Happy tears

 In the midst of packing to move, I was contacted by a woman who I'd met last summer at a craft show in South Philly.  We'd talked generally at the time about custom bears and she took a card, but that happens at nearly every show and people rarely follow up.

This woman did.

Her daughter is having a baby very soon, and she reached out because she wanted to make a "family bear" for her. 

Every piece of fabric in this bear came from a piece of cherished clothing from one family member or another. 

I met up with her at lunchtime from the office, heard the stories about each piece of clothing, each person, and took the bag home to start her bear.

Trying to get in "maker mode" when I was in the middle of packing wasn't easy, but once I started laying out my pattern pieces, this little guy came together.

A friend stopped by  as I was stringing him together, and she said, hoping not to offend, that my work was beautiful, she wasn't so sure about the bear.  I understood her meaning, but said that the bear would be beautiful to my customer, because of all the people it represented, and that the only part of the piece I could control was my work.

Bear's pieces: head and body - tweed jacket from customer's mom; denim jacket from her dad.  Floral silk on head - Dad's Liberty tie.  Navy on legs - dress my customer wore to her daughter's wedding.  Blue-and-whtie gingham - curtains my customer made for her daughter's childhood bedroom.  Ears - dad's hankie.  Foot pads - mom's leather glove.  Salmon jersey - dad's pullover.  Teal cotton (and embroidered portion) - blouse made by the mom-to-be.

The small blanket behind the bear in the second picture consists of pieces donated by the baby's father's family - a "no fear" hat, a gray cashmere sweater, a dark silk from a dress, and a wool hat from both parents' high school.  (With a little of that salmon jersey to tie it all together).

I think it's a little alarming, but in a good way, and my customer burst into tears in her building lobby, so I'm taking that as a good thing.