12 Days of Christmas Block of the Week Quilt-Along: Block 3

It's another exciting Friday for me, because I launched the third block of my 12 Days of Christmas quilt today.

It's no surprise what it is, of course: the French hen.  This block is really versatile, especially for those of you who keep chickens or have a country theme in your house.  I can see this being featured in a really cute quilt or table runner.

The computer-generated image.

You can purchase the block for 2$ on Craftsy here.

I rated this a 4/5 for difficulty, but it all depends on what you consider difficult.  There are lots of sections, so if you have a hard time getting sections to line up, this is hard.  You might leave the excess on each piece and then square it up at the end to ensure you end up with a 9" finished block.  There are also three pieces in the face that are rather small.  They are totally doable, but you have to have patience and good eyesight.  You could leave the small black pupil out and use fabric pens or embroidery to add that in if it's easier for you.  There are not a lot of wacky angles and about half the pieces are pretty simple, so if you have a good amount of experience with paper piecing, this will stitch up fast.  It took me about two hours from start to finish.  The next two blocks are much easier and will give you a chance to breathe a bit more.

The real deal.

I hit the big Jo-Ann sale when they had fat quarters sale and a coupon that could stack with sales, so my girls and I took home an armload of fat quarters each for about 50 cents apiece.  I knew I was going to need several whites for the hen, goose, and swan, so I loaded up on some fun patterns that might be reminiscent of feathers.  This white was one of them.

This white-on-white fabric in this particular design screamed "French hen" to me.

The face pieces were pretty small, but they fit together nicely.  I love the mottled grey that I found for the chest feathers.  Overall, she's a pretty cheery little chicken, and I love this block as an addition to the quilt.

French hen close-up.

I know that I have had some purchases of the first block so far, and I am so grateful and excited to know that people out there are interested in quilting along with this series.  I hope you have as much fun putting your blocks together as I have.  Don't forget to share your progress with me!  I'd love to see your pictures.