frayed at the edge

Sewing, knitting ..... and cakes!!

On Tuesday I finished tacking the hexies to the wadding, so that I could then trim the excess wadding off.  I found that it is easier to do it that way, rather than cut out hexies from wadding and try to line them up accurately with the fabric hexies.  On the right are the bigger hexies for the backing

 

I put the first hexie sandwich on my revolving cutting mat, and lined up the ruler for the first cut

 

then I just kept turning the mat to do the next cut

 

by the end of the afternoon, I had made a good start to all the trimming.  The offcuts of wadding can be used to stuff something

 

on Wednesday afternoon I finished the trimming

 

then paired each trimmed sandwich with a backing hexie

 

as you can see, there are twice as many fabric hexies as stitchery ones.  The next stage is to fold and pin the backing hexies in the same way that they are on the stitchery ones, and quilt them

 

having done that, I was sitting looking at the various kits and projects in this storage unit, thinking perhaps I could stitch up a quick one

 

I picked this kit to make a cushion, which I bought in 2000 in Christchurch (that's the one in New Zealand, not the one in England!)

 

I sorted out and labelled the various fabrics (and found there was an extra piece!)

 

the instructions said to put together a strip of tan fabric and a strip of blue fabric and cross cut squares.  Then, the instructions said cut the squares in half on the diagonal, and stitch the diagonal to make squares.  No,no,no!  Those diagonal edges are bias edges, and the first thing they do is stretch!  Before, I would have drawn a diagonal line, then stitched om either side with a ¼" seam, but I recently discovered this ruler.  You line up the centre line on the ruler with the diagonal, the mark the line on either side - it is supposed to be much more accurate

 

but by the time I had marked all the lines, it was dinner time, so you will have to wait until next week to see how the squares turn out

 

we came over to the flat yesterday, and I brought my hexie wallhanging to work on.  The photo doesn't show the true colours, which are much deeper.  I have been working on it on and off for quite a few years.  The original plan was just to stitch all the hexies together on the diagonal, but I got a bit bored, so headed off in the opposite direction, then later on reversed the direction again

 

these are all the hexies that are left, so I shall stick in and get it finished

 

now for the knitting.  I have finished the two snoods.  First the cabled one

 

and second the moss stitch one

 

we had a walk over to town this afternoon, and popped into Miele Patisserie for a cuppa ........

 

......... and cakes.  A lovely sharp tarte au citron

 

and a delicious sweet fruit tart

 

as we strolled on round the town after our cuppa, I had to stop to take a photo of the church spire against the wonderful blue sky

 

and this was the sky over the town at sunset last night

 

we were on the beach yesterday, and I have lots of photos from that, then I have lots more from our walk round the town this afternoon.  I shall have to get them all sorted out for Monday's post!  The forecast for the weekend is sunshine and showers, but hopefully we will get out and about between the showers.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

A peaceful day!

After all the drama of Tuesday morning, I was quite happy to have some peace and quiet yesterday!  We had a little jaunt to Lauder, where we went for lunch in The Flat Cat.  Perusing the menu, I saw that there was a cheese baguette, but it came with tomato pickle (don't like it).  Then there was one with ham, but it came with wholegrain mustard (don't like it).  So I asked very nicely if I could have ham and cheese......... it did come with a little pot of tomato pickle, which didn't taste too much of tomato!  And the beautifully presented salad must have counted as two of my 5-a-day

 

after lunch we had a stroll round the village - I don't think this bike has been ridden for a while!

 

Malcolm suggested a walk round the churchyard

 

I couldn't decide which was the better of these two photos of the church ........

 

........ so I have included both of them

 

there are all sorts of old gravestones, from small ones almost lost in the grass

 

to vast family plots

 

Malcolm drew my attention to this one ........

 

......... as it mentions Geelong in Australia, which we have visited - perhaps we may have encountered their descendants?

 

I've mentioned before that I think it is sad that a lot of gravestones are gradually being worn away

 

this one is now badly eroded

 

however this one is still clearly legible

 

after our walk round the churchyard, I may have popped into this little shop

 

and I may have come home with this super-cute owl scarf

 

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing - and a bit of knitting!!

The incident of the logs

Yesterday morning, I pottered about doing various domestic duties.  I hung out the washing (no, you are not going to see a photo of my smalls!) and chopped up some strawberries and cherries, adding some soft brown sugar and a splash of fresh orange juice

 

a quick zap in the microwave, and I had a lovely saucy, fruity base for puddings

 

Malcolm headed out for the morning, and I went for a much later than usual shower.  I had just got dressed and was drying my hair when the phone rang.  It was a delivery driver, asking for directions to the house, as he had a load of logs for Malcolm.  Having told him how to find us (we live in the middle of nowhere on a road that doesn't have a name!), I went out to the front garden to wait for him.  I took the camera with me, and took some photos while I waited. 

The birds haven't eaten all the cherries yet

 

these are little fuchsias that I bought last year for the old sink - I didn't expect them to survive the wimter

 

horses in the field across the road

 

I heard the lorry before I saw it, as it chugged up the hill

 

the pallet of logs, with the trolley jack ready to raise it so it can be wheeled .......

 

........ on to the platform to be lowered to the road

 

and that's where it all went a bit Pete Tong!  Having got the pallet off the lorry, the driver attempted to push it up the drive, but it was too heavy.  So he started to manoeuvre it to the side of the drive ........ and the pallet tipped over, spilling logs all over the road!  (I know you are wondering why the next photos shows a cyclist, I'll tell you shortly).  Being a helpful person, I rushed off to the garage to fetch the wheelbarrow, but Malcolm has it hanging from a chain, and it was too heavy for me to lift down.  When I went back to the lorry, the poor driver was on the phone to his boss explaining that there had been a bit of an accident!  We set about lifting all the spilled logs and stacking them on the drive.  Quite a few of the neighbours drove past - they had to slow down and drive partly on the verge to get past the lorry.  Some stopped to express their sympathy, others glared at me ........ and Marion, who breeds the Jacob's sheep, stopped for a blether, as she hadn't seen me for a while.  This really enraged one of the neighbours, who had already gone past with a sour look, and was then, on her way back, held up for about an extra 30 seconds as Marion reversed out of her way!  Eventually, the logs were shifted and the driver went on his way.  I retrieved the camera and went to step into the road to take a photo ........ and had to jump back as the cyclist whizzed past!

 

fortunately, the driver had managed to right the pallet before he left, and I swept all the debris off the road, in case the crabbit neighbours wanted to complain about that as well  (the one who had a face on her that would have soured milk has obviously forgotten that when they built their house last year, we were inconvenienced on countless occasions as huge lorries delivered their building supplies!)

 

the pile of logs which we had to shift off the road

 

of course Malcolm didn't arrive home until after all the commotion, and was able to spend a leisurely afternoon stacking the logs in the woodstore

Saving the best till last

There were notices put up at the show that photos could only be taken for personal use, and were not to be put on the internet ........ but I asked some of my quilting buddies for specific permission to share their quilts with you.  First, we have the little quilt that Margaret and I made

 

then my Autumn Breeze

 

you can just see the two baby quilts, which were draped over a radiator, and on the windowsill are the Thistle Stitching kits which several members made after I did a little workshop with the group.  The two lying open at the front are mine

 

my cute little Japanese bag

 

a pair of my nursery cushions in the bag and cushion raffle

 

this is Maureen's whimsical Christmas wallhanging

 

and this is her row-by-row quilt

 

this bright and cheery row-by-row is by Sandra H.

 

I love the way that Tricia has offset her blocks in this stunning applique quilt (and that's my last quilt below it, draped over another radiator)

 

Doreen's exquisite Dresden Plate quilt was much admired (and I was tempted to steal it, as it matches the table runners I made recently for the flat!)

 

and now for the star of the show!  A stunning applique quilt in beautiful Japanese fabrics, made by Barbara, was the clear winner as Viewers' Choice.  Well done Barbara!!

 

and to finish - some of weeks ago, Malcolm and I were invited to a financial seminar by The Newcastle Building Society, followed by a buffet lunch.  But it was on the day that I had to stay in for the telephone engineer (remember, the one who never arrived).  So, Malcolm went on his own ........ and remained on his own, as all the other people who had accepted the invitation didn't turn up (and didn't have the good manners to get in touch with the organisers to say they couldn't be there after all).  Malcolm did stay and have a chat with the financial advisors, but the lunch was cancelled.  Then, this morning, a hand-addressed envelope arrived for him.  What could it be?  A hand written card apologising for the debacle - and even better, a gift voucher for M&S was enclosed!  Good customer service.

Jumping up and down and squealing!

It was a very, very busy few days ........ but the highlight of the quilt show was meeting the delightful Jenny, of the Two Crafty Brownies (there may have been some jumping up and down, and some squealing, and lots of hugs!).  She was in Eyemouth on holiday with her family, and they came over to Kelso on Friday, to visit the show.  I had just popped outside to eat a bite of lunch when I saw them arrive, so after welcoming them, I finished my lunch while Jenny and her parents (her Mum is an avid quilter) went in to the show.  For some reason her husband and son decided that they would rather be elsewhere.  After they had been round the show (and the traders), I joined them in the coffee bar for a chat.  We were so engrossed that her husband had to phone her to say it was time to go!  We already have plans to meet up in Berwick next time she is up here on holiday ...........

 

Jenny brought me presents!  A lovely little pouch, a sample of the ones that she and the other Crafty Brownie, Lucy, hope to be selling soon in an online shop

 

it is so pretty I had to take a photo of both sides.  Of course I shall let you know when they open the shop!

 

I love the spotty lining, and their label is so cute  (and do you like my nail polish?)

 

I love these jumbo paper clips, with buttons covered in their hand-dyed fabrics - they will be very useful for keeping the pages of patterns in order

 

so, now on to the show!  Malcolm came with me on Thursday, and while he was busy running up and down ladders hanging quilts, I was busy getting the kitchen organised.  This is the view from the kitchen through to the coffee bar, after the tables were laid

 

our lovely member Edith brought in flower arrangements which she had done for every table

 

this was my favourite .......

 

........ so of course I chose it when Edith gave all the committee members an arrangement at the end of the show - here it is on the kitchen table

 

I mentioned earlier that we had traders.  This is Katie of Japan Crafts dressed in a traditional kimono

 

oh dear, I succumbed to some of her beautiful fabrics!

 

it has become a tradition that when Stuart and the gang come down to visit us, they bring a box of donuts

 

I may have eaten this one after lunch today!

 

they also brought me these beautiful flowers (Malcolm got beer!)

 

and best of all, Stuart brought us some of his home-grown potatoes, which we had with dinner last night (venison casserole and a medley of veggies)

 

I'll be back tomorrow with photos of some of the stunning quilts in the show!

Mending

As all my sewing for the exhibition is finished, I thought perhaps I ought to deal with a bit of mending.  This is my absolutely favourite skirt, although it isn't perhaps shown to its best advantage on the mannequin, who is somewhat smaller and skinnier than me (the skirt is pinned at the back so it doesn't fall off!)

 

I like the skirt so much, I bought it in another colour - and that strange thing is, they both needed a little repair in the same place, where the lining was coming away from the base of the zip

 

however, I decided to give up on repairing this cardigan - it keeps coming apart at the seams (a little aside, if I hadn't call the blog "frayed at the edge", I would have called it "coming apart at the seams"!).  So it will now be up-cycled/recycled/transformed into something wonderful

 

for some reason, I keep my mending in the scrap basket,  so once the skirts were repaired, I pulled out this pile of fabrics, and decided to have a bit of fun

 

having cut random strips, I stitched them together

 

then having pressed the seams, I put the piece on the cutting mat, lining up a seam with the 45° line, then used two rulers to make sure that my first cut would give me a 6" square

 

the first square

 

I cut across the rest of the piece, then cross cut to give me these squares

 

then with a bit of reworking of the trimmings

 

I ended up with nine squares

 

I had several strips left - would there be enough for sashing?

 

yes!  All I have to do now is decide what to do with the block!

 

I won't be here again until Monday, as I will be so busy tomorrow helping to set up the exhibition , and then helping out in the kitchen all day Friday (and Saturday).  And just in case I don't have enough to do, Stuart and Alison and their friends The Yates are coming to stay for the weekend!  So I think by Sunday afternoon, when they head off, I will be lying down in a darkened room for a rest, emerging in time to enjoy a chilled glass of white wine before dinner!

Sand between my toes!

 I know that I promised you some sewing for today, but that has been bumped to tomorrow!  Instead, join us on the beach for some blue skies, sunshine and fun

 

this is the busiest we have seen the beach, in the two years that we have had the flat

 

Malcolm was wondering why this little dog was sitting so attentively beside him ......... then his owner called over that he was waiting for Malcolm to throw a stone for him, which he obligingly did

 

I didn't throw a stone, so I was ignored

 

gnarly wood, rusty metal and deep shadows - all you need in a photo (well, perhaps Tom Hiddleston might improve it!?)

 

I wasn't really looking for any, but you can't help but pick up sea glass when you see it

 

we walked up on to the promenade, and headed to the café

 

and enjoyed a cuppa sitting in the sun

 

oops ....... when we walked back along the beach the tide had come in, which meant that Malcolm had to scramble over the rocks

 

but I just took my shoes off!

 

do you think it's cold?

 

just slightly chilly?

 

yes it was ....... but it is the first time in many, many years that I have gone for a paddle!

 

while Malcolm had the camera, he decided to take a couple of arty photos

 

he couldn't decide which he preferred, so I have included both of them

 

when I got the camera back, I had an arty moment as well

 

I prefer getting in close for my arty photos

 

as I did with ........

 

........ these two delicate dandelion clocks

 

perhaps if we had more grass I might have pinched this mower, left on a trailer at the side of the road!  (not that I cut the grass any more, since Malcolm retired he has taken over as head gardener)

 

back at the flat, there were dozens of swans in the dock - so many that I couldn't get them all in the photo

A very busy weekend!

It's all systems go, getting everything ready for this weekend's exhibition, but I took some time off yesterday morning, and we went for a walk along the river in Hawick.  We stopped to read this new sign .......

 

....... but during the winter floods they didn't need a gauge to know how deep the river was - it was halfway up the building!

 

the first stretch of the walk was on a broad swathe of grass

 

there is something appealing about thistles ....... as long as you don't grasp them!

 

the roots of these fallen trees are about eight feet tall

 

Malcolm looking out over at the river at the old cauld, which has fallen further into disrepair

 

the water that is diverted into the side channel runs much faster, and in the past would have operated mill machinery

 

I don't mind crossing bridges like this one ....... sturdy, well-built, and most of all ..... low!

 

this is detritus from the floods, trapped by trees on the river bank

 

if I had been standing in this spot when the river was high enough to leave this tangle of leaves and grass, the water would have been up to my chin!

 

now ducks are getting in on the act, showing me their bottoms!

 

we had noticed this car as we drove along past the rugby club, to park to go on our walk, so we stopped on the way back to take a photo.  Why is there a tyre on top of the car?  We have no idea ........ a drunken prank perhaps?

 

the next stop, of course, was for a cuppa and sconnage.  A tasty fruit scone

 

and a very delicious cheese one

 

we laughed when we saw the inside of the lid of the little jar of jam

 

we arrived just as the morning cuppa crowd was leaving, and before the lunch crowd was in, so I was able to take a photo.  I love all the old chairs painted in different colours and covered with different fabrics

 

back home I got the two tray bakes out of the fridge  that I made on Saturday for the exhibition - the entry fee includes refreshments

 

I cut them up and divided them between two containers for the two days ........ and there are plenty of trimmings left over for us!

 

when Malcolm made dinner last night, he was so pleased with it he asked me to take a photo for the blog!  He always makes delicious gravy, but this one was even tastier, as he added a dollop of Maureen's excellent red currant and port jelly

 

hooray, my new car arrived this morning!  Fortunately the transporter driver was able to turn into one of the neighbour's yard, to unload the new car, and load up the old one

 

and here it is, my lovely car (it's a Ford Ecosport, for those of you interested in such things).  I haven't driven it yet, as I didn't want to drive it to Kelso for Monday sewing - I would rather wait and have time to familiarise myself with the controls before I drive it.  But Malcolm had a little drive in it this afternoon, and he said it is very nice to drive

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing!

Fetching in Marigolds!

Malcolm caught me this morning having a bit of a clean and tidy in the kitchen!  (my apron says "a balanced life - a glass of wine in each hand")

 

so I thought I would have a bit of a tidy on the blog as well, and catch up with some photos lingering in the unpublished folder, starting with these photos of a sunset earlier in the week

 

I always think of skies like these as "Old Testament" skies

 

that you see in old paintings with the hand of God reaching down to man, or angels and  saints in heaven

 

the camera was still on the sunset setting when I took this photo the next morning, but it turned out ok ........ a rather dishevelled finch sitting on the bird table

 

it's always exciting when post arrives from abroad

 

and even more exciting when (almost) naked men are involved!!

 

oh my, what a dilemma, ogle the men, or appreciate the lovely quilts!

 

but unless you buy your own copy, you will have to wait until next year, when I will show you each month's photo in turn

 

as we walked along the path to the front door this afternoon, I paused to take some photos.  The climbing rose has a touch of pink on the outside of the buds

 

but once the bud opens, the rose is creamy white

 

my bargain supermarket fuchsias are flowering well

 

surviving the heavy rain showers

 

a few weeks ago, I noticed this little self-seeded tree growing in the back garden, so Malcolm dug it up and put it in a pot - it has grown about six inches since then

 

this afternoon, we popped over to Border Meringues in Jedburgh for a cuppa and cake.  I love the eclectic collection of china for my tea

 

Malcolm had a date crispie

 

and I had a piece of meringue roulade - I thought it might be slightly less calorific than lemon meringue pie!!

 

I was grumbling away to myself this morning ....... time wasted dealing with the problem with the phone......... the beautiful silver bangles that Malcolm was going to give me for our Pearl Wedding Anniversary next month were sold out......... my gorgeous new car, which should have been delivered this morning, won't now be delivered until Monday ..........

then I though of all the families mourning the loss of their loved ones in Nice ....... and my grumbles really didn't matter anymore.  I hope there is a pit in the deepest darkest horrors of Hell for this murdering terrorist, and all those like him, who want to destroy our way of life.......

 

But the best thing to do, in the face of these horrors, is to live our lives to the full, so I will wish you all the best of weekends, love Anne

A knitting report!

I thought I ought to get a bit more work done on the various bits of knitting that will be entered in the Jedburgh Flower Show in September, so I started yesterday by clearing one of my sewing tables, and covering with a heatproof pad

 

this is the rubber-backed stuff that your Granny protected her beautifully French-polished dining table with.  I used a sticky roller to remove stray bits of thread

 

first, I pinned out a tiny matinee jacket

 

covered it with a piece of white cotton fabric

 

and gave it a gentle steam press

 

then I did the same with a much bigger white matinee jacket

 

the white and pink baby blanket, pinned out and pressed in the same way (I also did the cream blanket, but I forgot to take a photo of it!_

 

these little shoes needed to have their little ankle straps added

 

the first one done

 

I had a hunt through my button drawer (what, doesn't everyone have a button drawer?) and found these little ones

 

but I didn't think they looked right, so I tipped out this jar

 

and found these two tiny heart buttons - perfect

 

in the same jar, I found these dark pink ones for the white jacket

 

and these paler ones for the turquoise jacket.  I followed the pattern, which instructs you to sew the buttons on the top band, and then use press studs to hold the front together - it's a bit of a faff and next time I will do normal button holes

 

one of the garments on the schedule is a snood, so I had a look through my stash and found this delicious Noro yarn which has been in my stash for several years, so it must be about time to use it

 

in contrast, the navy yarn is a cheap and cheerful supermarket buy, but it has a lovely glossy finish

 

in my knitting basket, there is also this tangle of pieces, which will become a hooded child's jacket

 

I made a start to the first snood last night - it is much darker than this - my camera just doesn't like taking photos of blue things!

 

so, on to this morning, and waiting in for the telephone engineer.  I thought I would make good use of my unexpected morning at home, and first I did they ironing.  Then I prepped some strawberries and measured out the same weight in jam sugar

 

I zapped the strawberries for several minutes

 

until they were starting to soften and give up their juice

 

then I stirred in the sugar

 

and zapped them some more, until setting point was reached

 

using a jam funnel makes it so much easier to fill the jars

 

four jars of delicious homemade strawberry jam, which will be eaten in no time at all

 

now, I could lie and say that I also whipped up a quick batch of scones ...... or I could tell the truth and say that I bought them in the garden centre some weeks ago and popped them in the freezer!  They were defrosted in time for our afternoon cuppa (sadly there was no cream in the fridge!)

 

but what about the engineer, I hear you cry!  Well he didn't turn up (short pause to put more money in the swear box!!).  But the phone is working again.  How?  Malcolm did some research online, went and bought a specialist tool in the local diy store (such a specialist tool it cost him 23p) and checked out the wiring in the various sockets.  He found a wire that seemed to be wrongly attached, removed it ........and the phone has been working since.  Hooray for practical husbands, and a great big raspberry for TalkTalk!!