Little hens

I have seen this design many times on the net, even a video on Quilters TV.com, and I wanted to try it.

Our quilting group theme was log cabin, and I knew what to do with my little blocks.

There are 2 log cabin blocks, the center of the block is 1"square finished and the logs are 1/2" wide around it. The finished block measures 4" plus the seam allowance.

Then you need to prepare:

- the beak of the hen (I used a 2"square of fabric folded on the diagonals),

- the comb (draw the shape on paper, put it over the fabric doubled and sew around. Cut around with 1/8" seam allowance and dent the round parts, turn around),

-and the tail (same technique as for the comb).

Place the beak and the comb on the right side of a block, seam allowances aligned, on the light part of the log cabin for me. I did a quick seam to maintain them in place, hidden in the seam allowance.

Put the other log cabin block right sides together against the first one, pin and sew around 3 sides that will be the back, the front and the belly of the hen. Leave a gap on the belly to turn your hen out.

Then pin the tail inside the hen, centered on the seam, you are giving your hen its shape. You open the hen bit that is not sewn, and move the seams you have just made so that they are opposite each other. Sew across as on the photo.

Now you just need to turn you hen the right way out, and sew some eyes if you want to make it safe to be used by children, or sew some buttons if you want a bigger effect.

This hen can be used as a toy or as a pincushion.

It was so easy and nice, I made another one straight away.

Malvern 2009

On Saturday I was very happy to be able to go to the Quilts UK Malvern patchwork and quilting show. I have been doing this for a few years now and it is my treat of the month, I'm like a child in a sweet shop. Each time I feel I could stay longer and see more things.

The weather wasn't the best, and I got drenched walking back to my car at 5 pm.

There was a meeting organised for the members of the internet group BQL at 1pm near Susan Briscoe's stand in the marquee. There I met Mary A, Marian K, Anne, Margery and of course Susan Briscoe, but she had to stay in. I felt very proud to be told that my blog was being followed, by a real person. We all went outside to eat our lunch between 2 showers, horrible weather at the moment.

I looked at lots of shops, bought a little, and had a chat with all the french people I could meet. There were 2 women on separate stalls: Isabelle from Creative Quilting, who has a shop in Surrey, and Julie from Loving Fabrics who was recognisable from her accent, such a warm woman selling Toile de Jouy, between other things.

I also had a long chat with the owners of a new company, no affiliation, who started 8 months ago to import australian patchwork and sewing magazines to the UK. Alison created Manor House Magazines and sells to shops as well as private subscriptions. She offers several publications and explained that she receives them a week after they appear in the shops in Australia, because they are printed in Asia and sent directly to her in Marlborough. Her website is www.manorhousemagazines.co.uk
I think it is nice to see somebody creating a company in our crafty domain.

I won't show you any photo because of the copyright laws, but it was a great show. Now I'll wait for the autumn one, as I won't be able to go to the Festival of Quilts in August in Birmingham.
Back to some sewing.

My little cup of tea,

This is my last portable project, started on the ferry bringing us back from Le Havre, France, at Easter. The journey was over 5 hours so I had plenty of time, nothing else really to do on a ferry, and no restriction about scissors or needles like on planes.

This was made almost all the way by hand in consequence, except yesterday when I finished it with my machine.

This is my second one, the first one having been given away, as soon as it was finished. But this new one so far I wish to keep.

I know if I was to do another one, it would be wider and not so tall, so that you could easily reach what is at the bottom. We'll see if it happens.

So this little purse is hand quilted, with a zip, a label on the pull that says "TEA", and completely lined.

Oh and the real tea cup is one of ours and comes from Russia. I bought it for my husband when we were still living in France, but we don't use it so much now. Just mugs most of the time.

Block 5 in ribbon embroidery

A long time ago, I think it was over a year, I started this project organised by Pascale in France on her blog "Journal d'un Atelier", and then the secondary blog for this project "Nature et petits points" which is the name of the project. I think she is very busy with lots of new realisations, but I am still behind on block 5 when she has published block 8. I intend to finish this, it will just take me time.

So here is block 5 in ribbon embroidery, and I have put a photo with a ruler so that you realise how small this is.

There is a basket of roses, some lavender and 3 butterflies.

Now on to the next UFO to finish.

April Calendar

This a my April Calendar in the challenge organised by BQL.

We were asked to create 9 little bags with the technique of the reverse applique, which I didn't do on paper but using a tear along support. I redrew the bags as I couldn't print the models in the right format, and really enjoyed that. After putting the quiltlet together I free machine quilted it. The finished size is 12 1/2" square.

I had great pleasure in doing this project, and I think the girls really like it as well, so it might go in a bedroom upstairs in a month.

Still here

I know it is 2 weeks since I last posted, a long time on blogland, very busy in my land.

Now the holidays are over, friends have left us, sadly, no visits planned in near future, so I should be back on my sewing machine.

2 things I can show you, where there is progress but nothing is finished yet :

first my little japanese inspired blocks, they are all done and need to be assembled and quilted.

Second my April Calendar is on its way and must be finished before the end of the month, with a photo on this blog by then. That should be the subject of my next post....coming soon.

Exhibit at Intel

Busy week, with the school holidays and the children at home. I managed at the week-end to put some of my production in a display at Intel (the offices for Europe are in Swindon) thanks to my DH.

And then I was very happily surprised to sell some staight away. So people do appreciate what I am making.

So far I have given things away to friends and family, it is the second time only that I sold something.

The other point about this is that I have been making quite a few things, and can't expect to keep them all, I need the space. And then with the money I can buy more fabric!

But at the moment I am not making much, haven't touched a needle all week. That's terrible. And next week will be busy as well, with a very dear friend coming over, so good times coming.

Oh well !

March Calendar

This is my work on the March Calendar for BQL challenge.

We had to include a photo and I chose one of the family on holidays last year, to remind us of a good time, yes that's me at the back. My 2 oldest daughters are now nearly as tall as me, how time flies.

It took me a long time to get started on this project, but once I got going it was done pretty quickly. The squares are all colours from the photo, and coming from my basket of scraps. There is still quite a lot in there, not much difference from before.

I had already tried printing on fabric, to make some labels for the back of quilts; but I had never used a photo. I think it works really well, and I didn't lose too much definition.

Now back to the projects that need to be finished for Easter. Deadline coming.

Work in progress

I am sorry I have nothing finished to show you today, but I am working on 2 things at the same time. This is all for my niece to be, due at the end of June, but we will see her parents at Easter.

I started some knitting.

And I started a small quilt, agonised yesterday over a choice of colour for the border. I spent an hour looking at all the possibilities. Here is a little preview of a block, it is called kaleidoscope, because of the effect produced when all the blocks are put together.

Obviously I won't show you the end products before the parents receive them officially, especially as the future mum has a peek here from time to time.

The deadline helps me to work fast on these 2.

Blue bags

On my last visit to the shop Dunelm I bought 1.50m of 2 blue fabrics, to make some bags. I went in because I wanted to make a present for a friend's birthday, I ended up making 4 bags, one was the present and I am hoping to sell the others on Etsy, once I have sorted a problem I have with the name chosen quickly over a year ago.

The 2 fabrics are blue, there is an inside pocket, and long handles to put the bag on the shoulder.

Case for my sat nav

Like a lot of you, we bought a satellite navigation system for the car. DH then mentioned that I could make a bag or case for it, instead of buying one. So off I go, with one of my japanese fabric remnants again, a bit of wadding, quilt along the lines of the design. Then I found some blue fabric, and some stick on velcro.

Everything went fine, except the velcro. Why did I bother to buy that stuff, it's horrible, and I wonder if I should bin the bit left straight away. You think the sticky part is going to make things easier, and it's the opposite. It sticks but not enough to do what it's supposed to do, like hold a bag closed. And you can't sew through it : I tried first with the sewing machine, glue everywhere, and then again with hand sewing. So I used fabric glue to attach 2 parts firmly, and then gave up, and DH bought some normal velcro...that was so easy to use.

Anyway I am quite pleased with the result, which is unique, nobody has the same.

I hope it might inspire you to give it a go, you could make a little pocket for your phone (I hope to try that soon), MP3 or ipod, or even your laptop (maybe another project).

Japanese little bag

Last year on holidays we found a shop that was selling end of rolls of japanese fabrics. They were making and selling duvet covers. We bought a few pieces, and I have finally made that little bag that was all planned in my head.

You need 2 long pieces of fabric, one for the outside and the other for the lining, same size wadding, one coordinating zip, and a long piece of string or upholstery accessory (1metre 50).

DD1 accepted to be the model for this photo.

I found this new method for piecing it all together, where you leave a gap in a horizontal seam for turning (mine was on the lining for the zip), and then you do your vertical seams that include the outside and the lining of the bag at the same time, all turned on the wrong side of course. I am not sure if this is clear but it is shown on this blog Ptitsy Moloko, in french but the photos help.

Previously I was sewing the bag part, right sides together, and then the lining parts, right sides together. Now I can just sew them at the same time, provided that there is an opening to turn everything the right way around. It also means that the lining is stitched to the bag, and it won't move separately.

Little bear

But where did this week go...

I made a few little things, that I will show you later, I present them in a kind of order of realisation.

So here is DD3's little bear. She chose the design from the book (the same one from the Tilda series), agreed on the fabric, let me do the sewing on the machine, turned and stuffed the pieces... and she loves her dearly (it is a girl of course).

Ok now you are going to wonder why she is naked. Well she is at the moment but the clothes for the Groovy Girls dolls fit her, and they are very fashionable.

Little fabric boxes

I have 3 books written by the author of the Tilda series, Tone Finnanger, and I must say that I have used them quite a lot recently.






This one I bought in France but it is also published in English, it is called "La maison de Tilda" or "Sew Pretty Homestyle". Tone has a new book ready, just waiting for a translation, so far you can buy it in Finnish I believe.



So this project is the fabric boxes. I adapted the size to fit a certain shelf, and made a mistake while doing so, but I am sure you can manage, or just keep to the same size.



They are easy and fast to make, one big rectangle of fabric is needed. This one comes from Ikea, again, but I liked the design and the price is good. One of my boxes is made with wadding, as in the pattern, and the other without (on the right). Because the fabric is thick enough I don't think I would need wadding for the next ones.














































I hope this gives you the desire to try it...

10000 viewers

I am very pleased to notice that I have had 10 000 visitors on my blog.
You mustn't doubt that I am very grateful that you think it worth coming to have a look.
I shall try to continue with my little bits of creativity.
It has helped me concentrate on making more, to try to have 2 posts per week. It doesn't work all the time, life comes in the middle, but I still enjoy this.

So again, thank you to all my visitors.

Washing basket

Sometimes you have to sew something for the house. This project is better than making curtains, if a bit challenging considering the shape to be covered.

We bought this lovely woven basket last summer on holidays in the North of France, and it has been waiting for some fabric cover to protect the clothes to be carried in it. In my patchwork group, I was given some long strips of fabric, probably cut from some curtains. This seemed the perfect occasion to use them.

It took me a bit of thinking to properly cover the basket, and I am quite pleased with the result.

I wondered about having a tie to keep the fabric in place, but I think the weight of the fabric is enough. Otherwise I can always sew a fold on the outside to make a channel for a tie.

I've put some tea towels inside to give a better idea of the size.

Bag in an hour

Wandering around the net I found this tutorial for a bag in an hour, from the blog " Vintage Ric Rac", and tried it.

Of course it took me more than one hour to finish the bag, what with choosing the fabric for the outside and the lining, but I like the result.

This is synthetic fabric, so I ironed some fusible interfacing to give it more body and stop it fraying. There is also some wadding, and a magnetic clasp to close the bag.

It would be good to use in an evening, the fabric being slightly shiny.

Block 4 in Nature et Petits Points

I have finally done block 4, where 8 have been published, so still late. I enjoy it but there are just too many things I want to do at the same time.

I have started on block 5 already, but stopped as well. It will come in good time.

To follow other people's work, visit "Nature et Petits Points".

Here is a photo of my 4 blocks so far. They won't stay like this, but will be mounted with some fabric sashing in between.