Out and about around Norwich

The weather was lovely last weekend so we decided to take a stroll around the centre of Norwich.I love the city as I grew up very close to the centre of Norwich and could walk to the city within 20 minutes.We walked around the cathedral which I always find so serenly peaceful and we also walked past Pulls Ferry which is an old building in Norwich that is still lived in today and finally over the bridge and back to the car.It is so refreshing to have a lovely walk when the weather is so nice.

I am constantly sewing bears but never seem to have anything to show for it.I am just finishing off a swap bear with a lovely lady in the USA and I am now starting on 7 bears for a local shop so that will keep me busy for a while.I have submitted photos of my bears to the Teddy Bear Times and Collect It magazine as they both have Hugglets previews.This show is in Kensington London on September 13th and is the only show I am attending for the rest of this year.I have a few bears put away for the show but by the time I finish the shop order time will soon be ticking on to get the rest of the bears finished for the show.Why does the summer fly by so fast yet winter seems to drag on.Today is the longest day and the nights will slowly pull in and it seems too early as at this time of the year we are still waiting for summer to properly arrive.

A day at the beach

It was such a lovely day Sunday that we decided to go to the beach.The sky was a lovely shade of blue with no clouds in sight.The boys had fun playing on the beach and paddling in the sea...lucky I took a spare set of clothes for them all as they needed them.

I am slacking a bit on my blog at the moment as you don't realise how long it is since you last posted as time flies by so quickly.I am busy with my bears at the moment as I am trying to get ahead of myself with my stock so I can then have a bit of fun trying out the new things that I keep wanting to do and never seem to have the time for.At least I won't feel so guilty about spending time on new things if I have some bears already made.It always seems that if I slacken off a bit that is when I make sales and then have to work hard trying to catch myself up.I took 4 of my minis to a local seaside bear shop last month and thought that they would keep them going for a little while but the shop owner rang me up 4 days later and told me she only had one bear left and by the time I took a few more in the last mini had gone.It gives you the boost to keep making the bears knowing that you have sales although I like to have a happy medium of not having loads of bears in stock but not running out either.I am only making minis at the moment and I love it.

My siamese was being his usual helpful self this afternoon and was continually trying to take my pins and ears of my bears.He was even trying to bite my cotton reels and my scissors!!If that didn't grab my attention he kept trying to bite my arm and play.He knows I am easily distracted and can't resist his charms.Well back to work as I have a bear to stuff.

Out for a walk

We have had such lovely spring weather recently we decided to go for a walk today with the dogs and some of the kids!!The youngest two had their bikes as it easier for them when we go on a longer walk.It is a lovely time of the year to go for a walk as all the birds are singing and the spring flowers are out-we saw plenty of daffodils on the way round.We took the children on the park on the way home and that finished off a lovely day.

Well onto the bears and there is not a lot of bearmaking going on at the minute as I am just steadily plodding along.I am attending the hugglets show in kensington september 13th and possibly a show in norwich in August so there is plenty of time for that although as it gets nearer the time I will start panicking that I won't have enough bears and that will be when I get into sewing mode.It is the best thing to keep you focused when you have something to work towards.I will be placing an advert in the teddy bear times which will also include a hugglets preview on my bears and am now trying to get a couple of bears ready for the deadline so I have some fresh work for the showcase.The advert will be in issue 183 aug/sep issue and will be for sale on july 20th.

I am off to bed now as it is 12.45am in the uk.

Two new mini rabbits and a mini elephant

I have been quite busy making my new creations and these rabbits are the first that I have created.They were supposed to be bears but they just looked more like rabbits so here they are.Hoppity is the green rabbit and Hippity is the blue rabbit and they are both 4.25 inches.Trunky is 5 inches high.I want to have a go at making a mini cat next so you will have to watch this space.It is frustrating trying out new things until you are happy with what you have set out to do but it gives you great variety when you finally get the results that you want.

Life has been busy over the last few weeks and nothing ever goes to plan but you tend to get used to it.We have had some lovely sunny weather over here in the last few weeks and it finally seems that spring is here.I enjoy taking the dogs over the woods every day when the weather is like this.I have always been an outdoor person and don't need a lot of excuse to get outside although I am afraid I am not a great gardener.To me gardening is just like housework but you do it outside.I would rather go and muck a horses stable out than go and dig over a garden.I think if I had the right size and type garden I would be more interested and would love to be able to grow my own veggies and have loads of fruit bushes or plants.Maybe one day I will then I will be able to call myself a gardener and know the difference between a weed and a flower!!!!

A visit to London including hugglets(part 2)

All these lovely photos were taken in Kensington gardens.
The next hugglets show is on sunday September 13th and I have been invited to attend with my bears so will be inside the show all day.I have been given stand 97a in hall 3 which is in the basement.

I had a lovely day out and tired myself out with all the walking and I was in bed by 11pm that night-that is 2 hours early for me!!!!

A visit to London including hugglets(part 1)

We travelled by coach to London t

o visit the prestigious teddy bear fair called hugglets on Sunday and I went into the show for 3 hours whilst hubby wandered around London for most of the time taking photos.There were some gorgeous bears at the show but I went for supplies and just had to make do with window shopping.It is so easy to feel overwhelmed by the choice of bears and even 3 hours to wander around the show isn't enough but we had to catch the coach by 3 0'clock so I had no choice but to leave early.London has plenty of lovely sights to see but you need much more than a day to take it all in.The first and last photo is of Kensington Palace and gardens where Princess Diana lived and the second photo is of the Royal Albert Hall and the fourth is inside the hugglets bear fair.I have added another post for you to see more photos of the Kensington Palace gardens.

Sunday stroll

I decided to go for a walk today as even though I take the dogs out everyday to the woods opposite our house we haven't really been much further afield all winter either because of the weather or the kids have been ill or we have.It was a murky old day but it doesn't bother me as long as it is not raining.We walked along Marriots way and around Costessey(which is pronounced Cossey).It is only about 3 miles from our house and the walk included Marriots Way which is a disused railway line which ceased to be used in the early 80's.You can see the amount of water in the horses field and that has gone down a lot since I went past there Friday.The third photo is Costessey Mill and the fourth photo is the view from the bridge on Marriots way at Drayton-you can see the flooding on the left side of the river..We are lucky to live on the North Norfolk side of the city so there are loads of lovely walks around this way.I much prefer to walk in the cooler months as it is easier to warm yourself up than try to cool down on a hot day.Hopefully the weather will start improving soon so we will be able to go out more often.It is surprising though that you have all this lovely countryside yet the amount of people that you see walking you can usually count on one hand.I love to go for a walk and will soon abandon the bear making when there is a chance of going out somewhere.It is easy to stay focused making bears in the winter when it is dark early but when the weather improves I'm off!!!!