Mums scrap book, taggies and bum bags

It is that time again!  I have to show you what I have been working on this week.
First of all another tiny bit of bunting for my hall.  1979 is a significant date for us.  It is nearly 33 years to that significant date....... in fact it is on Saturday!  I did actually make this a few weeks back and I think I did show it before but it has only just made it up on the wall.

The next thing I am really quite chuffed with.  It is a bum bag or fanny pack as you Merikans call them.  I think I said the other day that I needed to make myself one of these to carry my doggie biscuits when I am at the kennels. I found a pattern to print and some instructions on Tip nut. (That is a great site). It hardly takes any fabric and I made it out of this dog print.  It has a pleated bit on the front so it actually will hold quite a lot.  It also has 2 pockets inside and a zip across the top.  I am dead pleased with it and it was much admired by the other volunteers on Saturday.  I shall be making some more to sell on the craft stall next summer.

I Mentioned in the week that I had made a taggie or ribbon blanket.  My friend Phyllis said how she remembers having a proper blanket that was bound with satin and she used to love to stroke it.  Years ago blankets all seemed to have some sort of shiny, ribbon binding and I guess that maybe that is where the idea for taggies first came from.  Mine is a very small one.  The kind they sell for babies to keep in their cot as a comforter type thing.  It is 12 inches square which is roughly what the ones in the shops are.  It was made from scraps and ribbons that I have gradually collected.

This the front side

This is the reverse which is lovely soft fleece fabric.

I have finally finished the scrapbook of my Mums life.  I am pleased with how it has turned out.  I think it will be quite upsetting for my Dad when he first looks through it but that is natural. I hope that he will  be pleased with it and cherish it.  I put a lot of work into it and it was emotional for me too.  When I decided to do it, I thought it would be nice if we all had some input so I asked my sister and my kids and my niece if they wanted to do pages. I knew the boys wouldn't.  Out of the rest, 2 never even bothered to reply to my email  and the others said yes but despite my asking them several times to get a move on........ they didn't!  You know what?  I am glad now that they didn't.  This is my work, all mine and I like it that way.  This is a photo of the album that I got and then there is a slide show of the pages.

I have only just started using the Windows movie maker so it is a learning curve.  I am  getting in a pickle getting the effects that I want.  The music isn't really right either but it was all that I could find.  I wanted "somewhere over the rainbow" but I don't have it on my computer.  It doesn't really matter of course as I only did the slide show rather than post 24 individual photos.

I should really have done another one as I now have 16 more brooches to show you!  Skip to the end if you are bored with brooches!  They fascinate me as every one is different. I like making them and they are selling well on EBay. One woman purchased 16 of them this week.  Yes, 16!  What the heck do you do with 16 little brooches?

The other thing that I am working on right now is the baby quilt.  I got it all pinned together yesterday and did a tiny bit of the quilting, around the heart and straight lines along the sides of the squirrel squares.  I am going to attempt to stipple the borders this afternoon.

I also need to start on a small surprise present today.  My friend Kathy in Merika is doing a Christmas craft swap. Basically we exchange something that we have made.  I am quite excited, it is a great idea.  Got to get on with it though as I am not sure how quick it will get to her.

Right, off to do a few jobs now and then I can get cracking on the fun stuff.