New Avatars for 2012

[Lotti D.]

thank you all for your great compliments

lorchen: eva is so beautiful - what a sweetie and she has a great pal for life...

rita: yes they do have a habit of biting and defending themselves when those noses are being worked on a few blood spots are not unusual - but if a handy kleenex and a moist towel is in the area these are no problem - bandaids have always been an important part of my sewing kit (also useful when handsewing batiks)
i've come accross the what will we do if this one toy is lost/destroyed/whatever... i very often give cuddly toys as baby presents (generally not my own) because i also love to buy them to be buyable they have to: be so cute they just need to walk home with you - have a special expression / personality - be soft, cuddle and holdable, be fully washable (which my bears are not) - and there have to be two (very very similar in expression - and identical in style/type/color). when i give one away i write a label on the other one to whom it has gone and when - then i tell the new parents that the double is still available and they should let me know as soon as they think this toy is going to be the one that cannot be lived/slept without. the trick is to interchange them when they are still fairly new - when one has his bath the other comes out - that way they age the same and are accepted with little/no problem. i've "had" to place quite a few doubles and it's worked almost every time. we've also gone in search of a double for people who have not told me in time, or early on in my present giving career before i knew about the problem... i keep the unused doubles for a year or two max - then they go into a care package

[Rita C.]

Lorchen, that is a beautiful photo - it looks like an advertisement for babies and bears!

[Norma H.]

Lotti, your bears are awesome.

I give bears for new babies, too, but I never made one myself. I found some cute ones and bought a bunch of them Then I make a heart on my embroidery machine and put the childs name onto it and, voilá, you have a personalized bear. When I gave to twins, I put the heart in different places so they could recognize their own.
Fun story about knowing which bear it is. I have kept one for myself because I needed a model. This was tested for washability and I sometimes make clothes for them, so I need one to see if it fits.
Marius who is on the photos had his Marius bear as soon as he was born and he can't sleep without it. But funny thing is that when he is with me he often declares that he wants the Norma bear, which is the one without name and some day he borrowed it and now they are both in his home :roll: . He knows exactly which one he likes to sleep with and often it's both. Pictures taken last summer when he was 2 years old.

[Rita C.]

Ahhh such a cute sleeping baby! They are always at their best when they are asleep. :lol:

Joyce, love the new photo! Rita.

[Lotti D.]

when i see these beautiful sleeping babies, i'm so sorry that i never had kids (and therefore will never be a grandma)...
but hey - i've loads of nieces and nephews - those by blood and those by friendship - and they're spread out all over the world and at all ages from a few months to 30 yrs old - if this old lady wants to go to a tina turner or a whatever concert, a puppet theater or fairytale reading - she knows just who to take

[Jules M.]

Aw, Norma!! Sweet photos!!

Lotti, you are BRILLIANT to buy the extra bear for the parents! I have a friend whose son bonded w/ a Hallmark Valentine mini-sock monkey. He is now 13!!!!!!!!!!!!! The thing is frayed to bits. They brought it to me 2 yrs ago and I repaired as much as I could including giving him a sewn on vest (his poor bare back ) and a bow tie to hold his head on but oh.my.!!! A substitute would be nice at this house.

Thanks, Rita.

[karen f.]

thank you all for your great compliments

lorchen: eva is so beautiful - what a sweetie and she has a great pal for life...

rita: yes they do have a habit of biting and defending themselves when those noses are being worked on a few blood spots are not unusual - but if a handy kleenex and a moist towel is in the area these are no problem - bandaids have always been an important part of my sewing kit (also useful when handsewing batiks)
i've come accross the what will we do if this one toy is lost/destroyed/whatever... i very often give cuddly toys as baby presents (generally not my own) because i also love to buy them to be buyable they have to: be so cute they just need to walk home with you - have a special expression / personality - be soft, cuddle and holdable, be fully washable (which my bears are not) - and there have to be two (very very similar in expression - and identical in style/type/color). when i give one away i write a label on the other one to whom it has gone and when - then i tell the new parents that the double is still available and they should let me know as soon as they think this toy is going to be the one that cannot be lived/slept without. the trick is to interchange them when they are still fairly new - when one has his bath the other comes out - that way they age the same and are accepted with little/no problem. i've "had" to place quite a few doubles and it's worked almost every time. we've also gone in search of a double for people who have not told me in time, or early on in my present giving career before i knew about the problem... i keep the unused doubles for a year or two max - then they go into a care package

Wow Lotti, you are quite the full service gift giver! I'm sure it was appreciated by frazzled parents.

[Dawn S.]

I am loving all of the babes and bears pictures! But, I have a question! A lot of them appear to have eyes that are a separate, sewn on item, like a button, or actual stuffed bear's eyes. What about the "choking hazard" of these bears for babies/toddlers? Whenever I see similar bears in the stores, they always say "Not recomended for under 3 years of age."

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

[Lotti D.]

my bears have cardboard & pin joints - which is the traditional and hardwearing type, i also use glass eyes and a "proper" mohair fur
my bears are not made for babies - they should not be put in the washing machine (we have done so and they came out fine - but...) and are quite heavily stuffed - although i do not use the traditional wood-wool stuffing.
there are special plastic clip joints and plastic clip-in eyes (if they're not clipped in properly, they come out fairly easily - so when you buy - have a try before you select)

for babies i purchase off the shelf-bears and other animals - that are made for babies, generally with embroydered eyes. there are good solid eyes that can be sewn in so they STAY - i think it's important to check how they are attached and make sure they hold.

when i make my baby play quilts i also make these with lots and lots of stuff including buttons, sewn on - if the button is made in one good quality solid layer or if the layers (good and solid) are clipped inside each other so that the sewing on process fixes them together - they can be sewn on to STAY - always sew buttons & embellishments for Kids' things on by HAND use a good strong thread and make many many layers of thread, sewing the thread-ends in well (a knot is not good) - NEVER EVER use the sewing machine to attach these buttons.

what about all those wooden bead baby things on the market, the chain ones to clip the pacifier to the baby's clothing, or the toothing necklaces, etc. ?

in the end, it's up to the parents to decide if they want to give the toy/quilt/whatnot to their child - if i was a parent i would certainly inspect each item first and try out what holds and what doesn't, what types of plastics have been used (if plastics are very soft and smell very plasticy, chances are they contain softeners, coloring or other things you do not want near your baby).

of course, never having been a parent, i'm not really the right person here...

[Hannelore N.]

Norma, what beautiful pictures of Marius. He is a gorgeous little boy!

About the eyes of teddies and other soft toys: I am very careful when I give a soft toy to a small child. I completely trust the way that Steiff attaches the eyes. My two sons grew up with several of these toys and loved them to bits. Some of them were almost falling to pieces eventually, but the eyes were still securely attached.

[Betty J.]

If I'm making such toys for babies or pets I always embroider the eyes. It looks fine and it eases my mind.

[Norma H.]

[quote="Lorchen"]Norma, what beautiful pictures of Marius. He is a gorgeous little boy!

Yep, you're right. He's is one of the best.
The eyes on "my" bears are embroidered

[Norma H.]

So nice to see such enthusiasm about quilting for baby presents! I've nearly finished my final blanket for my Christmas present selection and with so many friends with newborns there will be lots of happy little ones soon - I didn't want to risk making something they would grow out of so blankets are perfect!

[ANNE E.]

When I was about 8 years of age I had a bear that I cut all the hair off, and yes when I grew up I trained to be a hairdresser.
Anne

[Lotti D.]

We had a multi-hair cutting session... My older brother cut my hair, I cut my younger brother's hair, and he in turn cut my Dolly's hair. The only one my mom got angry about was the doll, because it wouldn't grow back!