Giant

I made this not-so-little guy on commission. He was a retirement gift for a principal, whose graduating students receive the small version. He was hard work, but I'm proud of the result and I hope he's appreciated.

Harrison

In one of the singlets I smocked for him.

Love being an auntie!

Red Velvet Engagment Cakes

 After seeing/eating them at my 30th, my friend Amanda requested red velvet mini cupcakes for her (and her fiancé, Nathan's) engagement cake. She wanted this to be their present since I was insisting on giving one.

The colour went beautifully with the Moroccan themed venue for the party

I'm very pleased with how the piping came out, though I was cleaning up those tiny round sprinkles for days!

Smocked singlets

One of the best ideas ever, smocked singlets are a quick and easy gift. I usually make sets of two or three for a new baby, in colours to suit the nursery or the parents' preferences.

Green and yellow for Ollie

Brights for Nicholas (Edinburgh - his mother is also a member of the Ankh-Morpork Knitter's [sic] Guild on Ravelry)

Pink for Peyton

Yellow for Tayah.

I also made a set for Harrison (the baby who received the natural coloured comfort toy of my last post) in 'woodland' colours but apparently forgot to photograph them, along with another set I sent overseas.

Comfort

 A pair of comfort toys

This one, which is more lime green than it appears, is for sweet Miss Tayah.

This one, more creamy beige, is for my honorary brother and sister-in-law's baby boy, currently 3 days overdue

30

Dress made by my mother in law, hat by a friend

 I stole my friend's baby so I didn't have to stand there alone.

 No longer the youngest. And I made that dress

 Two dear friends

 My darling cousin who came from Canberra, just for my birthday!

 Andrew and Niece #1 pretending to be dragons.

 My new niece, Tayah, 1 week old!

 Andrew with Tayah

 He sings!

Not one sponge cake, but two!

Kitchen Meme

Bold the ones you have and use at least once a year, underline the ones you have but use less often, italicize the ones you have and don’t use, strike through the ones you have had but got rid of.

I wonder how many pasta machines, breadmakers, juicers, blenders, deep fryers, egg boilers, melon ballers, sandwich makers, pastry brushes, cheese boards, cheese knives, electric woks, salad spinners, griddle pans, jam funnels, meat thermometers, filleting knives, egg poachers, cake stands, garlic crushers, martini glasses, tea strainers, bamboo steamers, pizza stones, coffee grinders, milk frothers, piping bags, banana stands, fluted pastry wheels, tagine dishes, conical strainers, rice cookers, steam cookers (I'm assuming this means steamer pans), crock pots,  pressure cookers, slow cookers, spaetzle makers, cookie presses, gravy strainers, double boilers (bains marie), sukiyaki stoves, ice cream makers, fondue sets, healthy grills, home smokers, tempura sets, waffle makers,  tortilla presses, electric whisks (assuming this is an electric beater), cherry stoners, candy thermometers, food processors, bacon presses, bacon slicers, mouli mills, cake testers, pestle-and-mortars, and sets of kebab skewers languish dustily at the back of the nation’s cupboards.

I stole this from Cozy Spirit, but I don't know where Cozy got it from. I wonder how it will change once Andrew and I get a place...

Travelling Jacket

 Mum requested a polar fleece jacket to wear on her travels.

 This one is reversible.

With a hood.

The Process of a Pudding

 Beating the eggs into the butter/sugar/lemon rind

 Folding in the flour

Lemon juice and sugar in the pudding basin

Tasty, tangy pudding

Marnie's Apple Pie

 When I was young, the best dessert in my life was Marnie's apple pie (Marnie was my paternal grandmother). An apple pie from Marnie disappeared in my house with frightening speed.  I learned everything I know about making apple pie from Marnie, and follow her example faithfully (okay, I use butter instead of lard, but surely that's an improvement?) When I make apple pie for my family, it is eaten and enjoyed, but over all, deemed 'not as good as Marnie's'. Luckily, my inlaws never tasted Marnie's apple pie, so when I made this one on the weekend, not only was it devoured, but it was deemed the best they'd ever had. Maybe I should make apple pie more often...

Sugar Saucers

Another delicious recipe from Baked In America. Chewy, vanilla-y goodness. I need to own that book.

Master Alexander's New Coat

I used the usual Regency pattern but did my best to minimise the pleating at the shoulders,

and put a single deep pleat in the back.

He's only five and a half months old and it's a size one, so it's a bit big yet, but that allows him to show off the gorgeous lining fabric, which goes so well with his eyes!

Chocolate Snickerdoodles

I recently borrowed from the library Baked In America. It's an absolutely gorgeous cookbook full of biscuits, cakes, brownies and other snacks and desserts, and it's gone to the top of my wish list (seriously, if you know me in real life, check out my Amazon.co.uk wish list. I want this book for my birthday)
Naturally, I had to make something from this wondrous book before returning it to the library. How could I resist chocolate snickerdoodles?
I'm quite pleased with them, except for one thing - tartaric acid is not cream of tartar!

17 eggs make...

 43 biscuits (don't count, they're not all there)

 1 batch of choc-orange brownies

 4.5 jars of lemon butter

 4 jars of experimental citrus butter (it was supposed to be lime, but we didn't have enough limes)

Lemon on the right, citrus on the left. The colour difference is subtle, but definitely there.

Yarn!

Bought at the craft fair: Fairies in the Garden Silk Angora Viscose Wool mystery blend,

 and Jezebel in colourway 'Rome' (more purple than it looks)

 From the Sheep and Wool Show - 50/50 Silk Merino blend. As soft as it sounds and as silver as it looks.

 6 Snowflake Obsidian stitch markers

 and 2 in black Goldstone

Plus a fat quarter of pumpkin fabric!

That's a lot of scones

After my last catering job, I got another one. This time, for an engagement party, I was asked to make 50 scones and 25 savoury scrolls. That was three hours cooking, four double batches of scones, plus the bread dough. Then I had to go to work! (Only for the afternoon, thankfully)
It was a great success though, and I've been paid more than I expected, which is nice.