frayed at the edge

Slipping and sliding!

I had ordered something online at the start of the month, and waited and waited for it to arrive.  When it didn't, I emailed the company.  When they didn't teply I emailed again, and when there was no response, yesterday I phoned.  Profuse apologies were offered, somehow my order just hadn't been dealt with.  So I was delighted this morning when the postman came to the door with an envelope to be signed for  .......

 

.... followed by an email apologising again and saying that the item in question had been sent out recorded delivery, and that hopefully by the time I read the email, the parcel would have been delivered.  So what was it that I was so anxious to receive?  A Supreme Slider, which I am confident will magically transform my efforts at free motion quilting into works of art

 

The pictures on the back of the package make it all look so simple ........ I will let you know on Monday how I get on with my first attempts!

 

Last night I knitted my little swatch for the Glimpse scarf.  It proved to be quite straightforward!

 

The hole was really quite easy to make - I haven't done a pattern like this before, so I'm looking forward to knitting the scarf, as it is very pretty

 

The front garden was alive with sparrows this morning, but one little blue tit was brave enough to use the peanut feeder

 

I love the bold markings on the male sparrows - they would make a good quilting design ....

 

It's Friday, so of course that means it is time for cake!!  Today we had Annette's lovely light cupcakes ....

 

...... topped with chocolate sprinkles - delicious

 

Over the weekend, as well as playing with using my new Slider, I will also be making some more things for my sales table for next Saturday (oops, starting to panic slightly!!)  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

Too many cooks may spoil the broth .......

....... but two cooks make a good dinner!  Usually one or other of us cooks dinner, but today's was a joint effort.  I started my dish by finely slicing a large apple and onion, arranging them in an ovenproof dish, and adding orange juice and thyme

I seasoned it with this wonderful salt that we brought back from Majorca

 

then I put pork chops on top, spooned some of the orange juice over them, and added some black pepper

 

Malcolm's contribution was cauliflower and broccoli cheese - here are the two dishes just out of the oven

 

Delicious!!

 

To backtrack to this morning, when we were in town, we saw this bird on the River Teviot - neither of us knows what it is - but I'm sure one of you will be able to tell me (my book only has garden birds!)

 

Over on the River Slitrig, this duck was quite well camouflaged

 

unlike the drake, resplendent with his beautiful plumage

 

This was a tiny little rose

 

a fraction of the size of this gorgeous full one

 

After lunch I went out for a walk ...... I had hardly gone any distance when I had to step on to the verge to let this waggon go past

 

This photo is for Thimbleanna, who loves sheep ..... especially Scottish ones!!  But the little rascals will turn their bottoms to the camera!!

 

When I saw this horse, I thpught it was in the garden, but then I realised that there was a fence between it and the house!

 

I'm not the only one who has to avoid large things on the road ...... the truck just managed to squeeze pat the JCB  (I think I might have to put that JCB on my list for Father Christmas!!)

 

Back from my walk, I headed out to the studio.  Today's fmq was fun!  I think this pattern was called sea anenome

 

I really enjoyed doing this one, and would use it as an all over pattern on a quilt.  The little bit of green quilting that you can see is from the practice session I had on the other side

 

Malcolm, meantime, was up in the loft putting down the last of the insulation - he moved just as I snapped, so you can't see him, but he is there at the far end ...... the tiny glimpse of orange in the middle of the photo is his boiler suit!!

 

ps - I wasn't paying proper attention when I was slicing the apple with the mandolin ........

If you are on a diet ......

..... look away now!  We went up to Galashiels this morning, as Malcolm wanted to go to B&Q to buy more insulation for the loft - he has gradually been adding an extra layer, which is a big job as, because it is a single storey house, we have a lot of loft!!  Once that was purchased, and we had done a little bit of shopping, we had to decide where to go for lunch.  We could have had a delightful burger from the van which is always parked in B&Q's carpark ......

 

or we could have visited a certain well known fast-food chain (if you torture me I will admit that I am partial to a Big Mac ....... in fact you don't have to torture me, just tickle my feet!!)

 

However, good taste prevailed, and we went to Lochcarron, where we had the most wonderful Thai chicken soup, with cheese and onion bread

 

Back home, I quickly put the shopping away, before heading put for knit'n'natter ..... but I did take a moment to take aphoto of the new pots of herbs that I had bought for the kitchen windowsill ......

 

...... and yet another photo of this fabulous orchid

 

When I was in Kelso for knit'n'natter, I bought this month's Good Food magazine.  It was in a package which contained this calendar ......

 

....... and a recipe card for a choclate cheesecake, which I won't be tempted to make as it made with white chocolate, which I really don't like!

 

I hadn't yet decided what to knit with my lovely laceweight yarn, after frogging the shawl I had started, but then I saw this pretty scarf.  The pattern does look a little bit complicated, so I may just knit a little swatch first!

 

A silly photo to finish!  I took this first thing this morning through the back bedroom window.  It may look as if the sheep is standing on top of the wall, but really it is in the field behind the house!

Far from lazy daisy!

Another day, another attempt at the dreaded free motion quilting.  Today's pattern is 'pebbled daisy', and unlike a gentle embroidered lazy daisy, this one was hard work!  However, with a bit of perseverance (and a bit of bad language when the thread threw a wobbly, tangled and broke), the daisy was finished ...... and I am just pretending that one petal doesn't look as if it is makong a bid for freedom and heading for the corner!

 

Next, it was on to this week's Farmer's Wife blocks.  For the first block, I thought I would cheat just a little bit and not use the templates but do it the way I normally would, which was fine ....... except that I made the block to a finished size of 6" (so it actually measured six and a half), so a little bit of trimming had to be done!

 

The second block was also done without using the templates ...... although the fact that the finished size of the blocks is five and a half inches means that the pieces are slightly odd sizes.  Instead of cutting the main pieces with the corners cut off, then cutting triangle to fit, I cut big squares and litlle squares, stitched across the diagonals of the little squares, cut off the corners, giving me  nice neat pieces to join .....  

 

..... for the finished block

 

Despite the trials and tribulations of using templates and the slightly odd sizes, I am enjoying working my way through the blocks. 

 

I will have sashing between the blocks when I make them into a quilt, but for the moment I have butted them up on the design wall so that they take up less room, as I have quite a lot on the wall at the moment!

 

I had intended to make more for my sales table, but I started to feel a bit icky, so spent the afternoon napping on the couch!  However having just enjoyed a very nice dinner (cooked by Malcolm) I am feeling a bit better.  I am sure I will be fine again after a good night's sleep.

To finish, two photos of birds in the garden

 

I promised you chocolate ......

...... and here it is!  First chocolate for children ..... I used templates from a magazine to cut out stockings and mittens

 

 

which will be filled with chocolate coins

 

For the grown-ups (well, probably for Mums!) there are candle glasses filled with chocolates, and with a scented candle to put in the glass once the chocolates have been eaten

 

Next ..... the gingerbread biscuits.  Oh dear - I turned my back for two minutes on the first batch ..... and they got just a little bit overcooked!  Not quite burned, and just about edible

 

The second batch turned out better

 

Two simple ingredients to make some delicious icing ....

 

...... they may not win any prizes, but they are tasty and were easy to make

 

I had a bit more success with my latest attempt at free motion quilting.  This effort was based on Leah's pattern cracked paisley  .... it may not be the right shape, but I am pleased with it (I thought it looked a bit like figs, Malcolm thought it looked like onions!

 

I finished the Christmas card which I had started at Abbey Quilters on Tuesday night ..... it is folded Somerset patchwork, and was quick and simple to make

 

I can combine yesterday's day out at the Woolgathering with this week's knitting update!  I have started another pair of afterthought heel socks.....

 

...... although I still have to sew in the ends on the first pair (it's the bit of knitting that I don't like!!)

 

I was also working on another pair of fingerless mitts in cotton sock yarn, which I finished last night (apart from sewing in the dreaded ends!!)  This pair is for a friend who is allergic to wool - and I have given the first pair like this , that I did some weeks ago, to a friend who has painful hands due to arthritis.  The warmth from wearing them helps her joints, while leaving her fingers free to do things.

 

To finish, a photo of some sparrows on the birdbath ...... as you can see, there is a rather large stone in it at the moment.  That is because during some recent very windy weather, the top blew off!  I think Malcolm is going to get some sort of sealant/adhesive to fix it to the base

Shadow Shot Sunday

It's shadow time again, when shadow addicts from around the world indulge their passion, thanks to the hard work of Tracy at  Hey Harriet.  This week's collection is from a lovely sunny walk we had last Sunday morning

 

 

 

 

 

Gingerbread family

Yesterday I mentioned that I had bought some ready made gingerbread pastry - you may have thought I had just made that up ........ but it is true!

 

I have a set of cutters to make an entire gingerbread family ......

 

...... but I also have this set, which has all sorts of shapes, which is probably what I'll use, having been inspired by this post from Rattling on...

 

It was a hard decision to pick one of my new hot chocolates this morning, but I finally settled on the Rocky Road.  It was delicious ..... dark and rich, but not too sweet.  Do you like Malcolm's coffee mug - I bought it for him some years ago.  When you drink all the coffee, there is a heart on the bottom!

 

Every so often, my bathroom door hinges start squeaking.  I like to have a quick and easy way to do things - so this fits the bill!  It only takes seconds to oil the hinges and there is no smell

 

At patch'n'chat this afternoon, Cath was working on a small quilt which she is making to go across the bottom of the bed in her guest bedroom.  I love the colours - autumn shades are definitely my favourites

 

Now that we are well into November, we are allowed to mention Christmas!  Pam was working on some bright Christmas stockings

 

And now for the best bit of Friday posts ...... the cake.  Annette has been unwell, so she hadn't baked this week.  But we had the next-best thing - cakes from local firm Border Meringues.  First there was lemon drizzle cake, one of my favourites ..... absolutely yummy

 

Then there was an unusual orange and chocolate cake.  I had of course to eat a piece of this one as well, solely so that I could tell you about it!  It was enjoyable, but not as good as the lemon drizzle. 

 

I'll be busy tomorrow making things for my sales table (chocolate could be involved!), then on Sunday I'm off to have a day with like minded crafty folk at a Woolgathering ... I missed the last one, so it will be good to catch up with what the others have been doing.  Whatever you are doing, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

It takes more than a sharp frost ......

..... to kill off the beautiful climbing rose, which grows round the lounge window.  There are still buds, which are dark pink on the outside

 

getting paler as they start to open

 

and paler still

 

until, by the time they are fully open, they have turned completely white

 

The ornamental quince has flowered again (it quite often has a second flush of flowers at this time of year)

 

But this is the right time of year for the winter jasmine to be flowering!

 

When I was doing my weekly grocery shopping on Monday, I saw this book was half price, so of course it had to come home with me ........

 

For those of you not acquainted with Kirstie, it's rather hard to describe her ....... but you can find out more here and here.  There are all sorts of lovely things in the book - I just opened it at random to take this photo.  If you look closely at the cup with the teabag (click on the photo to enlarge it), you will see that they have been needlefelted!

 

When we were in the supermarket this morning, I bought some ready made gingerbread pastry(!) - I'll tell you more tomorrow!

I might get married again ......

.....if I can go to the wedding in this!

 

If you too would like to get married in style, then the websites are helpfully displayed on the horsebox!

 

There was another reason for thinking about weddings - we were in the historic town of Gretna, which has a long and colourful history of slightly unusual wedding ceremonies.  Do click on the link - it is fascinating reading!

However we were there for a very different reason - we had gone to do some Christmas shopping at Gretna Gateway shopping centre.  However, before we could start shopping, we had to make the most of several excellent photo opportunities.  As we drove in to the car park, we saw some wonderful cattle in the adjoining field

 

Then there was all this wonderful old farm machinery

 

When we left Gretna, we crossed into England for a few miles ....... but soon we were back on the right road!

 

We stopped in Langholm for a cuppa, where Malcolm spotted this old sign painted on the wall of a hotel

 

Of course I can't show you the presents that we bought, but I can show you what I succumbed to ........ when we do the housework on Friday mornings, we have a mid-morning cuppa.  I make a cappuchino (I'm not sure that's the correct spelling!) for Malcolm, amd I have a proper hot chocolate made with milk.  There were all sorts of flavours, so it took me some time to decide which ones to buy (although the white chocolate ones were ruled out immediately, as I really don't like white chocolate!)

 

I also bought the lovely shopping bag.  I now have so many re-usable shopping bags in the boot of my car, I hardly have enough  room to put the shopping in!

Rushing!

Rush, rush, rush!  I am doing this and making the dinner, as this is the night for Abbey Quilters, so I'm a bit harassed!  So - straight into the photos.  For my fmq practice this morning, I decided not to do it in a square, as Leah does, as I kept getting in a muddle trying to quilt up to the edges.  Instead I just did my spirals in the middle of the hoop, and I am far happier with them

 

Now I just have to master coming back out of the spiral in the middle, and not wander all over the place

 

Over the weekend, I had a blitz on the hexagons, and have cut all the fabric ones, and have almost cut enough papers

 

Today I was working on the next two Farmer's Wife blocks.  The first block had lots of little pieces ......

 

..... and there may have been a lot of use of the steam iron to persuade the pieces to fit (I think I will have to make this one again!)

 

Fortunately the second block had bigger pieces .......

 

....... and went together more easily

 

So that's now eight blocks finished.  I think I may make enough to make a lap quilt, then when that it done do another set of blocks, rather than just keep making blocks.  I'm sorry the colours look a bit odd in this photo, but it has been such a grey, miserable day we had to have the light on, which changed the colours in the photo

 

I got a nice surprise when I went out to shut the outer storm doors of the studio .... the sheep are back in the field, having been moved to another field some weeks ago