Just a little peak at my next creation ........ I'm half-way there! But can you work out what it is yet!
and as well as that, Today I've also made a start on (and nearly finished) the first block in a Block of the Month (BOM) that I've joined. This pattern is called 'Dresden Plate' and I'm really pleased with how its turned out - such lovely sunshine colours!
The quilt is called 'Summertime Delight' - bought from Totally Patched. This is the first quilt I've started in about 4 years; and the first time I've ever done a BOM, but I couldn't resist and it's very reasonably priced. The real 'hook' was that all the pieces come pre-cut! And as all patchworkers/quilters know, it's the cutting out that takes the time. When on earth I think I'm going to find the time to do this as well as my bears, I just don't know, but I just love it!!
This is a picture of the finished quilt - it's a bit fuzzy, but I hope you get the idea!
Thanks for popping by.
Oh dear, I think Goldie is a little bit shy today!
That’s better; you can see her properly now - she’s a pretty little girl don’t you think? She’s getting ready early for Easter with her basket of Easter eggs, all needle-felted by me – what a laborious task!
Anyway, Goldie is made entirely by me from a lovely soft viscose fabric and suede paw pads. She is 5-way cotter jointed, with a wobble neck joint and she is filled as usual with firm fibre-fill and steel shot for a nice bit of weight. I’ve then aged her around the edges with oil pastels and added some faux mending stitches here and there to add to the vintage look. She has black glass English eyes and a prim stitched nose; and she is finished off with a very pretty ribbon around her head and a small bell around her neck. Her basket of eggs also comes with her.
From top to toe, Goldie measures 9 inches (23cms) and sitting height she is 7 inches (17cms).
On her back you can see her fabric ‘Handmade at Bilberry Lane’ Label and her unique antique style ‘BL’ pin.
EDIT: I'm happy to say that Goldie has been adopted
If you would like any further information, please email me at:-
bilberrylane@hotmail.co.uk
Thanks for looking
xxxx
I have a new look and name to my blog! As you may, or may not be aware, I started making Artist Bears about 18 months ago. I then decided to start a new blog dedicated to the bears and leave this one (previously Bilberry Grove) for other crafts. Well, I haven’t been happy with the new blog!! It’s probably me, but it’s simply never worked properly and I don’t understand why; and neither do I have to time (or inclination!) to work it out. So as you see, I have reverted to this one and changed the name (and look) to ‘Bilberry Lane’. In effect, this will be predominately Artist Bears, plus anything else I make.
Thank you for reading – I just felt the need to explain!!
So, the 4 posts below are some of the bears I’ve made over the last few months, including Cadbury which I finished at the weekend.
Cadbury Bear
Cadbury is off to find some chocolate by the looks of things – he can’t wait until Easter and I think he’s hoping to get quite a lot by the look of that bag!!
Cadbury is just 9 inches/23cms tall from top to toe and 6½ inches/17cms sitting height. He is made from a lovely chocolate colour, beautifully soft Viscose fabric. He is filled with the usual firm fibre-fill and steel shot for weight. He is 5-way cotter jointed, with black glass eyes and simply adorned with a purple ribbon around his neck. Cadbury’s bag is made from linen and the logo is printed cotton – the bag also has a small lilac fabric flower and a teddy bear antique brass charm stitched on. Cadbury has been distressed around the edges for a nice look of vintage!
I hope you like him!
Cadbury can be adopted for £50, plus shipping and packaging
UK - £8 Special Delivery
Europe - £15, tracked and signed for
Worldwide - £20, tracked and signed for
If you would like any further information, please email me at:-
bilberrylane@hotmail.co.uk
Thanks for looking
Julia
xxx
Felix was a commission for a lady at work; and thankfully she was very pleased – I had “exceeded her expectations” in actual fact!! What a relief! I don’t like taking commissions, because I find them rather stressful, but it would be silly of me to refuse at this early stage of my bear making journey.
Felix gave me a bit of a challenge from the start, as I had to make him bigger than my usual bears. This meant having to enlarge the pattern – something I haven’t done before, so I had no idea how it would turn out. I should have had more confidence in myself though, because I think he turned out really well.
Felix is a 5-way cotter jointed bear, made from a beautiful Viscose fabric, with ultra suede for his paw pads. He has black glass eyes and is filled very full of the usual firm fibre filling and steel shot for a good bit of weight. He has a prim style stitched nose and is faintly aged using oil pastels around the edges for a slightly aged, vintage look. And at just over 13 inches from top to toe, Felix is my biggest bear yet!
Felix is made entirely by hand. His lovely warm scarf is hand-knitted, which is pinned at the front with a rusty style pin on which hangs a fob watch charm. His satchel is made from a leather-look fabric - very tricky to sew such a small shape on a sewing machine!!
The finishing touch is the needle-felted robin perched on his paw ……… I only stabbed myself about 25 times with the felting needle, but hey ho!!
Felix is based on one of my earlier bears who also had the scarf, satchel and felted robin – these were the requirements of the commission.
Thanks for looking
Julia
xxxx
I made Molly Rose in November last year - I love Ellies! I’m usually a bit naff at choosing names, but I had been watching the BBC Remembrance Service on TV and there a lovely 95-year old lady who had flown aeroplanes during the Second World War – one of very few women who flew in the war. Well, her name was Molly Rose; and she was such a lovely lady, so deciding what to call my newest lovely ‘Ellie’ became easy, particularly seeing as her dress is partly made from a lovely rose colour raw silk. I don’t know how she would feel about me naming my ‘Ellie’ after her, but it is well meant!
So, to the detail! Molly Rose is 9 inches from top to toe (6½ inches sitting). She is 5-way cotter jointed, including a wobble joint for her head – I love these wobble joints since I recently started to use them! She is filled to the brim with the usual firm fibre filling and steel shot for a good bit of weight. She has black glass eyes and (very tricky to insert!!) lovely long eyelashes.
Molly Rose’s dress is made from a beautiful rose pink raw silk for the bodice and an ivory/beige colour lacey fabric for the skirt; and the dress is finished off with mother of pearly buttons. Around her head is a pretty pink ribbon.
She has the usual sewn in fabric ‘Bilberry Lane’ label and my new antique gold style BL unique pin.
Molly Rose can be adopted for £50, plus shipping and packing:
UK - £8 Special Delivery
Europe - £15, tracked and signed for
Worldwide - £20, tracked and signed
If you would like any further information, please email me at bilberrylane@hotmail.co.uk.
Thanks for looking
Julia
xxxx
Lucky had a bit of a Christmas theme going on – check out his antique style tag with a cardinal picture in it? And then there’s the little wool bag, on to which I have needle-felted some holly leaves and sewn on a few tiny red seed beads for berries
And look what’s inside the bag ......... a Christmas card from Lucky!
Lucky is 5-way jointed, with a fabulously wobbly head – that’s because of the ‘wobble’ joint used, glass black eyes and filled to the brim with the usual firm fibre fill and steel shot for a good bit of weight; particularly in that fat little tummy!! 9 inches from top to toe, or 6½ inches sitting down height, with a sewn in ‘Bilberry Lane’ fabric label and my new unique BL antique style pin.
EDIT: Lucky has been adopted
Thanks for looking
Julia
xxxx
