The last couple of weeks have featured a lot of makeying, so here's some selected highlights...
To start with, I made the Christmas cake, following the recipe from the lovely Ruth Clemens of Great British Bake Off (such a long time till the next series!)
It just came out of the box for another little feeding (it's going to be more drinkable than edible by Christmas, with a bit of luck) and it smelled amazing! Thanks, Ruth, it was just the recipe I was looking for!
I've also got my damson gin to the point where it's almost ready for bottling, but not quite yet.
I've made a start on a craft for 10:10, which will look a bit like this:
As you can see, I've got an app for my phone which makes the pictures look kind of old and funky. The final things will also have paper poinsettias and a nice big bow. They look great! And they'll take the kids at least 3 weeks to make. Hopefully they'll be proud of what they make.
Then there's this top:
It was a rather work-a-day Dotty P's jersey top, but now I've attacked it with an old curtain, some buttons and some embroidery silk and it's on it's way to being kinda funky! Still some work to do on it, but it's looking good. Another project I undertook recently was a button necklace, but I forgot to photograph that. You're probably quite grateful.
Then yesterday: make loads of edibles day!
For last year's ladies' Christmas event* I made a gingerbread Christmas tree:
(A bit out of focus, I know.)
Well last night was this year's ladies' Christmas event*. I'd been asked to make another one, but the problem is that the biggest biscuits are the size of your face. I say "problem"... to me, that's not any problem at all, but the ladies seem to be all shy about looking piggy in front of one another, so instead I made a little tree to go on each table. I didn't ice them this year because I do find large quantities of green icing a bit alarming. I also made them with winter spices rather than ginger, which went down very well in certain (ginger-hating) quarters. I still put the little "baubles" on it. They looked great. No photos to be had though!
They were just done when Mum arrived for an afternoon of baking and an evening of crafting.
We made Delia's quick flaky pastry and Delia's Jon Tovey's Rough Puff Pastry (both from the Complete Cookery Course). I was so grateful to have someone who knew what they were doing directing operations!
The quick flaky became the lid for a pie I'd seen made by Holly Bell on Great British Bake Off (that again!). It was big on flavour and quite a frugal meal. Hubby had the rest for brunch before his shift of death. The Rough Puff remains in the fridge, having a little rest after the trials of being brought into this world.
The remaining quick flaky went the usual way:
Eccles cakes!
Well, after munching the pie and some of the Eccles cakes, it was time to head over to church (armed with a lot of trays of biscuits for the christmas trees) for the ladies' evening.
The lovely Heather of the Patchwork Heart (and lovely local lass) was in charge, helping us make our way to... a patchwork heart!
Mum went for a mix of Christmassy and not:
She sews so fast and so neatly. I need to practice more.
Jo Mote spoke to us about The Best Present of All, and, after taking some of it home (slowest seamstress in the world!), my patchwork heart was done and my crafty day was finally done.
(Doesn't it look great on my lounge floor?)
Next plan: gingerbread house!
* Apostrophe heaven!
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