Charlotte's Bear

 I mostly make bears for family members of a loved one who has passed away. Every now and then, I get to make a bear as a special gift for someone. I was given the honor to make a bear for a coworker's granddaughter Charlotte. Charlotte is a sweet 9-year-old and very into fashion. I decided I needed to make two dresses for her bear. Her Mimi asked me to make a dress with a tutu, so I went to work searching the thrift stores for just the perfect tutu.  I found a 2T tutu in the Halloween costume section of Good Will. It worked perfectly!

I named the bear Rose. Rose is Charlotte's Mimi's middle name.  I thought it suited the bear perfectly.

Charlotte's bear with her fancy tutu dress.

  Party dress #2. This dress is a bit short and a bit of her bottom shows. I'll know better next time to make a more conservative 2nd dress. 

I can't wait to hear how Charlotte likes her bear Rose!

Jerry's Bears

The bears I have made from Jerry's dress shirts were for a dear friend of mine's dad. This is the first time I have made bears for someone I knew. It was hard. Jerry passed away over a year ago. My friend wanted to have bears to give to her children/grandchildren as well and siblings. To me this shows what an awesome Dad/person Jerry was. He will always hold a special place in my heart. Every time I saw him, he always had a smile and loved to talk with you. He was a very special person and is greatly missed. 

I made 8 bears from Jerry's dress shirts for my friend. I have said it before, but it still holds true. Each bear is made from the same pattern, but each one has a different personality. When I line them up to take their pictures, their personalities seem to come out.  Some didn't want to cooperate and wouldn't want to put their arm around the next bear. Or they would lean out away from the others as if to say, 'look at me!' I'm glad I was able to wrangle them sitting together for this picture.

Each bear was made from a different dress shirt. My friend wanted each one to have a belly button and a patch on their little bums. Six patches said, "I'll Always Love You, Love Pap" and two patches said, 'I'll Always Love You, Love Dad."  

I'd like to thank Jerry's daughter and my friend for the privilege of making these cuties. 

I hope they bring comfort to each person who receives them.

Ed's Bears

 Ed's bears were made from Ed's denim coat and fleece vest. Ed's wife wanted each bear to each have a ski jacket since Ed loved to ski. The bear's ski jackets are made from Ed's ski jacket. I learned a lot about ski jackets when I deconstructed Ed's. There are lots of zippers and pockets! 

The bear made from the denim coat was my first time working with denim, I enjoyed working with it and would love to make another someday. I thought the bear turned out super cute. 

The fleece bear was made from a vest. I enjoy working with fleece. It always looks nice. The blue jean bear has the label from that coat on his tummy and the fleece bear has the label from the vest on his arm. 

The ski jackets started as an 18" doll pattern, but I modified them to fit each bear properly. I thought a stripe from the accent color of gray up the side and under the arm would make a nice addition and add some contrasting color. 

 Each jacket has a label from the Ed's original ski jacket. One jacket has the brand name 'Columbia' and the other has 'Fire Ridge' label from the back of the collar of the jacket.  I love incorporating the little details in each bear and their clothing. 

This was also the first time for me to have a picture of the person to whom the clothing belonged. It was nice to see Ed in the jacket I used. 

With each bear I make, I love to get them back to their owners, but I also miss seeing them on my cutting table. Each and every bear I make is special to me. I am always so flattered when someone allows me to work with their loved one's clothing.

Ray's Bear

Ray's bear was made from a tan shirt with trees and ducks. I wasn't sure where the ducks and trees would end up when I was cutting out the pieces to assemble him. I feel they worked out perfectly and he turned out pretty cute! I don't know much information about Ray as his clothing was given to me to sew by a friend who knows Ray's family. I only know he is intended to be a Christmas present.

 I hope this little bear gives Ray's family some comfort.

John's Bears

 John's sister-in-law asked me to make these 4 bears.  John passed away 10 years ago this November. His wife wanted to give each of her four children a bear to commemorate the anniversary date. 

 She had a nice flannel shirt with quilted lining. At first, I wasn't sure I could get 4 bears from one shirt. But with a little bit of creative thinking, we came up with these. It's funny they are all made from the same shirt, but they seem to have individual personalities.  At least I think they do. No matter how I positioned them for this picture, they just wouldn't cooperate. I thought it was funny. 

One bear has the collar of the shirt and the other three all have a blue ribbon. They have been delivered and are most likely on their way to their new homes. I really enjoyed the challenge of making these cuties. 

No Bears but Baby Quilts

 I've had the honor of making 2 baby quilts this year. One for a friend who is adopting her great grandson. He turned 1 in July and is the most adorable little guy. 

Here is L. J's quilt. I had a cute monster truck panel and put some borders around it. I used a blue Grunge fabric for the backing. I thought it turned out pretty cute.

Our niece had a baby boy this past July. His name is Roman. He is such a cutie! Roman's quilt is reversable. I couldn't decide which quilt to make so I did both! 

Here is the front. Don't pay attention to the man behind the quilt! LOL

Here is the back. I appliqued little crabs, fish, and seahorses all over it with coral colored fabric.

 Roman is the baby I made the shark for too! His Mom sent me a picture of the two of them together. The shark is a wee bit smaller than Roman. But not by much! 

 

Dave's bear part 2

 Here is another bear made from a man named Dave's shirt. His family has ordered more bears after this one. My friend helped me out again with the embroidery. 

Dave worked at the Catholic Cemetery Association. I'm not sure what his job was there, but from the various marks on the shirt, it showed he worked hard at what he did. 

 When I make a bear for someone, I like to think about the person as I work. What their life was like, did they have a family? What did they do for a living, what kind of person were they?  As I work, I pray for the families of the person.

I watch a YouTube channel where the man said that he knows he will eventually be forgotten after he dies. He didn't mind. His goal in life is to work hard to make an impression on other people's lives while he is here.  I thought that was a really nice way to think about my life too. I hope I am doing just that by making bears for other people.  I hope it helps them with their grief.