May update

May has been a busy month with planning and baking for Mum's birthday and our tour of Scotland. I posted about the birthday surprise in my GG May (thanks Jo 😉) - if you want to read about, and see the photos of, our Scottish adventures (4 posts ) pop over to my other blog 

Aimetu's - wine, food and travel

I didn't do any stitching whilst away, the main reason being that the light in hotel and guest house rooms is so poor. I think they focus on 'soft lighting for a good night's sleep' but in some rooms even reading was tricky.

I recorded the highest day temperature and lowest night temperature in all the places we stayed and now we're home with good light I have updated both my Temperature Quilts to 23rd May. I'm really enjoying these, the colour changes are amazing, I love it when the temperatures rise. 

Day Quilt

Night Quilt

It's always a worry when we go away about our garden. We only have pots and they need watering every day. With Mum away too we had to come up with a plan ... so we bought a water sprinkler and timer for the outside tap. It came on once a day and although we had to do some dead leafing, weed clearing and general pruning the pots survived.

Hubby and I spent a day working on it, dodging the showers. I'm so pleased with how it looks, it's the first proper year after all the changes and I just love sitting outside with my coffee. 

We have a new clematis to climb the fence round the clock

I've added some pots to the edge
of the gazebo

I love the contrast of the red acer leaves and the greenery,
we now have a fig growing behind the chairs.

I love the exchanges we do at Needlecraft Haven, this year we have already had a Valentine's Exchange and an Easter Exchange. It's time for our Summer Exchange which is to make a pin cushion on the theme of either cats or dogs - at the moment it is still sign up time but our partners will be announced soon so I'll know which theme to stitch.

Huge apologies to everyone as I haven't had time to read any blogs for quite a while. I plan to spend the next few coffee breaks in Blogland catching up with all the news.

Gifted Gorgeousness May

It's Gifted Gorgeousness time again when we can share our crafts using any item gifted to us or our crafts we are gifting to others. This month my gifting is one large gift but it's not cross stitch it's my other hobby ..... baking. 

Jo at Serendipitous Stitching is our GG host, pop by to her blog to find the links to everyone else's giftingness. I do hope my baking is allowed Jo. 

The reason for my baking is later this month it is my Mum's 80th birthday. She will be away on a cruise so we celebrated a little early. I told her our local bowling club was having an Afternoon Tea and I'd got tickets for us all, a great idea just before her holiday. 

Well it was an Afternoon Tea ...... a surprise 80th birthday afternoon tea. Around 30 of her friends joined us and she certainly had no idea it was for her until a chorus of 'happy birthday' rang out as she entered the room. 

One of the ladies at the club did the sandwich, savouries, scones with cream catering and I baked all the cakes - it was a superb tea, plenty to go round. 

Mum's cake (I didn't bake it but I did decorate it)

Carrot cup cakes 

Lemon Butterfly cakes

Chocolate Guinness Cake (sliced at the venue)

Ginger and Pineapple tray bake (sliced at the venue) 

As well as baking Hubby and I made cards for the table that had fun facts about 1939 - top films, songs in the hit parade, how much things cost and who else was born in that year.

1939 fun facts

at little more about 1939

The room looked lovely, we borrowed some bunting from scouts, the club had some lacy table clothes and they had vintage china cups, saucers and plates. We had two tier stands for the cakes, it was certainly a great atmosphere.

Afternoon Tea Room 

Mum's place with menu and invitation

Mum and Keith enjoying the afternoon

Next month I will have some stitching to share but I hope you have enjoyed my 'other' GG, as you can see Mum certainly enjoyed her day ... once she recovered from the surprise !

Mum and her cake