frayed at the edge

Bottoms up!

As we were eating breakfast this morning, more and more swans swam into the dock.  There must have been something tasty to eat, as they kept sticking their heads under the water and their bottoms in the air

 

but suddenly there was a commotion, and an adult swan, with its head hooked over the back of a cygnet,  pushed it away from the group, with another cygnet swimming ahead of them as fast as possible to get out of the way

 

there must also have been something tasty on the ground (perhaps from a ship being loaded/unloaded) because the pigeons were having a good peck

 

when I looked out of the window later, I saw some activity on the far side of the dock

 

and in a shabby little boat which had been moored overnight against the pilot boat

 

there appeared to be trouble starting the engine, with much pointing and shaking of heads

 

the man with the new depth gauge soldiered on trying to lower it.  Every time he got out of his machine he had to walk round behind the lobster pots, which must have been somewhat annoying

 

at that point I had to go for my shower, and I was surprised that they were still trying to get the gauge in place when I came back through

 

I had the unkind thought that he might fall off the boat and provide me with some good photos ......

later we went for a cuppa and an exceedingly delicious cheese scone

 

we popped into Serendipity and I couldn't resist this lovely card, by local artist Anne Johnston Gill

then in a charity shop I picked up this rather grubby bag of threads

 

there is a little label inside each reel.  Coton a repriser is darning thread ....... I would have put in a link, but I could only find ones in French!

 

it is lovely thread, and I think it will be good for fine embroidery

 

Malcolm had been doing more work on his wine box chest of drawers, finishing the top and sanding it.  The last stage will be to wax it

 

we got back home at lunchtime and I spent the afternoon in the studio.  I finished the quilting on the space quilt, then I spent the rest of the afternoon working on this ......... but you will have to come back tomorrow to find out what it is!

 

to finish ....... the sun appeared this afternoon, much to the delight of this robin in the front garden

Creative difficulties!

Malcolm finished his wine box bookcase this afternoon, so I was all set to take photos when I finished in the studio.  As it was a lovely bright afternoon, I was looking forward to getting good photos in natural light.  Then, about five minutes before I finished my sewing, dark clouds came over and it started to rain!!  So I had to turn the lights on in the kitchen, where the bookcase was sitting.  This caused another problem, as the bookcase would have looked a bit strange with kitchen cupboards behind it.  I arranged the bits and bobs on the shelves, then got Malcolm to hold up the Birdie Border quilt, with the back facing me.  Perfect!

 

as the bookcase is made with wine boxes and has all the corks that Malcolm patiently cut in half decorating the middle section (he also cut his thumb!), I thought that it could also be used as a sort of wine rack/bar

 

there was a slight delay in putting some bottles of wine on the shelves, as I discovered that only bottles with proper corks fitted the wine boxes - those with screw tops are just a little bit too big.  I also wanted a bottle of New Zealand wine for the middle section, but after searching his various wine racks in vain, Malcolm could only come up with an empty bottle.  I wanted a NZ wine to sit with these very special glasses

 

they aren't special just because they (almost) have my name on them.  I bought them from a restaurant called Annie's in Christchurch (the one in NZ, not England!).  I bought the first one when Malcolm and I were there on holiday in 2000, then I bought the second one when I was in NZ the following year for a Quilt Symposium.  Amazingly they both survived the journey home in my hand luggage!

 

these little handpainted goblets are also well-travelled ....... we bought them on one of our wonderful Australian holidays!

 

when I was in the studio this afternoon, I did some more prep for Mrs Billings, then I free-motion quilted the other Linus quilt that I made recently

 

I had already made the binding, so it didn't take long to stitch on.  All I have to do now is handstitch the binding on the back of the quilt

 

Maureen and I are off the Edinburgh in the morning for the Spring Quilt Fair at Ingliston.  We have raided our piggy banks, just in case we are tempted to by a fat quarter or two.  And we might stop at the Mayshade Garden Centre on the way home for a cuppa and cake - you know we have to have cake on Friday afternoons!!

 

 

 

Smiling again!

I forgot to tell you yesterday that I was at the dentist in the morning to have my new crown fitted.  There was a slight delay as Mr GoodScrabbleScore couldn't remove the temporary crown.  He pulled and he tugged, and he tugged and he pulled, and eventually had to resort to the drill.  I am delighted with my lovely new crown - perhaps Malcolm will capture me smiling over the weekend!

I have shown you the driftwood drying in the garage, but I haven't shown you my seaglass and assorted bits, which have been drying on the draining board in the utility room, after being thoroughly washed with bleach

 

it'a amazing the great assortment of pieces that you can pick up on a short walk

 

this old shell has been home to a host of other small creatures

 

I like this partial shell

 

having previously framed some for Malcolm's shower room in the flat, I framed these ones for my bathroom at home

 

I was glued to the Great British Sewing Bee last night ....... but I still can't decide if I like Patrick without his beard, but still with a moustache!  (he's still gorgeous, but is he slightly les gorgeous!)

 

we were delighted that there was a contestant from Jedburgh, a lovely lady called Annie who is a retired dairy farmer and cheesemaker (we have eaten her delicious cheese).  Here she is with the delightful Claudia

 

Patrick and his fellow judge May examining a piece of sewing (the funny dark shapes on the right hand edge of the photos are from the large rubber plant which sit beside the tv)

 

while I was watching the programme, I was casting on my Ripple Rug.  As I had to cast on 282 stitches, I used stitch markers to show where the 100th and 200th stitches were, to make it easier to keep count

 

now for the star of tonight's post - Malcolm's wine box bookcase.  He has made the basic carcase

 

there will a shelf in the middle section, and after some deliberation, he has decided that instead of putting pine panelling at the back, he will put a piece of plywood and cover it with wine corks!

 

and of course to finish we have the Friday cake - our favourite apple and sultana

 

we'll be heading off to Berwick in the morning, hoping for good weather to get out for a good long walk.  I hope you all have a great weekend, love Anne

Little Miss Muffet .......

......... may have sat on her tuffet, but she didn't have her own custom made footstool!  I always sit with my feet up in the evenings, so I needed a stool for the new flat.  Have no fear, my dear, said Malcolm, I shall make one for you to rest your dainty little feet on.  (The only true part of that sentence is that my feet are little!).  He started with a scrap of flooring left over from when the old milking parlour was converted into my studio, and some sturdy pieces of driftwood for the legs

 

before long the basic stool was assembled

 

the next stage was to put a foam block on the base and cover it with wadding

 

before I went to patch'n'chat today, I looked out a piece of fabric, and when I came home the stool was finished

 

I spotted this robin in the garden this morning, but I don't think it is our juvenile one

 

Maureen gave me this little beauty this afternoon - I shall probably stuff it with a vegetable and herb filling

 

as always, we had a delicious cake at patch'n'chat - chocolate sponge with cream and strawberries

 

the forecast isn't very good for the weekend, but I am sure we will find plenty to do indoors.  Whatever your weather, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne