WOW: Brushing the Bears

WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays



Before his brush

It's not all about quilts you know...

Sometimes, like this morning, it's all about the bears!



after his brush

I have a family of beautiful bears that need love and attention every few months. So, like today, I take out my bear box and give all my bears a gentle brushing before packing them away again. I find they need a little handling and care to keep them looking their best.

Before I started quilting 11 years ago, I made heirloom bears from my own original patterns. And I have to say, selling them was very hard as I never wanted to part with them!



It takes time  and devotion to make a genuine heirloom bear. There's a lot of work in creating the pattern, making their faces, sewing in their eyes and noses, glossing the nose thread with beeswax and clipping their fur so that you can see their expressions. After the sewing and stuffing and creation of each bear, they develop a character and you do become attached to them!

No teddy misses out on his brushing...

Now I have a studio of bears that I have resigned myself to selling....knowing that they will be better cared for in loving homes and that it's better to have them out there being enjoyed, than kept in boxes.

The biggest problem I have had with selling them, is that they are all unique. Apart from my polar bears, I didn't make any repeats, so they all have something special about them.

not even the littlest one!



Bloggers Quilt Festival Quilt! "Hydrangea"

Thank you Amy for another Blogger's Quilt Festival, I really enjoy this linky party and appreciate all your planning and time in organising it each time. 

Hydrangea
Wallhanging, 18 x22"

This is a simple but favourite wall hanging of mine, I keep it in our main corridor to our bedroom so that I can enjoy it all the time. I created it freehand from a photo I had of hydrangeas in our garden. My quilts are usually large or wall hanging size, it just seems to turn out that way.

When I made this quilt, I knew I wasn't finished and that I would like more floral quilts around my home. This inspired my current Free Bom 'Forget Me Not' which is a floral wall hanging applique quilt, and, you know, flowers!!... I'm loving every moment of it.

Thank you for viewing my Quilt Festival Quilt!

Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's Ladder

This is a block from Part 4 of my free 2012 Mystery BOM Forget Me Not

raw edge applique

Outlined petal details

Because this was the part 4 block of my dark background quilt, I went with vivid colours that can take the dark background. If your own background is light, you can opt for subtle shades.

Have you decided which block you are making this month?

This is a block from Part 4 of my free 2012 Mystery BOM Forget Me Not

You can download this month's block via my website or my Yahoo Bom Group

Wild Rose & Lilac Details

Wild Rose & Lilac

This is a block from Part 4 of my free 2012 Mystery BOM Forget Me Not

turn edge applique petals for the wild roses

raw edge applique lilacs

turn edge leaves

some pencil detailing on the petals

Like the previous blocks, I will be embellishing these blocks with decorative stitches at the end, when I plan my quilting. With the lilacs in this block, I am looking for tiny beads to stitch in amongst the applique so that the lilacs 'shimmer' in their cluster. How much or how little extra embellishment will vary block by block. You can keep it simple or really enjoy embellishing all the areas of small and fine detail.

Fabric selection next to my sketch and alongside my background fabric

Lilacs in deep to light hues of blue pink. Make sure that you check which side is fusible, to avoid sticking your little lilacs to your iron, this is too easy to do!

I use fusible release paper when raw edge applique cutting out.

It's great because you can re-use this paper 5 times before discarding.

I use Wonder Under brand.

This is the lilac 'shadow', it's raw edge and again, so simple. Creating the lilac backrground means that I don't have to cut so many little lilac shapes out. I was also toying with the idea of embroidering the lilacs on top of the 'shadow' fabric and if you have an embroidery machine, this is definitely an option for you. (I tried on my domestic and it didn't look effective). So I went ahead with my lilac applique.

These are my leaves waiting to be cut out

How is your Forget Me Not Block looking?

This is a block from Part 4 of my free 2012 Mystery BOM Forget Me Not

You can download this month's block via my website or my Yahoo Bom Group