The end of another week ................

Hard to believe that it is mid May already.   I am busy working on an order of six bears, four of them with knitted clothing and I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed as the next on line show looms on the horizon.   Still battling to recover from my recent viral 'flu which has left me feeling totally exhausted.  Keeping up to date with my blog has definitely taken a back seat as has keeping in touch with friends.   If you read my blog please forgive me for not replying to e-mails, I will write when I have time!  Caring for an increasingly frail husband, making bears plus a myriad other tasks each day means I have little spare time.

I do have something to show for weeks of hard work and have listed a sweet little cream bear called Peony on e-bay.   She is dressed in a cream embroidered cardigan with pink fine cotton lawn skirt.   A new knitting patterns knitted sideways from the sleeve edge, an adaptation of an old pattern.   Took a lot of experimenting to work out the correct number of rows and stitches.    Not the easiest shape for a jointed bear but think it looks quite pretty.

I also completed another little bear with an embroidered dress.   Jessica is in reserve for a future e-bay listing as I will be rather involved in orders for some weeks to come!

This bear caused much drama.   Made from a long pile fabric which has absolutely no stretch, it is not easy to work with, especially as I stitch very tiny seams and my bears are stuffed very firmly.   I have edged the skirt of her dress with embroidered flowers and ribbon from my stash.   One of those ribbons which I just had to have, it cost the earth and never seemed suitable.  I have added a small piece of vintage lace trim around the neck.    Must admit to having creative block at the moment, have been so busy with so many things that my brain is in overdrive.

An extra project which I have really enjoyed was making a little pincushion for our Etsy store.   Made from fine cream linen, I have embroidered roses using some of the wonderful silk threads which we found at the vintage fashion show in London.   I added some French vintage lace and beads.   I do enjoy making my tiny bears and they keep the wolf from the door but now and again it is good to be able to indulge in my love of beading and embroidery on a slightly larger scale!

Now that spring is well under way I am also involved in trying to get the garden in shape especially our little vegetable patch.    The recent heavy rains over most of the UK has improved the water situation a lot but  in Cambridgeshire we still have a hosepipe ban.    Thought I had left water restrictions behind in Africa!   The crab apple tree is in full bloom, will have to try and make some jelly with the fruit this year.

My special primulas are also full of flowers

We have had a succession of family birthdays over the past few weeks and I have managed to spend  a little time with my precious granddaughter.   A recent picture of her wearing a cute headscarf, most unusual as she hates things on her head but it seems that the appeal of playing with leaves kept her hands occupied.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend  ...................