Last weekend I headed up to Birmingham’s Custard Factory to spend the afternoon doing some crafting courtesy of Hillary’s Blinds with Joe Blogs and The Crafty Hen. Using fabric from the new range at Hillary’s we were shown a couple of beginner’s sewing projects.

First up were some notebook covers. I selected a bold blue and white patterned fabric, as I liked the painterly quality of the print. The project itself was really simple – a few folds, couple of stitches, some hot glue for the button detailing and you’re done. Now most bloggers love their stationery so this project definitely appealed and it had the benefit of inspiring confidence in our crafting  abilities.

The next project was a bit trickier. This time we were making a stuffed bird. I choose a yellow leaf pattern for this (I think it’s called Isra Linden) and a contrasting grey geometric pattern for the belly. Mine frayed a bit when I was stuffing it but I’m happy to call that one ‘feather detailing’. I don’t think I’ll be joining the leagues of master toy makers any time soon, but it’s good enough to become a cat toy! The kitten hasn’t managed to undo all the stitching yet so I’ll take that as a win.

Photo courtesy of Joe Blogs

At the end of the day we were able to take our craft projects home with us (with instructions if we wanted to DIY at home again) along with a really cute tote bag made from Hillary’s materials – mine is the red version of my notebook fabric – and some other goodies.

It was a really fun day and superbly organised by Joe Blogs. The tutors from The Crafty Hen were really friendly and happy to help crafters at all levels of skill. Big thanks to everyone and to Hillary’s for having us. Alongside the Birmingham crafternoon they also hosted events in Cardiff, Newcastle and Glasgow and you can read all about their adventures on their blog here.