Pooh Bear Quilt

by Brenda Thomas
(Okotoks, Alberta, Canada)

So, I’m actually am from South Africa and I moved to Cold Lake Alberta right after getting married to my husband 25 years ago. At the same time, I was pregnant with our first son. This was in the days before there were computers and when calling across an ocean cost about the same as a middle size family sedan. My husband was posted at the Air Force base in Cold Lake. Being that he worked a lot, I was new to the area, and all my family lived on the other side of the world, I was super lonely. That is where I discovered my passion!! Quilting!!!

It all started when I was doing alterations for the local air force guys, and sewing patches on uniforms. But I wanted to try something new, so the First quilt that I ever made was a simple Pooh Bear quilt. I traced the figures out of a book that belonged to my sons and cut them out in felt. I sewed 2 pieces of thick cotton together, as a top and backing, in a grid pattern. Then I sewed the Pooh Bear figures onto the top of the quilt. So, it certainly was nothing complex, but it kicked off a career in quilting. Now, I own 2 Long Arm quilters and I have my own little slice of heaven. My quilting studio :P ).

What made this quilt so memorable for me, was when I first gave it to my son. He was 2 at the time. He looked up at me with those excited eyes, that only a 2-year-old could have, and said to me, "Mommy, I wike it! I wike it awot!!" Be still my heart <3 I have never had a more rewarding reaction to one of my quilts.

Needless to say, 25 years later I'm still at it and I quilt quilts for my friends all the time. I am also a part of a local quilting guild and I am starting up my own business.

I guess if I could say one thing to a new quilter it is, don't compare yourself to another quilter!! Trust me. That person is looking up to someone else's quilt. Learn from them, but don't put down your own work, because it isn't at that level. Trust me you will get there. It will take time and you will enjoy every second of it. (Except the unpicking of course :P )

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