A handful of bear

I seem to be sewing very slowly at the moment but have some pictures of completed bears to share.   Like all the crafters I have acquired a lot of supplies over the years including some long pile rayon fabric which is just not suitable to make miniature bears.

So I pulled out one of my older patterns, made a few tweaks and stitched a couple of slightly bigger bears.   The first one called Amelia is 5.75" and made from German rayon.   The fabric is dense and I ended up with a very round bear but after much trimming a very sweet little girl emerged.   She is dressed in an embroidered cotton lawn dress which I 'aged' with tea dye and trimmed with vintage laces.

 

Megan has suggested that I should call these little bears 'handfuls' as they are perfectly hand sized.   The second bear is Briony made from pink vintage rayon fabric.  This fabric was made in Poland for curtaining and is not quite as kind to work with as the previous bear as it is somewhat fragile.   At least I did not have spend a lot of time trimming the fur as it has a shorter pile.  She is wearing a pink dress made from one of Victoria's cast off's.  It was such pretty fabric and perfect for this little bear.

Finally one of my miniature bears.   Rebecca is wearing an embroidered dress made from vintage lawn trimmed with a wonderful piece of needle lace.  

I am busy knitting an outfit for a mini bears, adjusting one of my patterns.   It does seem to be taking for ever but I have reached the sleeves so hopefully it will be completed soon.   Then it is back to stitching some of the many bears all cut out and ready to sew which have been sitting on my work table for weeks!

Merlin's follow up visit to the vet showed some improvement in his health.  He has actually gained a little weight and is eating well.   There is still cause for concern and we will have to monitor his progress carefully.   He has had continual problems with his skin and been on and off steroids for most of his life.  This could be the cause of the nodules on his side and in the back of his throat or could be something more serious.   As he is now over twelve years old it seems unfair for him to undergo a battery of tests and as he is, at the moment, happy with life we will just continue with the treatment he is receiving.

Spring seem to have finally 'sprung' with a couple of sunny days but the air is still cold.   The garden is starting to show some colour so hopefully warmer weather is on the way.   My fuchsias which I tucked in the green house over winter are actually starting to show some signs of life so hopefully they have survived.

Until next time ..............