EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT

there's no getting away from it...two weeks today i'll most probably be about to go out and pick out our tree...yes i am a self-confessed-and-not-ashamed-to-say-it-early-decorator! it gets me in the groove for gift stitching + treat baking. and being in the company of fellow makers who can't leave it til the week before...now feels like the right time to start talking festive which so many have already.

since early november i've already been burning clove and orange oils...day dreaming of my card designs whilst serving the super-organised people who post their parcels by surfacemail at work...and so today i jumped in with both feet and made my first ever christmas cake. lynn...i know i should probably have consulted with you on this and done it the mary berry way but i had the urge and consulted my other cooking inspiration (nigel slater) how it will turn out i am not sure but a girl has to have a go and so i did. there may be updates at the marzipan and icing stages...all dependent upon whether the cake part works out of course!

i also saw these recipes yesterday in our paper for alternative festive cakes and i am truly tempted to try them out. clementine frosting? yes please nigel! a little later in december maybe...when i need fueling for the production line of sewing i have planned...oh and i guess for visitors too as they drop by ; )

and finally for today...a wip for our nephew noel's first christmas...a name like that just has to be on a stocking!

off now to attend to my patient with man-flu and get the fire lit for an evening of knitting and list making...