frayed at the edge

Missing book!

Last night I couldn't find a book ......... I started by looking in the bookcase in the lounge (sorry, I had to use flash to take the photos this morning, so some of them look a bit strange)

 

do you like our little blue and white houses?

 

we were given one each time we flew Business Class with KLM - as you can see, we flew with them quite often when we lived in Indonesia. We never drank any of the contents,but it has evaporated from most of them!

 

neither was the book in the piles guarded by JDtractor and SockMonkey on the coffee table

 

I knew the book wouldn't be in the kitchen bookcase, as it only has cookery books - it used to have gardening books as well, but for some reason they have been relegated to the hall cupboard!

in Malcolm's study, it wasn't on the Hedgehog bookcase, which we bought way back in the 80s at a craft fair in Winchester.  The man who made it said that he put the shelves at an angle, as he thought that women used bookcases to display ornaments, so they wouldn't be able to do that on the sloping shelves!

 

the other bookcase in the study didn't have the book either (the name plate on the bottom shelf was given to Malcolm in Indonesia - unfortunately they put his names the wrong way round!)

 

I knew it wouldn't be out in the studio, with my sewing, knitting and craft books, so that only left the somewhat overfull bookcase in the guest bedroom

 

and yes, that's where the book was

 

an update on Patrick's facial hair!  Last night he still sported his luxuriant moustache, but he also had noticeable stubble, which would suggest that he is growing his beard again!

 

today's cake was a chocolate and fresh cream sponge - yes, every bit as delicious as it looks!!

 

and to finish, a photo of the Birthday Boy, wearing his ball end sweater!  Stuart sent me this photo of Fraser's Dad in the sweater - I haven't heard yet if he liked it!!

 

we aren't going over to Berwick until Sunday, as we will be having a romantic Valentine's dinner at home tomorrow (yes, even after 28 years of marriage, we still have romantic moments!) I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

You know how it is .......

........ you've tried self-help, you have taken however many steps on the programme, you have listened to peer pressure, you have promised your husband you will never do it again ......... and then, one of those emails from Amazon pops up in your inbox

Dear Anne, as you have shown an interest in similar books, we think you might like these.  

You look at one of them, and underneath it says, people who bought this book also bought these books.

Before you know it, you have clicked on the dreaded buy-with-one-click-button, and three days later a parcel arrives in the post.  Your husband is there when the post arrives, so you can't slip the books on to the bookshelves and  claim you have had them for ages (I have a friend who hides away new clothes, then when she wears them says "oh, I've had this for ages, I've just not worn it for a while").  

So, my name is Anne, I'm addicted to books, and these are my latest acquisitions

 

what was I doing this morning with this little dish and a tube of toothpaste?  

 

this was a tip I was given when we were living in Indonesia.  If your pewter or Bangka tin is looking dull, clean it with toothpaste!

 

this has been another good summer for orchids, with lots of colour on the kitchen windowsill

 

we had our favourite cake this afternoon at patch'n'chat, the wonderful apple and sultana one

 

no doubt over the weekend we will be walking on the beach and eating scones - whatever you are doing I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

 

 

Too early for lunch

I had various errands to do in Hawick this morning, then I planned, in Malcolm's absence, to take myself out for lunch.  As I had my breakfast about 6.45, I was rather hungry when I arrived at The Mill (I was going to put in a link, but their website is being most unco-operative!) at 11.30.  But alas and alack, they don't serve lunch until midday.  So what did I do?  Well first, I settled down with a cuppa and my new magazine

 

then as I couldn't have lunch, I had a second breakfast!  The sausages are from a Hawick butcher, and they were delicious

 

I managed to ignore the tempting array of cakes - I didn't even zoom in to take the photo, so that I wouldn't have to look at all their luscious deliciousness 

 

when Malcolm was cooking dinner on Saturday at the flat - shock, horror .......... no spoon rest for his wooden spoon!  So when I saw this rather cute one in a shop window this morning, and also saw that it was very reasonably priced, I popped into the shop to buy one.  However I couldn't find one on the shelves, so asked a member of staff - she immediately opened the glass door into the window display and got it out for me.  I do like good service!

 

I also popped in to one of the several charity shops on the High Street, as their paperbacks are only £1 each.  I came home with these three

 

I have been stitching away, prepping more hexagons for Mrs Billings.  I will soon have enough done to start stitching them together

 

when I was in the Post Office this morning sending a small parcel,  I was asked what was in it.  The woman's face was a picture when I replied seaglass, driftwood and sea shells ..........

 

and I will be sending off another parcel next week to the winner of the "name the octopus" competition.  So, fanfare, roll of drums ...... the winner is Tracy, with her wonderful suggestion of Obadiah!  Thank you for all your suggestions - perhaps we will have to ask Obadiah to produce some offfspring, so that we can use the other names!

 

Living on a grand scale : part 2

We enjoyed our leisurely stroll round the grounds, which led us to the plant centre.  We stopped to admire this wonderful topiary

 

this cardoon was about 6 feet tall ......

 

it is a relation of the globe artichoke

 

as the castle is so big, I am sure they could spare this little building for me!

 

I could quite happily have pottered round the castle for an hour or two, finding interesting angle for taking photos

 

we discovered that we had something in common with the castle ........ way back in the 90s, Malcolm made fences like this for our garden.  I shall have to see if I can unearth some photos

 

some more looking up .....

 

when we had a look round the gift shop, I found Malcolm engrossed in this book.  I knew he wouldn't buy it, but once back home would wish that he had ....... so I took it out of his hands and bought it for him!

 

look at this one - something else to do with his collection of wine corks!

 

there is a saying that an Englishman's home is his castle, so we can claim to live in a castle ........ it just isn't as grand as this one!

 

it's Thusday, so that means I was working this morning ......... although doing something I enjoy doesn't seem like work!  This week our blocks were Dresden plate, and a wreath.  I've just looked back through my photos from the weekend, and don't have one of the prep for the Dresden plate.  This is my sample, to show them how it all goes together.  It is a straightforward block to stitch

 

 

The wreath is more complicated, as it has three separate elements.  First, making bias strips for the circle

making the first 45 degree cut

 

cutting 1" strips

 

 

using the bias tape maker

 

the second element is making the leaves using freezer paper

 

then the third one is making the flowers

 

I then used my beam compass to mark the circle for the wreath

 

the first stages pinned in place

 

after the students arrive, it doesn't take long for the table to descend into chaos, causing frequent cries throughout the morning of where's my fabric/ruler/pins/pencil etc!

 

to finish, two action shots

Jo-an  cutting her bias strips

 

Jane using the bias tape maker

 

Living on a grand scale

This morning we headed over to Kelso, as we had a BOGOF voucher for entry to Floors Castle.  But first we fortified ourselves with an early lunch.  I had lentil soup

 

and Malcolm had cauliflower soup

 

you probably noticed that we also had a scone with the soup -  delicious!  When our cuppas arrived, there was an extra little treat - a tiny meringue

 

then it was on to Floors, which is the largest inhabited castle in Scotland.  Photography isn't allowed inside the castle, so if you get the chance, do visit to see the grandeur, spendour and opulence ...... and that's just in the very small portion that the public gets to see.  The castle is very grand

 

much too big to get in a single photo

 

I took quite a lot of photos of the roof!

 

wouldn't it be nice to live in a house (ok, castle) with a view like this from the drawing/sitting room window

 

we had a pleasant (if hot!) stroll round the grounds.  This bird was too far away for me to see what it was, but looking at the photo, I think it is a thrush

 

perhaps I should seek help for my tractor fixation!

 

this parterre garden was created for the Millenium.  The design incorporates the initials of the Duke and Duchess, but there wasn't a convenient stepladder for me to stand on, to look down on the design to show that

 

you aren't allowed to walk on the grass to have a closer look, but we could see one of the "M"s, which signify the Millenium

 

I still have lots of photos to share with you, which I will save for tomorrow, and will finish with photos I took yesterday evening.  First Mr Blackbird had a good splash in the birdbath ........

 

then Mrs Blackbird tried to splash even more!

 

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.

A long way for a short cut ......

..... a short haircut, that is.  Malcolm is very fussy about how his hair is cut, and recently has been going to a barbers in Alnwick - he goes after he has dropped me off at Anne's shop.  As usual, for at least the last two weeks I have been saying "You need a haircut dear", so on Monday he suggested that, as the weather forecast was reasonable, we could have a day out in Anwick on Wednesday.  As I hadn't been to the town for years, I happily agreed.  It was a bit grey when we left home, but as we drove south the weather improved

 

while Malcolm was getting his hair cut, I pottered round the town looking for things to take photos of, first looking up

 

then looking round

 

 

a shop devoted to chocolate!!

 

when Malcolm eventually emerged from the barbers (who knew it took so long to have short hair cut a bit shorter!) we went to this delightful coffee shop for lunch

 

Malcolm had chorizo quesadilla, with salad, mayo and hummus

 

and I had a delicious seeded roll with cheese savoury, also with salad, and mayo in the cute little pot

 

after lunch, we walked round to Barter Books

 

there were so many books, it was a bit overwhelming, and in the end we didn't buy anything.  I think we would need to go back when we had much more time to spend browsing

 

as we continued on our walk, we spotted this flowering currant, which is much further on than the one in our front garden

 

our next stop was at Alnwick Castle, but as the castle is closed for the winter, we just had to view it from afar

 

we could have visited Alnwick Garden, but we decided to save that for a brighter day.  We just had a sneaky peak through the entrance at the water cascade when the attendant wasn't looking!

 

as we left, I noticed this tiny rusty door - it is about the size of an A4 sheet of paper.  I wonder what it is for?

 

continuing our walk, we came across this fine statue of Harry Hotspur

 

I still have quite a few photos left, so I shall save them for tomorrow.  To finish today's post ....... a litttle hint of spring, some bright aconites

 

A little tutorial

As promised, a little tutorial for the fun technique that I shared with the ladies on Saturday.  I hadn't done this for a while, and it was only after I had made up the samples I realised that I had made a small mistake (I'll tell you later what it was)!  The technique is called faux chenille - so lets get started.  I chose this piece of  "picture" fabric from the scrap basket, and added three more fabrics,  cutting squares

 

I chose a thread to blend in with the main fabric, but as it doesn't matter what colour is used in the bobbin, I used up some odds and ends

 

next, I drew a line across the diagonal

 

I stitched along the line, then stitched parallel lines half an inch apart

 

the next stage is scary - you have to cut through the top three fabrics, along the centre of each channel.  You can use very sharp scissors ........

 

........ or you can get this packet out

 

I threaded the cutting strip through the centre channel

 

I positioned the ruler, and carefully cut along the channel, using my small rotary cutter

 

it didn't take long to complete the cutting

 

I put that piece aside and started on the second sample.  I cut three squares from calico

 

then cut out a flower from the leftovers from the first piece

 

to keep the pieces in place while I stitched, I used a basting spray.  I put the pieces in a cardboard box to spray them, to prevent the spray from getting on the surrounding area

 

again, it didn't take long to stitch and cut the sample

 

it was about now that I realised that I had made that little mistake.  The bottom fabric should have been cut half an inch bigger all round.  This makes it easier to use the scissors/cutting strip.  The next stage was to wash the samples, along with some old towels, then tumble dry them, again with the old towels.  This fluffs up the edges, and creates the chenille effect

 

it's important that you stitch on the diagonal to get the effect - if you stitched on the straight grain, the edges would fray right away.  If you are stitching a rectangular piece, you have to draw your line on the true bias, not from corner to corner

 

on Sunday  I layered up two more quilts for Linus

 

and made some more squares

 

so what did I buy yesterday in the little wool shop in Berwick?  This fabulous book

 

I think the cardigan on the cover will be going on the "to-knit" list, along with this one

 

but I think I will pass on these socks!

Dirty laundry!

First, let's get the food out of the way!  Malcolm's little spinach and mushroom omelette muffins were delicious!  He reheated them in the microwave, and they were soft and fluffy, with lots of flavour from the mushrooms

 

for dinner, we had the Greek lamb stew that I made on Monday.  I served it with couscous and fat free yogurt with mint.  It was really tasty, and I shall certainly make it again

 

in between breakfast and dinner, I made the apple and chilli jelly.  The liquid, which had dripped through the jelly bag overnight, was a lovely colour

 

I took this selection of red and green chillis from a bag in the freezer

 

I blitzed the chillis and stirred them into the jelly.  As the jelly cooled and set in the jars, I had to keep swirling it round to stop all the flecks of chilli settling at the top of the jar

 

then I went out to have a potter in the studio.  I started by taking lots of photos for tomorrow's post - which I will be writing when I finish this one,and scheduling it to appear tomorrow, as I won't be here!  As part of our Sheena Norquay weekend, she is giving a talk, and as it would be a rush to get home from patch'n'chat, have dinner and head off to Kelso, Maureen and I are going out for dinner.  Having sorted out those photos, I then got out these fat quarters which I bought recently at Stitchin' Heaven, and added some calico.  I am going to make a laundry bag (I know you were wondering when I was going to get around to today's subject!)  When we go away for a few days, we always end up with the dirty laundry in a carrier bag, as we don't want to put it in the suitcase with the clean clothes, so I am going to make a laundry bag

 

when Maureen saw the fabrics, she asked me if I would her some the next time I was at Stitchin' Heaven, as she wanted to make a peg bag.  So I promptly stole her idea, bought more fabric, and looked out this pattern

 

which is in this delightful book

 

I said I was going out for dinner with Maureen, but right now I am reconsidering that, as I am seriously peeved with her!!  You know that I love herons ....... well, this afternoon she sent me this photo, of a heron strolling through her garden  NOT FAIR!!!

A long day!

First, Malcolm says thank you for all your birthday wishes - I'll tell you tomorrow about our trip to Stuart and Alison's, and the delicious meal we had.

But now, to backtrack to Saturday.  I had to get up at 6am, leave the house at 6.30, pick up Maureen at 7.oo, then drive on to Kelso to join the other Abbey Quilters to be picked up at 7.30 ...... I was exhausted already!  We had a good journey to Harrogate - including a 15 minute comfort break, it took us three and a half hours.  Tempting as it was to head first for the traders, I went to look at the quilts

 

as always I can only show you general shots of the exhibition

 

these quilts are by Ferret

 

what do you see when you look at the quilt in the middle?

 

did you see a face or two prancing horses!  Would you like to see the winning quilt?

 

as it will appear in so many magazines, I don't think an appearance here will matter

 

it's hard work ooohing and aaaahing over the wonderful quilts, so what better way to have an energy boost, than tucking into a delicious icecream!!

 

while I was eating my icecream, there was a group of people just a few feet from me who were paying attention to a chap who was holding forth in a loud voice.  He looked, and sounded, familiar, but I couldn't place him.  Then later, when I was looking round the traders, I saw a photo of him on  a stall, and realised who he was.  He was a contestant in The Great British Sewing Bee, earlier in the year.  (the photo is from here)

 

after a very enjoyable day at the quilt show, we had a good journey back, and I got home about 8pm, to enjoy a late dinner and a glass (or two) of wine!  So what did I buy?

 

the little fairy lights at the top are for Malcolm.  He will be making more driftwood trees for Christmas, and I thought these would look good on them.  You can find them here.  I couldn't resist the book of flowers, and it made sense to stock up on some of my favourite threads - I usually have to buy them online, so buying them at the show has saved me postage.  I had to rearrange my thead box to fit them in (oh, ok, I have lots more thread!)

 

beads and buttons, cute sheepie ribbon, and some iron-on bias for the stash.  I have had this book for years, but hadn't got round to making any of the projects ....... but now I have some lovely woolly bits, I shall have to decide what to do

 

when I was taking the photos of my purchases, I also took photos of a couple of things that we bought last week.  I frequently say that I don't know how I have a son who is now in his thirties, as in my head I am still 29.  So when I saw this mug, it had to come home with me!!

 

Malcolm bought this little owl for me

 

I will put these metal tags on some bunting

 

a last word on the quilt show ...... I was delighted to bump into Val Ramsay, whom I knew some years ago, but after Val moved to County Durham we lost touch.  We had a very rapid catch-up on all that has happened in the intervening years, and parted with promises to try harder to keep in touch!

With all my gallivanting, I am lagging behind on reading and commenting on my favourite blogs, but I should catch up over the next few days.  I also haven't been able to keep up with replying to comments and answering questions, for which I apologise - if you have asked me something and I haven't replied, please ask me again!

To finish, I realise there has been a distinct lack of sconnage, so here is a wonderful cheese scone which we shared on Sunday

 

ps - on our way home today we popped in to a garden centre for a bowl of soup for lunch.  As we walked in the door I let out a loud groan, as the staff were setting up their C*****mas displays!!!!!