Wedding Dress Blues To Beautiful Bear!

What to do when your wedding ceremony and reception leave that special dress you spent months picking out a bit worse for wear?  One of my customers faced this very dilemma when she decided to re-visit her beloved wedding dress that she had carefully packed away 5 years earlier.  To her dismay, she also got to re-visit the drink that was spilled on it during the reception and the footprints of the shoes that had repeatedly caught on her train.  Once the cleaners declared it irreparable, she contacted me to ask if I could use the fabric to make a teddy bear for the baby girl she is expecting shortly.

The original dress was a beautiful fitted satin gown with a satin edged chiffon overlay.  I constructed the body of the bear out of a double layer of the satin and chiffon in order to simulate the look of her original dress.  The fabric for the feet and ears was taken from the Cocalo Daniella bedding set that she will be using in her daughter’s nursery.  The bow is constructed from more of the chiffon overlay fabric which I edged on each side with the original satin piping.

What a wonderful challenge, and what a very special way to remember the dress!

Up, Up and Away…

I just finished a custom airplane crib quilt for a customer that wanted me to replicate a vintage red and white airplane quilt that she had found an image of online.  After a little digging online, I traced the image to a 1930’s quilt displayed in “Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts,” presented by the American Folk Art Museum at the Park Avenue Armory, March 25–30, 2011.  (http://www.folkartmuseum.org/?p=folk&t=images&id=8665) and the pattern to a 1930’s quilt pattern called “Lindy” that was originally published by Capper’s Weekly, but later reprinted in Better Homes and Garden’s “American Heritage Quilts.” 

The original quilt pattern was for a 74” x 85” quilt using large 10.5” blocks.  I reduced the pattern 50% to make 5.25” blocks that allowed me to keep the overall layout of the original quilt, but accommodate the smaller crib quilt size.

Overall, it was a great project to research and re-create the quilt and I had such a fantastic time doing it!

My completed Red and White Airplane Quilt!

“Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts,” presented by the American Folk Art Museum at the Park Avenue Armory, March 25–30, 2011.  

Image of the original quilt from the exhibit - I think mine was pretty close (though much smaller).

"Lindy" Quilt Pattern

My first practice block

Completed quilt with backing view.

Completed quilt close up.

Completed quilt all ready for shipping.