End of November

 November is birthday month in our family. My Mum, David and I all have birthdays this month, with mine being last Saturday.  I don’t often receive flowers, but had 3 lots this time, so the living room looks like a florists!

I got myself a birthday treat and bought a pouch from Mrs Moog  who makes these lovely Herdwick sheep pouches.

And it looks lovely with the other sheep on my sheep shelf.  It’s big enough for a bit of sock knitting or a similar small project.  

My sister gave me some local gin (made in Sherborne), really Christmassy, for which I bought some elderflower tonic to go with it.  Oh yes, and behind that is a small jar of marmalade infused with the gin, which is rather yummy too).

Now this time of year is about secret crafting so I can’t show much here. But I can share this

It’s a folder for my circular needles to keep them in order.

And it has 6  pockets with vinyl fronts. It’s a download pattern by Aneela Hoey called a Flip Pocket Folio.  I’ve used fabrics from stash, which I think is called Radiance for the cover and inside with a variety of Moda Grunge fabrics for the pockets and bindings. I also attempted to attach popper fastenings, which took a while getting to grips with.  Not perfect, but they work and I’m pleased with that.

While shopping in Sainsbury’s the other day I found amongst the small amount of sewing gifts for Christmas, some fat quarters of fabrics with a kitchen theme. The photos are the wrong way round, but anyway, the pack of 5 fat quarters has come in useful for making a toddler sized apron, a couple of ‘tea towels’, and I’ll make a pair of oven gloves.  These will be for my youngest granddaughter who will be getting a toy kitchen for Christmas.

I think that’s all for November, getting ready for Christmas and making a start on the pudding.  The fruit is soaking in citrus juice and Calvados overnight before I put the other ingredients in and cooking in the slow cooker tomorrow. The decorations will start coming down from the loft soon, though we’ve had a small string of fairy lights on the mantelpiece for several weeks to brighten things up.

Roll on December! 🎄