Here & There, This & That

The last couple of weeks I've managed to squeeze in some creative time here and there, making this and that.  I recently discovered this recipe for Pumpkin Bran Muffins on the Women's Day website.  I altered the recipe slightly by adding a half-teaspoon each of ground ginger and ground cloves as well as about 1/3 cup each of raisins and chopped walnuts.  They are delish!  They taste more like cupcakes, but between the pumpkin and wheat bran, are pretty healthy treats (you don't even know the bran is in there!).  They are perfect in the morning with a smear of cream cheese!

I've also been adding to my little flock of fabric birds.  Below is another Christmas-y bird made of that cheerful flannel print, with a plaid beak:

And here are two more - a sort-of blue jay (without the crest), and my favorite so far: this autumn print bird.  I continue to tweak the pattern with each one and they are getting better and better.  These two are a bit smaller than the first few I made because I think they'll look daintier on a Christmas tree.  I've also found a smaller beak works better than a larger one.  I'm having fun playing with different fabric combinations.

 Finally, here are the last two swap squares I received at the last FANE meeting. 

The one on the left was made with the materials I put in the bag (here's a shot of the fabric and miscellaneous embellishments I threw together):

 I think she must've supplemented them with a lot of her own stuff because I'm not sure any of the stuff I put in the bag is actually on this piece (oh well).   My friend Vivien's piece is on the right.   She also found it very challenging to work with the materials she received.  One of the supplies in her bag were little cupcake liners in a variety of colors and you can see a portion of one that she flattened and stitched on with various threads.

The overriding sentiment of the group was that it was very challenging to work with another person's materials!  I think I was one of the few that didn't have a lot of trouble with that (I got my supplies from Vivien!)

I finally started (and almost finished) a new piece inspired by our beach vacation on Cape Cod this year, so stay tuned!