Stitches came to us courtesy of the Bear Prairie "adopt-a-bear" program.  We'd been on the wait list for a bear cub for over a year before he was placed with us and were enthusiastic about the adoption.  We'd set up a bear room, purchased a little bear crate .  and made a bear bed with some leaves and bedding fit for a bear cub.  

But Stitches is no normal forest bear. That first evening  we awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of a sewing machine  down the hall. Putting on a bathrobe and grabbing a seam ripper for protection, I crept down the hall to see what was going on.  Imagine my surprise walking into the sewing room to find this little bear sewing himself a waistcoat.

So Stitches became our first employee and the official mascot of Bear Prairie Longarm Quilting and Sewing Machine Spa.  He loves to sew and quilt, tries his hand occasionally at cleaning or repairing a machine,  and accompanies us on our various quilting outings.  He's very photogenic and loves mugging for the cameras.