Each story is enjoyable and easy to follow (no gross bloody stuff or perverted activity).  Along the way teddy bears are lost or stolen and weave into the story line. It is important to note that no teddy bears were hurt in the writing of these stories.

I had the pleasure of meeting the author at the Teddy Bear Jubilee in Kansas City this weekend.  He is such a pleasant man with a huge smile. Personally I thought he looked like a big huggable teddy bear.  We talked and as he signed my 3 books, he surprised me by telling me book number 4 was available for purchase that day.  It is due to release next month but he got a special supply for this event.  I an now ready to see where the “Clockwork Teddy” takes me.

With his huge smile, he gladly held onto my knitted teddy bear, Purl, and to me as my husband took our picture.

If you are looking for a fun read, I strongly suggest starting with The Mournful Teddy and reading on to The False-Hearted Teddy: A Bear Collector’s Mystery then The Crafty Teddy: A Bear Collector’s Mystery ; and The Clockwork Teddy: A Bear Collector’s Mystery (you don’t have to read them in order if you don’t want to, it’s just one of those funny quirks of mine)

I asked his wife if she had any teddy bears on display at the event. She smiled and said “only the ones I bought here at the Jubilee”.

Here are a few “Teddy Bear Day” activities for you:

You can knit or crochet a teddy bear for yourself or a friend. Here are a few free online patterns:

Candy Corn

Garter Stitch teddy bear

Knitting Pattern Central  offers a list of links to teddy bear patterns

Make a teddy bear to share with a friend. Make many and deliver them to a local nursing home. Share teddy bears with your children or grandchildren and have a teddy bear tea party.

You are never too old for a teddy bear. So grab your favorite and spend the day enjoying the love and comfort he/she has to offer.

Remember, too, there is One who loves us even more than our teddy bear does.  Jesus Christ.

In between my stack of bills, my Teddy Bear and Friends Magazine and also Knitting and Crochet Magazines, was a card announcing a sale at Kohl’s.  On the front of the card was a young woman wearing, get this, a pocket scarf!! (funny note, I searched Kohl’s online store and never found the scarf the model was wearing)

I quickly checked my previous searches and found 2 free pocket scarf patterns that appealed to me. Suddenly the idea of a pocket scarf looked like an excellent stash idea.

I pulled two patterns and am heading to my stash closet to check for correct amounts. 

Here are links to the patterns.  NOTE: you may have to join the sites in order to gain access.

Leisure Arts dot com offers this pattern.   (click here)

Lion Brand Yarn offers this pattern.   (click here)

My biggest find, however, was at a yarn shop in Chinatown. The tiny shop was filled with items knitted by the shop owner, an elderly Chinese woman. Along one wall was a collection of various yarns. I was drawn to one particular set of yarn in a shade of green that I couldn’t take my eyes off of.  Another Chinese woman, a shopper in the store, translated as I asked about it. She declared it to be mohair. The package held 8 50gram skeins.

My husband pulled out the cash because there appeared no way to get me out of the shop without it.  Now the problem.  What do I make with it???   It must require no additional yarn because I doubt I can get any more. I would love to make a sweater but I don’t think there is enough. So, a scarf? a shawl? a teddy bear?

What do you think?   Add you ideas to to the comments. I’d love to hear your ideas.

Wool felts with water and agitation which causes the scales on the wool to swell, rub against each other and bind together. This process creates a denser, shrunken fabric. Felting is the name of the process that give us the finished product.

Have you ever noticed in Bible stories that a person is often put in situations that can be described as ???agitating???, often ???rubbing against??? someone or something? In the end they become stronger in Lord.

Think about King David. Before he slew Goliath, became king he was shepherd boy. How did David know he could take down Goliath? By the many years he spent protecting the sheep from wolves, bears and other torments. He had been in danger, in agitating situations, many times and had learned how to handle himself.

What about Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego? Imagine the agitation they felt standing in a firey furnace.

Ruth went through the loss of her husband, leaving her family and hometown. She cared for her mother in law and moved to a country where she was an unwanted foreigner. She went on to be a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ.

What other Bible persons can you name? How about persons in your life you have witnessed experience this ???felting??? in their life? How have you been ???felted????

Can these discouraging periods of our times remove us from God? Read Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written: ???For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other crated thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Are you ???felted??? into Jesus?

If you would like to try your hand at felting check out some of these links:

Make a heart necklace   click here

Make a laptop sleeve    click here

The dress was a little large, I made this without having her nearby to try it out, but her mom wants her to wear it for halloween so growing room is built in.

I am going to make some modifications and offer the pattern so you can make your own. Watch this blog for details in the near future.

I just this morning finished crochetting a snake made out of scrap yarns my grandson wanted.

I have all the supplies to join the Dora Knit-A-Long.

I am creating my own Tasha like dress and Pablo like doll (backyardigans) for my granddaughter’s first birthday tomorrow.   I still have to put flowers on the dress and make the face then stuff Pablo.

I am knitting blocks for a joint effort blanket with my Knitting Bible Study.  It is the “Four Seasons Throw”. Instead of working in strips as the designer has created, we have broken it down to individual blocks to join together.

My first sock ever is now on four double point needles.  I am about 2 inches into the sock.

Teddy Bears!!   I have 3 bears currently on my needles.  One is short only the ears. But I need more YARN BEE AIRY Black yarn.  I can’t find the color anywhere. Someone at Hobby Lobby told me that line was being discontinued. I don’t know if that is true, but with the difficulty I am having in finding the yarn I believe it may be true.   A fourth bear is knitted up and stuffed, waiting to be jointed.

I have decided not to do the Tree of Life Afghan Knit-A-Long at Lion Brand. I can’t justify buying additional yarn for that project since I have so many others started.

I need to finish my crocheted mini teddy bear for the contest at ThreadTedChallenge.

Though I have completed several, I have another baby hat and baby blanket on separate needles.

I just found a scarf I started.

I want to make some shopping bags for myself and for Christmas this year. Lion Brand has an expandable one that should fit neatly in a purse until needed.

My stash of unfinished items is growing.  I think I better get busy.  Does anyone know where I can buy a few extra hours?

Anyway, in an effort to get a grip this year I am going a couple of “knit a-longs”. What is a knit along, you ask?  A “knit-along” (KAL) is a group that works together on the same pattern. Usually one person “leads” by knitting slightly ahead and showing tips and tricks along the way. It is an opportunity to see the progress of others and to discuss techniques along the way.  With the world available to us via the internet you can now share ideas, pictures and stories with knitters around the world.

One Knit-Along will begin on June 1. In this Yahoo Group we will be making a Dora Doll.  The pictures of the completed project look very nice and I am sure I will have to make more than one as I am torn on who to bless with this gift.  You can check out the group here. 

Click to join Jojosoftee

Another group is held at Lion Brand where the project is a Tree of Life Afghan.(click the picture to view their knit-along progress).  It has some cabling and reverse stitching to bring out the beautiful pattern. I am excited to begin this project. I am already a little behind the group but I hope to catch up soon.

I have to get started now. I have a granddaughter and a great niece each celebrating 1st birthdays this summer and they will look so cute in the shirt. I will post the progress.