More Memory Bears!

When looking back for photos of memory bears that I have made this year so far, I was surprised to find there were only two orders, because it felt like many more. I suppose the fact that there are 8 bears in total between the 2 orders would be the reason it felt like that!

 Both of the orders were made from the shirts of a much-loved male family member but were different in every other way. The 3 bears above are almost identical, but with the shirt fabrics mixed up on each bear. If you look closely, you will see that the only difference is in the ears, which is purely so the owner of each bear can recognise their own, and was my suggestion.

Then came the mega order! Luckily, the customer wanted each bear in the same fabric, which took away some of the decision making for me. Part way though making these, I received a further request that each bear has a bow tie. At that point, there was a hiatus in the making as I awaited a further order of stuffing (these bears took A LOT of stuffing) so, during the wait, I made the ties and the drawstring protecting bags I put them in. I have one more bear order waiting that is not needed until December. It is for 2 bears made from curtains)

On the subject of memory items, I also offer the option to make cushions. Apart from my sample cushion, this is the only one I've made so far. It's from festival t-shirts promoting our local music festival. I have another order for one of these waiting in the wings.

Making this cushion gave me an idea. I have quite a few t-shirts from my running days, with logos from the various races I took part it. I dug them out the other day, and one day I will get around to making a quilt out of them, because I'm not going to wear them again, for running or otherwise!

Bye for now
Teresa x

Memory Bears have taken off!

Welcome to my first post of 2018. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I'm afraid it didn't feel very festive, to me, this year. Don't know if that was just me, or the dreary weather but, in any case, let's hope this year is better on all fronts than the last one!

 You may remember a couple of posts ago, I told you about a new offshoot to my crafting business. I had decided to look into making memory bears, cushions and quilts. I had bought a pattern, made a couple of trial bears, and made a first, heavily discounted bear for a friend/customer in memory of her daughter. The bear above is the first customer order after that, and was made in memory of a mother.

 I began taking my bears along to craft fairs and events, along with my usual stock, and they drew a lot of attention. When I saw a rabbit pattern (also from Funky Friends Factory), I loved it and thought it might be an idea to give customers a choice of memory softies; so I bought it and made this one from charity shop, fleecy nightwear. If only the regulations didn't stop me selling these directly; I could have sold this one 5 times over already!

 Things started taking off when I began posting pictures of my bears on my Facebook page, Raglan Thread Shed. The bear above was a second order from the first, trial customer. It is also in memory of her daughter, but was a gift for her sister.

Each order I get is different, despite being exactly the same pattern. This, above, is my first set of twins! They are for 2 sisters, in memory of their mother. One sister ordered them as a surprise.

And so we come to my latest order, finished just before Christmas. These 2 are made from a grandfather's shirts, picked out by his grand-daughters. They were to be opened on Christmas day.

Making bears out of men's shirts certainly removes the difficulty of deciding where each different fabric should be placed, but I enjoy the variety that each new set of clothing presents. It can also be quite emotional for the customer when I reveal the finished bears, so it's not like any other crafting that I do. Luckily, I have not, yet, been asked to make one from the clothing of someone I knew. It already takes me a little time to get into the right state of mind to cut into customers' precious belongings. I'm sure it would be much more difficult if I knew the person.

Bye for now
Teresa x