Saturday, April 10, 2010

Jilly Bears

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada is famous for very cold winters. It's not uncommon to see 40 or 50 below zero in January. In fact it's affectionately called Winterpeg. My mother Jill, owned two prized fur coats and wore them for warmth first and fashion second. They were beautifully made, with soft silk linings and her name on an embroidered tag inside. In the fall, they'd be pulled out of moth balls and placed in the front closet. I can remember sitting on her lap and feeling the soft fur against my face. A fond childhood memory.


After mother died my dear friend Linda had mother's coats made into" Jilly" Bears which have been passed along to the nieces and grandnieces as mementos of their great, great, grandmother.

10 comments:

  1. What a wonderful thing to do with an old fur coat...especially one with such fond memories.
    That photo makes me shiver! Aren't you glad we live in sunny California?
    I remember Chicago winters.

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  2. What a great idea for the coats!

    Thanks for visiting my blog today! Let's take that Skyride across the country...how fun! :)

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  3. Now that is a tremendous idea - turning the fur coats into teddy bears. I don't think even Peta could argue with that!

    Kat

    P.S. I adore guacamole and make my own all the time.

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  4. 'Jillybears' ... could there be a more perfect name!? The thought of those little bears really moves me.
    Thank you for the beautiful comment you left on my blog.

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  5. Oh, I remember the feel and smell of my grandmother's mink stole -- magical!

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  6. I love that idea of bears from the fur coat! Good photos too...

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  7. Wonderful pictures and a fine way to pass down those cosy memories of the fur coat.

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  8. What an excellent idea to recycle the fur coats. It is so sad that fur coats seem to have fallen into disrepute. Thanks for joining in with Sepia Saturday and for providing such an interesting post.

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  9. What a precious treasure. Those fur collars were so nice to have on a winter coat. I had a red coat with gray fur material on it and it felt so good when I tightened the hood up around my face.

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  10. What should Karen do with the fox stoles she inherited from her grandmother in Winnipeg.

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