What a Life!

Introducing one of my latest finished knitting projects: the Baby Bobbi Bear.

He was initially intended to be a Christmas present for Joey, but now he is slated to be sent to Germany as a new baby gift for my dear friend Mindy.

It’s not that I don’t like him. It’s that he’s made out of the softest cotton you ever felt. My intention was to knit something for Mindy’s little guy, Martin, but when I asked Mindy how she felt about special care items, she mentioned that she has wool sensitivities [thus Martin might also]. All the more reason why this little bear is the perfect gift for them.

At last report, this bear was stuffed and awaiting arms and a face. He got arms soon after that picture was taken, and his ears were knit and ready to be attached, but then he sat and waited for a while.

Call it finishing anxiety if you wish. Even though the eyes and nose looked easy in the picture on the pattern, free-hand embroidering is not my forte.

In fact, I made another teddy bear once. He was originally intended as a gift. He was a felted bear, and he had all this complex, row by row, shaping, which made me think he’d be a really great bear.

He was knit in garter, which isn’t very smooth when felted. A lot of the shaping disappeared in the felting process. As in, I might as well not even have bothered.

And his arms. They stuck straight out to the side regardless of what I did to them.

Here he is, drying after I finished felting him. The rubber band is there in an attempt to make his arms, well, look like arms. But to no avail. He was simply too ugly to give away. Ben started playing with him, and I found another gift to send in place of the teddy bear.

Eventually I did embroider a face on him, but it only served to make him uglier than he was already. You can see I have no artistic skills. I mean, what a lame face!

This was the best picture I could get of him. He’s still ugly, and his arms still stick straight out.

So you must understand why the Baby Bobbi Bear had to wait a while for ears and a face. Here is the before and after again:

The ears and face may not be perfect. [Believe me, they aren’t.] But they totally make him a complete winner. He’s just so cute, if I dare say so myself.

I’ve had him on display – as is my usual custom with finished projects I’m happy with – but I have to be careful: when the boys are awake, they both want to play with him as though there are no other toys in the house.

I’ve thought about making a sweater for that other bear, in a desperate attempt to do something to make him look a little better. But after looking at him again this evening, I fear even that wouldn’t help.

I’ve ordered yarn now to make another Baby Bobbi Bear for Joey. Out of alpaca, which should be easier to knit. [Cotton doesn’t have any give while wool has a bit of spring to it, so wool is much easier on the hands as you shape the stitches.]

The first bear is unofficially Ben’s teddy bear. He did claim it, and he does play with it, though I don’t think it is named, and it probably isn’t something he would miss if it disappeared.

But what do you want to bet that if I make a Baby Bobbi Bear for Joey, Ben is going to want one too?

Or am I just thinking this because it would make me feel better knowing I made two cute teddy bears for my boys instead of one cute one and one ugly one?

Or maybe in the mean time I will come up with a great idea for how to dress the first bear so he isn’t quite so ugly. The first bear looks kind of cute in these pictures. Unlike real life.

Oh, I don’t know. I’ll think about it tomorrow.

Yeah, tomorrow is another day.