In 1997 I started a small business, making one of a kind, hand stitched collectors bears. By 2005, although I was doing quite well, a combination of arthritis and RSI meant I could no longer make the bears, and I closed the business.
In 2007 I fell, and completely destroyed my right elbow, leaving me unable to even feed myself for 2 years, and in a frightening level of pain. However, in 2009 my lovely consultant surgeon found a new joint, which could be used in my situation, and he fitted it for me in May of that year - one heck of a birthday present! Having a very low boredom threshold, I returned to small scale knitting as quickly as I could, and my physio encouraged me to keep it up. By late 2010 I was knitting little bears to my own patterns.
By spring of last year I was selling my knitted bears, at The Brewery Arts Centre, in Cirencester (thanks, Tracey!) and at By Local, in the Regent Arcade, in Cheltenham. Before long, I just had to see if I could still sew bears, and I was off again!
Many of my Twitter friends encouraged me to make them available online, so I looked at Etsy, and finally my bears are back online, here
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MwmynsMakes so I've gone full circle! I will add other makes, such as necklaces, and other furry creatures, but I'm excited to see where this takes me!
