2014 Show and Tell - Part 2: Woodend Teddy Bear Show

Woodend Teddy Bear Show

Ever since our first Woodend Teddy Bear Show in 2008, one of the highlights of our 'beary' year is to travel from the Adelaide Hills in South Australia to the Macedon Ranges in Victoria, to participate in this lovely show. We also enjoy the excellent company and hospitality of our friends Claire and John Evans, catching up with other bear artists,  and the beauty of the region. 

Claire, John, Martin and I stay at the Kyneton Bushland Resort in a well-appointed villa there, and receive regular visitors of the animal kind.

It is only a 15 minute drive from Kyneton to Woodend, where the show is held, and Sunday morning finds us in the hall, and after checking that the critters are ready, 

 there is still time to have quick look around and take a few happy snaps of other tables 

and traders. Some are camera shy, others pose happily for the camera (or ignore me!)  as we all wait for the show to open.

Last minute preparations by camera shy trader-friends

Waiting for the show to open

 

Bear-related traders were also there

Closer encounters of the beary kind!

Once the show opens there is little time to spare, as the eager bear-seeking crowd pours into the hall and the fun begins! 

 I am happy to report that three of my critters found new homes, and end this post with their portraits, taken for the family album (as mentioned in the post Stick it in the Family Album).

Kenneth the Koala Leaves Home

Those who follow my blog will remember the tale of Kenneth the Koala (told in 3 parts).

 

Since then Kenneth has delighted many of his (and my) friends with his antics.

I knew sooner or later Kenneth would leave home, as happens with most children, but as his mother I hoped it would be later rather than sooner, because I loved seeing his happy face around the place.

A few days ago my friend Fay phoned me to ask if I could make her a koala. I knew it would be some time before I could do this, and Kenneth, hearing the conversation, pricked up his already big ears and cried "Pick me, pick me!" Kenneth, my big and brave Koala, was well and truly ready to leave home.

So, the next day Kenneth and I visited Fay, who of course fell in love with Kenneth straight away and had to have him, so the adoption took place.

It was with a little sadness that I released my Kenneth into the care of one of my oldest and dearest friends, but I knew they belonged together, and this made me glad.


Kenneth of course, with the exuberance of youth, immediately began exploring his new home, and in the garden some blue ducks greeted him and made him welcome.










Fay then took him inside her home to meet her family of bears. It was delightful to greet quite a few of my critters again, including Zachary (in red striped T-shirt), my first original design, Sing Song, my first panda, and little Oliver (tartan bow).

Then Webster (the biggest bear I've made) called out to be introduced, and Kenneth immediately made himself at home on Webster's lap! Sitting comfortably there, Kenneth smiled up at me and said, "Thank you for bringing me here, Nana - I love you - see you soon!" So I left him in good hands (paws), and went off with Fay for a coffee and a catch-up.

-

Although I miss Kenneth he is very happy and having lots of fun with his new family, and there will be plenty of opportunity for hugs when I call in for coffee with Fay. As a matter of fact, I feel like a coffee right now - see you next time.

A Three Dog Night!

Critters a-twitter!

It was early evening, and outside Critter Cottage the birds were settling down for the night. However, inside the cottage Kayzy's Critters were all a-twitter - if non-feathered critters can twitter!  Always interested in what Nana was making, part of the fun for the critters was in trying to guess what her newest creation might be. As they strained to see what Nana Kayzy working on, the guesses flew freely.
 

Fur-Elise admires Randyll

"It must be a bear," announced Randyll the Rabbit, a recently creation of Nana's. "The feet are too small for a rabbit," and he surveyed his substantial bunny feet with satisfaction. Randyll was a very self-assured young buck, and his confidence in his own opinion was boosted by Fur-Elise's, who thought he was the cleverest bunny she had ever met!



"Hmm, I'm not so sure about that," responded Kenneth the Koala. "Mind you, being a marsupial and not a bear I am not an expert in beariness, but this critter-to-be appears to be developing a different sort of personality to that of a bear."

Babette and Kenneth

O'Shaughnessy and Lah-Fing

"To be sure, his head doesn't seem the right shape for a bear, you know," offered O'Shaughnessy, who didn't often bestir himself to contradict his fellow critters - but the temptation to put the young Randyll in his place was too strong to resist.

Shirley wishes for Wilbur's wisdom

The guesses and opinions continued to fly. "I wish Wilbur were here," said Shirley dreamily. "He would be sure to know what sort of critter it is that Nana Kayzy is making." There were groans across the room. Everyone knew that Wilbur could do no wrong in Shirley's eyes, but this was too much.

Come off it, Shirl!

"Come off it, Shirl!" cried Jo-Mo. "Why should Wilbur know any more than we do? He's a great mate, but . . ."

It's a dog!

Suddenly a high-pitched puppy cry of "I know, I know!" echoed by deeper doggy tones drowned out Jo-Mo's protest. Rosita (another recent addition to Nana Kayzy's fold) and Digger (famous for his treasure hunt with Dennis the Dancing Duck) then declared together, "It's a dog!" and Nana Kayzy looked up from her sewing, smiling her affirmation of their discovery.

It's a very doggy dog

 "How clever you are!" Nana said. "It is a dog, and a rather disreputable dog at that. I'm going to call him 'Ruff'." After this revelation Nana returned to her work, and before long it was clear to all that Ruff was indeed a dog -  a very doggy dog!

"Whoo-hoo!" cried Digger, "thanks, Nana! We dogs are in the minority here, so a third woofer is just what's needed."

Ruff salutes Rosita

Little Rosita didn't say anything else, but continued watching Nana as she put the finishing touches to Ruff.

Then, without warning, Ruff suddenly turned his head and saluted Rosita, making her  puppy cheeks blush to an even deeper shade of rose pink than normal.







Nana smiled to herself and thought, "This could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

It's a three dog night!

Postscript: All the critters featured in this post are available for adoption. More information on each of them may be found on our For Adoption page or by emailing us at kayzyscritters@gmail.com 

Notes on Nana Neglect

As I write this, there are a couple of my furry friends sitting on the table near me, waiting, watching. . .

Yes, these two have languished unknown and unappreciated until today, because of Nana Neglect! However, they do not accuse; they just sit quietly, hopefully, expectantly even, and this encourages me to leave self-recriminations behind and get on with the job, er, blog!

Without trying to justify my neglect, I should explain. I am not a salesperson, and although I originally began blogging to share my love of bearmaking, and to allow my critters be seen and appreciated by others (and hopefully find good homes), my blog has been more about sharing life events in general than about Kayzy's Critters. This is partly because I do take quite a while to create a critter, and also because there are many other interesting things to write about, and little time to write. However, that is no excuse for Nana Neglect.

It all started last week, when a friend kindly pointed out an error on my blog. The problem was that I had put an incorrect email contact on the For Adoption page. Logging in to correct the fault, I then looked down the page at the last entry, and was shocked to see that it's been almost 3 months since I updated the page. This wouldn't be shocking, except that I have made several critters in that time, so at the very least I should have respected their critterhood by letting folk know they exist.
Well, I apologise to you, my critters, and without further hesitation introduce you to your blogging public.

Lah-Fing

This young panda is full of fun. His happy face reminds me that life is good, and to be enjoyed and celebrated, whatever may come!

















His vital statistics are:

• Height: 33cm from tips of ears to bottom of feet
  

• Fur: black and white German Schulte mohair.
  
  
• Paw & footpads: Sculpted grey leather and black mohair.
  
• Eyes: Black deluxe English glass, with white ultrasuede highlights,
  using black Copic pen to shade the eye area.
  
• Nose: Black embroidered
  
• Mouth: Applied open mouth, with ultrasuede tongue and Copic shading.
• Joints: Locknuts, with wobble jointed head.
• Stuffing: Polyester, with glass beads in his tummy.
• Adoption fee: AUD$175.00, plus postage and packing.

Fur-Elise

A small bunny with big dreams, Fur-Elise was my first attempt at designing my own style of rabbit, with a beary look. She loves our garden, and enjoys gathering flowers.

• 
  Height: 24cm tall
  

• Fur: White English mohair.
  
• Paw & footpads: Sculpted white ultrasuede, with airbrushed detail.
  
• Eyes: Black deluxe English glass, with white ultrasuede highlights and airbrushed shading.
  
• Ears: Cute bunny ears, wired to enable posing in different positions, they have airbrushed ultrasuede undersides.
  
• Nose & mouth Pink embroidered, with airbrushing.
• Tail: Cute ball of fluff!
• Joints: Locknuts, with wobble jointed head.
• Stuffing: Polyester, with glass beads in her tummy.
• Adoption fee: AUD$140.00, plus postage and packing.

In my next post I will introduce you to some more of my critters, but thought it best to highlight Lah Fing and Fur-Elise because they have waited so long. If perchance they call out to you, and you want to know more, my (now corrected) email address is kayzyscritters@gmail.com.

Welcome to Krümel Das Allgäu-Bärchen and Encourage One Another, who recently joined our blog as followers.

Woodend Teddy Bear Show - We Love it!

Each year the critters, Martin and I look forward with great anticipation to the Woodend Teddy Bear Show enjoying the lovely opportunity of meeting fellow arctophiles and catching up with friends. The show is held in the lovely town of Woodend in the Macedon Ranges of Victoria on the last Sunday of October.

In preparation for the trip, I took photos of new critters. Here are four recent additions to the hug:

From the left: Duggie, Kenneth, Lah-Fing, Fur-Elise

and four more who wanted me to show them off!

From the left: Digger, Babette, Joh-Moh, Duffy

When do we leave, Mum?

Just before leaving I place my critters into their travelling bag. They do not like it much, but are willing to endure the confined space for a limited time.

Look, Ma - no hands

The 700 kilometre drive to Woodend is most enjoyable. We travel through rural South Australia and Victoria, and there's plenty to see. However, we had a late start this year and travelled through the night, so we didn't see much of the countryside. However, Martin is always fun to travel with, and at one point, whilst having coffee and lamingtons we drove, Martin showed me his own special way of eating lamingtons!

On Saturday afternoon we set up our display, the critters cooperating well with our desire to show them to their best advantage.

This being her first show, Fur-Elise seemed to need a little reassurance.

 The evening saw us heading off to the traditional pre-show dinner get-together and catch-up with fellow bear artists at a local restaurant. The excellence of our friend Claire's dessert and a shark sculpture were images Martin and couldn't resist capturing for posterity!

Sunday morning found us back at St Ambrose Hall, and before we knew it, the doors opened and the  fun began.

We had a great day, and I especially want to thank our dear friends Claire and John Evans for helping to make it so, and of course my kind and patient husband Martin, without whose help and encouragement I would not be able to continue in this lovely craft.

Many talented bear artists were at the show. Below are just a few:

Lena Burghart:  KP Bears - with Pat Morris's bears on right

Karen Alderson: Karen's Bears

Sue Bartlett: Adorable Bears

Merilyn Pursell:  Bearwildered Bears

Gunnies Collectibles (Robyn Gan)

Benson Bears (Linda Benson)

Scruff and Sandi

I am pleased to say that two of my critters, Sandi and Scruff - close friends who till now have been inseparable - were adopted by two human friends who live close to each other, so Sandi and Scruff will be able to keep in touch.

If you would like to know about any of my critters, you will find their details on my For Adoption page, and I'd be pleased to provide any additional information if you email me at kayzyscritters@gmail.com

WELCOME TO MY BLOG:
This post wouldn't be complete without welcoming Lyn, who recently began following this blog. I do hope you will enjoy your visits, Lyn.