Ross the bear

Ross is the first teddy bear (of two) that I ever made. I had plans to make jointed bears and sell them, but never quite got around to doing that. This was in 1992, when Boyds bears were all the rage, and it seemed that every town had a bear shop.

Ross is a simple bear, with no joints. I guess you could call him my test bear, to see if this was something I wanted to do as a part-time profession. I used a commercial pattern, and made him from pale yellow fleece. He was very easy to make, and I loved the way he turned out.

You might wonder how he got his name. Ross was made during the presidential campaign when independent Ross Perot ran for president, stirring the patriotism of many Americans. I couldn't help seeing just a bit of resemblance. But maybe it was just my imagination.