Handmade Christmas progress

When I told Tracey earlier this week that I will be playing along in her meme today, I thought I would have more to show you. But as usual, other things have popped up like making a few bonnets for orders and the shop, meaning my long list of Christmas gifts hasn't really been addressed.

I did, however, manage to cut some 'on the go' art satchels, which will make great gifts for a few little kiddies that we know.

I've made these before for my own kids and they are used quite a bit when we go out for dinner and the like. We also get a lot of compliments from others about them. I've also developed a few short cuts to make them come up a little quicker, like using denim for the exterior to avoid facing it, using home dec weight fabric for the interior for the same reasons and using commercial strapping so that I don't have to sew the straps. I've also picked up a few A5 activity books, because I know my kids are more interested in working from these than drawing themselves.

I've also cut a few bucket hats, but not assembled them. I'll be making quite a few of these this year. I love this one the best. It's for the baby of a very good friend. She chose the fabric and I painstakingly fussy cut it to make sure the best little features will be visible, like the racoon on the top of the hat and the birds around the crown.

For more peeps preparing for Christmas, head over to Tracey's....