Secrets...Teddy Bears...and Me

"Where have you been? Goodness, it's been over a week since you last posted! I thought you had fallen out of 'blogland.' Very inconsiderate, you know."

"I really have been busy...honest! In fact, I will be posting 2 bears on Etsy within the next two days--Max and Chip."

"Yes, I know. But that doesn't really qualify as having been busy. Those bears were made months ago!"

"Ah. Yes. Too true. But I did just 5 minutes ago finish a new 'elephump.' It took a while for me to decide on how to color his paws--poor thing has been staring at me from the kitchen hutch for a week with his sad eyes questioning when and how he will be completed. So, Toffee will be on Etsy soon, too."

"Okay, I'll give you that one. But can that really be called 'busy?'"

"I see you won't easily be put off, so I'll lay it all out on the table. Besides Toffee, I have nearly completed one of two bears for a secret bear project--it's for the Teddy Talk challenge, 'A Friend is for Life.' I don't want to spill the beans on that one yet, so I beg of you to be patient. If it works as I think it will, it should be a wonderful pair! I had just been waiting for some supplies to arrive and today I received the last of what was needed to proceed with the first of the two bears. And I have the pattern drawn for the second of the two bears and have begun the process of tracing and cutting it out--and, yes, I honestly do have everything I need for that bear, too."

"Okay. Keep going."

"Well, on top of that, I spent quite a lot of time designing a completely new style bear. He'll be a big bear for me and he has a completely new way (to me, that is) of doing the neck joint. I'm REALLY excited about how he is coming along. I really played around with the pattern until I was completely satified with how it looked. I wound up making four mock-ups for the head out of muslin--just tweaking a little here and a little there. Of course, when he is finished I will probably find little things that I want to change in future bears. That always seems to be the way of it. But I finished cutting him out a couple of hours ago and I'm just in seventh heaven with how he's looking. He'll be a big 18" of cuddliness--he's made of the most delicious, thick, and chocolaty alpaca. Yummmm."

"Well...I see you have had quite a few projects you've been busy with. And I guess I can understand why you might want to keep the challenge bear pair a secret. Although you could have at least let us know you were working on a secret. I've been sitting here thinking you were twiddling your thumbs. But, tell me...why did you start all this work on a new 18" bear design with a luxurious 'fur' if you still could have worked on the second bear of the secret pair?"

"Ummmmm...well...funny that you ask...did I tell you about...?"

"I'm still waiting. You can stall as long as you want, but I'm still waiting until I get an answer."

"Well...mumble...mumble...mumble."

"Do you want to try that again, only audible?"

"I give up...I confess...,(note that my head is hanging down) I wanted a cuddly teddy bear for myself. So, yes, I'm making this teddy prototype for myself."

"A teddy bear for yourself? Really? For a big girl like you?"

sniff..."Yes."

"Hmmmm...excellent idea! Do you think we could share it sometime? Yes? Really? Ohhhh, how exciting? And it's going to be really soft and cuddly?...Won't that be cozy on a wild winter's evening--us all cozied up with our bear under the lap quilt watching a favorite Jane Austen movie and drinking hot cocoa. I think this may be a winter to look forward to. Do you think...?"

And I watched her skip away in her dreams about the new teddy bear. So, you see, I may have to work on my teddy bear some more before I can show you the progress of the secret bears. They may have to wait a bit longer. I'm supposed to have them done by the 30th of this month, so I do expect that I will rise to that deadline. But I really must put first things first. I need to work some more on my teddy bear--I certainly don't want to get in trouble with myself again!

Warmly,
Cheryl