Big Room part 1 and a noice award

I've been nominated for the "Nice matters Award", this time by veryniceherselfAlwen
and now that I'm on a newer version of blogger, I've actually been able to figure out how to put it up, along with the other one.
... and those persons who just said 'bout bloody time', can shush up.
Thank you Alwen.
"Nice" is generally a very undervalued thing to be... and I am trying
although certain members of my family might say that I'm VERY trying
- anyway the award is appreciated. I'll have to have a think about who else to nominate but it won't be too difficult because there were several people that I had to miss last time.
anyway
moving along , it's time for today's Christmas Tour installment #693

so:
my front door opens straight into a single large room which would be the Lounge Room [ livingroom] and Dining Room for most people. Because I'm don't have to be most people, the larger half [ is it still half if it's larger??] is the studio/workroom... essentially it's my 'workspace for quilting arts related stuff' but that just takes too long to say.
Until recently the other end of the space sported a sideboard, a dining table, a couch [sofa] , a corner unit and a coffee table that was totally in the way. In three years here, I hadn't had a single meal at that table, so now it's up in the shed and the space contains all the aforementioned stuff plus another couch, all rearranged and functioning in a much friendlier way. The couch probably takes up nearly as much space as the table did but it all feels much larger and more open. We will not speak of the effort involved in hoisting a solid oak table onto shelving six feet off the ground!!!
This is the view looking towards my workspace. Christmas decorating is fairly minimal: a couple of small wall hangings and a child's red kimono, and some swags and bows
Turn around at look at the other end of the room and it's a bit different: santas, swags, cushions, angels, table runners, quilts, stitcheries and mini quilts, BIG tree.
I made the big Father Christmas about 5 or six years ago from a commercial pattern - essentially a head-and-shoulders on a broomstick base with a felt robe trimmed with batting. He used to stand at the foot of the stairs in the last house and absolutely EVERYONE would fondle his batting beard and hair - to the point where it needed replacing with felt after only one Christmas. Don't really know why but since I redid the beard in felt, no one seems to do that to him any more. Maybe the wool batting version looked more pettable. In line with my theories on maximum effect decorating some of the boxes that contained decorations are piled at his side until the real presents are wrapped... plus it saves putting them away and I can hide my 'elf kit' in there: spare bulbs for fairy lights, pliers, tape, scissors and batteries



This quilt is made from squares cut from the same print as the border except on a cream background, quilted in spirals and swirls and embellished with seed beads and sequins...
very very simple but effective I think. If you click for bigger you'll be able to see that the 'star' on the tree is actually a snowflake brooch snagged for $1 in Crazy Clint' s After-Chrissie Sale.
Blogger is being very unco-operative with the photos so you can see the rest of this room tomorrow. I was going to split the post anyway but this just means there are a couple less than there would've been. I'm sure you'll all survive!
eta it's several days later and Blogger has eaten the posts AGAIN... grump grump grump.... reloading them is a pain in the patootie and I'm not 100% sure which ones I had here. and which ones were elsewhere. Apologies if I double up.