Silly old bear

Meet Mr. Whiskers

Sometimes you get lucky and meet someone through this wild and wonderful world of bloggers that becomes a fast friend, even though you may be geographically challenged and sharing a cuppa face to face is not possible, you feel as though you have known each other for ages. I have been so lucky in this respect, I feel as though I have received a gift of great bounty in friends from far away places. The fact that these friends are also incredibly talented, terribly creative, and makers of magical things, is truly inspiring.

Jess from Teddy Bear's Wednesday is one such remarkable friend. She is a maker of extraordinary creatures, most notably of the bear variety, but she is hardly limited to just one species. You can take one look at her Etsy shop to see she has a gift for creating critters with personality and panache!


One day whilst perusing her instagram feed, I spied the beginnings of a bear, he was just a head at this point, but I knew he was going to be quite special. Later I saw that she had posted about him on her blog and I knew he had to come live with me. So, I promptly put in my application for adoption and was thrilled to be accepted. Fashioned after the old Steiff bears, Jess hand dyes the mohair, stitches all by hand, meticulously ages the bear and gives each one his/her own unique personality.

This is Mr. Whiskers settling in to his new home having a bit of jet lag and a laugh with an old straw hat he found in one of my closets.

Here is what Jess had to say about him:
"The moment Mr Whiskers became a head, i knew he was a Pop, he was a bit of an old man bear. And as he grew into more and more of a whole bear, i knew that he He likes his mocassins, his cups of teas with 4 sugars, tinkering in his shed and is a bit of a dunker ( biscuits/cookies in tea).
That every Saturday he likes to buy a lotto ticket, he's a long suffering Richmond supporter and is fond of the ocassional punt on the horses."


I have since discovered that his first name is Otis and he is a brilliant addition to the little green cottage. From the moment I held him in my hands, the perfect feel and weight of him, his funny old pop ways, his blue cardi...well, it was love.

Thank you Jess, you are an artist!

Oh, and we may be having that cuppa face to face after all!

Hello Monday Mail Call

Silver pail necklace from Silverpebble Jewelry

There has been some rather exciting mail coming in to the little green cottage recently. There is nothing quite like receiving a parcel in the post, savoring the opening of the package and seeing the magical things inside. Since I began this blog, I have received such amazing things from far away places and fabulous friends. Hooray for that!

First, let me tell you, it was quite a thrill to get a note from the lovely Emma Mitchell of Silverpebble asking me to make a prairie dress for her sweet girl. Would I? Oh indeed I would! We came to the amicable arrangement of a swap, such a good idea you know considering she makes the prettiest jewelry. Oh, and did you hear? She was featured in Country Living Magazine UK along with her wonderful studio and garden!


While I sewed away here in the verdant green of the Northwest United States, she created away over there "on the edge of the watery fens in England." Off went our packages across the sea and landed on each other's doorsteps within a few days of one another.

I could not be happier. I spied this little silver pail necklace some time ago and I was smitten. It is gorgeous and a little quirky so of course I wanted it. Now I have one of my very own made with love and care by Emma. She was very kind and sent along a few little extras in the way of wee vintage doilies and buttons, yes I think she knew just what I would like.


Please go take a look at the Silverpebble shop, she has a whole array of beautiful jewelry to choose from.

I wish I lived down the lane from her, and not just to hang about in her garden and studio, as she also teaches workshops!

Thank you so much Emma! I love my necklace and so enjoyed our swap!

I'll be back tomorrow with another bit of truly magical mail.