frayed at the edge

Crafts old and new

Wherever we go on holiday, I always have a look for craft/sewing/knitting magazines.  There is an excellent Spanish one that I always buy, and this year my timing was perfect, as I was able to get two issues!  Added to them, I also got a French magazine.  I studied French for six years at school, and although I am decidedly rusty when it comes to speaking it, I can still cope with reading it (and I still have my French dictionary, which was a school prize!)  I also studied Spanish for a year, and although I did pass my 'O' Level, I promptly forgot most of it (on holiday I can say hello, please and thank you!).  However, when you know what the subject is, it's amazing how much you can understand!  (except for a Japanese quilting book which was given to me by a lovely Japanese girl whom I taught to quilt when I lived in Indonesia - fortunately it has excellent diagrams!!)

 

 

Today we went to Jedburgh for lunch, and as usual had a look in the charity shops.  This book caught my eye, and as soon as I flicked through it, I just had to buy it.

 

 

There is a fascinating collection of crafts, but the page that particularly caught my attention was this one about knitting, not only for the information, but also for the illustration of the woolwinder, which is similar to the one I bought recently at a car boot sale

 

 

When we recently visited Helen, she mentioned that her home was about to be featured in a magazine, so when she showed  photos of the magazine it on her last post, of course I had to immediately buy it

 

 

There are beautiful photos spread over seven pages, and amongst all the lovely treasures, there is evidence of Helen's cushion obsession!

 

 

One of the other things I acquired on holiday is this fun bracelet, made with dozens (if not hundreds!!) of beads.  I think I may have some fun trying to make something similar

 

 

To finish, I want to introduce you to Lucy, Lottie and Edward - come back tomorrow and I'll tell you all about them!

 

  

 

 

Tuesday Tutorial 18

Folded Japanese Patchwork

 

To make today's project, you will need the following

cardboard for templates (I use cereal packets), a cd (mine is a free one) two fabrics, thread, scissors, pins, needles, some beads and wadding (not shown)

 

draw round the cd on the card and cut out the circle

 

then cut a three and a quarter inch square

 

draw round the circle template on the wrong side of one of your fabrics

 

cut out with a seam allowance of approx a quarter of an inch

 

on the right side, stitch a running stitch round the edge

 

turn over to the wrong side, place the card in the centre of the circle, then draw up the fabric and fasten off the thread

 

iron the seam allowance

 

remove the card, then turn over and press on right side

 

cut a square of the second fabric and a square ofwadding, using the other template

 

place the wadding and fabric on the wrong side of the circle and pin in place

 

fold the edges in and pin in place

 

take a couple of small stitches to secure the corner

 

then stitch round the curve, close to the edge, using a running stitch

 

You have now made your first piece of folded Japanese patchwork.  You could use this as a coaster, but if you make another five pieces, you can then turn them into a soft box

 

put the first two pieces right sides together and stitch using a whip stitch

 

sew the four sides into a strip,  sew the base on, then sew the last side seam

 

sew the lid on along one edge

 

turn the box right side out

 

to finish, add a handle made with  beads to the centre of the lid

 

I have used Japanese style fabrics to make this box, but you use any type of fabric - this is a box I made years ago

 

I used a buttonhole stitch to secure the edge of the curves, and again, added beads to the lid

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

A quick history lesson

Yesterday, we went over to the village of Newstead, where you can see a slice of history in one short walk.  The first stop was at Trimontium, the site of a Roman Fort.  We are taught in school that the Romans were an all-conquering nation - but they met their match in the Scots, and had to build forts and walls to protect themselves!

 

 

As we continued our walk, I was distracted by a cute animals photo opportunity ........

 

 

........ then Malcolm spotted these strange fungus (fungi?)

 

 

We got back on track, and reached our next stage in history ...... the old road bridge over the River Tweed.  You can see that the river is very low at the moment.

 

 

Next to the road bridge is the Victorian Leaderfoot Viaduct.  Unfortunately, the viaduct is no longer in use, as train services to the Borders were axed years ago

 

 

Next to these two magnificent structures is the modern road bridge (that man got in my photo again!!)

 

 

This detail of the old road bridge shows that things can look good as well as being functional

 

 

unfortunately, the modern bridge is merely functional

 

 

I know there has been a distinct lack of all things crafty since we got home from our holiday - however, it's back to normal tomorrow with the Tuesday Tutorial, and I am working hard on a knitting design which I hope to share with you soon!

 

 

Shadow Shot Sunday

 

Hi everyone - I'm sorry I didn't visit and leave comments on your shadow shots for the last two weeks .... but we were on holiday in Majorca!  I scheduled my posts before we went and Tracy added me to Mr Linky so that I could till play!!  So, of course this week's shadow shots are from our holidays - but they weren't taken by me.  Our son, Stuart, came out to join us for the second week of the holiday and I let him play with my Lumix - he had great fun as it is a big step up from his camera!

 

 

a tree casts an interesting shadow on the end of the wall

 

 

the soft shadow of the palm contrasts with the sharp one of the poolside shower

 

 

the old stone wall provides a perfect setting for the tree's shadow

 

 

the Roman Bridge

 

 

wearing his smart new hat, Stuart finds another good shadow shot!

 

I hope you have enjoyed my guest photographer's shadow shots - to see what other shadows have been captured round the world this week, visit Hey Harriet.

 

Early morning delights

Yesterday, I crawled out of bed and was out the door at 6.40, determined to walk off some of those cake-calories.  It was a lovely clear, bright morning ....... but it was frosty!!  However I soon forgot about the unseasonal weather, when I saw these little cuties

 

they weren't too sure about someone taking their photo ......

 

 

...... but these two posed quite happily!

 

Those lambs were very young, unlike these two bold ones who were munching away on the verge, and stood watching me approach for some time (the photo is a little bit dark as we were in deep shade under large overhanging trees!)

 

 

I could see where they had squeezed through the fence to get in and out of the field, as they had left rather a lot of fleece behind!

 

 

It might be the middle of May, but the daffodils are still flowering in the verge

 

 

These primroses were a bright spot under the trees

 

 

The apple blossom is starting to appear - I hope there is a good crop of apples like last year, so that I will be able to make more jelly!

 

 

I had to take yet another photo of my favourite tree - if you click on it to enlarge it, hopefully you will see several birds in the holes - it looks as if they might be nesting

 

 

This afternoon, I abandoned the holiday laundry to head for patch'n'chat.  It was lovely to see all my friends and catch up with their latest projects ........ and of course there was cake!  Annette had made a wonderful lemon meringue pie for us ......

 

 

.......I'm going to have to do some more walking!!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love, Anne

 

 

 

A stroll round town

This is the fourth time that we have gone to Pollensa on holiday, but we never tire of walking round the old town, especially when there are sights like these to see

 

A beautiful house we passed on the way up the many, many steps to the Church of Calvari

 

It was worth the walk to see the old church and ......

 

..... the stunning view

 

there are lots of wonderful quirky streets like this one

 

I don't think these steps comply with building regulations!

 

The church in the main square is undergoing extensive renovations - but then it is rather old, having been built by the Knights Templar.

 

 

 

This escutcheon on the church door shows the Templars' Cross

 

 

 

OK, it's not scenery, but to finish I thought you might like this stall at the Sunday market!
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

It will come as no surprise ..........

.......... to regular readers, if I start the tales of our holidays with some food!!  Before we left, I mentioned that no doubt cake would be eaten, and  on our first morning, these little beauties were consumed with great relish!!

 

 

Mindful of the amount of calories in cakes, we shared this one!!

 

 

When Stuart came out to join us for the second week ........ the cake eating continued

 

 

But we didn't eat cake every day ........ one morning we had icecream

 

this was mine

 

 

Stuart was delighted with his

 

 

I think this picture shows how good the icecream was!!!

 

It wasn't just us who were tucking into treats - Malcolm enjoyed giving these chickens in the orchard next to the villa some tasty things to eat

 

 

But don't worry - we did walk off a lot of those calories ....... tomorrow I'll show you some of the sights of Pollensa.

 

 

 

Back home ........

........ but only just!!!!!  Yes, that ash was causing chaos again today, with a lot of Spanish airports closed .... but thankfully not Palma.  However our flight was delayed for quite a while and had to fly much lower than usual and take a different route round the worst of the ash.  Never mind, we're back home now and sitting relaxing with a glass of wine (as if we didn't drink enough on holida!)  No pictures tonight, as I'm just too tired to put them on the laptop (we had a very early start!)

Thanks for still visiting while I was away and leaving comments - glad you liked Mr May!!

Shadow Shot Sunday

 

More from the archives this week - a bit of an odd collection!

reflection of the kitchen window on the glass covering the windowsill

 

 

yes, that's me!

 

the bottom edge of a vertical blind

 

I took this one last year on holiday

 

To see what the other shadow chasers have found this week, head on over to Hey Harriet
 
 
 
 

Tuesday Tutorial 17

Handbag Tissue Holder

 

This is a quick and easy project.  I have made dozens (and dozens) over the years, both for gifts and for fund raising events.

To start, you will need a strip of each of two contrasting fabrics, measuring 6"x13" (this will make 2 tissue holders)

Cut across the strips, so you have two pieces measuring six by five and a half inches, and two measuring six by seven and a half

 

 

Stitch a small piece to a contrasting large piece along the 6" edge, and repeat with the other two pieces

 

 

Refold the fabric, so the other two 6" edges are together and stitch them

 

 

Turn the resulting tubes right side out, and press the seam allowance to lie under the smaller fabric

 

 

Flatten out the tubes and press so that there is an equal amount of edging on both sides

 

 

Next, mark the centre of both raw edges, then fold the sides to the centre and pin in place

 

 

Start about half an inch from the edge, sew backwards to the edge, sew to the other end, and sew backwards for about half an inch

 

 

Turn the tissue holders right sides out and press

 

 

To finish, add a packet of tissues