A Special Day for Teddy Bears!

I saw in TV this morning that is was National American Teddy Bear Day. After a little research I found out there are other days to celebrate the Teddy Bear. Teddy Bear Day is September 9th and Teddy Bear's Picnic Day is on July 10th.

I loved stuffed animals and Teddy bears when I was a child.
I loved them when I was a teenager.
I love them now.
Contrary to what some may think, I don't think you are ever too old for a stuffed animal.

 The Teddy Bear has been with us since 1902. We have Teddy Roosevelt to thank for the origin of the Teddy Bear. Go here to read about him and his love of hunting and how the Teddy Bear came to be.

I used to craft a lot. Now I write. Neither of these endeavors pay very well.

When I was crafting, I went through a spell of making stuffed bears. I can never make one of anything - so I made a lot. Unfortunately, I never sold a lot of them. I love them, so I still have my stuffed bears.

I made these from old quilts and an old chenille bedspread.

These are my calendar bears - 1984 and 1986. Made from old cloth dishtowels.

Old jeans are wonderful to make crafts from. 

I have Eeyore and Piglet bears, my USA bear (which I love) and a bedtime bear.

One from a sock, a  fuzzy brown bear and the one on the right made from my mom's old tablecloth that was full of holes. It sits on an old chair in my kitchen.

A special bear in my dining room. 

It was made from a twin size quilt my aunt gave me when I got married. The quilt was used a lot and it finally gave out. The backing was tearing up and my mom and I replaced many of the blocks. It got so it couldn't be used on the bed anymore. I decided to make a bear out of it so I could look at it and enjoy it every day.

Two more special bears. They were given to me by my husband. 

The old one on the right is dirty and worn and was given to me on my birthday when we were dating (1970s). The one on the left he brought to me when I was in the hospital in February 1998.

As you can see, I love Teddy Bears. I am glad they have special days set aside for them.

Do you love Teddy Bears, too? Do you have any  bears or memories to share with us?

Posted by Janet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Easy Quilting

This is a re-post from waaay back in September 2008. That was the month I first started blogging.
According to my stat counter, this post gets many, many visits. Surprisingly many of the visits are from Turkey! It seems someone on a blog over there found my post and posted it on her site. I wish I could read their language so I could read her post and the comments it generated.

I don't have the time to sew like I used to, so I hope you enjoy this re-post about my quilt and Teddy Bears.

By the way, I have a winner from my last post. FOLKWAYS NOTEBOOK. I haven't heard from her yet, so Barbara, please let me have your address so I can send your apron to you.

Gather pieces
Watch it grow
Piece together
In long rows.

Make it useful
Make it bright
Start it right now
Start tonight.

The jeans and dress
Are now gone
They made a quilt
To lay on.

When I have time, usually in late fall and early winter, I like to quilt, craft and sew.

The winter of 2007 I made a blue and pink blue jean quilt. This is the 5th blue jean quilt I have made. The other ones were different shades of blue and the blocks were smaller. I back them with flannel and you don't have to put batting between the layers. I knot them with embroidery thread. They're easy to make and durable. I like the bigger blocks, because I am impatient!

The leading character in my Middle Grade story Family Treasure (which I have received numerous rejection letters on) made a quilt just like this.

Here is a detailed picture of some of the blocks. The pink block with butterflies on it came from a jumper and the small flowers were on the leg of a pair of blue jeans. I also left the pockets on some of the blocks.



Here is another picture. The large flowered blocks came from a large skirted dress. The pink blocks came from pink blue jeans!




I also had enough material from that flowered dress to make a matching teddy bear.

The teddy bears are another story. I have been sewing since I was young. I made my clothing when I was a teenager, my wedding gown, and Halloween costumes for my children when they were young. But the hardest thing I ever learned how to make were teddy bears! When I first started making them I made many mistakes until I finally got the knack of it. Needless to say, I don't make them any more. Below is what they look like. The one on the far left was the flowered one from the left over material I sewed in the quilt. The others were made out of an old tablecloth, a chenille bedspread and a very old quilt which was too tore up to save.


As I stated above, the quilts are easy to make. They are an easy way to get rid of the old blue jeans that the kids (or you) have outgrown. Or if you don't have any you can buy them at a yard sale or thrift store. Cut out the squares, sew together, put flannel on the back, then knot them together and put on the binding. Voila! You're done.

Happy sewing!

Have you ever made a blue jean quilt before? Or maybe a Teddy Bear or two?

Posted by Janet Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

EASY QUILTING IN THE WINTER

Gather pieces
Watch it grow
Piece together
In a row.

Make it useful
Make it bright
Start it right now
Start tonight.

The jeans and dress
Are now gone
They made a quilt
To lay on.

When I have time, usually in late fall and early winter, I like to quilt, craft and sew.

The winter of 2007 I made a blue and pink blue jean quilt. This is the 5th blue jean quilt I have made. The other ones were different shades of blue and the blocks were smaller. I back them with flannel and you don't have to put batting between the layers. I knot them with embroidery thread. They're easy to make and durable. I like the bigger blocks, because I am impatient!

The leading character in my Middle Grade story Family Treasure (which I have received numerous rejection letters on) had a quilt just like this.

Here is a detailed picture of some of the blocks. The pink block with butterflies on it came from a jumper and the small flowers were on the leg of a pair of blue jeans. I also left the pockets on some of the blocks.



Here is another picture. The large flowered blocks came from a large skirted dress. The pink blocks came from pink blue jeans!




I also had enough material from that flowered dress to make a matching teddy bear.

The teddy bears are another story. I have been sewing since I was young. I made my clothing when I was a teenager, my wedding gown, and Halloween costumes for my children when they were young. But the hardest thing I ever learned how to make were teddy bears! When I first started making them I made many mistakes until I finally got the knack of it. Needless to say, I don't make them any more. Below is what they look like. The one on the far left was the flowered one from the left over material I sewed in the quilt. The others were made out of an old tablecloth, a chenille bedspread and a very old quilt which was too tore up to save.


As I stated above, the quilts are easy to make. They are an easy way to get rid of the old blue jeans that the kids (or you) have outgrown. Or if you don't have any you can buy them at a yard sale or thrift store. Cut out the squares, sew together, put flannel on the back, then knot them together and put on the binding. Voila! You're done.

Happy sewing!