frayed at the edge

Murder most horrid!

Don't worry, I haven't set about Malcolm with the frying pan!  This is the sight that greeted us when we got up this morning.  Looking at the feathers, I think it was a pigeon ...... and of course next door's cats are the prime suspects.*

 

at least the swallows are safe on the phone wire

 

when we had a rainy day on holiday, dozens of swallows suddenly appeared and settled on the electricity wires just beyond the garden

 

I mentioned that growth is lagging way behind in the garden.  This little tree is usually smothered in blossom by now

 

but it is only just starting to flower

 

there is no blossom on the cherry tree, and although the quince is smothered with flowers, there are no bees or insects because of the cold, so we probably won't get any quince again this year

 

but there are a few splashes of colour

 

when we were out and about yesterday, Malcolm bought this little jug for me

 

then I spotted this large oval serving plate in a junk antique shop

 

this morning in Hawick we had a browse round the Shelter charity shop.  Malcolm spotted this rustic casserole dish.  It is very heavy ..... and it looks as if it has never been used

 

*you know that this is normally a cat-free blog, but even I had to take photos of these cats on holiday!

 

Jessica got in touch to say that she has been having problems leaving comments, as sometimes they simply disappear.  On investigating, I discovered that Typepad has been randomly putting comments into a spam folder.  I haven't yet discovered how to stop that happening, so until I do, I'll check the spam every day and retrieve any that shouldn't be there, so please do keep leaving comments, as I love to get them!

 

The big night out

On Friday, we headed to north to Stuart and Alison's and after getting dressed up, Stuart ran us through to The Edinburgh School of Food and Wine, for an evening of eating French food, and drinking French Wine.  Stuart and Alison had given us a gift voucher for a food and wine evening for our birthdays last year, and we had decided to wait until the spring to book our places.  The evening was co-hosted by Great Grog, and we were greeted by a rather handsome young man from the wine merchants.  This is the menu and wine list

 

I don't have a photo of the canapes, as we had them when we were standing chatting with the other diners (there were fourteen of us) in the entrance hall, so first we have the scallop St Jacques

 

then the delicious coq au vin.  This was such a generous helping that I couldn't finish mine, and even Malcolm, who would normally have eaten my leftovers, couldn't find room for any more!

 

next was cheese, with oatcakes and pear chutney (I was slightly critical of the chutney, which was more like stewed pear)

 

then ....... the most amazing tarte au citron.  There was silence as we ate it, apart from occasional little sighs of pleasure!

 

before each course, young James the wine merchant described the wines, and we had to hold the glass up to the light to check the clarity, swirl the wine round the glass then sniff the bouquet ...... then finally we got to taste it!  At the end of the meal he quite happily agreed to have his photo taken, but then went all shy!

 

Stuart came back for us, and on Saturday morning we had recovered enough from eating all that food to enjoy the breakfast which he cooked for us.  On the way home, we decided to stop in South Queensferry, to have a stroll in the sunshine.  I'm sure that I don't have to tell you that this is the Forth Bridge

 

although the sun was shining, the views over the river were hazy.  This is Inchcolm Island, framed by the bridge

 

the tide was out!

 

I love the pirate flag (and the plastic seagull!)

 

blue sky and old chimneys - a great combination

 

when I saw the stretch limmo, I thought Malcolm had arranged a treat for me ..... sadly it drove on by!

 

I have lots more photos from South Queensferry, which I will keep for another day, as I also have photos from yesterday.  We weren't able to go for our Sunday morning walk, as it was raining, so instead we headed here for a cuppa.  The sconnage was of the highest quality ........

fruit, with jam and cream

 

cheese, with butter

 

out in the grounds of the visitor centre, a new children's play area has been built (we were very tempted to have a go!)

 

perhaps Malcolm could make me a wooden cart and horse?!

 

Brave!

This was my hair first thing this morning

 

then I spent the afternoon at the hairdresser.  This is stage one, having my colour done

 

then stage two, some highlights using foils

 

my hair on the floor after having it cut (hmmmm - that's an interesting colour)

 

my usual hairdresser, Melissa, has been off work, so the lovely Kerry has been looking after me.  Here she is showing me the back view

 

I had told Malcolm that I was going to have highlights done ...... he assumed that it would be my usual pink or purple.  So he was slightly surprised when I came home with bright turquoise!

 

I won't be here tomorrow, as we are having a very special night out here.  So you will have to wait until Monday to read all about it!  So, a day early, I will wish you all a good weekend, love Anne

The big night!

After all the preparation, my big night teaching textured applique at Abbey Quilters has arrived.  So just a quick post before I have my dinner and head out for Kelso.  I didn't finish all the quilting, as I wanted to leave some ares free of stitching, to show the difference that quilting makes.  I also used several different stitches to show how that can change the look of the work as well

the almost finished piece (which still doesn't have a name!)

 

echo quilting

 

continuing a section of quilting out in the sashing

 

cross hatching

 

seed stitch - time-consuming, but effective

 

echoes of the tendrils

 

turkey tracks - another time-comsuming stitch

 

tiny leaves

 

the only lines that I marked were the ones for crosshatching (I didn't have a ruer in the house, so I just used the edge of a bookmark, which is why the spacing is a bit uneven!).  I don't generally use any fancy sort of marking pencil, unless I need a white pencil to show up on dark fabric.  I like mechanical pencils .... and shock, horror, yesterday I used up my last one!  But look what Malcolm got for me when he was out this morning

 

ps - the fabric the pencils are sitting on is the one I got to use as a background for the cottages.

My life in clothes

Until recently, I hadn't heard of Yvette Jelfs, then I found her wonderful new hat shop in Hawick.  Shortly after that there was a big article about her in the paper, then she popped up again on Saturday (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

I thought it would be fun to give you my answers to the questions!

q: what's the last piece of clothing you bought

a: these two summer dresses which I bought on Monday - not from a fancy designer shop, but from Sainsbury's!  I am perhaps being somewhat optimistic that we will have a good summer!

 

q: best ever bargain

a: I bought this jacket some years ago when we were on holiday in Hampshire.  I can't remember what I paid for it, just that it had been very expensive, but I got it for about a quarter of the original price.  It is a silk/linen blend, with beautiful embroidery and beading

 

q: who has great style

a: the Queen!

 

q: name your favourite High Street shop

a: does M&S count as a High Street shop?

 

q: what are you addicted to buying

a: cute little cardigans

 

q: any fashion disasters that you'd care to tell us about?

a: that would have to be the electric blue platform boots from the mid 70s.  Sadly I don't have a photo of them .... I think they were abandoned to the back of the shoe cupboard as I couldn't walk properly in them!

 

q: what's your favourite item in your wardrobe?

a: I am embarrassed to admit that my favourite is my comfy everyday trousers from M&S.  To make it worse, I remember my Mum wearing them years ago!  I am probably wearing them in most of the photos you see of me - I have them in black, navy and brown.

 

It has been snowing again ...... this was the front garden this morning

 

the garden has been full of birds

blue tit

 

blackbird

 

sparrow

 

robin

Thinner!

You may think that eating this for lunch ......

 

(while Malcolm ate this)

 

wouldn't be conducive to weight loss!  But for the last six weeks, I have been following the Fast Diet.  The basic idea is that for two days a week, you have very restricted calories, and the rest of the week you eat normally.  I have lost about seven pounds, and have already fitted back into clothes that have been languishing in the back of the wardrobe.  But the best thing is that my engagement ring fits me again ..... I hadn't worn it for quite some time as it was too tight

 

we had lunch in Jedburgh, and on the way home, I took a few scenic photos

 

I took these bird photos recently, but somehow didn't get round to including them in a post

 

when I was sewing yesterday, I didn't just have my stove to keep me warm ....... I also had some music!!

 

Tomorrow, I'll show you my multi-pocketed bag, but to finish, I'll give you this little sneak peek - what am I doing?

 

The Maureen show and tell ......

Maureen has been a very busy girl!  First, she had four quilt tops for Linus ....... this is the one I liked best

 

next, she had finished her redwork Santas

 

and finally ..... she has finished her multi-pocketed bag!

 

Margaret didn't want me to take a photo of her latest quilt, as it isn't finished ....... but after a little persuasion a lot of nagging, she let me take this photo

 

as always, Annette had baked a little tasty something for us to have with our afternoon cuppa ...... her light-as-air cupcakes (it was hard, but I managed to resist having a second one!)

 

when we were doing the housework this morning, Malcolm shouted for me to come through to the back lounge.  We had bought this bunch of pussy willow wands before Christmas

 

and this morning he noticed one of the wands has tiny leaves emerging!

 

tomorrow I'll be heading to Kelso for Abbey Quilters' 25th birthday party.  I will be taking a platter of sandwiches to share, and of course showing the others members how to make the love birds.  Sandra (the vice chairman) was decidedly unforthcoming about all the surprises she has organised for tomorrow - it promises to be a fun day!

I hope you too have a fun weekend, love Anne

 

The first cut ......

....... by a different hairdresser!  My usual hairdresser is off work, so today I had my hair cut by one of the junior stylists, who usually does my colour for me.  Melissa has been cutting my hair for the last five years, so it was a bit strange to have it done by Kerry, who was a bit nervous about getting it right, as Melissa is the boss of the salon!  She needn't have worried, as she has made a very good job of it (sorry, no photo!!)

Along with Lucie, I am supposed to be spending February finishing things, but yesterday I started something new (oops!).  Abbey Quilters celebrates its 25th birthday in March, so we are having a day of little projects, and of course lunch, on the 16th.  I somehow managed to volunteer to demonstrate a small project ...... oh dear, what to do?  Then I remembered a little project that I had made at a similar day some years ago.  It hangs in the studio, and is a little bit shabby (which is just as well, considering what happened to it yesterday)

 

I no longer have the pattern, so I deconstructed disassembled took it to bits to make templates

 

I picked out a fabric from my stash (hooray, another contribution to the year of using it up!) and decided to make the hearts with felt.  I added the tiny red buttons, which I will use to attach the wings

 

the tassel is rather tatty, but you can just make out the little beads along the bottom

 

I got out my bead box (more hoorays, for more using it up)

 

I chose these little gold beads to pick up the gold in the fabric, and found a suitable thread for the tassel, and a heavier gold thread for stringing it all together

 

I have to admit that I came home with some new beads today ....... let me explain.  I arrived in Kelso with time to spare before my hairdressing appontment, as I wanted to pop into the curtain fabric shop to get cord and little plastic rings for Stuart and Aliison's blinds.  And look what I passed on the way

 

I had been told that this shop had opened, but I hadn't got round to visiting it.  The owner is delightful (but, oops, I forgot to ask for her name), very welcoming and enthusiastic.  I can't show show you what I bought, because by the time I got home and made dinner, I forgot!  But there were lots and lots of lovely beads to choose from

 

I am off to Edinburgh tomorrow for the Spring Quilt Show, so I'll have lots to share with you in tomorrow's post! 

Scraptastic!

After finishing the 64 strippy blocks, I set about making more of the crazy blocks.  I had made 16 by yesterday

 

then today ended up with 25, which I have stitched together

 

I then made a start to stitching the strippy blocks together.  I got the rows done, before I had to go back into the house to make dinner!

 

I started work on the pattern for the badger, first transferring the different parts of the face on to tracing paper

 

then I cut the pieces out from card

 

I changed the black strip on the left, changed the ears, and added nostrils and eyes.  I'm not happy yet with the strip on the left - I think it needs to be wider, so that the eye is bigger

 

I''ve had to take my big clock off the wall, as it kept going slow (I don't wear my watch when I'm sewing, as it is quite loose and bangs on the machine).  I gave Malcolm this little clock many, many years ago for either his birthday or Christmas.  I don't quite know how it has ended up in the studio.  It is usually down in the bottom room, so I've moved it to the top room, sitting it on the light box (which doubles as a shelf when not in use!) so that I can see it

Steaming!

When I declared this the year of using things up, I didn't expect my big steam iron to be one of those things!  But unfortunately I must have used used it too much (!) and it has died and gone to the great iron heaven.  I loathe ironing, so I was anxious to get another big iron, rather than using the ordinary steam iron that I use in the studio.  After a bit of research, I found one online and it was delivered yesterday.  I thought I ought to try it this morning just to make sure it was working ..... isn't it a thing of beauty!

 

Malcolm realised on Christmas Eve that he hadn't bought a book for me (shock horror) ......but fortunately  a quick trip to the supermarket fixed that!!  I started reading it this morning, and I am thoroughly enjoying it.   Even if you don't know who Clare Balding is, I can recommend her book as a very entertaining read

 

two of my smaller orchids have just started flowering  A pale pink one ......

 

....... and a pale yellow one

 

did you notice the new clips holding the orchids in place?  They were also a Christmas present from Malcolm

 

when I saw this little compost bin was being sold at half-price, I thought it would look much better in the utility room than the grey plastic one which we have had for some years......

 

....... especially as it matches the paint!

 

the plant is a silk one, as the utility room doesn't have a window.  And do you like the banana planter?  When we moved to Indonesia, we at first lived in an apartment complex.  There were occasional social events for the wives (we weren't allowed to work), one of which was an afternoon tea, at which we played some silly games.  One of them was simple - a prize for the first wife to produce a photo of her husband ...... and I won!  I still have the photo of Malcolm (it's in my purse) but as it's a dreadful passport photo, I won't show it to you!!

 

we have been fortunate, and have only had a dusting of snow, unlike some parts of the country, so I was able to go to patch'n'chat.  The snow did get a bit heavier in the middle of the afternoon, so those of us who have further to travel were keeping an eye on the weather in case we had to leave early, but fortunately we were able to stay and have Annette's delicious cupcakes

 

my friend Anne S regularly sends me emails with jokes or funny photos, but the email she sent the other day had photos which she thought Malcom would like - all sorts of imaginative things that people hade made with their log piles.  This was his favourite ........

 

...... but I don't think he is tempted to reorganise our logs!  Whatever the weather over the weekend, I shall of course be out in the studio sewing.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne