Christmas Tree Quilt Finish, Patchwork Christmas Wreath & Friday Smile

When we visited the Lake District last week I took my sewing machine to keep me company in the evenings whilst DH was watching TV in the lodge. I made good headway on a new Liberty Quilt which I will show soon but I need an extra large table to sandwich the layers so it may have to wait until my next group meeting. I also managed to finish the foundation pieced Christmas Tree quilt I started at our group workshop with our guest tutor, Maureen. I made extra blocks and transformed them into a small sofa quilt instead of just a table runner and I am pleased with the result. 

 Each year I "rescue" a Teddy Bear from a charity shop, to spend Christmas with us, and here is this year's little character, called Carnforth because that's the name of the little town where he was rescued. 
He will soon get a new hat and scarf and sit close to the fire over the holidays but for now he is pleased to show off the reverse of my new little quilt.

Carnforth is just on the border with the Lake District and Carnforth Station is where the famous, classic, 1945 David Lean film "Brief Encounter" was filmed. There is a museum and visitor centre there which recreates the period and tells the story of the film.

 I also made another wreath from the extra left over pieces I prepared for my first one, that we made with Maureen. I wanted to gift one to my lovely neighbour who has sadly had two recent bereavements so I thought it would cheer her a little.

I haven't joined in Friday Smile with Annie for a while as I have had so much on that I have hardly been on the computer but I'm popping in this week to share this pic of some of my recent baking.....

There's Fred on my Homepride silcone rolling pin and my spotty pastry.....

How did I do that you might say?

Well the blackcurrant pie was just about to go into the oven when I realised I hadn't sugared the fruit and I didn't relish sour blackcurrants!! It was the last of the pastry, so I carefully whipped off the top and this was the result. It cooked really well nonetheless but I forgot to photograph the "after" pic!

Thanks for popping in to visit even though I don't post so often nowadays and today I'll do my best to get round all the other smiles.

You can too if you visit Annie over at astitchintime, you'll smile too!

I am making a solo trip next week to visit the German wing of my family and to visit the Christmas Markets. I've been stocking the freezer with home cooked meals for DH... including a spotty pie!! He won't mind as blackcurrant is his favourite.

Hope everyone is keeping warm and cosy and weathering the ravages of Winter, I'll be going to deep SNOW in Germany!

Have a great weekend.