happy halloween

Carving our home grown pumpkins. Maggoty cupcakes. Squirrel suit made by tracing round her all-in-one rain suit and adding tufty ears and a huge tail. The rather unnerving Professor Pan, resident all week at Windy Corner. The kids seem unfazed by him but the builders working round the corner coming in for their bacon butties looked a little unsure. Halloween shock of the day: thinking your daughter is on fire, before realising there's a dry ice machine under her chair!

there's a profiterole shaped hole in my life

I wonder what's going to fill the hole in my life now that The Great British Bake Off has finished...? Maybe some profiteroles!! Totally inspired by the baking talent, I made choux pastry for the first time and created this croquembouche for my friend Julie's birthday. Filled with creme patisserie, dipped in chocolate and stuck together with caramel. I can't help but want to go bigger and higher!

drawstring bag

Betty's first day at nursery was this morning. She was remarkably unfazed by it all and although she didn't join in everything, she managed not to hide her head in her hands and groan as all the other children danced away to a nursery rhyme cd.

To prepare myself for the momentous day, I made her this drawstring bag. She's incredibly pleased with it.

I used this free online tutorial, and appliqued a cat on each side with some Kaffe fabric scraps.

What did I do with my two free hours? I did some digging on my near by allotment, whilst obsessively checking my phone.