Getting crafty with Hillarys Blinds

On Saturday afternoon (or should that be crafternoon?) I spend a happy three hours at the Custard Factory in Birmingham with a group of local bloggers, getting my craft on with Hillarys Blinds, Joe Blogs, and The Crafty Hen.

Hillarys have a new range of rather lovely fabrics out for their blinds, and to celebrate they are inviting bloggers to these craft sessions to make notebook covers and little birdies using the new fabrics. The workshop was run by Julie from The Crafty Hen, who do craft workshops for hen parties, baby showers, and so on.

We started off by covering our notebooks. Julie demonstrated what we had to do, then we chose materials from the selection of Hillarys fabrics and settled in for the task ahead.

I really enjoyed making my notebook cover; I really love the blue & white fabric I chose, and I found it really relaxing sitting and creating something beautiful. I chose a cream ribbon and blue button to finish it off, hand stitching them on.

The notebook cover can be slipped on & off, so I will be able to reuse it with another notebook when I’ve filled the one currently inside.

After a quick coffee break, Julie demonstrated the next challenge, which was definitely much harder – sewing a tiny bird. We had two pattern pieces to cut out and hand sew together using a mixture of running stitch and back stitch.

I chose to use the same piece of fabric for each part of my bird, but cut out my fabric selectively, using a plain section for the underside and a patterned section for the top. We sewed together our birds with the right sides together, then turned them right side out, and stuffed them with toy stuffing, before sewing together the end of the tail with some top stitching.

I’m pretty pleased with the end result!

We got given a lovely goodie bag each – made from Hillary’s fabrics of course – and then it was time to go home and show off our creations. Lydia recognised mine as “a birdie!” and gave it a big kiss and cuddle, so I call that a win.

My goodie bag is the red version of the pattern I chose as a notebook cover, and I’m now wondering if I can talk my husband into having it for our kitchen which needs some blinds!

It was a lovely afternoon so a big thanks to all those involved. I don’t often get the chance to have a child free relaxing afternoon! It was also great to have a chance to catch up with Anne from Raisie Bay, Eileen from ET Speaks From Home, and Eileen from 92three30 who were all sharing a table with me – and a pile of pins!