Make, Bake, Sew, Grow

Hello! How are you? It's Friday night and I'm feeling good - tired (obviously, when am I not?) but content and looking forward to half term next week. Now seemed like a good time for an autumnal Make, Bake, Sew, Grow post, a little seasonal meandering through my home life. 

{ Make }

I've been nesting, making small changes around the house, adding cosiness and warmth. Lightweight throws have been swapped for blankets, cushions and pictures have been moved around. I've been buying cyclamen and sunflowers, lighting candles in the evening. It's all turned very autumnal around here, very hygge.

I've started making plans for Christmas. (I know, some of you have trouble with the smallest mention of Christmas before December, but I have crafting to do and I need to get it done in plenty of time, so bear with me.) I have lots of ideas for gifts. I'm thinking bed socks, in really luxurious yarn, and Bella and Angus have both requested crocheted animals or birds, like the ones I made last year.

Other crafting plans include my shiny new loom and a bag full of roving yarn in different colours. 

I plan to make a wall hanging for the dining room. That big grey wall needs warming up and I feel like it needs fabric or yarn up there, or maybe something wooden. I've been pinning woven wall hangings and just need to do a bit more research into how to weave (that would be a good start, right?) It seems like a great way to use up yarn scraps and I'm already thinking about the kinds of colours I want to weave with.

{ Bake }

I made a "clean out the fridge" omelette with some soggy cherry tomatoes, spinach and a little chorizo. No potatoes so not quite a tortilla or Spanish omelette, but delicious.

My mum gave me some mixture for a friendship cake.

Similar to sourdough, you have a "starter" which you feed and stir until you're ready to split the mixture, passing some on to friends and keeping some to bake yourself. It's like a light fruit cake and you can put pretty much whatever you want inside, but I like mine with a lot of cherries. 

It keeps beautifully and is very moist, almost sticky. It has a wonderful malty, slightly caramelised flavour. 

I wanted to do something with some plums that were sitting in the fruit bowl, uneaten. I stewed them with cinnamon, cloves, brown sugar and a little water until they started to break down. The smell was divine, better than any scented candle.

I was aiming for something that was half way between a compote and stewed fruit. Not quite fully broken down and mushy, with the fruit still holding a little of it's shape.

I've kept it in a kilner jar in the fridge all week, spooning it on top of porridge and yogurt. I think I like plums cooked better than raw. 

 { Sew }

Most crafting activity has revolved around Angus's blanket and I have just updated the post I wrote about it a few weeks ago, giving details about the yarn and colours I'm using, for those who asked.  And when I'm not crocheting that, I've been making Christmas stockings.

Possibly the best use for leftover scraps of yarn I've come across, the pattern is by Sandra from Cherry Heart and it's really fun to do. I'm even darning in the ends. I'll take proper photos of them soon. 

Work on the sampler (from here) goes very slowly. I've hardly touched it since our holiday and I must pick it up again. Just seeing this picture makes me want to get going on it straight away.

{ Grow }

The garden is slowing down and looking overgrown, but there are still burst of colour here and there. 

The sedum has been gloriously bright, fading from from a deep pink to a dusty brown-purple.

A few geraniums continue to bloom in pots on the front door step. I keep thinking I should replace them with something more autumnal, perhaps a couple of pumpkins, but I like being greeted by the pop of bright pink. They can stay a while longer. 

I'm starting to think about the tidying up and cutting back ready for the winter, planting some bulbs. 

Happy weekend lovelies. 

                                                      {Make } Something for our home, or for me.

{ Bake } Something from the kitchen.

{ Sew } Something crafty.

{ Grow } Something in the garden.