Hideko's Bear

 Hello All,

This is the secret project I was working on all summer and couldn't post about

 I met Hideko at the 2010 Retreat , She ended up loosing that years bear. She lives near Sendai and was affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

 I got in contact with the ladies that attended that retreat and asked them to contribute something small to make a bear of Hideko's own.
This is the finished result

She received it today and seems very happy with it

Well off to another project!!

Later,
Lauri

This Year's Bear

 Hello All,

As some of you may know I usually make a cq bear for the the Chinese auction for the retreat.

Usually the are quite blinged out. Not this year!! I kept myself under control. There is not one single bead anywhere on this bear. All the seams were done in a variegated threads ( some of which I dyed myself) with a coordinating solid. All the fabrics were black, with a few black/colored prints thrown in for good measure

For me this is quite a departure. I love my beads and bling

 This little guy took me about 80 hours to do. I've been asked how much I would charge for a bear like this. I'd say the "bear" minimum would be $300-$400. Why should I value my work for less. If I was getting minimum wage ( which I think I deserve more than) it would be over $580

 I really liked how it turned out. The black background makes the colors POP

This bear got to go home with Helen Thorkleson

Next time I hope to show my progress and the saga of the great color disappearing pink quilt

Later,
Lauri
PS  a BIG thank you to Connie for all the pictures! She is a much better photographer than I am