ARTY-CRAFTY DESCENDANTS

 

I thought you might like to see some of the things that my descendants get up to, in age order!!

Daughter Teresa recently began making cakes for friends and her partner's colleagues at work.  The Golfer cake was made for a birthday - a two layer chocolate cake with buttercream and cherries in the middle. It was made for a lad's 17th birthday.

 

This cake was made for a football-mad two year old with a scarf in his team's colours laid across the pitch and the ball kicked into the long grass...

A three-layer chocolate sponge with chocolate buttercream filling plus stencilled design on the top and sprinkles round the sides.

Cupcakes are always a favourite and Teresa must have made dozens in different designs. She's currently making 12 small, square Christmas Cakes - English style - to go into Christmas hampers. Never a dull moment, just a house filled with cake tins and associated accessories!

Her daughter, Diana (my eldest granddaughter) is making jams, marmalades and chutneys for family Christmas presents this year and although I repeatedly asked for photos, this one-and-only came from Teresa.

I blogged this before - it's the pattern on the 'Quilt' birthday cake which Diana made for my birthday in  September, so she's into cakes, too.

 

 

My youngest granddaughter, Sarah, graduated from Southampton University this summer. She studied costume design and fashion photography. The dress below was one she made for her end-of-college ball in 2007.

 Here's the back of it.

 She made this wedding dress after being asked by a friend - who complicated matters by losing weight all the time it was being made!

 She'd really like to do Action photography, like this surfboarding which she took at Newlyn in Cornwall, I'd guess. Not a lot of surfboarding in Britain though...

 One of Diana's daughters, Clarissa, (eldest but one gt.granddaughter) is at (I think) Wolverhampton Uni taking Forensic Science and decorating nails as a means of raising a few pennies along the way.

 I have others but these are the clearest photos to indicate what she does.

As Teresa said - interesting that it's all the women in the family...but so often women are the Makers!

James (grandson) starts at his dream job in January - working for F1 team, Force India. He's got a degree in Sports Car Engineering which has stood him in good stead in his present job but this move will be a step up the F1 ladder.

Stuart (son) has recently moved to a firm restoring Bugatti cars from the 1920s and 30s.

I just carry on knitting in the winter and patchwork and quilting in the summer!

BIRTHDAY

 It was my Birthday on Thursday. During the morning, much to my surprise, my eldest granddaughter arrived with her husband and 2 year old son, carrying a cake for me. I just never have birthday cakes. This was made to resemble a patchwork quilt, all made in 4 colours of fondant icing impressed with patterns to indicate that it was a patchwork quilt, not just a quilt or bedcovering. Round the edges are buttons, which Alex, Diana's son, was intrigued by. I don't own a tin that would take a cake this large so I've kept the cake carrier for the time being.

Here's the pattern of the 'material' used on the quilt.



 

 

An old school friend, the only one I keep in touch with, sent me this nice gift of flowers. 'I think someone's sent you an orchid,' said the postman...We've known each other since the 1940s when we were both at Grammar School and Yvonne would just scramble into Assembly by the skin of her teeth!  I phoned her later to say Thanks and spent almost 1 1/2 hours chatting, which we just don't do! It's only recently we've been emailing rather than sending snail mail letters.

 

In the evening Stuart, Helen, James and Sarah took me to a local Chinese restaurant which we have all used before. It's practical for me as, being a vegetarian, there aren't many places round Aylesbury which do a choice of items for 'us'. The table was covered with dishes yet there was nothing left for a 'doggy bag' as I think we all had Hollow Legs!

 

 Sarah had asked a friend (17 years old!) to make me a Birthday Cake and Knitting was chosen as the theme. I haven't even started that one yet and I understand it's chocolate inside...

 

The family had also given me this pair of lovely turquoise/jade/kingfisher shoes, which are exactly the same style as the red ones I bought earlier this year. Sarah had recently asked whether the red ones were comfortable and, as I said Yes, they decided to buy the 'other' colour which is still available for a week or two. Sarah still works in Oxford Schuh shop once a week so knows what's still in stock. She worked in the Southampton branch for 3 years when she was at Uni and is now back with the Oxford shop for a day while she works in an office...
A friend I taught with is now a guide at Waddesdon Manor and gave me an A4 book with gardening topics on the cover so I can end this year with a new book, ready to begin next year. I'm getting rid of the pond as I can longer look after it properly, that'll be the main item in my new Gardening Diary.
Some of the plants have already gone - Diana's husband fought with a water lily and managed to get it out of the pond, cotton grass went, too and some water mint which had grown roots into the mud. The fish will be fun to catch....
I enjoyed my Birthday as I also had emails from blogger friends wishing me Happy Birthday.

What a lovely lot you are!!!!!