Tags
Christmas cake, Clytocybe, drawstring bag, funghi, handmade, Handmade Monday, jack o'lantern, mushroom
I’m late with Handmade Monday but it seems to have been one of those weeks. Dad has been ill with a nasty tummy bug, Daisy acquired a lovely black eye at school and hubby has jetted off to China again, so all in all it’s been quite hectic.
As far as crafting goes, I managed to make a pretty drawstring bag for Daisy’s playroom. Since we started building Dad’s extension we have replaced a window with a door in there, so the storage options have been altered a bit. However, hubby managed to create some shelves out of some wood remnants, and we found an old IKEA peg rack to fix to the bottom of them for hanging things on. Hence the bag (excuse the fuzzy focus).
It includes my first ever attempt at applique, which is wobbly in places, but I am pleased with it.
I have also made Christmas cakes, using our family mixing bowl which is a bit of a tradition. It belonged to my Great Great Grandma and we often see similar ones in museums which always makes us chuckle.
I’ve made four cakes this year, one for us and then the other three for friends so that I can raise a little bit of extra cash for our Christmas celebrations.
Here’s our Jack O’Lantern that we carved from one of our homegrown pumpkins – actually the only one that we managed to grow!
And finally here are a couple of photos of some mushrooms that I found growing in the hedgerow this morning (the big one was the size of a small dinner plate). I was so surprised to see them as the wild mushroom crop has been so poor this year – last year I made gallons of wild mushroom soup for the freezer and we just went out and picked a few if I wanted them for cooking. This year we haven’t picked any at all. These ones, according to a good friend of mine who knows his mushrooms, are a very common mushroom of the Clitocybe family (Pronun: Cly-toss-i-bee), either Clitocybe geotropa or Clitocybe nebularis. He didn’t recommend eating them as there are some poisonous varieties and it’s difficult to tell them apart, so I have left them there in all their glory.
Hopefully I’ll have some more makes to report next week as I’ve a couple of craft fairs coming up at the beginning of December. Off to link up at Handmade Harbour now, so see you next time.
tilly mint boutique said:
Wow that bowl is huge! Could do with one of those myself! 🙂
Wendy said:
The bag is lovely and a little bit of wobbliness just adds to the charm (looks ok from here though!). That bowl is HUGE!! I bet it’s really useful!
highland monkeys said:
That’s a nice little bag, it will be very useful for storage. My word, that’s one big bowl, you could go swimming in that! It’s great that it’s still being used after all those years.
soyofthenorth said:
I have never seen a bowl that big before. It’s enormous!
Your first attempt at applique looks great and I like how your jack o’lantern actually has eyes rather than just the holes that most pumpkins get. It looks like it’s laughing and enjoying the celebrations too.
freespiritdesigns said:
you’ve had a busy week!!
i love the little bag you’ve made, what pretty fabric – perfect for a little girls room 🙂
your family mixing bowl is amazing!! what a precious thing! i bet it makes the cakes taste better 🙂 well done on making four… that’s a lot of mixing!!!
i’ve noticed how few mushrooms there are around this year… i thought there would be loads as its so damp out there!
i hope your Dad is on the mend, and Daisy’s eye too, its no fun feeling poorly 😦 x
Patch said:
Your bowl looks exactly like the one I just saw at my new school today… It was on a display of Victorian artefacts (because the class are doing about the Victorians) and was used for bread making. It also belonged to a distant relative of one of the staff.
t1ckledp1nk said:
That’s exactly the sort of display I see it in! I love the fact that ours is still in use (although we are very careful with it!)!
Handbags by Helen said:
Wow, busy week. Love the little bag
skipseagirl said:
You have been super busy! I love the bowl, and the traditions that go along with it. I haven’t made a cake this year so I have cake envy looking at yours!
Alison said:
Wow you’ve been super busy. Hope your Dad and Daisy are on the better side. I can’t believe the size of your bowl. The bag is really pretty, I bet Daisy’s really pleased with it. Hope you have a lovely week.
Ali x
Louise Oakes said:
What a lovely mixing bowl. I have my mother in law’s, but it’s not as big as your!
Jill Spain (@JillSpain) said:
A busy, busy week – I love the appliqué bag. I have taken the easy route this year and a friend is making our Christmas cake – I can think of sooo many reasons not to do it and still feel guilty. Hope you have a good week.
CatkinJane said:
That looks a fantastic bowl, it has reminded me that our Christmas cake bowl is still unused!
Clare (@Lottieoflondon) said:
I love your bag and your appliqué looks very good.
sue said:
Making cakes and lanterns as well as everything else – I feel quite lazy! I haven’t even anything to show this week….
knitnrun4sanity said:
I love the bag – your applique looks lovely. It all flows together really nicely. I have yet to make my Christmas cake -better get a move on.
Jam Dalory said:
What a massive bowl! I can just imagine how many cakes i’d be making if I had one that size, probably a good job that I don’t! The bag is really pretty x