frayed at the edge

Wonderful friends!

When we got back from Majorca, amongst the great pile of post I spotted two envelopes with foreign stamps.  The first one I opened was from Meredithe, and contained this fabulous button.  I think I will make a blue and yellow bag to put it on

 

the next one was from Tracy, who had been having a major clearout/reorganisation of her craft room.  She had made up wonderful charm packs with some of her stash, and had sent them to friends.  I already had a project in mind for a charm pack, so now I can get busy with it

 

when I was in Melbourne last year, I spent a wonderful day at Meredithe's, meeting lots of her lovely quilty friends (it was slightly strange, as they "knew" me from the blog!).  I have kept in touch with some of them, and last week had an email from Glenda (no blog), telling me to keep an eye out for the post.  On Wednesday, this box arrived covered in Australian stamps, so I knew it was from Glenda

 

when I opened the box, I was jumping up and down and squealing

 

some time ago, Meredithe had posted a photo of Glenda's pin cushion which I had admired, so she had sent me one, along with a tiny needlecase

 

the pin cushion is mounted on a golf tee, so that it can sit on top of your spool of thread

 

then Meredithe posted photos of a macaroon case, which Glenda had made at a workshop ....... you can find the photos if you scroll down through this post.  I had left a comment saying how much I liked the little case ...... and Glenda sent me a kit and the pattern!

 

as soon as I saw the kit, I knew which fabrics I would pull from my stash!  These are little bits of Japanese kimono fabrics ......

 

....... which I was given by one of the charming Japanese young women whom I taught to quilt in Indonesia.  There were also an American (who isn't in the photo, though her daugher is!), an English woman, a German and a Fillipina (the one with the baby).  I have to admit that is me with the silver hair.  I think that is the last time that my hair was its natural colour - I have been blonde since then!!  We made a four block sampler quilt ..... I don't have mine, as I raffled it to raise money to pay for longterm contraceptive implants for poor women!

 

thank you very much to my lovely friends for such wonderful, thoughtful presents!!

 

I was squealing again this afternoon, when Kay arrived at patch'n'chat with my strippy scrappy (or is it scrappy strippy) quilt.  Although I still have to do the binding, it is already on the bed!

 

the Friday cake was supplied by Katy ...... it was her grandson's first birthday yesterday, and she had baked two birthday cakes for his party.  Only one was eaten, so she brought the other one for our afternoon cuppa (and as there was some left, she gave me a slice for Malcolm!)

 

I have several things to work on over the weekend, including my challenge for Abbey Quilters, which has to be ready for the 11th (oops!).  It has been a  lovely day, so hopefully the weather will be good over the weekend, and we will have our Sunday walk.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I'll finish with a photo of apple blossom in the hedgerow, which I took this morning when I went out for an early walk.  Love, Anne

A tale of two books

I recently had an email asking me if I would like a review copy of this book

(photo suppled by the publisher)

 

being cautious, I replied asking for more information about Jessica, the sender of the email, and the comany that she works for.  I received a prompt reply from Jessica, telling me that she is the Marketing Manager of Jacqui Small.  I had a look at the website, and seeing that it was a genuine company and not someone trying to get personal info from me, I decided to go ahead.  When I browsed through the website, I spotted that they also published a quilting book, so I asked if I could possibly have a copy of that to review too.  The books were dispatched promptly, and as soon as I took them out of the package and had a quick look through them, I thought .... yum, yum!!  Jessica gave me permission to take some photos to use in the reviews (remember, you can click on the photos to enlarge them), so this afternoon I headed out to the garden

 

Caroline Zoob, the author of The Hand-Stitched Home has had a rather varied career, training as an opera singer, before qualifying as a solicitor.  She now works as an embroiderer and designer of china and textiles.    She hopes to inspire people who want to sew, and I think the book will certainly do that.  There are projects to appeal to all tastes and budgets, and it was hard to choose which ones to share with you, but of course this one, with the fluffiest of sheep, went straight on to my to-do list!

 

There are large projects like this throw which has been embroidered with delicate flowers.  This would be a good project to work on over the winter, as you could snuggle under the throw as you stitched!

 

Then there are tiny projects, such as using scraps of embroidered fabric to make buttons

 

At the back of the book, there are clear instructions for the embroidery stitches, and templates for all the designs.  There is also a list of suppliers, which is very good, if, like me, you live in the country and don't have ready access to vintage fabrics.

Even if you don't sew, this would be a lovely book just to dip in and out of, for inspiration for accessories for a stylish home.  If you do sew, this is definitely one for your wish list ....... and at the end of the post I have a special offer for you!

 

Cassandra Ellis, the author of Quilt Love, is a designer and maker of quilts and homewares, and also teaches.  This is her first book, and what a delightful book it is.  There is a wide variety of projects, ranging from a simple pet blanket to full-sized quilts.  Again it was hard to choose which projects to share with you, but this is my favourite ....... I have already been looking out blue fabrics from my stash!

 

Cassandra says this would be a good project to do with friends, possibly while enjoying a drink, but I think it would also be a good one to do with children, making quirky friendship bracelets

 

We quilters do like our bags, and this one is very stylish.  And even better, it is reversible!

 

Each project has clear, well written instructions and easy to follow diagrams.  At the back of the book there is an excellent how-to section, a comprehensive list of suppliers and photos of all the quilts.

 

I have enjoyed reading both books and am looking forward to making some of the projects, and am more than happy to recommend them, either for you to give as presents, ot to buy as a treat.  And to encourage you, Jessica has arranged for my readers to enjoy a very generous discount on The Hand-Stitched Home ......

To order The Hand-Stitched Home at the discounted price of £16.00 including p&p*, telephone 01903 828503 and quote offer code JS221. Or send a cheque made payable to: Littlehampton Book Services Mail Order Department, Littlehampton Book Services, PO Box 4264, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 3TG. Please quote the offer code JS221 and include your name and address details. *UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.

First of the year!

When I got up at 6.30 as usual this morning, I decided to go for a walk, for the first time this year, instead of working out on the instruments of torture (aka the cross trainer and rowing machine).  It was a bit grey and misty, but the sheep in the field across the road were already munching on the grass

 

there were lots of ...... wildflowers

 

...... new leaves

 

....... old  gates

 

I would have liked to get closer to take this photo of the horses .....

 

...... but it would meant braving the thick nettles in the verge!

 

on my way up the hill, these two little lambs looked very cute

 

and they managed to look even cuter on my way back down

 

one of the neighbours has had a load of logs delivered.  It was very tempting to pick up one or two on my home, to add to our log pile!!

 

this old tree always makes me think of the Whomping Willow in the Harry Potter books, but sadly it has lost its last big branch over the winter

 

however the sheep have obviously made good use of it as a scratching post

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a special post inspired by a parcel I received last week .......

 

...... and then on Friday (yes, I sometimes actually plan ahead!)  I'l have more wonderful things to show you which have arrived in parcels with foreign stamps!

 

A nice cup of tea!

I have been working on my "everything stops for tea" wallhanging.  After I had stitched the teapot, cup and saucer in place, I added the borders

 

I then layered it with wadding and stitched the wording

 

I kept the quilting simple, stitching round the shapes and in the ditch round the borders.

 

then I added some little lines to suggest steam coming from the cup.  I drew them on thin paper and pinned the paper on, then stitched over the lines.  The paper tears away easily

 

the last job was to add the binding ....... apart, that is, from writing the pattern!

 

I have also been working on Lillyanny.  I added a fence at the bottom of the tree (it shows up better on the detail)

 

I layered it with wadding, and started stitching round the tree ..... this is a detail

 

I bought these little squares from Anne's shop when I was there before the holiday

 

I have an idea for another little wallhanging ....... but you will have to wait to see what will be in the middle!

 

in the evenings I have been working on the applique block for the Abbey Quilters raffle quilt

 

it's good to see a full design wall!

Sconnage!

Hooray, the weather was good on Saturday and Sunday (back to normal wind and rain today).We were able to go for a good long walk yesterday morning.  We decided to go to Abbotsford, to try out the new riverside walk, which goes past the back of the house.  The house is due to reopen soon, after a major refurbishment

 

This rhododendron was in full flower

 

but this one was still covered in buds

 

I haven't seen a heron on the rivers in Hawick recently, so it was good to see this one

 

I don't know if this is the same one, further along the river

 

these horses  have a beautiful spot to graze, on the bank of the river

 

I love ferns when they are unfurling ...... I think they look like something from a sci-fi film!

 

a higgledy piggledy fence, with a sea of wild garlic round it

 

we may complain about the rain, but we wouldn't have such a green countryside without it!

 

I think we must have missed a signpost on the last part of the walk, as we ended up going past the house

 

then it was into the Visitor Centre for a cuppa ....... and scones!

cheese

 

fruit with jam and cream

 

to finish - the warmer weather has encouraged the blossom to come out - just in time to be damaged by this morning's wind and rain

 

back tomorrow with lots of sewing.

 

 

Trees and boats

One of our favourite places on holiday is the Pine Walk in Puerto Pollensa.  I am sure if I look back through my photos from the last few holidays I will find photos of the same trees!

 

sadly, one of the trees was being cut down.  We watched fascinated as the tree surgeon simply sawed through sections and let them fall

 

this house on the Pine Walk, which we called the Elephant House, was for sale for several years, and was slowly growing more dilapidated, so we were delighted to see that it has been sold and is being restored

 

 there are all sorts of boats to take photos of

 

Malcolm had his eye on this one, which was for sale

 

given the price, I think it is more likely that we would end up with one like this!

 

Friday means cake, and this week it was Annette's beautiful chocolate sponge

 

before we went on holiday, Malcolm had ordered my new car, and it was delivered at lunchtime.  I LOVE it!!!!!!

The rest of the tale .......

Amazingly, by teatime yesterday, the new boiler was installed and running ........ oh the joy of having heating again!  Normally we would have turned the heating off for the summer by this time, but several days since we came home have been chilly - it as been the coldest spring since 1979.

 

after the workmen left, it didn't take long to restore the kitchen to its usual state

 

but we still have a rather large hole in the wall outside, as the flue had to be moved

 

while all the work was going on, I went off to the local garden centre for lunch.  I had intended to have a healthy sandwich, but when I got to the counter ....... oh no, there was delicious looking  macaroni cheese, which was whispering to me "eat me, eat me, you know you want to"

 

so, now to the donkeys!  The donkey sanctuary is just across the road from the garden centre, so after lunch I walked across to take some photos of the lovely, cute, gorgeous donkeys (can you tell I like them!)

 

it wasn't just donkeys looking cute and cuddly in the fields .....

 

there was also some wonderful scenery to admire

 

then, as I walked back to the car, I spotted some more cuties ....... Jacobs sheep

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some more holiday photos.

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I'm late, I'm late .......

Just a quick post tonight, as we have had some major disruption today!  For some months Malcolm has been nursing our central heating boiler along, as it came to the end of its life.  He had already consulted with the company who service the boiler and they had sorted out what sort of replacememnt they would fit.  We did look into a "green" heating system, but it was about four times the price of a conventional boiler ....... and would only supply heating, so we would also have had to put in a separate hot water system.  When we got home from Majorca, the boiler was in an even worse state, and we have had no heating, just hot water.  So we were delighted that the new boiler could be fitted today.  This shows the insides of the old boiler, and the cupboards with the doors off ready for the work to be started

 

when we first came to view the house, we came in the front door into the kitchen, and immediately nudged each other to indicate that we loved the kitchen.  But we had got used to the size, and it was only when we moved the table out of the way that we were reminded just how big the room is (the spotty bag doesn't usually hang on the back of the chair!)

 

before too long, the kitchen looked like this

 

and the front garden looked like this!

 

I'll tell you the rest of the tale tomorrow .... but to finish, I'll give you a sneak peak of what I was doing while the work was going on

 

In a bind

I thought it was time that I put the binding on my Birdie Border Quilt.  For new readers, the quilt top was given to me by the lovely Helen when I was in Melbourne last year, and I had it longarm quilted by Kay before Christmas.  So on Saturday I made the binding

 

After machine stitching the binding on to the front of the quilt, I put clips on this corner to let you see how it will look when I get round to hand stitching the binding on the back (hopefully it won't have to wait another five months!)

 

I also stitched the binding on Notes of Love

 

today I was trying to draw better cottages for my wallhanging, but I was getting nowhere, so decided to put that to one side until I can get Malcolm to do some drawing for me.  Instead I got out this drawing, which I did several years ago for a little quilted wallhanging which I made for a swap.  OK, I didn't draw it, I took a photo of a teapot, cup and saucer and traced them!!

 

I decided to make an applique version, with a view to developing it into a pattern to sell.  These are the pieces drawn on fusible web

 

I decided to use these Tilda fabrics

 

this was the first version ..... the teapot doesn't stand out against the background fabric

 

this is the second version ...... better, but still not quite right

 

then, finally, I was happy with this one

 

I had printed out the wording for the original drawing from my laptop, but as I'm not sure about copyright for computer fonts, I thought I would rewrite it, using the same style of lettering as I have used for the A is for Applique blocks

 

the last stage was to decide on fabric for the border.  When I couldn't make up my mind, I arranged four different ones round the centre - I think I'll go with this!

 

when I was trying out the first teacup and teapot, I didn't fuse them to the background fabric.  This is a trial block from the cottages wallhanging, and it shows them off better than the patterned fabric

 

this afternoon I saw a great tit going in and out of the nest box on the wall next to the studio.  I don't know how many times I stood with the camera, hoping to get some photos - this is what I ended up with

 

however, when I went back into the house at the end of the afternoon, I was delighted to see a pair of collared doves in the front garden ..... I hope this is the original pair, reunited!

 

before I went on holiday, I tidied the studio ...... it hasn't taken long for it to descend into the usual state of (organised) chaos!

 

 

Old wives' tale

Did you, like me, learn this saying when you were little

Red sky at night, shepherds' delight

Red sky at morning, shepherds' warning

 

So after this sky on Friday night .......

 

....... I didn't expect this on Saturday!

 

We went for a walk in Melrose yesterday morning.  After the heavy rain, the river was full - the noise was amazing as the water poured over the rocks

 

the blossom still isn't fully out

 

but there are plenty of signs that plants are catching up after the cold spring delayed growth

 

I took this photo not because I want the jacket, but because I was thinking about how it would look as an applique block!

 

Malcolm is having his annual battle to stop the swallows nesting in the garage ...... every time he opens the garage door they swoop in.  I went out this afternoon to sort through the contents of the chest freezer, to make sure there wasn't a fossilised, unrecognisable lump of something languishing at the bottom.  No sooner had I made a start to the sorting out, when the swallows appeared.  So, I came up with a cunning plan to deter them ......this is the fleece that Malcolm wraps tender plants in for the winter.  I think he will be using it in the days to come, as clipping it to the garage door is a lot less bother than having to constantly open and shut it when he is busy in the garden

 

this might look like a somewhat boring photo of ivy on our neighbours' wall...... but I think there are several sparrows nesting in it.  They are also nesting as usual under the roof at the front of the house - but we now have so many sparrows that I guess they have had to find more places to nest

 

some good news to finish - it was much warmer today and the bees were buzzing about the garden!