frayed at the edge

A lot of horses!

This morning we were in Hawick, to see one of the events in the Common Riding.  This involved dozens of riders coming through an arch and riding off through the town.  It was quite a sight to see - even for us who aren't at all 'horsey' people.  It was good to see how many young peolple are involved, which should mean that this years' old tradition will carry on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

The riders and horses were all beautifully turned out and there was lots of cheering from both the riders and the spectators.

 

ps - once all the horses had gone past, they were followed by a street sweeping machine, to remove any evidence of their passing!

Oliver's quilt

After lunch, I went off to Borderland Fabrics, determined to get on with the quilt for my new great-nephew.  I started with strips ....

 

which I stitched together....

 

I then cut strips of strips (!) and put borders round the tractor fabric .....

Once I have given it a good iron, I will layer it with this lovely blue fleece

 

Then of course I have to quilt it - I haven't decided yet how I will quilt it - perhaps quilting round the tractors, and a bit of meandering on the grass!  Then I will use the rest of the strips to make the binding - a quick and easy way to make a lovely bright quilt for the newest member of the family!

 

Have a good weekend, love Anne

A mixed bag

Usually I have some sort of theme for a post (yes, a bit of planning does go into this!), but today I have a random collection of photos.

You may have realised by now that we like a bit of routine in our lives, and Thursday morning is no exception.  We head into Hawick, where the first stop is to buy the papers.  Then I treat Malcolm to a cuppa and something to eat.  We have several coffee shops in Hawick to chose from, so we tend to go to a different one each week.  Today it was the turn of the Pickled Orange

 

They have the most wonderful scones - today we decided on a cheese one to share

 

It was still warm from the oven, so the butter just melted into it!  Malcolm enjoys the Pickled Orange as he gets a free refill of coffee.

Next, it was a bit of shopping.  I had to stop on the way in to the supermarket to take a photo of these two lovely dogs.

 

We used to have a spaniel the same as the one on the right.  She was called Honey, and even after all these years, when we see a spaniel like this, we call it a 'honey dog'  If that isn't enough of an 'aaah' moment for you, when we came out of the supermarket, there were another two lovely dogs

 

Ok, it's not the most exctiing of Thursday mornings - but we enjoy it (especially the scone!)

 

However, there is something that never quite makes its way into my routine ...... the ironing!!  But sometimes I just have to do it, so this afternoon I put on some good music and tackled the basket.

 

There was rather more than that, but it would be a bit boring to show you several photos of ironing!  Instead I will end with a photo of a beautiful poppy, which has just flowered

 

Proud to be square

This afternoon, it was off to Kelso for knit'n'natter.  I have been neglecting my knitting for the last few weeks, while I have been busy finishing 'Sunset', so I had no excuse to today - I had to get on with some knitting!  I didn't want to take my shawl, as I am about to start a new section of the pattern, and I didn't think I would be able to concentrate properly with all the chatting going on.  So I decided to start a throw, using the Patons Moonglow that I bought some weeks ago in a charity shop.  As there is so much texture in the yarn, I decided to knit simple stocking stitch squares, which I think I will sew together with the stocking stitch going in alternating directions  

 

There might have been a lot of nattering and a lot of tea drinking, but I completed two squares .... and started a third!

 

Sometimes it's nice to have some knitting to do that doesn't take a lot of thought - if we have chick-flicks and chick-lit, can we call it chick-knit?  (Oh dear, that really is poor!!)

Another piece of history

I had to post some letters when I was in Hawick yesterday, and I was delighted to discover that the pillar box was a George VI one, the same as our little local post box

 

Even with all the layers of paint from its many re-paintings over the years, the crown and initials are still clear

 

 

I said I would take a better photo of 'Sunset' - well, I have to tell you, it just did not want its photo taken!!  As fast as I stuck it to the wall (with Blu-tack, as I normally do with small quilts) it fell off again.  Then when it finally stayed on, the camera had switched itself off and by the time I switched it back on, Sunset had fallen off the wall again, then I realised it was squint ... you get the picture!  So here is my best effort

 

Of course for a competition, it's not just the front of the quilt that has to be considered - on the back there are two labels.  The first is the competition entry label

 

and the second one is my label

 

I'll be posting it tomorrow - keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Home from home

Yesterday, after we had lunch at the Woolgathering, Lindsay asked if we would like to walk across the road and see round her holiday cottage.  The words were hardly out of her mouth, when we were lined up at the door ready to go.  You can find out more about the cottage here and  here , but (with Lindsay's permission) I took photos of Hugh's artwork (all available to buy!!) and some of Lindsay's decorative touches

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were all so taken with the cottage, we wanted to move in!!  I know I'm biased because I live here, but there is so much to see and do in the Borders, and of course the scenery is stunning.

 

This afternoon I went for my second session of acupuncture - I was so relaxed that I fell asleep!  (I woke myself up when I started to snore - very embarassing).