A Biddulph woman putting her crafts skills into action to raise money for a diabetes charity after her grandson was diagnosed with the condition.

Sue McGregor creates handmade memory bears for all kinds of occasions - the bears are made from materials that hold a special memory for the person it is being made for.

Sue explained that the project started when she was asked to make a bear from the shirts of a close friend after they passed away.

She has also made bears for new babies, and created bears from special materials such as school uniforms and Beavers and Cubs badges.

But following her grandson Seb's diabetes diagnosis, her focus switched to creating the bears in order to raise money for charities that support those affected by the condition, such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

And her efforts have definitely been a success so far, as she has managed to raise an amazing sum of over £1,700!

We spoke to Sue all about her memory bears and fundraising efforts. Read our interview below...

Hi Sue, thanks so much for talking to us about your memory bears! Could you tell me a bit more about the bears and how you make them?

"I enjoy doing crafts which are fairly quick to complete and having received a handmade memory bear from a dear friend I thought I could give it a go too. The majority of the bear is machine sewn but there are occasions when I need to do hand sewing due to the thickness of material. The button eyes are definitely put on by hand. I have only been making the bears since January 2022 and began as I wanted to use up Christmas material from another project.  I have also made bears for new arrivals and for a teacher for her Year 1 classes. I've even had a go at changing the bear pattern slightly to make a rabbit."

I also noticed you said you make memory bears. Could you tell me a bit more about what these are and what sorts of things people might ask for?

"The memory bears started because when a very close friend passed away, his wife knew I made bears and asked if I could make a bear from his shirts. One bear became three bears. My first memory bears were made from shirts as I mentioned, then my niece asked if I could make some bears from my late sister's tops. These were a challenge. I'm very much a novice sewer and only bought my machine in November 2021 for my Christmas project, and as the material was very flimsy, difficult to cut and work with. I had to add a liner to these bears. As there wasn't sufficient material to make the five bears she had asked for, I used my own material too. I have also used nightdresses, fleeces and school jumpers. 

"When someone supplies any material items, I never wash them as generally they hold the lost person's special smell and I don't want to lose that for them. Wherever possible I aim to incorporate any special pieces e.g. a special tie, hanky or badge. Another crafter generously gave me some handmade angels, so when it's a memory bear from a lost loved one, I will now include an angel. Most recently I was asked to incorporate a Beavers, Cubs and school jumper. The young man it was for had been awarded several badges so I made sure I included all of them. Most recently I've been asked if I could add a child's name to the bear. As my machine is a basic sewing machine, I have offered to embroider the name. Another request has asked if I could make birth weight bears. This is definitely giving me food for thought!"

What was your inspiration to start and why did you also decide to raise money for charity?

"As mentioned the inspiration for the bears came from the memory bear I received, but the fundraising started earlier than that. It all began with my daughter buying me a knitting pattern book for my birthday. As my grandchildren, who were 6 and 2 at the time, were looking through the book they found knitted jelly babies in the middle page. My grandson asked me to knit him a jelly baby so of course that meant knitting two as I couldn't do one without the other. He then went on to ask for one of every colour of the wool I purchased. 

"My grandson had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes the previous November and jelly babies were, at the time, a quick way to get sugar into him when he was having a hypo. From there, my first fundraising attempt began and Jelly Babies Save Lives was born. I felt I had exhausted the jelly baby market, although I do still get the occasional request and any new babies into the family or for friends new babies, they will always get a jelly baby as part of their welcome to the world. I needed a new way to fundraise and Christmas Bear and Friends came into being. The jelly babies created a lot of different requests ranging from ice hockey players, footballers, Santas, jelly babies with Christmas hats, jelly babies dressed as snowmen, unicorns, lion cubs, air force personal and Harry Potter. All of the non standard jelly babies I have created myself without a pattern. I have even made a Jeremy Corbyn! My focus now is really the bears."

Why did you choose the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in particular?

"When my grandson was diagnosed , as a family we went on a steep learning curve. I had always been part of the childcare, even though I lived in South Wales at the time. It has affected all of us and we are still learning how best to support Seb and any other T1D individuals. A lot of research is needed and new developments aren't always quick and much needed research funds can help. This is a very, very special charity for me and I am proud that I have raised in excess of £1700."

How can people order them, how long do they take to make and what would you say to encourage people who may be interested?

"The bears can be ordered via my Christmas Bears and Friends Facebook page or Messenger. When I put the pictures onto Biddulph Chatter I was amazed by the number of enquiries. Sadly very few requests for information get turned into orders as I perceive people think they are expensive and money is tight for everyone. Others have ordered through the jelly baby page and the word has been generally spread with lovely people sharing via Facebook what I do. 

"I charge one price irrespective of whether I am using my stock material or materials supplied by the purchaser. I do this so that, should I need to use my own materials e.g. lining due to flimsy material, it doesn't cost the purchaser extra. 50% of the charge goes to JDRF. The other 50% covers my materials and the stuffing etc. Each bear, when sitting is approximately 12inches (30cm). 

"If I need to post the bear there is an additional charge to cover the postage. I send a picture when the bear is complete to ensure it is what the person wants as there is no commitment to buy. I do sadly, now ask for payment prior to posting out, only when the purchaser is happy with the product. If, as I had recently, someone wants more than one bear out of the same material, I will use different combinations as I try not to do the same design twice. I guess in total the bears take 10 hours to make from start to finish. As I also work for myself, I don't always have time to sew during the week so generally I sew on a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday. I've never been good a promoting myself, even with my training business, so it's difficult to say how I could encourage people. Please do contact me to discuss your requirements, without obligation, is probably the only thing I can suggest."

What are your goals for the future and do you have a target of how much you would like to raise?

"I guess my goal is, whilst people want them, I'll make them. I don't have a target amount I want to raise, I just want to be able to support JDRF for as long as I can."