Sketches and Snippets *18th October Edition*

Work In Progress / I Won! / Favourite Things: Honeybear

New Work In Progress

October work in progress

Hello there, hope life’s treating you well.

I have been making steady progress on my goal of adding thirty items to my shop this month. So far there are eight small artworks and ten purses, which leaves twelve (??something elses??) for my next shop update on Friday the 29th. Easily doable!

Last week I began working on some samples for textile brooches, using remnants of fabrics printed for the Creels purses. Still some work to do on these but I’m enjoying the experimentation stage immensely, and all that colour! Also got some handmade beads on the go, painted with acrylic inks, which will be used for zipper-pulls for purses, amongst other things - they’re made from a variety of wooden spoons, chopsticks, and pieces of dowel, I’m so glad I didn’t throw these away - I knew they’d be useful for something!

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I won!

Postcards from @indrewinterrain

Happy post arrived all the way from the Netherlands. I won this gorgeous postcard set in an Instagram Giveaway from @indrewinterrain They make me want to learn to knit Herringbone stitch, but for now I’m going to admire them and think about who to surprise with snail mail.

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These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things

I’m continuing to explore the complicated relationship I have with stuff, which I wrote a little about already. I don’t know about you, but I’m fascinated by our apparent need to accumulate belongings. Why do we choose some objects over others, and how do they add meaning to our lives? These questions and more will be addressed in this new occasional series which aims to shine the spotlight on our most prized possessions, looking at them more closely to see why they’re so special to us.

To get the ball rolling I’m jumping back in time roughly half a century - to when The Beatles had recently broken up, new decimalised coins were about to be introduced and brushed nylon sheets were all the rage! That’s when my teddy, Honeybear first came into my life. He was my very first thing, or at least the first I remember, and my first crush too. A gift from my parents for my second birthday, and an extravagant one at that! I was a very lucky girl, (although my Dad often worked abroad so there was money for extras like these). One of my earliest memories is of standing in my bedroom with my bear, (or were we dancing together?) …and we were the same height. I can’t remember life before him.

Honeybear was made by Merrythought; soft toymakers in Shropshire, England since 1930. His fur is made from silky Mohair the colour of golden syrup. When he was young there was a label on his foot and he made a noise when you squashed his tummy. Supposedly it was a growl but sounded more like a squeak as I remember it. After 50 years it’s not surprising he’s showing signs of age. For at least 45 years there’s been a scar on his forehead. His wound was expertly repaired by my Mum as we played dolls hospitals. She’s always had a soft spot for him too. He had an extended stay with her a decade ago but just look what happened… I took back custody post haste!

Photo credit: Anne Laing. Honeybear takes to booze and fags.

As he’s aged he’s become softer and saggier…(who hasn’t?) not helped by an encounter with moths, which saw him take a trip to stay in Robb’s parents’ freezer for 10 days to kill off any eggs that may have been lurking. It left him with bare patches where the moths had feasted.

His fur has faded and there’s the odd bit completely worn through but he’s still my Honeybear, who has been with me through thick and thin, and too many house moves to mention, without ever once passing judgment, and giving hugs as and when required. He doesn’t get as much attention these days but he’s still a keeper!

Everyone should have a bear to hug.

Do you remember your first teddy…? or do you still have them?