frayed at the edge

Nearly there!

I have still been knitting away at Maia - it has to be 67 inches long before I attach the end, which I have already knitted.  As I am 64 (and a bit inches) I held it up , thinking I must have knitted enough by now .....

oh dear - a few inches still to knit!!

 

When we went out this morning, I noticed some tiny mushrooms in the grass, so I popped out to take some photos after lunch

 

the size of a 10p piece

 

 

these are pea-sized!

 

After taking photos of the mushrooms, my eye was caught by the berries on the rowan (mountain ash).  Traditional trees have red berries .....

 

ours has dark pink ......

 

 

...... and pale pink!

 

But not everything has realised that it is autumn ...... the climbing rose is still flowering

 

 

And this little alpine is gorgeous

 

 

On Sunday we went for a walk in Jedburgh - first we saw this street sign ......

 

 

....... then we saw this one

 

 

Malcolm wondered if perhaps there had been a pub called the Nag's Head in between the two closes - but is it a horse's head (I'm thinking of The Godfather and the head in the bed) ..... or did a husband finally snap when his wife nagged at him once too often?
 

Safe arrivals!

I was delighted to hear from Leenie and WandaFish that their Giveaway parcels have arrived safely, so now I can reveal all.  After yesterday's problems, I have made mosaics, so that if they vanish, it will be much quicker to do it all again!

 

 

These are Wanda's gifts - a notebook and tissue holder, a gift bag and lavender bag, a kit to make an angel, a Thistle Stitchery (designed by me!) ..... and as Wanda mentioned that she has a little girl, a Winnie the Pooh blanket for her teddy.

 

For Leenie, a tissue holder, a cross stitch embroidery, a knitted wash cloth, a knitted brooch and a Thistle Stitchery

 

Now for a photo you should have seen yesterday - I have finished the flower row for my quilt

Then last night, Malcolm drew my owl for me

 

I've still had problems composing this post - everytime I try to centre the last photo, it's the first block of text the centres - and when I try to align it left it takes the mosaic with it ..... so I'm not going to fiddle anymore (and I am also going to save this before I publish it, in case it vanishes like yesterday!!)

Four more sleeps!

I have never really grown up, so I'm getting very excited that it is almost my birthday!  I was delighted this morning to recaive a parcel in the post from Sarah, but I was very good and only opened the envelope

 

 

And there was even more excitement to see an envelope with foreign stamps -  Lee has sent me a card from Australia

 

 

This morning I lined up the bag with the lavender and two other bags on the table

 

 

The leaves were stripped off into the middle bag (they'll go on the fire to make the studio smell nice) ans the loose flowers into the last bag to be used for lavender bags.  I then tied the lavender up into bundles with raffia

This will be the third attempt to post this - minus the last photo, as half the post keeps vanishing - blame the new Typepad Editor, which isn't working!!  Fingers crossed things are better tomorrow!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gloomy!

It has been one of those miserable days - grey and dreary, with drizzle in the air.  Some of our rooms have small windows and can be a bit gloomy, so I have been looking online at CSN Stores for lights  - you may remember that is where I got the tagine and the slow cooker from.  I was very impressed with the service, so will have fun later browsing through their extensive selection of lights.

However, I had no trouble with light on Saturday, when I was taking photos to show you the different weights of thread.  So - why is thread categorized by weight?  Thanks to Dawn Cameron-Dick, I can tell you!  When a new thread is created, it is fed through a machine which measures the yardage.  The thread ends up on a scale, and once the scale shows one pound, the yardage is checked.  A thick thread will have fewer yards to the pound, so if the length is something in excess of 40,000 yards, it is a 40 weight thread .... more than 50,000 yards, it is a 50 weight and so on.  This information is shown on the spool

 

50 weight - probably the most commonly used thread

 

 
 

35 weight - a much thicker thread 

 

I decided to be brave, and fit the scary foot to my new machine

 

the free motion foot, with three  options

 

 

calico layered up for some practice  

 

 

first attempt - could be better

 

 

oops , the stencil moved so the lines are slightly squint 

 

 

but not as squint as my sewing - it's terrible!!

 

 

slightly better, but I am so out of practice at machine quilting

 

 

it should look like this, with even stitches and smooth curves   

 

Never mind, at least while I was stitching I was nice and cosy, with the stove lit for the first time .......

 

 

...... which helped the lavender to dry out more quickly

 

 

On Saturday I also put food on the bird tables - I don't feed the birds over the summer, as there is plenty of food available in the fields and woods for them.  We knew that the sparrows had raised two broods this year, but I didn't expect to see quite so many .......

 

on the ground .......

 

 

on a large shrub .......

 

 

and silhouetted against the sky on the hawthorn tree!

Shadow Shot Sunday

 

It has been a very busy week, with no opportunity to capture shadows, so I have had to go to the archives for today's photos.  I hope my fellow shadow chasers have had more success - you can find out over at Hey Harriet.

 

 

the pergola casting strong shadows on the grass

 

 

a good job done

 

 

these  strange shadows are of the sun shining through trees moving in the wind........

 

 

giving strange moving shadows

 

 

this one is the shadow of the back of a chair!   

Over for another year!

I'm sitting with my poor aching feet up on my footstool, after a wonderful day at the last quilt show of the season (which is probably just as well, as the piggy bank is decidedly empty)  But first, of course, I have to tell you about last night's dinner with the birthday boy.  We were talking so much, I forgot to take a photo of the starters - tempura veggies for me and salt and pepper chicken wings for Stuart.  Then we shared a platter of sushi ..... we couldn't quite manage to eat it all, so the leftovers went home with us in a doggy bag and Stuart took them to work today for his lunch.

 

 

As you know by now, I can't post detailed photos of quilts, but I did take some general views - some photos may make it look as if the show was quiet .... but I took them when a lot of people were at lunch!

 

 

 

 

 

However, I will show you this one, the winning miniature quilt, as it was stitched by my friend Mhairi and I'm sure she won't mind!

 

 

And to show you just how small it is, I put my (small) hand next to it (don't worry, I'm not actually touching it!!)

 

 

As always I met up with lots of friends and chatted to lots of other ladies - we quilters really are a friendly bunch.  At lunch I shared a table with some delightful ladies who were showing off their purchases - beautiful fabrics and all sorts of patterns and projects.  So did I buy anything - well maybe just one or two little things

lovely ric rac

 

a top up for my batik collection

 

a tiny beach hut to add to my seaside themed bathroom!

 

But please don't think that Malcolm has been left out of my shopping - when I was in Falkirk yesterday I bought him two books

a charity shop bargain!

 

this should keep him busy for a while!

 

Don't panic, I haven't forgotten about showing you what I was doing on Wednesday!  I was at Borderland Fabrics to do a workshop on Invisible Machine Applique with Dawn Cameron-Dick.  We learned various techniques and made four samples

a section of dresden plate

 

a corner of drunkard's path

 

a neatly stitched heart

 

a very cute bunny

 

To achieve the invisible stitching, we used ........ invisible thread!  In the past I've struggled to use nylon thread - it tends to have a mind of its own, but with Dawn's expert tuition, I had no problems at all.  I love hand applique, but I will certainly use this method again.  Some of us stayed on for the evening talk, so we had fish suppers for dinner - naughty but nice!  If I tell you that Dawn's talk was on needles and thread ...... yes I can see you yawning all ready!  But the talk was very interesting, and will be a big help in future when it comes to choosing the right  machine needle and the correct weight of thread for a project.  (we learned why thread is described by weight - but I'll tell you that another time).

 

I'm hoping to get a lot of sewing done this weekend - the chickens have been sadly neglected!!  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

 

  
 

 

Bursting at the seams!

I have so much to tell you today, I hope I can fit it all in!   Yesterday, I was away from home from 9am till 9.30pm (I wrote yesterday's post on Tuesday and scheduled it to appear yesterday!)  So what was I doing all that time?  I was at Borderland Fabrics, doing a workshop during the day, and attending a talk in the evening.  I'm going to save the details and photos until tomorrow, as I will have more sewing related things to tell you about tomorrow!

This morning I drove up to Falkirk, and I am now sitting in Stuart's lounge typing this.  We are going out for dinner tonight to celebrate his birthday - we are going to a Noodle Bar, where we may just indulge in lots of sushi!  This afternoon, I went along to the Falkirk Wheel - do you remember that the last time I went, there was a technical problem and I didn't get to see it turn?  Well there were no problems today (apart from the weather being a bit grey)  I took lots of photos so that you can see how it works - it is the only rotating boat lift in the world, and replace a whole serious of locks which connected the two canals.  (Maybe next time I'll be brave enough to go on the boat trip - but you know I don't like heights!)  The sequence of photos show the boat sailing into the 'gondola', the wheel gradually turning, then ending with the boat which had been on the top canal, sailing out into the bottom one.  I tried to keep the camera in the same place, so that you can see how the boat rises away from the level of the dock in photos 2-5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a wonderful feat of engineering - especially when you read this in the visitor centre

 

 

I was intrigued by these two sculptures on the dockside and went over for a better look

 

 

 

This sign gives some general information (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

 

and this tells you about the Kelpies

 

 

You can read more about Kelpies here.  Many years ago, when I was in the Brownies, I was Sixer of the Kelpies.  (if you've never been a Brownie you will have no idea what that means!)

 

To finish this marathon post, I thought you would like to See Stuart's new coaster

 

 

This detail shows how the felted circles echo the metal knot

 

 

ps - I mentioned there will more sewing related things tomorrow ..... on the way home, I'll be popping in to the Autumn Quilt Show at Ingliston!  Of course I will only be looking at the quilts and not buying any fabric or books or thread or buttons or .......... 

 

  

   
  
 
  
 
   

 

Gardening on a grand scale!

First of all - oops ....... I forgot to include the photo of the wonderful Jelly and Icecream shop yesterday!

 

We had a wonderful walk yesterday at Dawyck Botanic Garden.  It is a little bit bigger than our garden - just this one tree gives you an idea of the scale!!

 

 

Malcolm had just pointed out this little baby monkey puzzle tree .....

 

 

..... when he noticed the big mummy (or daddy!) one behind it!

 

 

This next photo is a little bit blurred - perhaps because I was so excited to see a RED squirrel - I've only seen grey ones before!!

 

 

As well as the grand scale of the gardens, Dawyck House is also a little bit larger than the average house!

 

 

The plaque on this bench caught my eye, as amongst all the names is my Dad's name - Angus MacKenzie!

 

 

 

The one thing that was on a smaller scale was this church, tucked away among the trees

 

I meant to google this inscription above the door to see if I could find a translation - but I forgot!!

 

I'm off to Falkirk in the morning to visit Stuart, staying overnight, then on Friday a quick visit to the autumn Quilt Show at Ingliston on the way home ....... so lots more to share with you before the weekend!
 

  

  

 

Stash building

Now, before you all start shouting at your computers that I am supposed to be using up my stash, not adding to it ........ it was Malcolm who was buying for his stash today (ok, I did get a little bit of fabric, more about that later!).  We set off this morning to travel west through Peebles and on into Lanarkshire (the county I was born and grew up in).  We were heading for Lanarkshire Hardwoods ...... Malcolm had seen an advert in the paper, and having had a look at their website, wanted to buy some offcuts to play with make wonderful things with.  This was the sight that greeted us

 

the labels show where each piece of wood comes from

 

 

even I was getting excited at all this wooden loveliness! 

 

So what did he buy?  Here it is back home in the garage, leaning against his workbench

 

lots of beautiful elm

 

 

I want something made from the piece!

 

 

it will be interesting to see how this knobbly bit is used

 

Also on the workbench is the latest cracket - this one is bigger than the last one, and just needs another coat of oil

 

 

The smaller one has come to live in the house until it is sold!

 

 

On the way back, we stopped at Dawick Botanic Garden (it's pronounced Doik).  First, of course, we had lunch!  Wonderful leek and potato soup - it had a lovely deep flavour, almost like French onion soup

 

 

This is the beautiful chair I sat on to eat my lunch - at £700 slightly dearer then Malcolm's crackets!!  (but having seen the price of the wood that Malcolm bought, I can now understand why handmade furniture costs so much!)

 

 

After lunch, we went for a walk round the gardens, but I'll save those photos for tomorrow.  Our last stop was in Peebles - we always enjoy a potter round the shops there, as they have some excellent craft/gift shops.  We went into a recently opened one -  Jelly and Icecream - only to discover it is owned by a lovely lady who had owned a shop of the same name in Hawick!  That's when I added to my stash ..... well, could you have resisted this fabric?

 

 

I forgot to tell you that I have already posted off Leenie's parcel and I have now heard from WandaFish, so her parcel will be posted off asap ...... once they receive them, I can show you the goodies I sent them!

I'm off now to sort throught the dozens of photos I took In the Botanic Garden and choose which ones to show you tomorrow - and there's a good programme on tv later all about baking .......

  

 

Little and large!

I'll start with the large .... I told you on Friday I was going to make a bigger version of Stuart's coaster.  I started in the same way, carding the wool, to comb all the lumps out

 

 

I had several attempts at taking a photo of needlefelting it on the embellisher - this is the clearest one .......

 

 

Once I had got a reasonable amount needled. I checked it for size with the template I had drawn of the base of the candle stick

 

 

I used a bowl to mark my outer circle

 

 

and an egg cup to mark the inner one (who needs expensive gadgets!!)

 

 

After cutting out the coaster .....

 

 

....... I used some aran wool round the edge

 

 

Then used a remnant of fancy yarn to add some colour

 

 

I pinned the template back on, then needled some spots round the edge by hand .....  

 

 

..... before using the embellisher to make sure they were firmly in place.  I hope Stuart likes this new version!

 

 

Yesterday, Linsday had organised one of her 'Woolgatherings'.  At the last one, she had shown us a book she had just bought .......

 

 

........ and suggested that we made some little pieces, with 'sea' as the theme.   I looked out this little bundle of goodies

 

 

It was great fun creating little pieces that are only one inch square - this is my first one

 

 

After stitching away all day (well, apart from drinking lots of tea, eating lunch ..... and a delicious cheesey, herby muffin!) I made the grand total of ........ three squares!!

 

 

I also mentioned on Friday that Malcolm was all organised to light the stove if it was cold enough --- yes it was!!  It is just so good to snuggle up on the big squashy sofa with the stove burning brightly in the corner!!