A little birdie told me........

.........spring is almost here.

So to celebrate I've made a flock of chirpy critters.

 

I used some scraps of tulip and Easter prints from previous springtime makes, and assorted buttons from my button stash. The only new materials were the cute co-ordinating ribbons used to make the tails.

The tails are my favourite bit. They flutter beautifully if you give the birds a jiggle!!

Check out my Professor Trelawney birdie!

I also wanted to pay homage to one of my favourite pieces of equipment in my sewing basket; the long handled hemostat.

Before I made this purchase, turning and stuffing was a fiddly, time consuming pain.

The beauty of the hemostat is that it clamps shut, so you can let it go without it letting go, making turning through a small opening a breeze.
There are other tools out there to make turning easier, but hemostats also simplify the stuffing process. It is far quicker and you can really get right into those hard to reach corners for a nice even result.

PLUS if I ever need to perform complex surgery in a hurry I'm all set to go! Win-win!

Finally, I thought I'd finish with a pic of the lovely handmade beech cotton reels I got from my darling daughter for Mothers Day. I love them all the more because they are made locally at Hemington Hall.  They look even more beautiful now they are wound with some of the prettiest ribbon from my stash.