Teddy Bearers

I love teddy bears, and I have stitched lots of them. In fact, stitching teddies was what got me seriously into stitching. I had stitched as a small child, but it wasn't until I was in college that I really got the bug. It started first with a couple of kits, then I discovered leaflets. My very first cross stitch leaflet was Teddy Bearers, by Gloria & Pat. I got a lot of mileage out of that leaflet. I stitched several teddies from it for myself and also did bunches for my friends.

Both of these pieces were stitched on 18 ct. aida. Debonair Bear is framed in a hoop trimmed with lace. He currently hangs in my powder room. Blowing Bearbles is one of my many projects that needs to be framed.

Cherished Teddies

After stitching bunches of Teddy Bearers, I moved on to Cherished Teddies. Originally, they were called Priscilla's Precious Bears. The Cherished Teddies line of figurines, which are based on the artwork of Priscilla Hillman, had not yet been introduced. A couple of years later, my mom got a flyer in the mail and recognized them as the bears that I had been stitching for some time. She bought me the "Monthly Friends to Cherish" set of bears for Christmas in 1993. I've been collecting the figurines ever since.

All of the projects shown below were stitched on 22 ct. hardanger fabric, with the exception of "Baby's First Easter", which was stitched on 18 ct. aida. The Easter piece is also the only one not from the Priscilla's Precious Bears leaflet; it is from Cherished Teddies for the Holidays. Both leaflets are from Gloria & Pat.