Glorious Technicolor

Wow.  I got an order recently for 5 custom bears, an exciting thing on its own but also a really great project.  The buyer said her mother had passed away in June and she wanted to make a set of bears for herself and her adult siblings from some of her mom's "loungers."  She apologized for them being polyester.

Now what does older woman, polyester and lounger say to you?  I had in mind a group of pastel, floral, spongy-textured garments.  When I got a fairly small box in the mail, I couldn't understand how she had gotten these clothes, which were very clear in my mind, into that little parcel.

Then I opened it.

Again, I say wow.  Her mom was not a stereotypical older lady wearing polyester as I know it.  These are poly, yes, but they're satin, and I don't think there's a pastel in the bunch.

I'm a little bewildered right now about how I'm going to turn these into bears, to use the prints to their best advantage, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.  I just need time to look at them and let the design come together in my head.

I'm only grateful that she wants one print per bear, and not combined.  I'm not sure I'm capable of that.