I named this bear after my husband ( his middle name), because he was just so impressed and enthusiastic about this bear! But, deservedly so. Walter is indeed spectacular. My husband has seen lots and lots of bears coming out of my studio over the years and the fact that one of them elicits such a reaction tells me that this bear is pretty special.

Walter has been sold with Ebay “Buy It Now”!

Meet Walter Walter is a big, beautiful bear who loves to give hugs with his big, bendable arms. He is about 23″ tall and sits at 17″. He is made from a luxurious, premium faux fur. It is incredibly soft and silky. The coloring is so lovely with a dark gray undercoat, an overcoat of lighter grays and silver and guard hairs that make this faux fur look and feel so real.

Walter’s kind, soulful eyes are amber blown glass, surrounded by needle felted lids. His snout has been meticulously scissor sculpted with some needle felting added to add shape and character. His nose is firmly needle felted in many layers of wool and is firm to touch. He is stuffed with polyfil, not too firmly, just right for huggability.

Walter is fully jointed with stainless steel hardware and hardboard discs. He has two joints in his neck so you can pose his head in any direction.His big arms are built for hugging, wired for bending and have big furry paws.

Walter loves to hug! He is giving Little Bear * big, cozy hugs to say goodbye. Little Bear has been adopted and is getting ready to leave for his new home. Imagine Walter bringing his big hugs to your bear collection! * Little Bear is not included in this auction

Walter looks wistfully out the window and waves goodbye to Little Bear as the UPS truck drives away. I think Walter needs a hug…

Don’t worry Walter, there will be lots more bears in your new home when you are adopted. Wherever that will be, I know you will get lots and lots of hugs!

This is a close up of the fur. I’m hoping you can see the depth and luxurious finish. Walter has received lots of attention here at our house for his gorgeous coat (everyone really does want to hug him!) and his soulful expression. Walter is a very special one of a kind design who would add a lot of personality to anyone’s collection. A signed Certificate is included.

I had been thinking that I really needed to get the workroom organized. Because I use my studio for bear making, pastel painting and other art, as well as sculpting in polymer clay, it is important to stay organized so I can find what I need. And I need separate work stations so I don’t get bear hair stuck in my clay or pastel dust all over a bear. So today as I was planning to finish up the next bear, I decided instead to tackle the mess. And it was a mess. I have to admit, at times if I needed something, I would just go buy it instead of trying harder to find the one I knew I had somewhere. I should have taken before pictures, but let’s just say it was in total disarray with  the tables piled  high with a mishmash of things. When it gets to that point, I can’t be creative like I want to be…..really bad Feng Shui and all that.

I took every storage container, every box, emptied every drawer and went through everything, throwing out  failed paintings and  used cardboard ( I am a saver), organizing everything by purpose and size in a way that made sense so that I would know what I had and where to find it. I added a new table for my painting/craft area with the easel by the window for the great light. I am almost finished and even though all my physical energy is depleted after doing this all day, I can feel the creative energy surging and look forward to  creating in my new organized space.

Here is my neat  new space…it will be easier to keep it this way now.

Every box is labeled	The cow and pig paintings are a commission. That’s my new painting/art area.	My sewing table and bearmaking area and my computer/office space

Update: This little bear was snapped up when she appeared on my Facebook page. She’ll be moving to Wyoming soon!

Today, I think I’m going to create another one with the same pattern from a different fabric…I just love her! It may be ready for Ebay by Tuesday. I’ll keep you posted.

My classic teddy bear is almost finished and I am so pleased with her. Like I said, it has been ages since I designed a classic style teddy bear. It’s a simple design, and yet it still expresses so much. I don’t know if it’s the look of the face or the perfectly shaped style of the body or the mohair material, but something about it is so appealing. I guess it’s ‘classic’ for a reason. With all the fancy, modern bears I design, there is something about this simple teddy bear that just makes me feel happy to look at her. Don’t you agree? Do you have  a favorite classic style bear in your collection?
Another interesting thing I found in the box with the cut out pieces was a ’tilt head’ mechanism. I used it on this bear. It gives just enough so that you can tilt her head up and down. I’m thinking I have to give her a little something to be looking down at. Maybe a small doll or toy….we’ll see. She’s made of slightly distressed mohair, is fully jointed and stuffed with ployfil. Her paw pads are heavyweight felt. Other than the nose, I didn’t do any needle felting on her face and her eyes are soft gray colored glass with black pupils ( I find those much more appealing that just plain black eyes). She sits at 12″ and stands at almost 16″. I may or may not keep the blue scarf, I just added it  at the last minute before snapping her photo.

But, I keep calling her ‘the bear’ She needs a name! Do you have any ideas? I’d love for you to help me find the right name for her. 

I have a feeling I may be making more of these. Luckily, I traced the cut out pieces before sewing them together so I can duplicate the pattern.

I have a few things to finish; I’m going to  do a little more work on the needle felted nose and add a coating to harden it, and then she’ll be heading to Ebay on Tuesday. If anyone wants to adopt her before that, just email me at mloufoley@gmail.com

 Last week, I found cutout mohair pieces to a complete teddy bear in the bottom of a box of odds and ends. I think I must have designed this and cut it out over 8 years ago or more. I haven’t made a simple classic teddy bear in years. So, today, I sewed it together and jointed it and look what appeared! I think it is perfect in its simplicity. After all, these kinds of bears are what started it all. Tomorrow, she gets a face. It’s definitely a she, don’t you think?