nimbleknot

Vintage quilting

I think this quilted pillow is about 35 years old. What is so cool is that I remember my mom buying it for me. She purchased it along with a full size quilt and matching quilted doll. Even better, it was handmade by the quilting bee at our church. I remember the Christmas Bazaar in the basement of the church like it was yesterday. I sit on this pillow everytime I sew. I remember lying in bed as a kid picking out my favorite fabric on the quilt and pillow. The quilt was on my bed for many years, then hung on the wall. Now, it's back in the linen closet and gets used on cold nights. After all these years there is not one loose stitch. Ahhh...quality!

I started a new job this week. I will be teaching PE with two other teachers to almost 1,000 little kids at a great elementary school. I don't know if all schools are like this but I can tell you I have never felt more welcome. The staff at this school is "over the top" in friendliness. Each day since I got this job I keep saying to myself, "I cannot believe how lucky I am to be here." I am even luckier that I can ride my bike to work and stop at Starbucks on the way! WOOHOO!

Mohair Fun!

I unpacked my Intercal box and took a deep breath.

I drew my own pattern so it would fit on a 12x12 piece of mohair. As most of y'all know, mohair can be quite pricey. I decided to do a small bear so it would fit on a square foot of mohair. I had to rework the pattern a couple times to get it on there but it finally fit. I bought pre-crimped eyes as I had heard the horror stories of glass eyes breaking when pulled through the head. I thought I would spend a couple bucks more and get the best eyes.

I have to tell you I really dragged my feet on this bear. Since this was a new venture and I was teaching myself how to make this bear with help from everybody at Teddy Talk, I had a lot of anxiety about it. I had this idea in my head about how I wanted this bear to turn out and I was on uncharted territory. After about a week, I turned out this little guy...

Everything about this bear was a learning curve for me. I stopped at ever juncture and referenced each particular skill at Teddy Talk or a book I have about repairing old teddies. And while I learned a LOT, I have a lot more to learn. I didn't skimp or cheat on this bear. I followed the proper rules and etiquette for making a good quality, jointed teddy bear. Even if I had to unstuff the head three times, I wanted it done right.

Even photographing this bear was different than shooting my felted bears. There is so much more depth to this bear, who I named "BooBoo." But it's really hard to see in the photo. I took the photo in evening sun after a rainstorm and will not do that next time.

I used a technique for sewing in the eyes that I really liked. However, after a couple days of looking at her I decided I didn't care for the space between the eyes. It was a bit too wide.

When I pushed on the eye, it came loose! ACK!!! So I pulled on the other eye and it did the same darn thing! What tha? So I researched another technique and used a different thread and re-seated both eyes closer together and much deeper in the head. Which of course I don't have a photo. But it looks much better and gave more character to BooBoo.

I am already drawing a new pattern to fit on a bigger hunk of mohair. I want to make changes to my bear as there are some things I don't like. But we all have to start somewhere. I really enjoyed making a jointed, stuffed, mohair bear and have plans to make many more. I spent an hour and a half last night combing the mohair inventory at Intercal. It's like walking into a candy store! Yum! MOHAIR IN ALL COLORS!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, I listed Mama Margarita on ebay. She will be offered for sale through this Friday. Click on my ebay link in the upper left to take a peek.