A Special Bear

I made a special bear for a very special friend and co-worker.  She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is having surgery Friday.  This was the very first bear I've made in quite some time.  I forgot how happy bear making makes me-and especially when I can give one to someone to help cheer them up and bring a smile to their face.  I couldn't post anything about the bear til now, because I wanted to surprise her (she reads my blog now and then)  But, I gave the bear to her today.   I hope she likes it as much as I liked making it.  I hope all goes well for her and she has a speedy recovery.

Bears revisited.

A friend and I challenged each other to make a teddy bear, something we haven't done in quite a while. Both of us were bear artists a few years back, doing bear shows and teaching classes, and being neck deep in mohair and bear parts. Life changes put us on different tracks and neither of us makes much in the way of bears anymore. This one little challenge opened up the floodgates of how much I enjoyed making the furry little guys. I've been bitten by the bug again. Not sure if it's something I'll get totally involved in again-but I plan to make a few and see what happens.

Knooking

I found another fiber "technique" that interested me. I somehow ran across it while watching You Tube videos of crocheting and knitting. It's knitting with a crochet hook with a cord on the end. I had no idea there was such a thing. From there I found a group on Ravelry and there are a lot of people there that have been doing it for quite a while. I didn't have a hook, and wasn't sure where to find one-so my first attempt was to drill a hole in a wooden crochet hook that I had and put a cotton cord through it. It worked, but not great. I sort of gave up on the idea. So, tonight as I was perusing the aisles of my local Ben Franklin craft store. there it was-one lonely little package on the bottom shelf under all the other crochet hooks. Of course, I HAD to buy it. So now I have an official knook hook. I have no idea what to make-but I know I'll be giving it a try.