Pam and Dirk's Bear

 My dear friend Pam requested I make her a bear to wear a vintage wool little boy's coat with a matching newsboy style hat. Pam's husband Dirk may have worn it as a child. The hat/jacket set was in beautiful condition for its age.

 The bear needed to be bigger to fit into the coat. So, I increased the pattern to 140%.  The fabric Pam gave me was super soft flannels in muted tones. Perfect for a bear. It made him super soft. 

Here's how this cute boy turned out. 

The little coat was still a bit big for the bear. I couldn't bring myself to cut it to make it fit. So, I folded it under as best I could. I think it still looks adorable on him. 

Here he is without his coat. I am so happy how he turned out. 

Jack's Baby Quilt

My daughter became an aunt for the second time January 2024. Her sister and brother-in-law are big Disney fans.  For their first baby I made a Minnie Mouse quilt. (Scroll down to see Coraline's quilt below) I felt Jack needed a quilt of his own. I am not the quickest quilter. It took me a year to finish this quilt.  My hope was to finish it before Jack's first birthday in January. And I did. 

The original pattern makes a bigger quilt. I cut the pattern down to make it a baby quilt just as I did for Jack's big sister's quilt.

  Here is Jack's Mickey Mouse Quilt.

Coraline's baby quilt. Coraline will be four this month. They grow so quickly~

Chris' Dad's bears

  Most of the bears I make are for someone who has passed away.  Occasionally I am asked to make bears in honor of a loved one who has not passed. This is the case with Chris' bears.   

Chris had an idea to have bears made from his dad's clothing to give as Christmas presents with a picture of his dad in that shirt to give along with the bear. Chris asked his dad try on several shirts telling him he wanted to see if they still fit. Chris took a picture of his dad each shirt. The shirts I received were the ones that no longer 'fit.'  His dad had no idea what was going on.  I thought it was a genius way to surprise his family. It was fun being part of the surprise. 

 Here is how they turned out.

 It is funny that every time I take a group photo of bears I have made, one or two of them don't cooperate and look in a different direction.  It happens every time. 

Honk the Goose

 My daughter recently got a promotion at her job. She now has an office job with her own office and her own desk. She has a sweet sense of fun and bought Honk to be her desk goose. She asked me to make Honk some outfits for a Christmas present. I made these just for her as a gift and will not make them for sale.  I had so much fun thinking up different outfits.  I have a few more outfit ideas so more to come!

 Here are the results:

Bob Ross

Sushi Chef

                                             Easter Bunny

Eric's Bear

A friend asked me to make a bear for her adult son who is interested in sailing. She gave me a very soft flannel men's shirt to use. 

Here is the result of my efforts. A sailor bear.  I adapted the hat and collar from two different patterns. I reduced the hat pattern by 25 %.  I am so happy with how he turned out. 

I have just started using this pattern by Funky Friends Factory. The pattern name is Ben Bear. It is so much fun to make. 

Denise and Jim' 40th Anniversary Bears

  My dear friend Denise and her husband celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in September. Denise had requested I make wedding bears from her wedding gown. 

I'll be honest, I was nervous. I had never worked with the satin fabric of a wedding gown before. I asked Denise several times if she was completely sure she wanted me to cut up her gown. She assured me it was fine to cut it. 

She gave me her gown in completely sealed in the box. I gingerly opened it. I'll be honest, I got a little emotional breaking open the seal. Once I got over the emotion, I found a gorgeous dress perfectly sealed. The company who sealed it did a beautiful job of preserving it. I pulled it out and this is what I found. These pictures don't really show the true beauty of Denise's gown. The detail it had was amazing. 

Look at all the beautiful lace!

 Here is what the final bears look like.  I used the satin to make the groom bear's tux. I also used one of the flowers from the dress to make a little boutonnière for his lapel. 

For the bride bear, I used lace to cover the satin to make her head just a tiny bit fancier than the groom bear. I used most of the bodice of the dress to make the bodice of the bear's dress.  It worked out perfectly. I tried to emulate the gowns neckline on the bride bears neckline.

 The cuffs of the sleeves fit perfectly as cuffs on the bride bear's sleeves.  I made the veil from the back part of the dress and used some of the beautiful lace trim on the top of her head to hold the veil on. I was even able to use the ribbon around the waist of the gown to be around the waist of the bride bear. 

I chose not to put the heart on the left foot of both bears because I felt it would be too bright and distract from the beauty of both bears. Denise requested heart noses instead of safety noses. They worked out perfectly. I am so happy with how the bears turned out. It was such a pleasure making them. I will definitely make another bride and groom bear in the future. I will still be nervous though!

                            

                   Here's the sweet couple on their wedding day 40 years ago. 
                                                        
                             Happy 40th Anniversary Jim and Denise!

Aubrey's Bear

 Aubrey is the great niece of a good friend. Aubrey, and two siblings and her father were in a horrific car accident in July. Aubrey was the only survivor. After a few weeks in the hospital, she was able to come home. She still has a lot of healing to do, but she is a strong young lady. I felt Aubrey needed a bear to help her through her healing process. 

 When in a thrift shop, I often search for articles of clothing that I think will make a nice bear. Aubrey's bear is made from a women's fleece jacket.  I loved the embroidery on it.  I originally wanted to have the embroidery on the bear's tummy, but it just didn't work. So, I opted for the arms and ears. 

 I did my usual red heart on the left foot. I placed two little pillows of plastic pellets to help the bear sit back a bit. Without them it leans a little forward. I am so pleased with how it turned out.  

It was made using the Ben bear pattern from Funky Friends Factory. I love all of their patterns. I know I will make more of this pattern because it goes together so beautifully.