff to see...

that crazy bunny says it's time....

.....time to get on with making the draw for the winner of the little giveaway.... before he has to dash away or he'll be late for another very important date....

remember the interesting and wonderfully coloured "thing" at the bottom of the last post? .... Well, it was indeed a pot with the imprint of macaroni on the bottom.  It wasn't as if I had burned it on either..... it happens ever time I cook some pasta now.  I did burn spuds in that pot big time ....once.. and then, tried to scour it and clean it and even used vinegar on the bottom to soak things off.  I wonder if the vinegar caused some reaction even back then?  Who knows... but, whenever I do cook some pasta now...this is what I see after washing the pot as well as I can.  Hmmm... I don't know... perhaps I should toss the pot, but it is one of my good ones with a lovely copper core in the bottom, and it heats so readily and holds heat easily...that I hate to toss it.

Scratty Eddy made the draw for me... from several of the correct answers...tossed into his favourite cup.  I suspect he really likes that little cup because it is all his favourite colours....

Congratulations Krista!  You knew exactly what it was...hahha..... been there done that eh?  yeh, yeh....I know.... you weren't actually admitting to it...but, I think maybe............ you know....it happened .... once?

Anyway....  let's talk about what you won.  Or...maybe who.....



The thing about my little bears and creatures, is....they love to travel.  I even have a tiny hippo as far away as Malaysia.   Either of these little guys say they would love to come to live in the Yukon with you and Jimmy and Oreo... although, I would hide it from either of those two, as lots of cats and dogs just love to play with these little creatures... probably because they are made from wool...... sooooo....... let me know if you want a fuzzy one or a smooth one....

Thanks everybody for playing along..... and on another front.......

Mr. BV's office golf tournament yesterday... and our foursome did well enough to tie for first...but, in a count back of holes...we lost out by one stroke!  AAACCCKKK .... that close!  What a coup that would have been .... the guy who won was pretty confident that his team would win by a good margin because the other guy who usually wins was not there.... I don't think anybody thought we would be giving them a reeeellly good run for the money.  And... we had some lousy chip shots ...which if we had been just that bit more "on" our game....man....we could have won by several strokes!  hahah...that would have been something.... maybe next year.......

He's late...he's late.....

as a matter of fact...he totally missed his very important date.....

I wanted to get this little guy's jacket and watch made in time for the Mad Hatter's Tea... sponsored by someone on their blog....but... other stuff got in the way.  Like real life.  Just not enough time to do it all in the short season we laughingly call summer.   Can you believe that last night it dropped to +7C after days of +24C and the one before that at +28C? .... cool enough for jackets this morning when I dropped off my van for an oil change.  Cool walking back... I got some exercise as it is a good 40 minute walk....

Anyway.... I played with the little watch even though the jacket is still just bits and pieces.... not stitched at all which in retrospect is a good thing...because now I have formulated a new and different plan on how to make it.  Not being much of a seamstress...it is a lot of planning before I actually "do"... which, again...is sometimes a good thing.

Scratty Eddy as the Alice Bunny....

Making a little pocket watch for him seemed much more interesting and fun than sewing....

I made a little half inch disc out of paper clay...... cut a tiny circle of paper ...  printed on the numbers... and pressed it into place... rounded up the edges ever so slightly and let it dry thoroughly.

I painted it an old gold colour ..... and then drizzled on a couple of layers of Glossy Accents to build it up and make it look like a glass face.

I found tiny chain at a bead shop and also...this tiny little screw with a loop top.

There is probably a special name for it in the beading community...but, I don't know what that term is.  All I know is..... it was the perfect size to screw into the top of my pocket watch...and attach a link of the chain to.  I bought two in case I ruined or lost one...they are VERY tiny! Not saying it was simple...arrrgghh...that was hard on the old eyes, that!  I must get one of those large magnifying windows to work under.  Or...perhaps a jewellers loupe of some sort for this tiny stuff. I finally wrestled it to the ground ...ruining a few miniscule links of the chain...... but, got it attached!  And... now... my little pocket watch just needs a perfect sized pocket on a cute little jacket.

Eddy invited Posie and Scruffy to check out his new watch and they had a tiny tea party of their own.  They mentioned that they thought any old day is always a good day for a tea party.  I poured........  well, after I mentioned to Scruffy that he wasn't supposed to sit in the cup... and yes...I did give it a wipe out to get rid of the fluff.... ...

Wordless Wednesday

hey Mom.....

... what? ... oh, ...silly  me.... somebody says "Mom" and I look around.  As if..... ahhahah...

aren't ya gonna make my shot pouch?  Look... the nice soft suede-y material is all set out....

My back is wide open...kinda drafty in here......

okay...working on it...oh, just a minute...the Girl Guides just knocked.... difficulties ensued.... 

...were overcome.....

how's that?  Pouch in position...all closed up and cosy now... can't even tell where the seam is...almost.... 

Ah...great shot.... but, oh, wait....those ears.... just a minute.........

a few stitches to hold the creases in position works wonders....

yeh...I know.... a tiny thing.....

But, look .. it makes a big difference.  Well, it does to me........

and...he now has a name.  My sister took one look and said.... he looks like a Scratty Eddy..... so please meet Eddy.... and he is a bit scratty looking although it's not called that by the mohair companies.  It is "sparse, long".... but, a rose by any other name....

I forgot the most important picture earlier...

Here is the bunny I wanted to make..... just like one made by Nancy Sholtey
There is no pattern...it is one that she had for sale several years ago...but, I couldn't bring myself to pay quite as much as she wanted for him.  So...when I found this fabric...decided to give one a try.  I think he is pretty close...and very cute.....

...more feet.....

S'cuse my fluffy bum ...... well, not mine..but, scruffy bunny's bum.....

His feet and legs are on... a bit of shading... but, not too much.  It shows more in real life than it does in a photo....  AND...he has a death grip on one of those chocolate eggs..... (I have to tell you that those eggs are not real because some of you sounded like perhaps you thought they were tasty ... lol) .... nope, just faux chocolate eggs.  However, even my sweetie reached for one last year when I had them on the table taking photos of bunnies and eggs...so... they are pretty real looking.  This year he glared at them and said.."oh...those eggs again.  Where's the real chocolate?"

Off I go for some brekky and to make a little pouch for some shot for his tummy.

Oh, that reminds me.... a few years ago when I was making a lot of the little guys, I decided to make little pouches for the weight I put inside of them.  If it was really tiny 'shot'...almost like seeds... I was worried that an occasional little seed would work its way out through the joining of a seam.  So, then, I was joking with my sister that we should start a little company and make up many bags or pouches and sell them.  But, what would we call our little venture.  Her responses were hilarious... my fav being "Shot in the Ass" .. or maybe it should be "Shot in the Arse"  ...we debated the "roodness" of it.  But, that WAS the general area where most of the pouches would eventually sit. Then there was "Lead Bellies"...but, we thought people would be put off by the word lead..even though it is actually steel...however, "Steel Bellies" didn't sound quite as fun..... although then we moved on to "Abs of Steel", or "Buns of Steel", which we ruminated upon, but thought there would be copywrite or legal issues.  All in all, we had a fun time of it at the expense of the little bears and bunnies while they looked at us with quizzical faces.  In the end, of course, we did nothing....I still stitch up a pouch and fill it with shot when I need one ... and still have a laugh at our silliness.

AND:::  Have to share this one.... hop on over to my other blog to see this recipe for Brussels Sprouts