In our town of Hendersonville, we have a yearly art walk exhibit of bears decorated by local artists. The bears are on the street downtown for the summer, then auctioned off to benefits local charities in the fall. This year, several of the bears feature quilt patterns. This one had quilt blocks in mostly blues over its back and legs. The bright colors are eye-catching.
This bear wears a sweater with quilt blocks down the front and back.
This one was my favorite, a patchwork of pastels. There are 20 bears in all, four on the corners of five intersections downtown. See pictures of all the bears, read about the artists that created them and the charity each one will support on the website Bearfootin’ Art Walk.
I did a bit of embroidery this week on kitchen towels, lining up the colors in my egg carton. My Sweet Babboo made a thread stand for me a while ago that I use for large cones.
I think this one that says “Mind Your Own Biscuits” is hilarious. I did it in green and gold to match my kitchen colors.
Reloading the machine with more colors, I did one to hang on the stove handle.
I like to chop chop, so this one is perfect. It ties in with the Asian inspired wall hangings in the dining room. I have a bit of burgundy and black in the kitchen as well.
My latest UFO is this wedge that I made with a few leftover jelly roll strips. It is 19-inches point to point. I’m not sure what to do with it from here. Do I add triangles to square it off, or add a border to make it bigger, or leave it as it is and just finish it? I’m not really excited about this one, and it may end up on the rehome table at guild for someone else to finish.
In April, I made this lace embellished denim jacket for the quilt show shop. I haven’t shown this one to you. I was a bit surprised that it didn’t sell, and I wonder if it was because it was on a clothing rack against a wall with a lot of other stuff that people didn’t take the time to look through. Good news for someone here though, as it is still for sale. The jacket is vintage and washed prior to embellishing.
It has applique white lace hearts on the front pockets, with rhinestones on the riveted buttons.
The yoke has a white lace insert and the denim behind has been cut away so it is see-through. The yoke extends over the top of the shoulder, making it visible from the front when worn. The lovely scalloped edge is topstitched on the bottom seam so the edge can be seen. All the lace lightens up the look while adding elegance.
The bottom has a white lace embellishment that extends below the hem.
The riveted buttons have rhinestones all down the front placket.
I’m including some replacement rhinestones as well, as sometimes these do get lost.
The size is 2XL, with the bust measurement 48-inches, sleeve length 25-inches. The jacket is $45 plus shipping. Leave a comment or send an email if you are interested.
Next week is fairly light again, so more time to sew. Now, if I just had a project!!
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From My Carolina Home 
Love the bears! We have a few (real ones) in Kentucky but not like you do!
Louisville does horse statues, here’s one I saw in a building lobby the other day. It was bought by a clothing store, hence the bling.
I love the jacket too, it’s not my size but I’d get it if it was.
I loved looking at all the bears! A town nearby, Custer, does the same things but with buffalos! I’m certain you will find something to do with your “quiet” week, Carole. 🙂 While 19 inches might be a tad large, I wonder about using some insulbrite, and turning it into a large hot pad for a table? That would allow it to accommodate a larger 9 x 13 pan or a Dutch oven and still show the pretty.
The bears are so cute! I love the denim jacket with lace. I know it will find a good home. Have a wonderful week, Carole!
The quilted bears are wonderful works of art and I hope they do well at the auction. Your kitchen towels are super cute and need to learn how to use the embroidery option on my machine. We have a local shop that offers such classes in the winter, I need to take one or two and see if it’s something I would do more of. It would be nice to do embroidered labels for my quilts if nothing else. Great job on the jacket and adding the rhinestones is a clever bling.
I love the bears, especially the one standing on its hind legs. The quilted sweater is awesome!
I love that the bears are decorated with various quilt patterns. What a fun project to raise money. Kudos to the artists who work on these.
I bought a big thread stand (24 spools) for my Elna Machine. Takes a bit of space, but I am really happy with it. It’s quite the upgrade from my single thread stand. I find the thread is much happier standing than on it’s side. So much less strain on the thread, less breaks etc. How nice to make something for your own kitchen too. I usually end up with the embroidered towels that I “reject” as not good enough for gifts, but still functional. LOL.
I’m sure you have a list of “projects” you want to try. I do with embroidery designs! Can’t wait to see what you end up doing. 🙂
Our downtown area did cows one year – but never again. Sad because it brought a lot of people to the area. Still sewing for the local Children’s Nursing Home, but have 2 memory/memorial quilts that I am draggin my feet. Love the idea, don’t enjoy cutting up the clothes. Mostly just enjoying the being outdoor before it gets too hot. p.s. We only have one quilt shop in the area and so I bought some fabric online. I knew it was a mistake, but fabric is my ultimate “drug”. IT SAID COTTON. Not even close. It’s shiny, slick, icky to the touch. But cute! I don’t think I even want to put it in the AMVETS bag for fear someone else will make that mistake. (And it’s not like I don’t have enough fabric to work with LOL) Thanks again for all the wonderful ideas and photos!
Thread stands make a difference in stitch quality and I have fewer thread issues. I use a thread stand for sewing, embroidery, longarming and even take it to retreat.
The bears are so creatively decked out. A town near us does something similar with wooden rocking chairs.
Happy Sunday!
Jo Anne
Cute bears and they look like a nice size for a home garden. We had horses on parade one year. They were life size. Those auction bidders were primarily corporate, they needed a crane to move them. The lace yoke looks like such a good idea. Denim jackets can be warm in summer. I have a stalled project on my wall. I’m trying to work up enough enthusiasm to finish it.
Those bears are great! In my city – Loveland – we have painted hearts everywhere! Looks like you’ve been having fun with your embroidery machine, too. I always enjoy seeing what you’ve done with the denim jackets. It makes me want to add some bling to mine!
The bears are beautiful. A nearby town Abingdon does the same thing with wolves. Hope everyone has a great week.
What cute bears and what a good idea to raise money. I like your embroidered pieces, lots of fun and something for yourself.
I’d hoped to have a day sewing today but life just has a habit of getting in the way. I have more ideas than I have time to make them.
Have a happy day
Mary :))
I like “Mind your own biscuits!” Very cute. And boy, wild about those bears. I would love one of those in my yard! (And they don’t mess up the bird feeders, either!)
Those bears are the kind I could look at all day…I’d love to have one in my yard!!! It would be so fun to see a live bear come nose to nose with it. I love the denim jacket embellishing…used to be so popular many year ago…fun to see a resurgance of a good idea.
Concerning the UFO, just put a binding on it and use it as a small table topper, or something of the sort or put it for sale or use it as a gift.
Those bears are fun…colorful with great quilty patterns…my favorite kind of bear. Love the jean jacket…hope it sells quickly.
The bears are a lot of fun. I do enjoy seeing towns take on art displays like this.
Your denim jacket has turned out really well.
Those bears are so cute, I really like the one with the quilted jacket. Your jean jacket turned out great!