Ginger

Ginger is a bear I picked out for my mum for her birthday. The first thing I looked for was a kit that would have a higher chance having the bear end up as a girl. The second thing was the size. I wanted something smaller because Mum is also getting a knitted cardigan (yes the alleged one I have not finished), and I wanted to finish ONE thing at least for her birthday. This kit was perfect!



(Her ribbon is not the right length here because I took the photo a day earlier. I wanted her to share the same birthday as Mum.)

Ginger is a vivacious little girl who wants to grow up to be a famous pop star. She embraces her unique look (so do I!) and dreams about performing on stage someday! She will be a hit, especially with her cute peering look!



Here's a candid shot just before she's off to Mum's. I can't help it but have to pun.


Ginger Beer.

Ginger is made with a beautiful and unique PawPaw mohair and is cotter-pin jointed. Ginger stands approximately 6.5" tall and is a wonderful bear to make! She is supposed to have shaded eye sockets and I even went to buy the appropriate markers to do that. But I am so apprehensive about it I left it out. I think she looks fine as she is.

Ginger



Date of Birth: 21 March 2009
Height: 6.5 inches
Original Pattern: Gina by Ruth Parsons

Well as you know I have made 8 bears to date and I'm quite certain there will be more to come. They won't be greeting you every week now though but they will be here. :) Here's a group photo with the first eight.

Little Sam

Here's Little Sam!!!



Little Sam is a baby bear and he's curious about everything. He's got a really inquisitive look! :)In a way, he kinda reminds me of Timothy but Little Sam isn't as shy. He also likes to be cradled. By pillows, by you, by yours truly.



Little Sam is 10 inches tall and is lock/nut jointed. I actually put everything together for Little Sam on my own, just like I did for Jazz. I picked out the mohair from my VERY modest stash, and picked out the thread for his nose. I wanted to try a slightly different color from the usual dark brown or black (I don't have black actually) but not go as crazy as Jazz's purple nose - so I picked this toffee brown. I also decided to try out a different nose shape this time.



Because I put everything together and used the joints I got from the local Spottie, Little Sam's birthday was very much delayed. Spots has got dumb joint sets that allow you to make 5 limbed bears with no heads. Thankfully, Alicia came to the rescue and Little Sam got his head attached. :) Little Sam's mohair fabric is also exceptionally soft. So his head was a little rounded initially and the eyes didn't pull in well enough even though we pressed them in very hard while attaching. I did some very simple needle sculpting after class the other day and it works wonders! Now I think his face is just perfect!

Little Sam



Date of Birth: 20 March 2009
Height: 10"
Original Pattern: Molly by Dee

And oh! Have I told you I hate sewing, and I especially dislike sewing on their ears. That's also one of the reason why he's birthday is delayed. Little Sam's ears has GOT to be the ones I'm most proud of though! Here's his peering look.

Briseis

Mollie wants to introduce her friend, Briseis.



Briseis is an 8.5 inch bear and is my first girl bear. Her fur is made of wool and is a beautiful rust color. She also has suede pawpads, just like Gordon. She's as unique as she can be! Briseis loves ribbons and flowers. So I made her a little tatted flower for her ribbon.



As my latest bear, Briseis has the perfect nose. I really believe it all comes with practice. And I guess as with knitting, patience works. I must admit that I'm not a patient person to begin with. I'm only patient because I knit. And here, I'm only patient because I want to create nice bears. The process of making the Timothy, Gordon, Raleigh, Jazz, Franz and Briseis is so fulfilling that I have more bearwips coming up. I only have to keep reminding myself not to rush against time, and things will be fine.

So yes, Briseis made me very proud. :)


Briseis
Date of Birth: 9 March 2009
Height: 8.5"

Sigh... Isn't she just so sweet? Here's the peering photo.



And now there are six.



I really need a shelf!! :P

Updates

I had bear startitis by the way. I had my class on pulled toes, needle sculpting and sleepy eyes, so I have a nice class bear in the making. I also have a small bear meant for my mum (but I like it a lot now), plus a bunny. I have a mini. And also someone is waiting to be stuffed.

Sounds like my knitting?

(To keep track, I have 2 socks going on, my mum's cardi is at the sleeves still, and I have forgotten about my own ribbed cardi -_-'')

Franz

Well... Here's my first mini-bear.



His name is Franz and is about 2.5 inches tall. Franz is supposed to be Santa's little helper and he's stressed out by the work load.



He is also a little sad that his hat is a bit too tight and his nose is a tad too big. :(

But Franz has cute beady eyes... see 'em beady eyes???


Franz
Date of Birth: 4 March 2009
Height: Approx. 2.5"
Original Pattern: Santa's Little Helper
(Franz is reduced to 75% from original pattern)


Being my first mini, I still like Franz a lot :) I learnt a lot from making Franz and I'm sure he won't be the only mini around here. I can't wait to make more friends for him but at the moment, he's happy with his group of bear friends and his candy cane!

how do you give them away?

I always feel that it's not easy giving away my finished items. Even if I start the project telling myself it's a gift, I might change my mind halfway through - most of the time I'm too in love with the project but there are occasions when I think it's not good enough to be gifted.

I did try to get myself started on gifting my my finished items... and I tried to use whatever I knew about crafting to try and create some nice handmade presents. After all, I know people who appreciate handmade gifts. My first gifts included my first lace shawl - Kimono, requested by my grandma, knitted for eons and eons, and presented to her almost a year later! I also finally gave AS his sweater, and now he's asking for another. I have gifted him scarves and socks and fingerless gloves, but I enjoy giving him items mostly because they are still in the house and I cans see them whenever I like.

Last year I've given away bracelets and stitchmarkers to friends. But I still managed to make a copy on my own if I can. If not, I would take pictures so that I might be able to make more for myself 'some time soon'. And who could forget my Fetching Frenzy? It's a wonderful way to try out angora, and it's a wonderful thought that they will be useful in the cold French winter last year. In fact it's quite fun to be the walking Fetching pattern heh. Even so, you might also remember I made Fetchings for myself, as a compliment to the pair of Dashing I knitted for AS.

Now my mum is asking for a cardigan (two now. and a shawl too). I like the yarn a lot (debbie bliss alpaca silk dk). I feel like getting it for myself next time. And well it's going on and on and on and it's not finishing quickly enough. So I thought I'd make her a bear to appease her. She likes bears. My whole family likes bears. And so a bear kit it is. I made its head. I can finish it soon by the end of this week. But then again, I like it so much!

So I'm currently facing another problem. Bears are also hard to give away because they have this character and face. Just like my knits have gone through ups and downs with me, these bears have been created stitch by stitch, all by myself. (ok AS helps with the bear eyes) I suppose over time, I'd get attached to the project. If it comes with a face, it's even harder to say bye. It reminds me of the time I intended Gordon to be my Dad's birthday present but I like him so much I got Dad another kit.

Sigh!!! I hope I get resolved on this soon because Mum's birthday is two Saturdays away!

PS: I changed the title two days ago. I guess it better reflects the contents hehe

Jazz

I finished Jazz awhile ago but haven't had the chance to blog about him.

Jazz is a very unique little bear, as you can see.



He's made of blue mohair, has a unique muzzle and also has a nice purple nose. The process of making Jazz is also a unique one. If you're a knitter, or a crafter in general for that matter, you might have instances when you just KEEP GOING. I'm talking about times when the project looks 'a little weird' or you just 'don't feel right' about the item in your hands. It's the time when you tell yourself, full of confidence, that it may seem weird now, but it will turn out alright in the end. And you wait to be surprised.

Unfortunately, the surprise may be more shocking than pleasing than you initially expected.

Jazz is one of these instances. I remember thinking that he will turn out fine if I put in his eyes, and that he will be alright if I do his nose properly. And then I told myself, he will look okay when I sew on his ears. AND I thought he would be perfect once he's all done.

Jazz turned out so different from the original pattern that I have no idea what went wrong. When he's all done, he looked like a totally different bear. And he looked very sad because of that.



But this wrong wasn't a bad one. He is so superbly small and I like cradling him in my palm, and he's unique look grows on me too.


Jazz



Date of Birth: 23 February 2009
Height: 5"
Original Pattern: Bottlebrush Bear by Loris Hancock



I've since stopped comparing Jazz to the original pattern. What's the point of doing that when he is who he is? I will still attempt that pattern again but for now, Jazz is Jazz and is loved by all his bear friends.



:)

In the meantime, I completed a mini last week and more bears are being made. One has just ears to sew on hehe... :) Stitches are knitted albeit a little slowly but hey, a stitch is still a stitch right?

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have bear startitis!!!!

-_-''

Raleigh

Here's Raleigh.



Raleigh is sitting on a napping Millie. And he's rather good friends with her too.



Raleigh's the third bear I completed and in order to prevent this blog from an onslaught of bears, I decided to space this entry out. Didn't work much did it?



I really like his old-fashioned look. He also has this particularly forlorn face that I adore. In fact I think he's the most traditional looking bear I have made to date. I actually imagined him sitting by the window when it's pouring outside so I had to take this photo (although it wasn't pouring but anyways....)



How can you resist that face?? I think he embodies the reason why I like sad bears too... He is awfully nice and sweet really but he's just sad about having to grow up.


Raleigh
Date of Birth: 20 February 2009
Height: 9 Inches
Original Patter: Tash by Jumbuck Bears

NOTE: I know the introduction to the pattern via the link says that Tash is a loosely stuffed bear. My stuff-happy bear-making self decided to stuff him otherwise. He still is cute though. hehe


Here's a group photo with Gordon and Timothy.