I took my sewing machine on holiday with me

In my defence, I was on my own with the girls for most of the week in Blackpool, as my hubby had to be back home for work.

Did I miss him? Of course. But every cloud has a silver lining, and all that - and on this occasion mine came in the form of my sewing machine as guilt free company in the evenings once the girls were tucked up in bed.

So, with no fixed plans of what if anything I would sew - aside from maybe come good on the promise of a PE bag for my niece who is about to start school - here is what I tipped out onto the carpet of the flat on the first night I was on my own.

I went for the easy option of making a drawstring PE bag. And then, inspired by a brilliant day on the beach, I extended the one bag into five. Three for my own little girls, one for my niece (who very refreshingly, informs me her favourite colour is blue, hence the beach huts and bunting print for hers), and another gift for someone else. They took all of a couple of hours to sew the lot from start to finish - nothing like a gratifyingly quick and simple project!

Predictably, when presented with the choice, my own girls all went for the pink shoe fabric. It is rather lovely, and even has a few sparkles on it to boot, and so I can't really blame them.

These little bags were great for the beach - the girls all loved using them, and it meant they happily carried their own stuff around when we were out and about during the rest of the week. Big bonus.

True to form, of course, the schizophrenic weather took a turn - after granting us a gloriously sunny day, we were treated to clouds and, later, torrential rain. Still, the concrete promenade is perfect for whizzing along on scooters, so they were happy even when the tide or weather meant they couldn't get onto the beach.

"We can go on the beach now, Mummy!"

These little bags are genuinely easy to make - and lend themselves nicely to fun fabrics, too, making them nice and distinctive from the usual uniform drawstring bags you can buy from school. I'll stick a simple step by step guide up here in another week or two, just in case anyone fancies making one or two for their own little school starters. My middle girl starts reception in September, and is excited about taking her new bag to school.