Teddy Bear Picnic Bash in April

I had a bit of a brainstorm. What do you guys think about me having a Teddy Bear's Picnic Bash sometime near April Fool's Day? Price of admission would be one handmade teddy bear, a teddy bear hat or a bear themed dessert. The bears and hats will go to a local charity (probably our very active Lion's Club). For those that can't drive out here, you can give me your bears at a SCA event or meet-up. Or I could get a P.O. box.

So if you knit, sew, crochet or weave, here's your big chance. Of course if you don't do that sort of thing, you may buy your bear. 

And of course you'd bring your kids and grand-kids to the party. We'll have games, face painting and balloons. And they could win a teddy bear.

Also, sometime in February I could have a 'come work on your bears' afternoon.
For those driving a long way we do have room for tent camping. Before you say yes, look up Lucerne Valley, CA on a map.

There are plenty of free and nearly free teddy bear patterns on the Internet.

I finished the picnic blanket backpack from Threadbanger

Yay all done. Now I can take it on my trip tomorrow. I need to make the straps longer. I think the size stated is fine for a teenage body with average shoulders. But the only way to find out if I could get into it was to make it. So if I do it again I'll add 3" of length to each strap. Also the tutorial is really vague on just which squares the straps go on, and the only way I ever figured it out was to pause the video and stare at the frame where the guy is wearing the backpack. When I have time I need to unfold it all again and take a photo so everyone can see where I think the straps are supposed to go. I could be wrong, but it seems to work this way.
I added two buttons to close the 'pillow' that I turned into a bag to stash goodies. My juggling balls are in there now but it could hold a journal or a sack lunch.
Now some photos.

Pets and Sewing do not mix perhaps

I was working on the picnic backpack project in the Threadbanger video.

A few weeks ago my Serger tension got into a mess and I hadn't needed it so I didn't fix it. So I needed it for this blanket project.

After maybe half an hour, I finally got my serger rethreaded and working properly. I was halfway through sewing 16 fabric squares together when Wallop the Cat decided he was lonely and hopped up on the sewing machine desk. Within mintues he had somehow rubbed his head on the thread spools thereby completely screwing up all my thread tension. Another half hour later I finally got it working again. Blah. Sewing. Now he's sound asleep in the gourd box next to the sewing machine.

Then I went outside to lay the blanket on the grass and take photos but the neighbor's dog Missy was doing donuts on the lawn and she was on that blanket like white on rice. Even so I didn't get her into the photos because her owner kept calling her. So that's why the blanket is all wrinkly.

Make a Picnic Blanket ala Threadbanger.

I'm supposed to be packing for a five day trip but instead I saw this Threadbanger episode and dropped everything to see if I could repurpose 10 T-shirts.