All My Chickens, Week 27, Chicken Strip Mini-Quilt

This week, I'm taking the time to finish up something I started years ago, from this seriously adorable pattern, the Chicken Strips Mini Quilt, from Seasoned For Small Spaces.

(Not a free pattern, but it's not expensive, either.)

Next week, we'll be back to the free stuff, promise.

This Chicken is HOT!

Or, at least, she can take the heat, so you won't have to!

She's lined with a super-thick insulating layer on the bottom, and a single layer of cotton batting on the top, with a little bit of stuffing to hold her head up.

By the way - forget the seam allowance on this one. It took me a minute, looking at the pattern, to decide to chance it with mine, but I was right. The way they've drawn the piece you use for the bottom, it allows for a 1/4" seam in the top pieces. The bit just under the head is a little tricky - you have to make sure you get your binding right up against that seam, or you'll have some raw edges showing. (In fact, I had to take some hand-stitches right up under the neck, just to be sure those raw edges wouldn't escape later - but you can't see them, and I'm satisfied with the effect.)

I made the comb using a scrap of my binding fabric. I cut it 2" x 4", and gathered it up similar to how I did it for the log cabin chicken. It turned out a little tall, but instead of picking it apart, I stitched it down in two places, dividing it into thirds.

I decided to add a little quilting to the bottom of mine, to help secure the padding in place a bit. I just followed the lines in the print, and made it up as I went. All by machine.

To make it easier to sew the top and bottom together, I zig-zagged my outer edges together, so I'd have the padding and fabric working as one.

I didn't find the color I wanted in commercial bias binding, so I made my own. I cut my fabric 2" wide on the bias, folded down the center and ironed the crease, then folded both edges into the center fold and ironed again. Somewhere in my sewing stuff I've got some of those nifty bias-tape-making do-dads, but I can't seem to find them just now.

I was totally going to machine-stitch the binding on (I even have a special foot for my Singer that will do this, using flat bias - it's awesome!) but with the thickness of this particular bird, I decided to do it like I'd do a quilt binding, sewn on by machine on the top, and hand-stitched down on the underside. For the life of me, I don't know why I didn't do this like I usually do for quilts - fold in half, sew on with raw edges even, and wrap folded edge around to the back - I think it's because I was recently doing some other bias binding, on a pair of pajamas, that had to be done using the double fold stuff. Would have been good to have the double layer of binding on the edge of this. Rats.

There are a couple products on the market that help make a home-made hot pad safe to use.

Insul-Bright has a layer of Mylar,and has the advantage of being very thin, lending itself to greater creative scope, while still providing good heat resistance. I don't like the crinkle sound you get from the Mylar, so I don't use it much.
Another good option is to use multiple layers of cotton (not poly!) batting. I've had some disappointment with that filler, though, especially if my hot pad gets a little damp.
My personal favorite, which I discovered a couple years back when I used to do the craft fair circuit, is ironing board padding. Not the flimsy foam variety that often comes with the ironing board, though. This stuff is super-thick, and either needle-punched or quilted together. At first I cut my hot pad filler from used pads, which mom had left underneath the new one on the board. When I ran out of that, I managed to find an online source that offered it in large rectangles, which you'd cut to fit your board. It's been a while now, and my source no longer carries that option, so I'm hoarding the last of it.
I did find you a similar product, ThermaFlec, which is sold by the yard, and is currently all the rage for casserole carriers and the like.
In any case, I do recommend you use something with heat resistance when you make a hot pad, otherwise burned fingers are bound to happen, and nobody wants that, right?

Runs With Chickens Table Runner

Ha! I did it - turned another UFO into a real-world, functioning, useful item!

I spent my FabFibers time Thursday evening hand-stitching the binding to this table runner, just so I could be done with it.

The dark fabric actually has some gold flecks in it, which I think adds a little extra something here.

I considered doing outlines of chickens in the center square, just because, but I'm leaving it for now. I've got other projects that want my attention.

My binding is from the same material as my backing. I actually intended to cut the backing big enough so I could just wrap it around to the front as a sort of mock binding, but I goofed. Wide enough to back it, just not wide enough to wrap to the front when I was done. So I cut bias and pieced that together for the binding.

I do my binding the way I learned from the folks at Little Quilts. You cut a 1 1/2" strip, bias or cross-grain, fold it in half, sew the raw edges to the front of the quilt using a 1/4" seam, and then wrap the folded edge around to the back and hand-stitch in place. It makes for a nice double-layered sturdy binding. There are some similar instructions here.

What's going on?

I've been rather silent of late, here on the blog. That's because I've been super-busy elsewhere. Working, mostly, but also creating.

As we get closer to the tax deadline, things at work get a bit more intense, which means I have to work even harder to balance all that number-crunching with something a little more artistic.

Like hand-quilting my chicken table runner (left) or knitting a bulldog (center).

That's right, I said knitting a bulldog. My SIL got me this super-cute book called Knit Your Own Dog, and my grand-niece begged me to make her the English Bulldog. I couldn't resist. Even if the child hadn't been so darn appealing in the way she asked me, the cuteness of the patterns would have done me in anyway. I've got the legs, and one side of the body done so far.
So seriously cute. I think I want to make the Afghan Hound next. Or maybe the Old English Sheepdog. Or maybe the Poodle.
No, wait, the Scotty dog!

In the meantime, I also cast on for another cowl (on the right), this time in a lovely mix called Purple Jewel Heather. (Yarn is Cascade 220 Heathers, color 7811, pattern is a test knit for another MMMar'11 participant.) Had to cast on twice before I got the count right. It's hard to count to 220 (purely coincidental number) while listening to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (they slammed wool again today - for shame!). I counted it twice before starting on the first round, came up both times with 13 extra, took the extra off the needles, and started counting as I stitched. I came up with 10 extra, didn't believe myself, did another round, and came up with the same 10 extra. Counted again, this time without knitting, and still had the 10 extra, so I had to believe it. Frogged the whole thing and started over, this time putting stitch markers on after every 20 cast on stitches, double checking to be sure I really had 20 in each section. Counted again as I knit the first round, and this time, thank heavens, came up with the right number. Not all a waste of time, though, since my second cast-on was much smoother and more even in tension than the first had been.

Boy, it's a good thing I've got something creative like knitting to get me away from all these numbers....

It was a Frame-up

The little patchwork chicken worked up pretty quickly, once I chose the fabrics.

That's always the longest part of the process for me - fabric selection. You'd think that'd be easy, but there are limited choices out there, and what you have in your head isn't necessarily what you'll be able to find.

I love how this looks, but I really wanted to find something with the green, blue, and pink/purple colors, from the lower body fabric, to use for the beak and part of the comb. I just didn't have anything with those colors that didn't also have something that didn't coordinate. I tried out about 6 different fabrics before settling on the dark brown floral I used, and it was so hard not to go out shopping in search of something "better".

I think this is why I like kits. They gather all the fabrics for you, and all you have to do is put them together.

Anywho...
easy pattern, though the directions for cutting are a little vague.
Fabric 1 (body) is really 2 different fabrics,
Fabric 2 (tail, comb, beak) is really an assortment of 3-4 fabrics,
Fabrics 3-6 (background) are all the same fabric, different cuts.
The picture is more helpful than what's written, but it would be nice if the directions were explained a little better.

When I cut my background fabric, I went ahead and cut the 1 1/2" strip from the full width of the fabric (that's a strip size I often use anyway), so I had plenty of extra for borders. I hadn't yet decided how I was going to finish the block when I realized that if I added a border from 1 1/2" strips, it would fit in an 8 x 10 frame. I thought that sounded like a good idea.
To do this, you need four 1 1/2" x 8 1/2" strips (total 25 1/2").
Sew the strips to the right and left sides of the chicken first, then to the top and bottom.
This will give you just enough to fold to the back of a piece of cardboard cut to fit your frame. Tape it in place (I used masking tape) and put it in the frame.

Of course, this would be really cute made up into a pillow, or as part of a larger quilt, both of which I could still do, should I change my mind. I'm happy with it the way it is for now.

All My Chickens, Week 10, Quilted Table Topper

This is one of those weeks where I try to finish up a project I already started.

I've made one of these already, in patriotic fabrics, then started another, featuring a cute chicken print:

and cut out yet another in these pretty fabrics:

Do this one in whatever fabrics you like, of course, but the one I'll be finishing this week has a decided chicken theme to it.

You'll need 3 fat quarters, 1/2 yard of another fabric for the backing, and a piece of batting about 18" x 45".
You'll also need 92" of 1 1/2" bias binding, which you may be able to piece from the leftovers, or you can use prepackaged bias, or cut from another fabric.

I have a few corrections to the pattern, discovered while making my first one:

Even though the directions say you'll be cutting 21" long strips, there is no need to cut your fat quarter to exactly this length before cutting the strips. Just make sure it's at least that long in one direction. Usually they will be just a bit longer. If it's a little shy of 21", you'll be okay - you only need about 19" of it.

You only need to cut three 2" x 21" strips from each fat quarter (directions say four, but you don't use the last one, so don't bother. you do still cut the 9 1/2" x 21" strip, of course).
In fact, you only need two 2" x 21" strips of the color you've chosen for the center square (referred to as "white" in the directions). If you're stacking the fabrics to cut all at once with the rotary cutter, stack this one on top, and peel it off before cutting the third strip for the other two. If you like getting the most out of your fabrics, the way I do, you don't want a bunch of unnecessary cuts laying about.

The "inventory" should include everything listed except the two 12" x 2" strips of "white" (center color), as you just used those to complete the two-part strips with the other two colors.

The directions from there are fine (though there are a few typos).

When I cut off the triangles from the edges (last step before quilting) I found that not all my strips lined up exactly. If it was within the 1/4" seam allowance, I let it be a little short, and just watched carefully that I caught all the edges when I stitched on the binding. If yours are a little uneven, just do the best you can.

If you will be using a directional print like mine shown above, make sure the length of the strip goes in the direction you want, even if that means rotating your fat quarter and cutting an extra strip or two to get the pieces you need. I felt my chickens needed to be marching the length of each strip rather than the width.
Be careful when you sew on the strips that they are all facing the same direction. I chose to put their heads towards the center square, which means the ones on the other end are upside-down, making it symmetrical.

All My Chickens, Week 9, Easy Patchwork Chicken

This sweet little chicken patchwork block is super-simple, requiring only squares and rectangles.

It would be really cute worked up in multiples for a larger quilt, or just finished with a simple border for a small wall-hanging.

*pic of my own creation added after-the-fact*

Log Cabin Chicken sans pins

I can't seem to make myself stick pins in this. And I only stuffed it with regular stuffing, so it's squishable, like a toy. 

Turned out pretty cute, in the end, but you should have seen what I ended up with when I made the blocks. I was using the same exact 1" strips, which I cut myself, and sewing both blocks at the same time, but one of them ended up about 1/4" smaller all around. I must not have cut very accurately, or maybe it was the sewing. I decided to center them (mostly) and then sew up the three sides. You can kinda tell my strips aren't uniform, but only if you stare at it.

I did something totally different for the beak and comb. I meant to do what they said, but then, I was sewing, and I couldn't find the directions, and I didn't want to waste a lot of time searching for them. (Physically, I mean, because it would have been easy to find the link here on the blog - but my Twins are always on the computers and I'd have had to kick one of them off, and, it just seemed easier to press on from memory.) So as I was sewing along (having sewn the sides before remembering I was supposed to insert the beak and comb first), I couldn't quite recall what the pattern called for, except that the comb was a felt piece. I was thinking about how to do a beak, and came up with the folded fabric triangle (not my original idea - it was on a similar pattern for a slightly fancier version of what is basically the same pin cushion), which made me want to not use felt for the comb. So this is what I ended up doing - the folded triangle beak, and a gathered rectangle for the comb.

For the beak: I used a 1" square of yellow fabric. Fold it on the diagonal twice. With right sides facing (the block - the beak is all right-sides after folding), place raw edges of triangle even with raw edges of one log cabin block, about 3/8" down from what will be the top corner of the chicken, with the open part of the fold facing down towards what will be the bottom. (Similar to how they show you here, though I've no idea why their illustration is upside-down.) What you want is to place it so it will look like this when it's done:

The beak will be sewn into this seam when you sew the three sides. Make sense?

For the comb: cut a 1 1/2" square of red fabric, fold it in half, wrong sides together (so the pretty is still showing), and stitch like so:

starting and ending at the folded edge, with the curve nearest the raw edges. Leave your thread tails. Knot thread at one end, and pull up one thread from the other end to gather. This will give you the curved folded edge shown on my chicken. Knot the threads to keep the gathers together, and pin the comb to the adjacent edge of the same log cabin block you placed the beak on, again about 3/8" back from the corner. You want the gathering stitching to be 1/4" in from the raw edge, and the curved folded edge facing into the center of the block. (Again their illustration, though upside-down, and showing the felt piece, is still correct for this placement. Except, this piece will have a bunch of fabric at the raw edge - no need to trim, it'll be inside the chicken.) You can baste these in place to make it easier to sew the blocks together, or just pin and hope for the best. (Which may involve the seam-ripper later, but, hey, live on the edge. I did.)

From there, I basically followed the rest of the directions. I forgot to do two pieces for the tail, so mine lacks that dimension. I decided to machine-stitch the tail piece to the top edge of the final seam, centering it, and then I hand-stitched the seam closed after stuffing.

I didn't put eyes on it. I kinda like it that way.

All My Chickens, Week 3, Quilt Block Pincushion

Specifically, a log cabin quilt block pincushion. In the shape of a chicken, or there'd be no point to it.

Working within a President's Day holiday sort of theme, a log cabin block seems appropriate.

Plus, this is just one of the coolest useful chickens around.

(be sure you click through to the "patterns & illustrations" page, or you might get lost)



back view

To make the log cabin block as shown, start with a red 1" square, use 1" strips of whatever fabric you've got handy, and sew with 1/4" seams. This will result in each section/strip 1/2" finished width, so when the block is done, it will measure 4" square. For more on log cabin block construction, go here.
Or, just use whatever you have, if you already have some orphan blocks. The chicken details can easily be adjusted for size, but it's not actually necessary if the blocks are within an inch or two of 4". Just use your best judgement - if the beak and comb look comically small or large (and not in a good way) size the pattern on a copy machine, or just free-hand it. (Or, do something else entirely.)

I defy you to not have an entire flock of these cuties by the end of the week. Log Cabin block or plain, they're addicting.

*pics of my own creation added after-the-fact*

show off

Here's my table runner, started almost 2 months ago, finally finished.

Obviously, not on a table. My tables never seem to stay cleared. Give me a horizontal surface, and it's going to have stuff on it. Sometimes pretty stuff, but mostly, stuff.

I machine quilted it. I'm not proud of how that turned out. Don't be looking at the back of it, okay? It looks fine from the front, unless you look close. But hey, I'm done, and it's a nice addition to my patriotic decor.