frayed at the edge

Colourful visitors

Yesterday evening, we had a little bright bird in amongst the brown sparrows, in the front garden

 

 

today,when I came in to the kitchen to make my lunch, I heard the distinctive call of a pheasant.  I looked out the front door, and there he was, strutting round the garden.  I ran through to the lounge and grabbed the camera -  he was bobbing in and out of the bright sunshine and deep shade, sometimes half in one and half in the other

 

it was such a lovely day, I had my lunch out in the garden

 

I didn't share my ginger beer with this little beastie!

 

Malcolm has been hard at work, tidying up the garden - it is looking good!

 

don't forget to leave a comment if you would like to be in the draw on Friday for the giveaway to celebrate my 1,500th post.  I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing.

 

 

Pretty little things

Hooray, we finally had a good long Sunday morning walk!  We went to Harestanes, where we hadn't been all winter, as we knew it would be very muddy underfoot. But yesterday it was dry, and everywhere we looked there were signs of spring

 

the new bridges over the stream are looking good

 

this tree was very big ........

 

........ but not as big as it used to be, having lost an enormous piece off the back

 

of course after a long walk, there is only one thing to do ....... eat scones!

 

I went out for a walk at lunchtime today, as we had seen lots of lambs in the nearby fields when we came home yesterday.  Before seeing the lambs, there were horses big and little to be admired

 

and the donkeys were enjoying the sunshine

 

 

but the sheep weren't co-operating, and were all at  the far side of their fields!

it was good to see the sun shining on the Mintos .......

 

......... and the Eildons

 

on round the bend there were sheep much nearer the road - but there were no lambs!

 

but then, in the next field - hooray

 

 

of course on the way home I had to pause to take a photo of my favourite view

 

remember to leave a comment to be included in the draw for my giveaway to celebrate reaching 1,500 posts on Friday (I still don't knw what the giveaway will be, I will have to have a search in the studio tomorrow!)  To finish, I am sure you thought that today's title referred to the lambs ....... wrong!!  It referred to these little beauties - my new shoes for the summer

Post #1,500 .........

.......... and I still haven't run out of things to say!  Yes, it's a very special day in frayedattheedgeland, as I reach 1,500 posts.  When I started writing the blog, I am sure Malcolm thought I would do it for a few weeks then give it up.  He certainly anticipate that it would last so long, and that he would become involved in it, pointing out photo opportunities, and of course making such wonderful things for me to share with you.  So, of course, we have to mark the occasion with a little giveaway.  What the giveaway will be, I don't yet know - I shall have to have  a hunt through my various stashes for a little special something!  All you have to do is leave a comment between now and next Friday, when my random number generator (aka Malcolm) will select the winner.  You can leave a comment every day - the more you comment, the more chances you will have!

Today is special for another reason ........ earlier in the week, I had an email from Dawn in Durham (no blog), saying that when she was in Florida on holiday, she visited a quilting shop where she saw something that she knew I would like.  She asked if I would email her with my address, so that she could send the something to me.  Obviously knowing that I wouldn't give out my address to someone I didn't know, she did say that (Stitchin' Heaven) Anne could vouch for her.  So the parcel arrived this morning, along with an envelope from the College.  

 

I opened Dawn's parcel first, to find this

 

and look what was inside ........ John Deere fabric!!    Dawn has said that perhaps I could make something for Linus, but that hopefully there would be enough to make something for me - and that's just what I will do.  Thank you so much Dawn, for such a thoughtful gift!

 

the envelope from the College contained the latest Community Classes listings

 

with an article about ME!

 

we had a very special visitor at patch'n'chat this afternoon.  May I introduce you to Miss Molly

 

her owner is the delightful Seonaid (or perhaps it is Molly who owns Seonaid?!)  Sorry Seonaid, I was so busy concentrating on the adorable Molly I only got half of you in the photo!  Seonaid used to be a regular at patch'n'chat, but had lost her sewing mojo, so we were delighted to welcome her back today

 

no more photos please, I've posed enough

 

oh well, just one more for my adoring audience!!

 

but Molly didn't get to join us in tucking into Annette's delicious cupcakes

 

at last it looks as if we will be able to have a good long walk on Sunday, and of course I will be busy sewing.  Whatever you are doing, I hope you have a great weekend, love Anne

 

ps - last week, Maureen sent me a photo of a deer in her garden, but unfortunately I couldn't get the photo to co-operate to put it in the blog.  However, at the other end of the scale, today she sent me this one - what a brilliant photo!!

If you are squeamish ......

........ scroll quickly past the first photo!  I had a slight accident when I was sewing last night - oops

 

perhaps I was distracted by this super cute baby monkey on tv.  The babies have red hair to make it easy for the adults to see them if they need to run to safety (the big leaves on the right aren't part of the jungle, they are on our rather large rubber plant, which sits beside the tv!)

 

did I mention yesterday that I bought one or two little things at Stitchin' Heaven?  First, a posh needle threader.  When I am using very small needles, by the end of the evening I struggle to thread them.  I have in the past just used little metal needle threaders, but they soon become bent and often break, so I have invested in this one

 

you have seen the little red clips that I use, but when I saw these purple ones yesterday, I was delightd to find that they are almost half the price of the red ones

 

I bought this fat quarter to do some sashiko, although it is a tighter weave than traditional sashiko fabric

 

I have to admit to an online purchase of fabric ........ I get regular emails from here, telling me about their latest fabrics.  They don't just sell patchwork fabric, and when I saw this furnishing fabric, I thought it woud be perfect for cushions for our holiday home

 

I did some more work on blocks for the sampler quilt this afternoon.  This is the start of the Rose of Sharon block

 

once I have stitched those pieces in place, I will add these pieces

 

I prepped this circle for the centre ........

 

........ but I think it is too dark.  I might use this fabric instead

 

next was a Dresden Plate block

 

I have to turn under the seam allowance round the points, then stitch the plate to the background fabric.  The last stage is to add a circle to the middle.  The dark red fabric works better here

 

to finish - while I was busy sewing, Malcolm was working in the garden.  When I went back into the house at the end of the afternoon, I saw that he had removed the protective fleece from the olive tree, revealing this little beauty

A post of two halves*

We start with last night's meeting at Abbey Quilters.  We had a delightful speaker, Vicky Mitchell, who was quite happy to have photos taken of her work, and of her!

 

a wonderful array of quilts

 

this large quilt is stunning

 

I love the landscape on the left

 

but my favourite exhibit was also the smallest - a delightful handstitched book

 

 

as we had a guest speaker, instead of just having a biscuit with our cuppa, Val (one of the committee) had made scones - her scones are fabulous, and it wasn't long before the plate was empty!

then we move on to today.  We picked up Maureen this morning, and set off to spend the day at Stitchin' Heaven.  Maureen hadn't yet been to the shop, so was looking forward to a day spent shopping stitching.  As always the ladies were working on all sorts of projects

Ros is now working on the outer borders of her fabulous applique quilt

 

Margaret is working on Robin's Nest, designed by Karen Styles, who also designed Mrs Billings

 

Annie was going to make a bag with these tiny squares, but has decided to use them as a background to an applique wallhanging

 

a new lady, Jill, was hand-quilting her sampler quilt

 

Maureen was finishing an Advent calender

 

Frances was making some tiny hexagon blocks

 

Carolyn was working on new stitchery patterns, which I can't show you as a naughty person has pinched one of her designs and someone has put it on Pinterest, so the new designs are under wraps

 

Anne's quilt is a combination of Mrs Billings and Robin's Nest

 

Sue was working on her Mrs Billings

 

to finish ....... this scruffy little robin was enjoying himself in the birdbath!

* football managers frequently describe a match as "a game of two halves" ....... all football matches consist of two halves, what they usually mean is that they were being beaten in the first half, but took the lead in the second half (or vice versa).

Rush,rush,rush

It's Abbey Quilters' monthly meeting tonight, and as I have been sewing all day, I am rushing to post this before I make the dinner (nasi goreng).  I have been working away on my sampler quilt.  Having made some blocks, I decided to audition fabrics for the sashing and borders.  Should I use red

 

or black

 

I haven't made a grandmother's fan block since I made my first sampler quilt in 1993.  Having made the fan, I had to make a template for the background fabric

 

unfortunately, as you can see, the finished block is a little bit small

 

however I have a cunning plan to sort it out!

 

next I made the maple leaf block, and pinned them all on to the black fabric

 

then I added the rail fence block, and the first stages of an applique block 

 

this morning I was pleased to see the ewes and lambs back in the field across the road

this last photo is for Jessica ....... I may not have pheasants in my garden, as she does, but I do have them in the field behind my studio 

Raindrops keep falling ........

.......... not just on my head, but all over the place!  Yesterday morning, every time it looked as if the weather was improving - on came the rain again.  So we abandoned any hope of going for a walk, and settled for sharing an enormous scone.  Shock, horror, there were no cheese scones, but this plain scone, once butter and jam were added, was an acceptable alternative

 

I took this photo from inside the car when we parked at the Woolen Mill yesterday morning - I was worried that anyone seeing me comparing my nail polish to the colour of the car would think I was a bit strange!

 

I've just remembered that I should have started with the quilts from Saturday's coffee morning and exhibition for Linus.  When I saw the first quilt, I thought "oh, that's my cottages pattern" - then realised that I made the quilt!!

 

it rained for most of the day, but it has finally stopped and there is even a little glimmer of sunshine.  When it had almost stopped raining this afternoon, I popped out to the garden for some soggy photos.    We have a good crop of toadstools in the grass in the front garden

 

the peony has shot up

 

the flowering currant provides a splash of colour

 

in the back garden, there is new growth on one of the ferns

 

a raindrop on a tree

 

if you look closely at this raindrop, you can see a reflection of part of the house

 

this tree is bursting into leaf

 

whille I was busy in the house, Malcolm was busy in the garage, making driftwood trees.  He already has orders for next Christmas!

 

just some of his collection of driftwood

 

bits of seaglass, interesting stones and worn pieces of brick

 

we had a colourful visitor in the front garden this afternoon

 

you know I like big machines, and when I was in Hawick this morning, despite the fact that it was pouring with rain and I was soaked, I paused as I crossed the footbridge over the river to capture this one!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing.

That Friday feeling!

I am sitting in my jammies, with my feet up on my footstool, sipping a very pleasant glass of wine, just a touch weary after a very busy week.  We were a small company at patch'n-chat this afternoon.  Tricia was working on this delightful wallhanging for her granddaughter

 

Maureen is making this little wallhanging for a relative's expected baby in Arizona - hence the cowboy hat on the bunny!

 

she was also working on this wallhanging

 

I finished the sashiko for my little bag

 

then did some more quilting on the sampler that I started at a Sheena Norquay workshop.  I want to get it finished for Abbey Quilters' exhibition in the summer

 

the Friday cake was one of Annette's wonderful chocolate sponges - delicious!

 

tomorrow morning I will be going to a coffee morning at Abbey Row, being hosted by the little group that meets every week to make quilts for Project Linus.  There will be a display of quilts, and of course home baking - there is always home baking when quilters get together!  The forecast isn't very good for Sunday, so I don't think we will get out for a walk.  Whatever the weather, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

The last class!

Well, that's it, we had out last "Get Set for Patchwork" class this morning.  But hopefully we will be getting together in May to do "Stitch a Sampler Quilt", as five of the ladies have already signed up for it (the sixth one will be on holiday), so when the classes are advertised if a sixth person signs up the class will go ahead.  "Get Set for Patchwork" will also be advertised again, so fingers crossed that another six people will sign up for it.  We were able to use the bigger room in the college this morning, with more room to work

 

when I made a start to sorting out the piles of paperwork, I found some patterns that I had forgotten about (oops!)....... I shall have to make room on the to-do list for them

 

 

when I was at the College this morning, I picked up a copy of this month's Jed Eye, Jedburgh's local newsletter.  The photo on the front is of the Handba, which caused my classes to be delayed by a week (the photographer must have been standing just about outside the College)

 

but I was more interested in an article inside the newsletter ........ an interview with Sandra, our lovely Linus lady

 

I have been painting my nails every Wednesday evening, so they looked nice for the classes ......... but the ladies agreed with me this morning that this colour was not a good choice!

 

I had a quick look for the photo of me being presented witth the bottle of wine for winning the triathlon, but I couldn't find it.  However I did discover these two (not very good) photos of me in action! 

No more excuses ..........

......... for this full-to-bursting concertina file

 

....... this ever-growing heap of paperwork

 

...... and the clutter on my desk

 

because this morning I bought a second-hand filing cabinet 

 

I can hear you asking about the certificate on my desk, awarded to me for winning a triathalon.  Is this a sporty part of my life that I have, until now, not shared with you?  You will be even more surprised when I tell you that I also came second!  Puzzled?  Let me explain ........ when we first went out to Indonesia, we lived in a rather posh apartment complex in Jakarta, which had a very well equipped gym.  As all the socialising meant that I put on weight, I decided to venture into the gym and, for the first time ever, partake in some keeping fit.  Barry, the charming Australian manager of the gym, took pity on me and helped me make the most of my very limited abilities.  He decided to stage a "triathalon" competition - using the rowing machine, the treadmill and the exercise bike.  Under the supervision of one of the gym staff, you had to cover as great a distance as possible in  a set time.  Having nothing better to do one afternoon, I had two attempts ........ and it turned out that no other females entered, so I won first and second places.  My prize was a bottle of wine and the cheesy certificate ....... I have a photo somewhere, being presented with my prize, I must see if I can find it

 

as we drove home from Hawick this morning, we saw that there were lots of lambs in the field at the bottom of our road, so I headed out with the camera to capture these little cuties

 

I remembered to take some photos in the garden

this clematis is about to flower

 

the fresh green of alchemilla mollis

 

one of a pair of wagtails who have moved into the back garden

 

a sparrow tucking into birdseed

 

and to finish, this photo is specially for Toffee Apple (she knows why!)....... we have just had a delivery of logs, which Malcolm has stacked very neatly in the left-hand side of the log store