Self portrait and a finish!!

The house smells divine today!

I have Christmas cake in the oven. The old fashioned rich dark fruit cake kind.

If only this picture had smellovision...

Do you like my self portrait?

LOL Try as I might I couldn't get a photo without a myriad of reflections!!

I wasn't opening the oven.

Two more hours before I try that!

 *

So, cake mixed, dishes washed, what next?

I'm on a day off work, so I get to play.

I'm not sure what with though. I finished the kiwi quilt, it's all quilted and bound.

 This is only the second quilt I have done on my quilting frame, so again I stuck to a meander. That suits the charm square style of quilt anyway.

I learned an important lesson along the way while I was quilting this one.

It's true, that it is best to clean your machine between each quilt!

My poor Janome was making an awful noise and the thread was snap, snap, snapping!

I pulled it all apart, had a defluffing session!

And squirted a little oil about!

What a difference.

(Remember that one Loulou!)

So, here you have it....

Kiwi again!

I used a black on black fabric with a silver fern design for the binding and for the first time I closed the binding using my sewing machine, rather than do it by hand. 

Neat! I like that technique.

It will be gifted to a colleague who has very swiftly become a very dear friend.

*

So, what next?

I really don't know.

The Christmas Story quilt is here looking at me, it needs only two borders and a little hand sewing.

Maybe if I get some more done to that it will encourage Debbie to have another go at hers.

She did find time to do some last week, but is very, very busy with her girls at the moment.

Incidentally, Debbie and I will be off to Christchurch to attend the Craft and Quilt Fair at Wigram Air Force Museum. Very excited and looking forward to that!

Like most of you, I have a huge stash and lots of things I would like to do and at times feel quite overwhelmed by it all.

I think it is safe to say that, that is where I am at right now!

Maybe I should make a start on a couple of Christmas gifts.

They don't need to go onto the quilt frame though....

And I do need practice on that....

Decisions, decisions.

I'm off to sniff around the oven door and maybe stitch on sleepy for a bit, while I ponder my next quilty move.