My First Rag Quilted Bag

I'm finally getting to share my first ever rag quilted bag with you all.  I am doubly pleased with this project - a. because I have been meaning to make one of these for like forever! and b. because I used one of mom's pretty denim dresses to make it; making it even more special.

I knew when we were back home that if I had any hope of making something with anything that belonged to mom (besides the scented hankie sachets) that I would be smart to grab a couple of mom's denim dresses to bring home with us.  I had been trying to decide what to do with this one since it had lots of lovely embroidered flowers on it and I couldn't bear to lose them.

I dug out left overs of a bright floral fabric to use for the lining material. Then I chose an orange plaid which was a bargain from a local charity shop on Saturday.  I love digging through the fabric basket in these kind of stores.  You seldom find masses of fabric but what you do find is generally large enough for smaller projects. 

Next I set about cutting out the squares.  This has to be the HARDEST part!  By the time you cut enough for the main fabric, the same amount again for the lining and then the same amount a third time for the wadding inbetween - well let's just say you're sick of the sight of squares by then LOL.

But since this is what you get when you've finished assembling your squares, stitched them together, snipped, washed and dried them it's well worth the effort. 

I added a single long denim handle - mounted 'saddle bag' style at the sides plus a loop and button closure and even added a large pocket on the inside.  There's nothing worse than rooting around in the bottom of your bag to find things so a pocket is always handy.

And since I used some plain denim squares it meant I could be frugal with the embroidered squares and still have enough left to make a second almost identical bag.  I shall have to use a slightly different lining fabric but otherwise it'll be pretty much the same.  Just as well as this bag is off to America along with the second one when I've made it.  One each for my sisters-in-love Debbie and Linda.  I have a third SIL, Sandy but I will need to cut into a second dress of mom's for her bag and then hopefully there'll be enough left over for one for me too.  I took a pair of cropped pants with red and yellow embroidery on them that might work well.

Ordinarily I wouldn't have chosen such bright colours but I really like how they worked together with the denim.  I am thinking maybe a bit of red in the ones for me and Sandy might be kinda nice.  I managed to pick up some blue plaid fabric at the charity store too and after seeing this orange plaid against the denim I can't wait to try out the blue.

A word of warning tho' if you plan to make one of these yourself - it can get MEGGA messy with threads EVERYWHERE! 

For those of you who'd like to take a class making one of these bags I will be teaching it in my December sewing class.  I had planned to do it this month but there's a whole lot more involved in the bag so we're doing a rag quilt this month to master the techniques before progressing onto the bag.

I'm excited to be sharing this project and I can't wait to see how they all turn out - everyone chooses such different fabrics and colours.

I think mom would approve of how I've recycled her dress - in fact if she were here I know she'd be sayin' "where's my one Suezie?" and she would've shown it off with great pride too.  It may just have been Halloween but the 31st is also mom's birthday and I love that I found myself making this bag right about now.  It somehow feels right to me.  I hope the girls will feel the same when they get these.

Enjoy!

Suezie

It Feels Good

Well we had another session of Christmas card making again on Friday this week when Mummy and the kids came for  family dinner.  It's a regular thing we try to do on as many Friday's as possible so we can have time together as a family and catch up with each other.

Even mummy got involved this time around.  Aunty Jessy had just sent them all a package so to surprise her they wanted to send her thank you cards in a return package.  Jessy and I send each other packages every now and then she sends one along to friends or her sister and the kids sometimes too - just to keep in touch.  It's such a nice thing to do and who doesn't love to get a surprise package?  I know I DO :-)

One of the nice things about this session was that there was another adult on hand to help Maddy.  That might've meant that mummy didn't get to finish her card but....

....at least Grandma actually managed to make a card!  I had been trying for the past few days to make one but I simply couldn't be with 3 kids at the same time and still get my own crafting done!

The kids kept asking me when was I gonna make a card?  It wasn't my best effort but hey, it was still a card.  I was just warming up okay LOL.

I finally got to make a card I liked this morning.   No kids, no mummy, no interruptions - just pure, clean, crafting and it felt sooooooo GOOD.  I didn't realise how much I had missed paper crafting.  I've been 'sew' busy (get it?) LOL that I haven't made time to craft anything else.

And my card is recycled from old Christmas cards too.  I used a picture from one card, die-cut with nesties, recycled ribbon that came on a gift and even a second card just for punching out the glittered snowflakes.  It feels pretty good to get these Martha Stewart snowflake punches out too.  Shame I didn't think about them earlier as the kids would've loved these!

This is a closer shot and you can just about see the glitter on the picture.  It came like that so I didn't need to get messy glitter out - how cool is that?  I even made a white glittered scallop border from the same card that I punched snowflakes out of.

Best of all I think I'm gonna give this card to the kids.  They will be sooooo surprised. I managed to cut and mount the picture whilst they were with me but nothing more so I think they will enjoy seeing it made up into a card.  I'm sure they'll remember it when they open it and I hope they approve of how it turned out.

Years ago, when I was kid, my mum used to cut old cards out with pinking shears to make Christmas tags - in fact she still does this sometimes.  I showed Zach how to do it and he did make me several tags but I made a few myself this morning.  I particularly liked cards with repeat elements like the ones above - you know the same design, 3 in a row kinda thing.

Once I cut and separated them, punched a small hole in the top, added gold cord, it gave me a nice set of 3 matching tags from each card.

My favourite tags turned out to be the 'joy, hope, peace' ones at the left of this shot.  Super quick, super simple, and recycled which I just lurve plus I save money.  Making and giving anything homemade just makes Christmas for me I guess.  It takes me right back to those early Christmas days when at least half of the pressies under the tree were hand made and we would happily go around the neighbourhood dropping off baked goodies.  Mostly cos we were short on spare cash but we had a blast making the gifts ourselves.

I don't have near the same amount of time to do as much as I used to do and often buying is much easier (and cheaper) but in our own way we're still doing home made today - as often as we can anyhow. 

In fact the lovely chappy who delivered our groceries yesterday got to take away a bottle of Elderberry cordial.  The first we've given out so far but then we did only get it made up the other week!  And today we got a request for hubby's Eggnog which is still a good month away yet but I can't wait until we start bottling that and giving it!

And because it feels sooooo good to be back paper crafting I think I might ask my mum if she has a box of old Christmas cards and maybe book to go spend an evening with her.  She has a few friends who craft and I bet they'd love to get a hand made card from her this year.  I even found a neat idea for making boxes from cards - she's always looking for simple ideas as gift swaps at Christmas.

Like I say - I'm back to paper crafting and it FEELS SO GOOD!

Now go dig out some of your old Christmas cards and see if you can't 'upcycle' some into something new and cute.  I'd love to hear your ideas so PLEASE share.

Enjoy!

Suezie

Finally - Some Paper Crafting Folks!

It's no secret that I've had 'little hands' around the house of late, more so this week than ever as I took a couple of days annual leave from work to do a bit of child minding whilst my daughter worked.  It's been a school break so they've been LONG days to keep little hands busy - from about 7.30 am to about 6.00 pm.
Food is always a good place to start so I helped the kids cook their own pancake breakfast on day one - AND I was smart - we cooked up enough so we could have some on day two as well :-)  Grandma's not just a pretty face ya know LOL!  And meal times were made more fun as we all got involved with more than the cooking, such as setting the table, clearing it, washing our own dishes and even helping each other out with the drying up.  All pretty basic stuff I know - but we had fun doin it.  I love working alongside the kids AND it fills a bit more time LOL!

Anyhow the kids were keen to do a bit of paper crafting and I had sorted out a box of old Christmas cards in preparation for some crafting.  These guys sat and created for several hours before Grandma had finally had enough! 

We rounded off each afternoon with snacks and a movie just so I could have me a 'sit me down' mostly LOL.

Perhaps most surprising of all is that Maddy sat still and concentrated for sooooo long.  That's not usally her style.  At 6 years old she almost never sits still unless she's doing something she enjoys and STILL wears her teachers out!  I bet they enjoyed the break from school LOL. Lucky for me she was enjoying herself but when she wasn't - boy oh boy!  Let's just say that I was glad to go back to work on Thursday (for the rest) and in bed by 9.00 pm that evening.  I was all tuckered out :-)

And these were Maddy's finished cards - of course Grandma helped but I think they turned out pretty cute for recycled Christmas cards!

And of course one of the most important finishing touches is to write inside your card.  This was something that all 3 kids really enjoyed.

Again this was something that kept Maddy sitting still and concentrating for quite a while.  She has made this angel card for her God-mother Abbie - who she has always (and still insists on doing) referred to as 'big Abbie'.  She usually sees Abbie several times throughout the year and is even planning to spend a whole weekend in London with her next month - she is sooooo excited!  Something tells me Big Abbie will be shattered at the end of it LOL.

Abbie will be thrilled to get this hand made card from Maddy this Christmas.

Kaleb proved to be quite a dab hand with the Big Shot machine and super patient too since I had him cut me about 60 circles out of card fronts.  I figured the kids might like to make baubles and had a really neat idea but I eventually had to abandon it.  They simply weren't interested.

These were a couple of Kaleb's finished Christmas cards.  He didn't want help so he pretty much did his own thing and I think he did a great job.

These were Zach's cards.  Like Kaleb he pretty much wanted to do his own thing but I did manage to help him with the card on the right.  It was for someone very special so he let me help to get it just right.  The red and green one in the back with a picture of a white Westie dog is for Aunty Jessy - she'll love it.

We pretty much just cut out the various elements from the old cards, added some pretty papers to card blanks and re-assembled them onto the new cards, adding a gem or two here and a button or two there.  We had a whole lot of 3D going on using foam pads but I steered clear of the glitter this time around I'm afraid.  I simply couldn't face the mess that would've made.

As it was this was the state the kitchen table was getting into!  And after a while we were all working on top of each other and everything else that was piling up on the table.  Every now and then someone would ask where the scissors had gone and we'd all down tools and dig around on the table to find them so we eventually called it a day.

In the end we had two whole days of paper crafting - they came back the following day asking if they could make more.  The kids got some really cute cards made, and we had real quality time chatting to one another as we crafted (which is really what it's all about), we all had a load of fun together and I know we're all hoping we can do it again real soon.

I can't wait until the Christmas break when I can get them baking up treats to go along with their cards!

Hugs

Suezie 

Little Hands

This weekend we babysat the grandkids for Saturday morning and while we love to have them around it usually involves finding activities to keep little hands busy.  We pre-planned for the event and decided we'd have a shared cooked breakfast followed by Papa taking the boys to our little plot to dig up the last of the potatoes - he was super impressed with how hard they both worked - and Grandma makin' cookies with Maddy.

Maddy was very surprised to find Grandma had sooooo many cookie cutters - I've had lots of years of keeping little hands busy to collect them and I simply can't bear to get rid of any.  In fact I had to limit her to picking out just 10 (although she somehow managed to increase this number - little madam!).

I had asked Mummy to send along her pretty apron that I made her last Christmas since I hadn't had a chance to see her wearing it and it fit her beautifully, plus it even had a little room to grow.  It was lovely seeing her use Great Grandma's measuring cups and spoons.

I just love that I was able to bring these home and keep them.  Barely a day goes by that I'm not using one or the other even if it's as simple as measuring out porridge oats and milk for breakfast - I love hot oatmeal to start the day.  Mom and I worked along side one another in the kitchen many times over the years as she passed on her skills and knowledge, especially when I was just starting out as a young wife, mother and homemaker.  I treasure these simple objects way above anything else and I like to think she'd be happy that I'm still makin good use of them. She'd be especially pleased to know that her great Grand-daughter loved using them too.

I found it hard to believe that this was the very first time Maddy and I had made 'cut out' cookies.  She was certain she had never made them with me before but I think we have and just can't remember it.  Very few Christmases go by without making sugar cookies and I still use the exact same recipe I used with her mummy when she was a girl too.

One thing was for sure.  Maddy definately needs to do this a few more times to get the hang of rolling the dough.  She insisted on rolling the same piece over and over until it was wafer thin so her dough ended up fat on one end and thin on the other.  I had to keep evening things out and after several times of doing this she sat back on my kitchen countertop, put her hands on her hips, tipped her head to one side, looked me square in the eye and huffed at me and then said "Grandma! you're really annoying me!"  Imagine that from the mouth of a 6 year old would you!  Little MADAM!  LOL.

I gave up on frosting the cookies cos we'd played around with dough so much we ran out of time.  These sugar cookies aren't near as nice without the frosting.

And later that day hubby and I decided we'd keep our hands busy makin' Elderberry cordial.  It's said to have healthy properties - keeping colds at bay amongst other things and I'm sure with that luscious deep colour it must be full of anti-oxidants too.  He loves taking a hot flask full to work in winter time.  We have been holding onto our last bottle and I've already had two coughs & colds so far the past couple of months.  I should have been drinking it all along but we were running low.

And in case anyone was wondering - you can freeze the berries and make up the cordial later.  We simply didn't have time to make it up this year so we picked em', froze em' and 2 months later they juiced up yummy cordial every bit as good as the fresh picked & brewed batch last year.  No difference at all in fact.

Then on Sunday we played hooky from church - I know, I know, a new church and we already played hooky - shame on us!  But we still had the other half of the berries to do plus a whole 14 pumpkins to do something with.

We had a bumper crop of pumpkins this year so we gave a few away, cooked and ate a couple and kept 14 back for pies.  I made it just about half way through so I still have these ones left over to do.  We decided to roast them and mash them for pumpkin pie filling and just to make sure it worked ok I made up about 3 pies to taste test.

I guess I forgot to take a picture of the pies.  I was shattered by the time I'd finished and sat watching X-factor followed by Downton Abbey and by then it was late so I headed to bed.  This morning I took a pie into work, hubby took one to work too and the other is half eaten - no doubt it'll be gone by tomorrow.  Me?  I hate the stuff - it's one of the few things I make especially for hubby but Jessy is comin to stay in a few weeks and she's requested a family Thanks Giving dinner since she won't be with us at Christmas - he may get plenty, plenty this year.  I'm sharing the 'oh so easy' recipe in case anyone wants to have a go.

Pumpkin Pie

1-2 pie crusts (I'm not super woman so I use ready made)
2 lightly beaten eggs
425g roasted, mashed pumpkin flesh
6 oz sugar
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 pint evaporated milk
2tspn mixed spice (or mixture cinnamon, cloves and/or nutmeg)
1/2 tspn ginger

Mix all filling ingredients, pour into pie crusts and bake at 180 C or 350 F or Gas 4 for 40 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. 

That's all there is to it - plus they freeze really well.

So 'HAPPY FALL Y'ALL' 

Enjoy!

Suezie

Nowt But Scraps!

Well since today was my day off and I am still getting rid of my cough & cold, I decided to just potter around, take it slow, do a few easy chores - nothing too taxing and maybe a bit of sewing too.  It always relaxes me.

Whilst I have recently spent a load of time and money replenishing my stash of pretty fabrics including several CK designs I am still left with a whole bunch of scraps from the baby quilt I made for my niece and her new baby daughter Khloe.  Some of these scraps are just strips and others nothing more than trimmings from projects.  Still I couldn't bring myself to throw even the smallest of them away - telling myself I can use it as a patchwork piece or die-cut a flower shape - something - anything but waste it!

And for all of a few moments I told myself I was being just a bit ridiculous with some of them but then I started playing around with a few scraps and thought better of it.  Don't they look pretty all lined up in a row?

Well it turns out that if you piece enough scraps together you get a whole new piece of fabric big enough to create any number of things.  With this thought now rolling around in my head I set to creating.

Despite having already gifted a few of the lanyards and key fobs to one or two girls at work I still needed more so they were first up.  The blue strawberry key fob is mine - hence the red ribbon.  I have this fabric in oil cloth and different weights as well as sizes of strawberries and I plan to revamp the kitchen with it at some point  (most likely post-Christmas) but for now I'm having a new key ring for myself.  The cherry design one is only a teeny tiny part of a Christmas package I'm putting together for someone special this year.

Then when I realised this new patched collection of fabrics was big enough I decided to make myself a camera case.  I have always wanted one of these and what better than one where I don't have to choose which fabric design - BECAUSE I can have several pretty ones!

BTW this is hubby's camera.  I was using mine to take this shot so I grabbed his just for effect :-)  Since I never let him near mine and he needed a camera for faith camp this summer he grabbed this £30 jobby.  And if I told you that he some how managed to delete every single one of his photos from the entire week you'll completely understand why I NEVER and I mean NEVER let him near mine!

I decided to add a hand strap so that I could hold onto this little pouch easier and keep my camera ready at all times.  When we're out and about for the day I tend to click, click, click away most of the day so there's no point putting my camera in my bag only to keep getting it back out again.  I just know I'm gonna love this feature.

And then after it was all done I decided maybe I could use a trigger clip as well so I added that in with the help of a bit of ribbon that tucked easily into the seam.  I would rather have thought of it whilst I was constructing this pouch but it still worked out ok.  And thanks to the hand strap I hung up my camera on the hook in the kitchen so I'll always know just where it is when I need it.

Then because the handful of scraps I'd grabbed were getting a bit smaller so were my projects.  I pieced together any remaining strips and the scraps that were even smaller became squares.  Now my work colleagues and I can have coasters to match our lanyards and key fobs.  I am back at work tomorrow and I can't wait to gift these to Pauline and Keilley.

And as I was pressing these I realised they'd make fab gifts tucked inside a card with a tea bag and popped into the post.  They'd fit into an envelope perfectly!  I am soooo gonna think of a few people who'd love to have one of these drop through their door then make a bunch more up so I can post them out :-)

And as if that wasn't enough - well - I just went right ahead and got way too big for my boots LOL!  I created my very first ever MUG RUG!  I even used a tiny scrap and made a flower!  See I knew those teeny tiny scraps would come in handy for something, ha,ha.

Now if you don't know what a 'mug rug' is well it's kinda like an extended coaster so you have somewhere to put your biccies as well as your tea.  Kind of a cute idea huh?  I usually use a paper napkin but no need with one of these.

AND I might even keep this for myself too - although Maddycakes did come to mind once I added the pretty ruffled flower to it.  I could just see her and mummy with their mug rugs of hot chocolate and a yummy snack besides. 

With that in mind I decided to check out CK on line and see if they have any suitable mugs and they even have a 'cowboy' mug.  I think since I picked up the cowboy print fabrics maybe I'll make up one for each of the boys and grab them a matching mug to go with it.  There were plenty of pretty ones for mummy and Maddy too.  If I pop them in a pretty box or basket and add hot chocolate, mini marshmallows and treats this is sure to make a neat family gift.  And best of all - since these are small projects they take minutes to make.  AND they use up lots of those lovely scraps too. LOL!  See how my mind gets carried away?  I'm even thinkin up the packaging and I haven't even made em' yet!

But really - I simply cannot understand why I never thought of makin them before?  Oh and I'm already thinking about a new mug cosy for myself - there's no stoppin me now :-)

I know it's a bit pricey at £25 - could be split between two people I guess - but CK now do a fabric bundle which would work perfect for these kind of projects and I bet you'd get absolutely LOADS from a bundle.  Super, super quick, oh so cute gifts - oh and could you see patchwork baby bibs too!  I may be headed off to bed right now but I'm not gonna get to sleep for ages thinkin about all the cute projects!

I'm sure you guys out there could come up with a whole bunch more too.  Feel free to share if you do.

At some point I really must get a bit of paper crafting in here somewhere - maybe when I clean up the craft room huh?  Yeah, right, like that's gonna happen any time soon.

Hang in there with me - I'm sure I'll get back to it eventually.  Besides - I need cute cards to pop my coasters in when I post them out :-)

Big HUGS

Suezie

October Class

Well I don't quite know how I managed to do it but I was full of cough and cold for this months class.  Is this like 'deja vous' ?  I was poorly at last month's class too.  I'm putting this latest episode down to my hubby - HE SHARED!  Some things are best kept to yourself huh? LOL - well at least I'm still smiling :-)

It's a real shame too as we've both started attending a really cool new church and we have to miss it today.  He actually got up, went downstairs and propped himself up on the couch in the middle of the night to get about 2 hours sleep so you know it's bad when that happens!  Lack of good sleep is catching up with us I think so we may both 'flake out' this afternoon - we have to get to work on Monday somehow and that might be the only way we'll do it.

All this just makes me sorry we didn't get our cordial made up this year.  We were both going to be away so we threw the berries in the freezer intending to do them the following week.  Well you know where good intentions end up don't you?  We're down to our last 2 bottles and I believe winter is fast upon us.

This stuff is supposed to be very good for you - full of anti-oxidents and it's said that regular doses willl stave off a cold.  That's clearly our problem - we've been hanging on to the last couple of bottles, afraid to open them cos when they're gone - they're gone!  I think we'd best see if the berries are still any good and get some more made up pretty quick. 

These were some I prettied up for gift giving one year.  I just love the deep colour.  The preservatives we use are cloves which means you're either gonna love this stuff or hate it.  Dave likes it hot or cold.  Me I like it hot!

And here are a few pictures of class.  I love to get shots of Jilly working away.  We've been best friends for coming up for 35 years and I've gathered a nice collection of photos of her over the past fews years and I treasure them all.  Love that girl!

She decided to get to grips with a patchwork cushion and here she is doing a bit of machine quilting.  I offered two projects in this class same as last month and since Jilly made cushions for the first time last Christmas she decided to build on these skills and make a quilted patchwork cushion. 

There were 4 variations included in this pattern and I made up the last one (right) earlier this week.  I think I might add a pretty ruffled fabric flower to this and gift it for Christmas.  I want one or two with CK fabric for myself but I will make more later.

One of the delights of class was seeing all the pretty fabrics everyone chose to work with.  I forgot to get my camera out sooner or I'd have more pictures to share.  Jilly recycled and used curtains which makes me think of 'make do & mend' and which I just love.  That's the kind of thing that got me so hooked on sewing in the first place.  Pauline had a scrummy red apple fabric which she paried with my all time favourite - red & white polka dot!  I sooooo love that fabric and I'm only sorry I didn't get to see it completed - I bet it looks stunning. 

Susan was megga clever and used a duvet cover that already had a pretty patchwork thing going on and we mixed up the various pieces to make it look really cool - again it didn't get finished but it was looking fab!

And then of course there was Sara who'd purposely chosen this adorable scottie dog fabric by Clarke & Clarke - a bit more expensive but if you're treating yourself then why not?

There are certainly no flies on this girlie!  She always means business and gets to work straight away so it's no surprise that she finished her apron - and in good time too.  She was also a megga good sport and allowed me to take photos of her wearing her fabby 3/4 apron - fully lined and with a 'triple' pocket feature to it.  Sorry - not a bit proud of my pattern & design LOL - MUCH!

I have to laugh when I see this photo tho'.  I knew she'd look fab posing by the stove in the little kitchen at the hall and when she said 'pitty we haven't got a sauce pan or something' well - you know I went digging through cupboards don't ya LOL!  I came up trumps with this stove top kettle and got a great shot as a result.  She looks fab in her new apron too.

Next class (5 November) is a rag quilted bag so I'm keen to get to work on that and then the last one in December will be a rag quilt - something to keep you warm this winter.  For anyone who can't make it to class or who prefers to do their sewing at home; patterns are available.

Each pattern comes with a 'pictorial' - a photo CD with step by step instructions full of shots like the one above and below.

It takes a lot of time and effort to make these as I have to create samples for each project and then pain stakingly photograph each step of the process; some several times and from various angles just to get a good view.

 Once I've generated the written instructions for the pattern I then use these in excerpts along with as many photos as I can possibly cram in as a pictorial.  Short of sitting beside you it's the best I can do.  I go to all this trouble because I think it's worth doing.  I ADORE sewing but am almost entirely self taught and it never ceases to amaze me the wealth of projects that can be made if you only know how to sew in a straight line!

For now I'm off to nurse my cold some more and take it easy today.  A long soak in a nice hot tub sounds like good medicine I think.

Blessings to one and all - enjoy! 

Oh and thanks girls for a really enjoyable class yesterday.  Sometimes I do wonder why I do it - especially when I'm still up past midnight to finish things off only to get up at 6 am and get right back to it just to make it all happen.

Suezie

P.S  Kay - I missed you yesterday - hope you're okay :-)

Share-worthy News! and Quickie Gifting

My daughter passed her driving test today - first time!  Yay Vicky!!!  I am soooooo proud of her.  Despite being a bit older than I thought she'd be when she achieved this it says a lot about her right now.  She is a single mum of three kiddies and - well, let's just say she hasn't had an easy time of it over the past few years.

Not only did she just decide one day to book herself driving lessons but she stuck with it and made time for it in a busy schedule.  I guess the 2 hour lessons that she had to scrimp and scrape to afford really paid off because not only did she learn to drive well enough to pass first time, but she gained real confidence behind the wheel.  I know that new found confidence spilled over into other areas of her life too as she rejoined the workforce last week even though it means juggling kids between a childminder and two different schools which I'm sure will bring her a whole new set of challenges. 

And somehow this new-found independence is very reassuring for me as a parent.  We all get knock backs in life and have to deal with stuff that's not easy to deal with (more so when you have an ex-partner that can make life hell at times) but her rise to the challenges of this past year and her determination to get there tell me she's doin ok - that she's a survivor, she can cope with what life's throwing at her.  Despite several set backs this year she has just become stronger and more confident and I couldn't be more proud if I tried.  Way to go Vic!  All we need do now is figure out how to get her a set of wheels and afford the first timer insurance - which BTW is criminal!

Okay - enough of the proud mama already LOL!  I did a quick bit of sewing yesterday evening and made myself a really pretty lanyard to wear at work - waaaaayyy better than the ol' blue NHS standard issue ones we all have.  I used one of my latest CK fabric purchases for my own one and then decided it would be really nice to gift a few more using up some of my existing stash.

My other half at work is Pauline and since she was in before Keilley she got first choice.  And as we work opposite one another it meant I worked the entire morning catching glimpses of her pretty pink one every now and then.  She had the sweetest pale yellow cotton blouse on today and although you can't see it clearly in my shot above, there is yellow in the design so it just looked that much prettier against it.  Now I soooooo want a pink one myself LOL!

That left Keilley with a choice of white floral or white floral (all I had was 4 clips at home to work with) and guess what? She loved the white floral one so that worked out really well.  Meant to be maybe?  Keilley kindly gives me a ride home from work now and then and some days when I'm a bit bushed it's even more appreciated.  She has to go out of her way to drop me off but it's never stopped her from offering and that's really sweet of her.  Don't ya just love people like that?

AND since Pauline and I had training out of the office today there were even a few comments on our pretty lanyards which just made me feel all the more chuffed for having made them myself.  I have another quickie idea for Christmas pressies for these two gals and I have several ideas rolling around in my head for a 'work smart' sewing class that may or may not make it into reality too.  So tomorrow I'll be sourcing 'trigger clips' after work so I can make more of these - I used up all the ones I had and I think I'd really like to make me a couple more for myself.  You know, one in the wash, one on and one ready to wear kinda thing LOL!

That's one of the nicest things about home made.  You can have more than one if you want to :-)

Can I just say to Trish (if you're out there) you're very much in my prayers right now.  I don't have your phone number or addy to get in touch just yet or I would've dropped you a note by now. And to those of you that pray, please join me in lifting Trish and her hubby's needs to God right now.  It would mean so much at what I know has to be a dreadfully difficult time.

This HUG's just for you. 

Much love

Suezie