It's Happened Again!

Oh my! It's happening again.....
The year is disappearing AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING!!!
So.... it's high time I brought you up to speed with what has been happening in Bensonbearland.
After Christmas and New Year I got straight back into full bear-making mode, getting ready for Hugglets in London and Teddybear Welt in Wiesbaden.
It was quite a shock to the system to arrive in London in February when I had been enjoying our lovely Tasmanian summer. Of course I caught a cold from the man sitting behind me on the flight between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur, (it seemed he was about to cough his lungs out!) and by the time Hugglets rolled around I was feeling entirely miserable. Even so, with a dose of cold and flu meds I enjoyed the day and managed to snaffle myself a Gregory Gylenship bear! Such a lovely classic fellow who gets to sit on my bed! I also bought a metre of beautiful mohair which is waiting to become......

This is Timothy, by Gregory Gylenship

After visiting with family for a week or so, I then flew to Bremen for three days of workshops. The weather was still very cold and early on Friday evening it had started to snow, by morning the world outside was white! Of course all my German friends thought I was entirely mad for getting so excited about a bit if snow (they were all thoroughly sick and tired of it and yearning for Spring to arrive). However, I decided it was a good opportunity to get some photos of this polar bear and his antarctic friend and took them out into Claudia's garden for some fun in the snow.

Fun in the snow near Bremen

 The workshops all went very well and at the end of the weekend we had some sweet mice, pigs, polar bears and penguins! I must be doing something right, as they keep asking me to come back (next year, when the weather is warmer)
After all the busyness of the workshop days it was lovely to wind down with a few days of sewing, keeping quiet company with Claudia and her cats as we prepared for the show in Wiesbaden on the following weekend.
Now, this show is really something! It is HUGE with so much to look at and tempt one! I found me another bear this one from Fabian Song.

Acus by Fabisn Song

I found lots of other cool stuff too. Some lovely old ribbon, and best of all.... some bunches of fabulous old keys, and I'm talking really old! I also bought another metre of fur, this one a lovely creamy alpaca. I was so excited about this one that as soon as I was over THE WORST CASE OF JET LAG EVER, I made this big fellow. This is the biggest bear I've ever made (he took almost the entire metre of fur). I gave him one of those bunches of keys to wear, I hung them on a piece of the ribbon I'd bought in Wiesbaden.

The biggest bear I've ever made! (Almost born)

He came with me to our little Doll and Bear show here in Launceston at the weekend and created quite a stir! He found a new home so now I really want to make another bear like him, I honestly thought he would be with me for a while.

Creating a stir in Launcesten

I think that's about all I have to write about, there wasn't really much in the way of sightseeing this trip, most of it was spent indoors with brief ventures outside.
Shortly I'm off to South Australia for another doll and bear show in Hahndorf followed by a three day workshop.
Our days are drawing in as we head into late Autumn and Winter, we are still picking plenty from our poly-tunnel and our apples are ripe and beautiful (picked fresh from the tree with the morning's dew on them) I like Autumn, but there is always a little tinge of sadness about it too. Our Autumn days are usually gentle, the skies milky with moisture, so welcome after the harsh, sun-drenched, crispy dry days of Summer (and we can relax again with the fire season at an end....). In this weather bear-making becomes more pleasurable, so that's what I will get on with now, I need to replenish my stock for up-coming shows.

A New Year Begins

A somewhat belated Happy New Year to everyone, I hope it brings all you hope for!

This is the bear I made for Tobias for Christmas

After a very busy, crowded, but happy time over the festive season, life has at last returned to relative normality. Chris is back at work, all our visitors are on their way and all my bear-making stuff has returned to it's rightful place (around my chair in the lounge) and I have begun work again. I did work on bears right up to the last moment before Christmas descended......I had some late orders and then one very special bear to complete!

This is the bear Tobias thought was his when he saw it. I thought brown would be a better colour for a four year old boy!

We were blessed with a nice long visit from our grandson, we had him for three weeks! I have to admit though, that by the time we handed him over to his mother I was exhausted and in need of rest. I had forgotten just how full on a four year old is! He's in the middle of the "why"s  too, and that in itself is exhausting. But as always we miss him terribly now that he has gone, he is such a delightful child.

A family Christmas lunch under b the grapevines.

We shared a lovely Christmas day with family and friends. Tobias was in his element with many people around for his entertainment.
After several hours in the kitchen and the wonderful assistance given by my daughter, lunch was served on the patio under the grapevines.  Much eating, drinking and merry-making later, and we moved our festivities to our neighbour's continuing late into the night where Tobias had a ball! On a subsequent berry picking visit a few days later, he asked "Where are all the people?"


A rather poignant photo of our two boys

All too soon we had to say goodbye to Sam. I thought Tobias may become difficult after his daddy had left, but he accepted Sam's absence and enjoyed more fun times with Nanny and Poppy. Some beach adventures and a waterfall walk, along with Lego creations, a big lump of red playdough and the dog, all to keep him busy and happy!

And visiting Oma, recovering very well after spinal surgery shortly before Christmas!

We also visited my mother (Tobias' Oma). It was so good to see her looking so well and pain free after her spinal surgery. After so many months thinking this was all life offered, and then have this miracle just in time to enjoy Christmas! Not so long ago she would not have been able to have Tobias on her lap. Now, hopefully Mum will have many more years to enjoy life again.
Well folk, that's about all. Tasmania has had a very fraught beginning to the year with devastating bushfires around the state. Yesterday there was a worrying outbreak not so very far from here, but happily the wind and tempereature dropped over night and the threat has eased. I will, however, keep an eye on the skies and keep checking the TFS website for updates and of course pray that we get some much needed rain soon (tonight would be good!).

While I was Sleeping

The preview for Christmas Treasures has opened, this happened during the night and I didn't have time in the morning to check things out before I had to head off to the airport for my flight up to NSW. I've just had a peek and there are some great bears in there! We all had to work to a Christmas Carol theme, I chose Jingle Bells, and made a polar with a couple of cute penguins riding him. There are a lot of bells involved but you can't really see them in the photo, you'll just have to take my word for it. Unfortunately I can't show you the photo either, because I'm on a borrowed computer and of course all the photos are on my laptop at home. But if you click on the button right there in my side-bar you'll be whisked away to the right place and there you will be able to cast your vote for your favourite mini and your favourite full sized bear. (HINT HINT HINT!!!!) Hopefully I will be able to keep you up to date while I'm away, this is quite a long trip! I thought I might be heading into some heat up here in NSW, but the weather here is much like what I left behind in Tassie! An early start in the morning for the drive down to Mittagong and the Doll and Bear Fair, if you live down that way perhaps you'd like to look in!
Bye for now, I'll be drawing the giveaway soon, I'll probably wait until I get back home to do that, so you still have over a week to enter! Good Luck :)

Just Time To Breathe

Life has been extremely busy! I'm flat out getting my pieces ready for the Christmas Treasures online show, I'd like to have them all finished and the related computer work all done before I head off to NSW for the Mittagong Doll And Bear Fair this weekend. I think it's going to be a push to get through it all though! (since anything even remotely technical seems to befuddle my brain)

After Mittagong I will be teaching a group of keen bear-makers at Teddy's Bits how to make a mouse! A fun workshop with some different techniques.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then mosey on home via Tooradin, where I will be teaching again at Bear Essence. Here we'll be working on either Sierra or a large polar bear like the one I taught in Kingston earlier in the year. Kim has had some alpaca hand dyed especially for the polars. You might think that white is white, but there are degrees of whiteness and polar bears really are a few degrees off "white white" (You only have to look a paint sample chart to know there are a lot of whites)
NOW, A BIG SHOUT OUT TO BEAR-MAKERS IN VICTORIA, Kim tells me she still has room around the table for a few, so if you're interested in learning how to make either of these bears then give Kim a call! Visit the website to find more info.
Today is rainy, it's been pretty constant throughout the night and all morning. It has been a while since we've had such consistent rain, everything outside looks so fresh and green, the new growth on the fruit trees looks beautiful. We have just a few last apple blossoms clinging on, they will be gone in a matter of days, but we have the promise of some gorgeous old fashioned and highly scented roses to come. I'll look forward to them when I return from my trip.

Busy Busy Busy

The next two months are going to be very busy in the studio....
I have the Woodend Teddy Bear Show approaching fast on the 28th of this month, with the Mittagong Doll and Bear Fair hot on it's heels the following Sunday! I have a lot of sewing to be getting on with! Add into the mix the Christmas Treasures online show (Nov 16-18) and it will be head down and tail up for some time yet! I will also be teaching a workshop at Teddy's Bits following the Mittagong show, then heading home via Tooradin for more workshops at Bear Essence! I must be very wicked, as there seems to be no rest for me at the moment.
Meanwhile the garden is burgeoning.......with WEEDS that is. Consequently, my weekends will be spent trying to get things in order outside, before we can get our summer vegies on the go. We have blossoms on the fruit trees, though for some reason every pear has opted for a year off this year, (hopefully next year will be a different story).
A shout out to Victorian collectors! If you haven't ventured out to the Woodend Teddy Bear Show before, you should! It's a lovely day with a wonderful country feel, not too far out of Melbourne but far enough!(With scrumptious catering too!)
And those of you in NSW, why not head on down to Mittagong for a lovely day out in the Southern Highlands? Valma and the team put in a lot of effort to make this Doll and Bear Fair a great day.

Okay, it's back to work for me now. Hopefully I'll be able to come up for air from time to time :o)

To Make Up For........

Hello everyone! To make up for being a baaaaad baaaaad blogger I'm going to have a giveaway! Yes I know I promised one months ago, but well....... life got in the way! (Not to mention an overseas trip and terrible pain in my hands.)
And since Christmas is just around the corner, (almost) I'll be making and giving away two of these Christmas ornaments! So leave your comments here if you'd like to be one of the two lucky winners.

If you want to spread the word and get an extra chance in the draw, write about me, my bears and this giveaway with a link here, and I'll add your name twice to the draw. I will also be accepting comments on facebook, to be fair to those who don't have a blog.
That's it, I have to go walk the dog now. Cheerio for now and good luck!
I'll be drawing the winners in a month.....:o)

Having Fun In The West

Say Ahhhhhh

Hang on .......is that cheese in there?

Put me down!

Uh Oh now what?

Where did that mouse go?

The girls over at The Teddy Tree have been having some fun with Mr Jingles and Sierra.......

And On Their Way!

Yesterday I finished this little mouse to accompany Sierra on his journey over to Western Australia. I snapped a quick pic of the two snuggled together on my lap before I packaged them up for their flight.

Not the best photo, but it is a snapshot

These are the two workshops coming up in a couple of weeks at The Teddy Tree. Sierra 14/15/16th September and Mr Jingles 22/23rd with possibly another during the week in between, if we have too many to fit into these dates.
Such a lovely sunshiney day today! I would like to spend it here at home but I must go shopping (groceries, so nothing too exciting I'm afraid). Maybe if I'm really quick, I'll catch the tail end of the day here.....

I Can Feel It.......

I am sitting here in the bay window of the lounge bathed in sunlight! We have had several days of windy, wet weather but this morning promises me a glorious day, I can definitely feel Spring in the air, the birds are telling me so, as are the frogs in the pond at night. Besides our first daff opened yesterday and soon we'll be able to cut some asparagus (can't wait for that!)
I have been very busy lately. I had a quick trip over to Victoria for some workshops at Bear Essence. These were mixed classes, but most people made Chi Chi the panda.

I love the panda rear view.

Chi Chi is a new design. I'm trying to get a more realistic panda shape and I think I'm getting there. The trip was good, though Melbourne turned on some pretty wild weather while I was there and flying home was an experience! We had a very circuitous take off in Melbourne as the pilot steered the aircraft around the storms that were happening at the time and then I had an amazing view of storms in the clouds as we descended into Launceston.
Since I have been home I have been working on the sample bear for my upcoming workshops at the Teddy Tree in Perth, Western Australia.

This is a varient of Sierra, esspecially for the girls in WA. I snapped a couple of WIP photos as he was coming along. Most of my work is done in my lap with my tools and materials in various containers surrounding my comfy chair. It's probably not the most efficient way to make a bear but it suits me, and I know I drive Chris crazy with all my stuff (especially when there is no room to perch his cuppa on the coffee table!)

The bear is pretty well finished now and I have almost completed a sample of Mr Jingles (the other workshop) ready to post off this afternoon. I need to get them off as the trip's only a couple of weeks away!
So I'll leave you with this and get on with it, if I'm to have any chance at all of catching this evening's post.

Workshops

Here are a few photos of my recent workshops in Bremen, Germany.


I had Iris as an interpreter when my explainations foundered in technicalities

On Friday we made Christams ornaments. This was quite a nice one day project, the mohair balls were made before the workshop so that we had all day to concentrate on making the miniature polar bear to go on top.

Here's a better shot (thanks Heike!)

I was a little anxious to teach this tiny bear, as I haven't taught anything this small before and miniatures demand a different set of skills. (Sorry about the quality of the image, I cropped it from the larger photo below, but you get the idea....)

A couple of the ornaments, snuggled with some "Sierras"

At the end of the day I was extremely pleased with the results each of the ladies achieved on this challenging little bear, one day I might even make one of these for myself. Every year I think I'll get one done for our tree.........hasn't happened yet!
On Saturday and Sunday we made "Sierra", again a bear with lots of different techniques to learn. I love seeing group shots of bears made in workshops, they all have their own characters and as you can see, choosing a different fur changes the bear's character completely!

The sample head I took along for the "Sierra" workshop

These workshops were held in the home of Holger and Claudia Schlue, near Bremen. While we all enjoyed our bear making, Holger put his skills at work in the kitchen and cooked up some wonderful luncheons. Claudia makes lovely little bears which you can find here

Ralphie on Wooly Mamouth ivory!

And now I must show you this special pendant made by Iris Heerdes of Spirit Bear Scrimshaw. Iris used a photo of Ralph from my blog to create this scrimshaw portrait of him, she really has captured him very well. The piece measures 2cm x 4.5cm, I am amazed at the detail Iris has managed to get into such a small piece. She works through a microscope in order to get the detail needed and uses Wooly Mamouth ivory! Now isn't that something? This ivory is being unearthed in the Tundra and sent all over the world for use where, in the past, elephant ivory was used.
That's about it, I started sewing again but I think I have to ease myself into it again, my hands have had a two month break and I can feel that if I push it I will end up in strife with them again. Today we have had some glimpses of the sun, I'm impatient for Spring.