John Nelson , the Teddyvear Man, and his mother, Joyce Miles, present an assortment of bears to the Heartwarmers.

Just like one of Santa’s elves, John Nelson of Redmond spends four hours a day, most days, making very special teddy bears for very special children.

Nelson’s bears, made on a circular knitting loom, accompany all the children’s fleece blankets made by Heartwarmers. He learned of their mission from his mother, Joyce Miles, one of the original Bend members.

The knitting loom had been a birthday gift for Miles, but she had never picked up on it. Instead, Nelson, a long-time weaver, gave it a try and, 2 ½ years later, he has knitted almost 800 bears, each one taking about four hours.

Nelson chuckled as he recalled that head Heartwarmer Mary Tomjack originally told Miles they would like to have about 30 bears and he thought that would be it.

The bears are a joint effort. Nelson knits the separate pieces (head, body, two arms, two legs), stuffs them, and drops them off at his mom’s house. Miles, who is a great-grandmother, sews the pieces together, attaches a heart on each bear, and adds colorful ribbons around their necks, a process that takes about an hour for each bear.

She gives the finished bears to Tomjack, who distributes them to all three of the nonprofit’s groups to be bundled with the blankets.

In the beginning, Nelson kept his identity a secret, until one day at the end of last year.

“A tall, quiet man with kind blue eyes walked in the door of the Redmond workshop and said, ‘Are you Mary?’ and then introduced himself as ‘John Nelson — who makes the bears,’” Tomjack recalled. He has been attending the workshops regularly ever since.

Nelson’s bears catch everyone’s attention with their little black eyes and colorful yarn bodies. Some are knitted to look like they are wearing sweaters, with stripes or contrasting colors.

Nelson enjoys seeing photos of children receiving his bears.

“Children are always delighted with the soft snuggly teddy bears and blankets. They bring a smile to their day,” said Jeanna Darnell, MountainStar Family Relief Nursery program director.

Though Nelson enjoys making the special bears and spending regular time at the Heartwarmers workshops, he is hoping to recruit some volunteers who would like to help him make the bears.

“I have lots of other things to do,” said the retired postal service facilities specialist.

Nelson, who has always enjoyed working with his hands doing wood and metal work as well as building dollhouses and miniature furniture, is ready to begin a new hobby using his embroidery machine. He and his wife, Jan, also have a new family member, a Bernese Mountain puppy.

While Nelson is ready to explore new hobbies, the impact he has made with his bears is profound and the hope is for that tradition to continue as he passes the passion on to new bear makers.

“It gives me a good feeling to know that the bears are going to children in need,” he said.