Chicks and bags

I have made a start with using my scraps of fabrics and making them into useful things. I do not have too many scraps here but when I'm back in Scotland or France I have drawers full. So, I'm trying out different things before using the nicer fabrics.

Yesterday I made these chicken pincushions. I filled them with rice which proved more difficult than I had anticipated, because when hand stitching the last few stitches I tried to get still as much rice as possible into the cushion which meant feeding in corn after corn. I will make the same chickens in a smaller size to use as key hangers. Obviously those will have to be filled with fiberfill so that they will not be too heavy.

I think they look quite cute!

I have also finished another bag. It is difficult to get good pictures here. I just do not have the space or the right equipment and in the garden everything is wet and the ground still too soggy after the recent storms. So I had to make do again with the ironing board covered with fiberfill and bad lighting. But it gives you an idea what the bag looks like. 

It is a sage green bucket bag. The bottom part is a beautiful heavy quality of faux suede and the top part is a beautifully woven decorator's fabric. There is an outside zippered pocket and inside there are two slip pockets of which one is divided in two for easy access to phone and keys. It closes with a recessed zipper. The straps are made of both fabrics and riveted onto the rings which are covered with fabric. The lining is the same as I have used for the previous few bags, a salmon pink background with a a floral design. I used this cotton fabric because the color supplements the sage green of the outside fabric.