Snowbuddy: A Symbol of Renewal

I'm in a club at a local quilt shop. The cost of admission is $10 and it carries one requirement...to finish a pre-selected UFO each month.

Snowbuddy was my September pick. You can see the original Snowbuddy below. He hung on my sewing room wall in Toledo Ohio for years and years, waving and smiling and encouraging me on. Snowbuddy was wonky and poorly quilted but he was  my own creation and he was ever so happy.  My buddy smiled back at me from his place of honor from the time he was created in 1998 until the time we moved to the South in 2015.

Original Snowbuddy

After I arrived at my new home,  Snowbuddy was unpacked. I took a good look at him. Fabrics used in 1998 were beginning to show ware. (That was before I discovered quilt shop fabric.) The workmanship was poor.  The applique was good, but the machine quilting was really bad and my buddy needed a wash.   My skills had miraculously improved with the decades it was time to put these improved skills to use.  This Northern girl was about to start her new, unexpected Southern life with a new, renovated, spruced up Snowbuddy.

First, my buddy was lovingly disassembled. The machine quilting was carefully un-quilted. The binding and borders were removed.  He was given a gentle wash and hung up to dry.  The embellishments were removed and he was given a press.  My wall hanging was now ready for reassembly with new borders, backing, batting, and hand quilting.

Snowbuddy got a new face.  Tufts of cotton became his eyebrows and nose.  Buttons were stitched on for eyes. 

Embellishments were added:   A winter moon, hearts, stars.  The star on the right was hand pieced using Inklingo and then appliqued down.  New buttons were added along with a hand crocheted red scarf. Hand embroidery was added to the hat and mouth.   

Snowbuddy 2016

Then finally a label was printed and attached.

Snowbuddy helped me through the transition from North to South.  I worked on him here and there for over a year.  Each day this quilt was renewing, so was I.   I miss the north with the change of seasons.  I miss winter and the snow.   Snowbuddy allowed me to remain in touch with winter, as I sweat through the heat in the south.  My buddy now hangs in a place of honor in my Florida sewing room, smiling, waving, and encouraging me on. Looking at him, I can almost feel and smell the fresh Northern Winter air.