Donations for an assisted living facility.

 I enjoy the challenge of making bears from different types of fabrics or medium. I had all these different fabrics on hand and thought it would be nice to make them and give them to the assisted living facility where my mom lived for 8 months before she passed away. This grouping took me several months to finish. 

The brown striped bear and pink herring bone bear are made from very soft fleece. Two brown bears are made from pre quilted fabric. The bear 2nd from the right is made from a cable knit sweater. I had always wanted to make a sweater bear and really enjoyed making him. The bear on the far right with the blue ribbon is made from a very soft, thicker fabric. I'm not sure what the name of the fabric is, but it is thick! I had a bit of a struggle sewing him because the fabric was so thick. 

 I started putting eyebrows on bears with my embroidery bear. I love how it gives each bear a bit more of a personality. From now on each of my bears will have eyebrows.  I have also started giving each bear a bellybutton as well. I think it adds a kind a cuteness to them. 

I hope this group of bears will give comfort to some of the residents. 

 

Edna Mae and Lou's Bears and Pillow

 Edna Mae and Lou's granddaughter requested I make bears and a memory pillow for her family. I had previously made bears and a memory pillow for her. It's so hard that she lost all four grandparents in such a short time.  

Three of the bears are made from a woman's T-shirt like knit top. They were a small size so I had to use a contrasting color for their faces. I am really happy with the result. 

One bear is made from a Steeler men's T-shirt with the Steeler logo in the middle. I thought and thought about how to utilize the logo the best way possible without cutting it up too much. So I put it on the arms. It really pulled this little bear together with the gold in his face and the Steeler's logo on the arms. 

               All four of the bears together. I love posing them with their arms around each other. It's funny that sometimes one bear goes rouge and doesn't want to put it's arm around the other bears. 

Here is the memory pillow I made from Danelle's grandfather's T-shirt.  I was really happy with how it turned out. 

This is the back of the pillow. I really try to use as much of the clothing as I possibly can. The back of the pillow is the back of the Tshirt. I even use the bottom seam of the shirt as the bottom of the envelope backing. This pillow was so soft and fluffy. I hope it gives comfort to the family.

Embroidered Bear

 This bear doesn't belong to anyone just yet. I was at Goodwill and happed to walk by the coat rack. I spotted this beautiful brown fleece jacket that had stunning embroidery on it.  I couldn't pass it up! I knew I had to make a bear with it. After a good laundering, it was ready to be deconstructed. Once I started sewing together the pattern pieces, I fell in love with her. I didn't have any idea of who she belonged to yet. The more I think about it, I think she will go to the nursing facility where my Mom spent her last few months of her life. The staff there was so very good to her and took such great care of Mom. 

I'm not sure if you have noticed, but she is my first bear with eyebrows!  I love the expression on her face!  I think all future bears may have eyebrows from now on! I think I will make a few more bears to send to the assisted living facility. People of all ages love Teddy bears, right?? 

A closer look at her embroidery..

 

Pat's Bear

 This is Pat's bear. Like most of the bears I make, I don't really know a whole lot about Pat.  I know he was very active and participated in Triathlons. Most of the shirts I used were from triathlons he had finished. He was a fan of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville too. This is the first bear I have made with such big images. I try to talk my customer into a memory pillow if the images are bigger. Pat's family member wanted a bear. I gathered my courage and got to work. With each piece I sewed, I liked him more and more.  I was excited and nervous to present him to Pat's family member. It made my day how much she loved the bear!

Isn't he cute? 

Here is his back. I know he's in a odd position, I tried to get a nice picture of all the images of the clothing.

THIS IS MY GUY

I work with a counselor to make memory bears for clients who are grieving. Because of privacy policies, I never know who the recipient is.  This pillow was made from a white T-shirt with the picture of the person's husband affixed on the front. 

It's hard to see the colors I chose in this picture. But I chose a soft blue fabric for two borders and a soft white/off white fabric for the center border. I hope they are comforting colors for the person.  I used a nice fluffy pillow form to put the pillow cover over. 

I didn't take a picture of the back, but I used the back of the T-shirt and a little bit of the soft blue for the backing.  

Bonnie's Bears and Dook's Memory Pillow

A good friend's daughter-in-law contacted me to make bears from her grandmother's tops and a memory pillow from her grandfather's T-shirt.  I don't know much about Bonnie or Dook, but the love from their granddaughter really showed. 

Front of the memory pillow.

Back of the memory pillow. I used the front of the T-shirt to make the backing of the pillow and the image from the back of the T-shirt to make the front of the pillow. I always try to use as much of the article of clothing as I possibly can. 

I hope the people these bears and pillow go to like them!

Hugh's Bear

 

Hugh's bear was made for a friend of mine who recently lost her Dad. She said she had to fight him to get this shirt off him so that she could wash it. It was his absolute favorite shirt.  As I worked on Hugh's bear, I thought of all the love my friend had for her Dad. 

I used blue corduroy for the ears and feet as well as the front of the vest for a nice contrast. My friend  does amazing work on an embroidery machine and embroidered the Volkswagen Beetle for his vest as well as her Dad's CB handle on the right foot. 

I say it with every bear, but I am truly honored to have been able to make this bear for my friend.

1860-1880 Grandmother's Flower Garden Framed Flower Picture

 I have a friend who owns a vintage shop inside the quilt shop where I work. My friend bought this picture for the frame from a resale shop. She knew I love English Paper Piecing and saw the Grandmother's Flower Garden flowers professionally mounted in the frame. I was so excited when she showed it to me.  I bought it from her shop instantly!

I consulted two people who are very knowledgeable in vintage fabrics. Both ladies dated these hexies at 1860-1880. I originally going to have it reframed and put a new mat behind it and a spacer put between the glass and the mounted hexies. The closer I looked, the hexies are glued to the mat as well as one is glued to the glass. They are too delicate to pull off the glass. I decided to keep it as it is and make my own tribute reproduction picture identical to this fabulous picture. I know I don't need to make another one, I want to make it to hang beside the old one. To have an old and a new one side by side. And I have never worked with 1/2" hexies before. Challenge accepted! 

I wish I knew it's story. Why someone would frame 1/2" hexies in this way. Could it have been someone's great great grandmother's handiwork they wanted to preserve?  I will never know, but I do know that I will treasure this piece. I hope my reproduction will honor the original maker. 

Pre-1830's Quilt

 I work in a quilt shop. I get to see so many beautiful quilts made by co-workers and customers. Sometimes my boss buys quilts from estate sales. This quilt came from one of those sales. It has been dated  from pre-1830's. It is around a 193 years old!  I was so surprised and touched when my boss gave me this quilt!  

I love all things old. And enjoy daydreaming about the life of the old things I collect. I have been thinking about this quilt since it was given to me. This quilt was made before the sewing machine was invented. It was invented in the 1860's. So the entire quilt is hand sewn. 

I believe the striped fabric was added to make the quilt a bit bigger to fit a bed. Notice the dark blue setting triangle. It's on the bottom left corner near the stripe fabric. I feel the maker ran out of fabric and used what she had on hand. I love that about it. 

I wonder how long it took for the maker to save up the scraps of fabric to make this quilt. The backing is a little worn and very used. There is a section where a long piece was used to cover up a well worn section of the quilt. 

I hope you enjoy seeing this old beauty as much as I enjoy owning it.

RK's Bear

 I have very little information about RK. But I know he was very loved. I made this bear from a well loved T-shirt of his for his Mom. I always try to use as much of the item of clothing as possible. When I deconstructed RK's T-shirt, I noticed inside the collar his initials. I decided to use them as the heart on the left foot instead of a plain red. 

As always I am honored to make this bear. I hope it helps his Mom with the grief of losing her son.

Pocket Bear

This little guy was made for a dear friend going through ovarian cancer. I wanted something for her to put in her purse or pocket to comfort her while she had her chemo. I found the cutest little pattern and got to work. The pattern pieces were tiny! I am so happy with how he turned out. My friend loves the color purple that's why he's a purple bear. 

I didn't know how to photograph him for my blog so I put him on my stove and used salt and pepper shakers and a highlighter for size reference. He is only about 3 inches high! The pattern didn't call for eyebrows and a smile. I feel all bears need a smile. And little ones need eyebrows!  

Sharp Dressed Bear

Can you hear the ZZ Top song Sharp Dressed Man?  That is the song I think of when I think of this bear. He is a sharp dressed bear made from a stunning gray men's suit jacket.

I had never made a bear from a man's suit jacket before. I find it fascinating to deconstruct each new article of clothing for each bear I make.

 The suit jacket had little hidden details that were fabulous. I tried to use as much of the little details as possible. This jacket had two different fabrics for lining. The lining of the body and back of the suit was a beautiful gray paisley. The lining of the sleeves was a crisp white with a stripe.  I used the sleeve lining for the ears and soles of the bear's feet. And I made a vest from the body and back lining. I am so happy how he turned out. 

This bear was made for my friend who is a counselor.  Every now and then she requests a bear for one of her clients. Because of privacy laws, I never know anything about the person whose clothing I am using or the recipient of the bear. I am thankful this bear recipient trusted me to cut up their loved one's suit to make a bear. I hope this little guy gives them comfort. 

Cathy's Bears

 I don't usually repair bears. This was a special case. Reconstruction of these bears was a special request from an old friend. She had started them and never finished them.  They are made from Pittsburgh Pirate jersey's that were my friend's sister who had passed away several years ago.  I'll admit they were a challenge to repair. I had to unstuff, stabilize and repair a few seams. I am very happy with how they worked out.  My friend was happy with them too. The pattern that was used is not my usual pattern so that is why they look a little different than my regular bears. I hope Cathy's family gets comfort from them. It was a privilege to be able to make them for my friend. 

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!