Friday, 29 December 2017

November in Review - At Home

I am splitting my review of November up into two posts as I have a lot of photos to share of places I visited during November.  This first post is going to be about my making, baking, gardening and shop news.
Shop News
I was overwhelmed by the positive response to my Eva Faith shop on Etsy and I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who supported me with kind words, purchases, commissions and reviews, with a special mention to Deb @tinkhickmanDani @littlebobbins and Helen @curioushandmade without whom I would never have started and who have encouraged and supported me.

These are just a few of the progress keepers and stitch marker sets that I opened my shop with.


I think this little snowman with his carrot nose is adorable and I can never resist a little bit of sparkle!


I am planning to add some project bags to my shop in the new year, hand embroidered with my own designs.

Making
I needle-felted another animal for our Christmas tree.  This is Spike, the fluffiest hedgehog around! :)
I crocheted some more toadstools for the tree too.

My Hitchhiker saw some progress as did my Surprise party, but I can't find a photo from November of that shawl!  I made the beaded progress keeper, which will feature in my Etsy shop in the future in a variety of colours.
Baking
I cooked the pumpkin flesh and make a pumpkin fruitcake.



My husband went on a 40 day vegan diet and I found a delicious banana and chocolate cake recipe on the Vegan Society website.

Healthy energy balls made using a Deliciously Ella recipe.

Chocolate and beetroot cake using our homegrown Chioggia beetroot.

We prefer to use them in cakes instead of normal beetroot as the taste is not so earthy, but they still produce a moist cake.

Lots of homegrown, roasted vegetables are a favourite at this time of year.

Christmas preparations continued.  Mini Christmas puddings ready for the oven.

These were be frozen until needed.
In the Garden
We had our first frost towards the end of the month.

Earlier in November I had tidied up the garden for the winter.



I love how the leaves on the oak trees glow in the morning light at the back of our garden.


We had some lovely sunny days in November, very mild too.

Swaps and Gifts
I had the pleasure of swapping with Dana in Canada.  This is the parcel that I sent to her.

I started wrapping and gifting Christmas presents.  This one is for a knitter, the progress keeper made a lovely gift decoration.

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