Knut the polar bear

In the pinafore swap Anne in Germany sent us lots of additional Autumnal/Halloween goodies with the lovely pinafore she made.  So I decided to give the Sasha Commoneo Crew a bear to say thank you for all the lovely things they sent.  They have all been wishing for bears and the elder Sasha and Gregor children have sent the younger ones on a bear hunt in their garden (there are several posts, so look for the others on her blog).

I found a free pattern for a miniature bear on-line (designed by Lesley Shepherd) and resized it slightly to suit.  I made the miniature bear out of white felt which is easy and quick to hand sew, turned the pieces the right way out (this was the fiddly bit) and carefully stuffed the pieces and sewed them up.  I used small white buttons on the outside of the arms and legs as an anchor for the threads stitched through the body to make the limbs pose-able, then stitched the nose and eyes with black embroidery thread and stitched on the little ears.  For Knut I made a scarf out the multicoloured 4 ply wool I had used to make Susie's cardigan (blues and greens/yellows), for the similar polar bear I made for Dee as a thank you for the Chat n Snap I knitted a scarf from the wool I used to make Florence's cardigan.  I also made the bear in a light tan coloured felt, with a big red ribbon bow.  I did take this bear to the CnS but didn't put him out on the table to sell, I just wasn't sure how to price him (he is a bit fatter than the polar bears, he ate more honey than they did!).

This is a photo of the 3 bears just before I went to the CnS.

Dee's bear, the tan coloured bear and Knut

Each little bear is small, when standing up it is only 8 cm (just over 3 inches) tall.  In Anne's parcel I put one of my little skipping ropes (in a presentation bag) and Knut the polar bear.  It looks like Knutie has been made welcome by the Sasha Commoneo Crew who have also tried out the skipping rope.

Chat n Snap 3

I realised that I didn't take a photo of baby Mabel in her new onesie at the the CnS last weekend, so this evening took some quick photos.

Baby Mabel is sharing her carry cot with baby Leo.  I don't think this carry cot is a Sasha baby cot though it is similar, it is a little bigger and came with a soft doll in it from a church fete some years ago. Baby Leo is holding his teddy which Chris M gave him as part of the swap for the chair my girl made.

Babies Mabel and Leo share Mabel's carry cot and babble about their teddies

Baby Mabel proudly wears her  Sashapotomus onesie

Close up showing Mabel's eyes 

Close up showing Leo's eyes

These photos aren't great (artificial light) and I need to use the tripod and daylight to get their eyes completely in focus for a better comparison.  Mabel is a sexed waif and Leo is a sexed early boy with gorgeous eyes (possibly painted by Sara Doggart).  Mabel's eyes are lovely, they are hand painted.

I've now created a page about the toys and games I've made so far for Sasha/Gregor dolls.