Its Birthday time of year again

Well my boy has had another birthday and I made a cake with I thought was quite impressive for me.  The cake mix consisted of 12 eggs so you can imagine how big it was.  Probably a little bit too big as my boy hasn't really eaten any of it.

I made two separate mixtures and cooked them separately and amazingly they cooked through in the middle.   When they were cooled, I shaped the cake into a football shirt shape by cutting the sides off and using some of this to make the sleeves.

I then put a thin layer of jam and butter cream in the centre.  I also put a layer of butter cream on the outside to enable the icing to stick to it.  The icing is pale blue as his favourite team at the moment is Manchester City.  I rolled the icing out, several times, to get a large enough piece to cover the cake.  I then smoothed it out on top of the cake and eased it around the sleeves which was quite tricky and was not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

I then rolled out some black icing and put my boy's name and age on the cake and ta-dar - one finished birthday cake.

I was really please with the finished product and it tasted rather yummy too.

Well, I've actually made something else that isn't a grannie blanket or a chicken - wait for it....

It's bunting.

I bought some small pieces of Cath Kidson material from the internet and thought I would try my hand at making bunting with my newly acquired second hand Jones sewing machine.  I had a bit of a disaster with the machine on my first attempt at using it.  I tried to take up my Son's trousers but had not set the tension right so on the front the stitching looked perfect but on the back it was really lose and not very good at all.  And to top it off when I asked my son to try them on they were nearer his knees than his ankles!

Anyway, take a look at my bunting that I am very pleased with,

and just if you are having withdrawal symptoms of chickens here is a couple more to show you...

Jubi-Lee Chick

Mr Fuzzy

The white lamb with the black leg

Some Easter baking

The Flying Scotsman

Spring has Sprung

I'm liking the fact that the clocks have gone forward a hour and enjoying being out in the garden for that extra hour in the evening.  I am currently sowing vegetabe seeds, peas, cauliflower, carrots, and parsnips to hopefully, vermin and weather permitting, transfer to the allotment in a month or so.  As I do not have a greenhouse I am sowing seeds in deep pots and attaching see through carrier bags over them to create a bit of heat and protection from the frosts.

I'm also growing sweet peas but they are staying in my garden for me to enjoy.  There is nothing quite like the scent of sweet peas.

I have also been busy crafting and have created a crochet blanket for a new baby's arrival - and no, before you ask its not me.  When would I find time to garden and craft with a new arrival around.

It's been birthday month in my life in March and I have made a couple of birthday presents for a couple of children.  You may recognise his friends from earlier blogs and this one has been specially created for a little boy in the colours of the Jubilee.  His new name might be Ju-Billie Chick!

I have also spend a very long day on the farm helping my family with the lambing.  I used to help out every year and, having spent one day there, I have been reminded how exhausting lambing is.  I do miss the "Good Life" but I'm sure if I had to contend with bleeting sheep every day of the week I would soon come to dislike them lots.

There are rewards for all the hard work and, when you see how cute the baby lambs are, it makes it all worthwhile.  Obviously I cannot take any credit as I'm a busy full-time mum and part-time florist.   I just "show my face" occasionally and don't really contribute to the day-to-day running of the farm.  I leave that to them that know how to.

Happy Easter to you all and thanks for reading.  I'm sorry it's been so long and lets see if I can make something sooner for the next update.

Happy New Year

I hope you had a lovely Christmas and wish you a very happy 2012.

Just thought I would show you some flower arrangements that

I have created in the past

I did these as table decorations for a member of my family.

This was an entry into a local produce show and is in fact a small

arrangement sat on top of a very large upturned wine glass.

... and here is a project that I completed for a friend recently. I love crocheting and the way that it grows so quickly, although this blanket was made up of quite a few smaller squares which needed sewing together.

I have some more wool and have been asked to make a similar blanket for a baby boy who is known at present as the bump!  I will keep you posted on the progress that I make on this and need to get a wriggle on or baby will be here without a blankie to snuggle up in!