Cake and birthday gift

May 20th was this year's Cake Bake for the MS Society. I always host a coffee and cake day at home and bake large cakes to order. I bake up to three cakes a day as that's manageable with lots of sitting down whilst each one bakes.

This year my cakes to order were:

• Victoria Sponge with jam and buttercream
• Coffee and Walnut with buttercream topping
• Chocolate Guinness Cake
• Carrot Cake with cream cheese topping
• Ginger Cake

I'm not sure which was my favourite to eat, maybe the ginger as it was a new recipe and turned out so moist and very moreish.

Thanks to my lovely friends and family who ordered cake and came on the day for a coffee, piece of cake and a chat. The total raised this year was £250 - thank you :) 

Coffee and Cake Day table 

I managed to blow up and tie the balloons - haha

Schokogugelhopf - the prize on the black out game 

It was a lovely day - it's always nice when friends pop round for a cuppa so it was even nicer when many friends all came at the same time.

My stitching has been quite slow lately, my hands are not holding things so well and they are at times beginning to be quite painful in my bones. I see my specialist in August and there are a few things I need to ask about as over the last year I have noticed certain symptoms becoming worse. I do push myself - Clare's Challenge 50 is certainly becoming quite difficult - but I'm not one to stop doing things .... I'm sure he is going to tell me I should :( 

Anyway I have very few finishes lately and am way way behind with SALs and Challenges. I have however managed to stitch and make up a gift for my Mum who's birthday it is today. Mum is an avid crafter, her current main hobbies are quilting and machine embroidery but she has done lacemaking, applique, tatting, knitting, crochet, beading, and many many more. 

I saw this project is the February issue of Cross Stitch Collection. I don't buy magazines usually but as I was featured in this issue I did buy a copy hee hee. It was good to see a chart to use too. 

I was very slow stitching it and I found it quite tricky to finish but I'm pleased with how it turned out, and Mum loved it. 

Mum's birthday gift 

A friend at the club asked me to stitch a coaster for her, it was quite simple and didn't take too long. It's a chart I've used many times for various gifts. 

Coaster for a friend

We had some very exciting news yesterday, our oldest neice and her boyfriend got engaged. They are actually in the air flying to the UK from their home in USA as I type this, with Hubby's sister, her husband and their other daughter. The five of them are spending a few days in London before all Hubby's family meet up on Sunday for a meal to celebrate his Mum's 80th and now our neice's engagement too - quite a celebration. 

We are off on holiday most of June so I doubt I'll be posting much, although you won't miss me as I have been a very slow poster of late hee hee. I have my stitching to take and I really really hope I can get quite a lot done - thanks for calling by to red my news :)