I can't believe we have already reached the end of October! I'm not sure where it went!
My month of creativity is also over and I am pleased to report that I have managed to spend at least 30 minutes every day on a creative project. Yay!
I haven't completed half of the projects that I intended but they will wait for me. It's not helped by the fact that things kept getting added to the list!
So how have I got on for these last ten days?
I have been ploughing on with my scrap quilt and I now have 26 completed blocks. I have a further 7 blocks sewn the first time, cut into strips and ready to be sewn back together. that just leaves 3 blocks to start. I was hoping to get them all finished yesterday but the sewing machine was having a funny 5 minutes so I gave up and got some other jobs done. Photos to follow when I have all the blocks completed.
Heather and I took a trip to Westonbirt last week to see if the Acers had started to change colour yet and I took a few photos as usual. There were some lovely colours already (click on the photos for a larger view)....
After all the high winds this week, I imagine there aren't many leaves left on the trees by now!
This week I baked a fruit cake ready for Christmas. There is something very cruel about slowly baking a cake over 4 hours. The whole house was filled with the tempting aromas of fruit and spices. And we don't even get to eat it yet!!
It looks pretty good though - a tried and tested Mary Berry recipe that Mum's been using for years.
I might have lied slightly about not getting to try it yet...
... our tin was a little smaller than the recipe called for so there was a little mixture left over for a dinky "test-cake". One to eat and one to keep. How does it get better than that!?! Taste testing will commence over the weekend: notes to follow.
A few things crossed off the list then...
...but a little way to go yet before this list is finished. I need to buy some fleece fabric before I can make the felt slippers - that's my job for next week. I think I'll make the peg bag out of the leftover fabrics from my scrap quilt.
Heather's been struggling a little to fit in the challenge around a new job, so I only have a few things to show from her this time. She made a mega chocolate cake:
The recipe, Devil's Food Cake, looked similar to Heather's cake until she went a bit overboard with decorations...
It was really good. And I have to confess that it was even better warmed up with a smidgen of ice cream. Heather renamed it the "Spawn of the Devil Cake" as we dread to think the calorie content of this creation! Mmmmm.... cake!
She also completed a couple of paper cuts and has been experimenting with backgrounds:
She's very clever! The little birds are so cute!
Well, I think that's it for our creativity challenge. I hope you have enjoyed finding out what we've been up to - I've certainly enjoyed committing time to creativity. It is definitely something I'd like to keep up if possible. After all, I have a quilt to finish and several other projects to start....
Have a lovely weekend.
She also completed a couple of paper cuts and has been experimenting with backgrounds:
She's very clever! The little birds are so cute!
Well, I think that's it for our creativity challenge. I hope you have enjoyed finding out what we've been up to - I've certainly enjoyed committing time to creativity. It is definitely something I'd like to keep up if possible. After all, I have a quilt to finish and several other projects to start....
Have a lovely weekend.
