Had a great time last night at our work Christmas party. As the shops were going to be horrendously busy this weekend, I decided to do the Christmas food shopping at the supermarket afterwards. As I was still wearing my party finery, I probably looked a bit overdressed to be shopping in Tesco at nearly midnight!

Unfortunately there was a power cut this evening that affected some local villages, including Boyton and Butley. The bad news was the pub was closed. And the really bad news was that there was no pub quiz!!! Thanks to my new boiler I had a hot date with a long soak in a bubble bath instead!

Hoorah!!! 25 days after our boiler died, we finally have heating AND hot water. And not only a brand new boiler and a brand new flue and pipes, we've now got a very smart digital thermostat too. Foreman Towers is warm and cosy at long last and tonight I've got a hot date with a long soak in a bubble bath!

Drum roll please! This is the project that I was making yesterday with a selection of gold fabrics, and those jingly-jangley bells. Did you guess what it was going to be? A pair of Santa wine bottle-toppers. Quilted very simply using a metallic gold thread, these really are super easy to make. All you need is a small centre square (I used a piece of linen) - this is for the faces. Building up layers using a Courthouse Steps technique, one block will acually make two bottle-toppers. I used some thin cotton wadding on the back of the block, and quilted mine very simply using a metallic gold thread thread and a topstitch needle. Embellished with two tiny buttons for eyes and a jingly jangly bell on the top of his had he really does look very suave in this colourway rather than the traditional red (I made red ones last year but didn't have any red festive fabrics left). Thsse will be popped onto a bottle of wine and gifted to friends for Christmas. I just need to make a few more before my Christmas gift sewing is completed for another year!

It's still freezinv cold at Foreman Towers so I'm trying to keep warm by being creative! I'm playing around in my sewing studio today with some gold festive fabrics and some jingley-jangley bells. Any guesses what the finished project will be?

The centre of block 5 of Hearts and Happy Flowers (designed by Leanne Beasley) has been hand embroidered with gorgeous Cosmo threads. Blocks 3 and 4 haven't been embroidered or appliqued yet, they're still "work in progress" and will be completed over the next few months!

My sewing studio is beginning to look very festive! I've changed the quilts around that hang on the walls, and put up some seasonal quilts - both of these patterns are by Lynette Anderson's Designs. Both quilts were made using fabrics designed by Lynette too. "Christmas Fun" was bought as a pattern along with the hand painted wooden buttons from Patchwork Chicks back in 2016 (sadly this super shop has since closed down) - "Christmas Fun" was made with a selection of fabrics from my stash, and was hand embroidered and hand appliqued. I machine quilted this one myself, then embellished it with hand painted wooden buttons. "Scandinavian Christmas" was made last year too (again the patterns had been bought from Patchwork Chicks). I used fabrics from Lynette's Frosty Fiends collection for this one, teamed with some Norwegian linen. Hand embroidered and hand appliqued, this quilt was freehand custom longarm quilted by J-Quilts. "Scandinavian Christmas" was displayed on Lynette's stall at Festival of Quilts in Birmingham last year, and now it's proudly displayed in my sewing studio!...

...and finally "Christmas Blessings", by another Australian designer, Natalie Bird of The Birdhouse Patchwork Designs, is hanging on the opposite wall. "Christmas Blessings" was bought as a kit from Cross Patch back in 2016 and was completed at the beginning of 2017. This was also hand embroidered and hand appliqued. I quilted around the outside of all the applique, and was machine quilted by me, using Aurifil threads. 

Here's my latest project on display! Little Winter Wonderland, by the Australian designer Lynette Anderson Designs, was bought online as a kit from Cross Patch. Here's a picture of this small quilt displayed on a free standing quilt hanger - I stitched a narrow quilt sleeve on the back of Little Winter Wonderland so it easily slips on and off the hanger. Now I feel inspired to making some more seasonal small quilts to display throughout the year! 
*​ Cross Patch really is a super online quilt shop - you really must sit down with a cuppa and have a look at the huge assortment of patterns and kits and fabrics available - and the customer service really is excellent!