frayed at the edge

We laughed till we cried!!

We had a wonderful afternoon at patch'n'chat ...... I think we were all glad to get back into our normal routine after the Christmas and New Year break.  Katy and Cath as ever had a fund of jokes to tell, and we ended up with tears of laughter running down our cheeks ...... but sadly, I can't share the jokes as they were all a bit rude!!  However, I can share the fabrics I bought.  First, for the Hawaiian block, I chose two very bright fabrics for inner and outer borders

 

then for the other top I got a dark fabric for the inner border and a lovely patterned fabric for the outer border

I forgot to include this photo yesterday ..... when I was heading back down the hill from my walk, I heard a horse approaching.  I just had time to take this photo before stepping onto the verge well out of the way, as it went past at a fast trot

 

Then this morning I was distracted from doing the housework by this woman working her beautiful horse on a long rein, in the field across the road

 

It was quite chilly this morning, and the robin had his feathers fluffed up to keep warm

 

We didn't just have fun and laughter this afternoon - we also had cake!!  The first of the year was one of Annette's lighter than air chocolate sponges - delicious

 

I did manage to fit in a little bit of sewing - I have stitched the first fourteen hexagons together

 

Remember you have until the start of the week to sign up for the swap, and I'll be back tomorrow with Shadow Shot Sunday - I really missed it during my break!  have a good weekend, love Anne

Bright and breezy

It was very windy again through the night, but it had quitened down by lunchtime, so I wrapped up warmly, grabbed the camera and went out for a walk.  Malcolm didn't come with me, as he was watching the highlights of last night's football ........ his team, Newcastle, thrashed Manchester United 3-0, so he couldn't miss it!!  This is what he did miss, by not coming with me!

I love the way the sheep gave me a ferocious look as I passed!

 

I don't know if these are natural holes, or something has been nibbling

 

this Jacob's sheep was hiding !

 

but this one gave me another of those looks

 

there seemed to be something tasty to eat in the mud on the road

 

the sun was shining on Ruberslaw

 

I love snowdrops!

 

There has been an amazing response to the swap - we have participants in Scotland, England, Wales, Germany, Italy, America, Canada, Australia and South Africa!  Allyou have to do to join in is : - email me (link top right) with your name and address, then when I send you your swap partner's details next week, send them two postcards ...... one which you have made, and the other a bought one of your hometown, by the end of the month (you can pop them into an envelope for ease of posting).  Do you live somewhere exotic?  Then why not join in and add to the list of far flung places!

 

 

 

 

I think the hexagons .......

....... have been breeding!  There seemed to be a never ending pile to prep - but eventually they were finished.  I wondered just how many there were - a quick calculation gave me the answer of 950 - no wonder it took so long to prep them!  The next stage was to lay them out ...... I could picture the pattern in my head, but I thought I should lay them out to make sure that it would work out ok.  I started by laying out one hexagon of each fabric .....

 

.......then added more rows, each time moving the fabrics one place to the right

 

I wasn't happy with the placement of the very dark red row, so after consulting with Malcolm, I moved it along two places to the right - much better!

 

The next stage was to number one of each of the different  hexagons

 

and pop them into numbered bags, held shut with  tiny pegs

 

All packed up, ready to take on Friday to the first patch'n'chat of the year

 

Thank you for your response to the swap - quite a few of you have signed up already!  Several of you have asked if there is a time limit for sending the postcards, as you are busy with all sorts of things.  I woud suggest that they should be posted by the end of the month, which will give you about three weeks to make then after you receive the details of your swap partner next week.  This afternoon I looked out this curtain sample from my stash, and a packet of Stix2Anything (yes, it does!)

 

I fussy cut a flower from the fabric, stuck it on the postcard and added a bit of ribbon round the edges

 

For the next postcard, I looked out the old road atlas that I had bought last year to make bunting with.  I still had the page with Hawick on it, so it was a simple job to cut it out and stick it on.  I then drew a circle round Hawick

 

I had given the third postcard to Malcolm to draw something on - he produced this, which rather puts my efforts in the shade!!

 

The full details of how to take part are at the end of yesterday's post, so if you missed it just scroll on down.

To finish - the wind may have dropped, but it was a raw, miserable day, so we were glad to have a warming bowl of lentil soup and a delicious piece of cheese bread when we were out

 

ps - do let your friends know about the swap!

 

Weather extremes

While Rattling On and Emily were running round their gardens in the middle of the night, rescuing things being battered by the wind, Meredithe was melting away to a greasy spot - what a pity we can't mix the weather in a large pot and get rid of the extremes!  It was very windy, wet and generally miserable here, so it was definitely a day for lighting the stove and having fun in the studio.  Having watched quite a lot of television over the holidays, I decided to have a day of listening to music.  I like all sorts of different music - here is what I listened to  ....

 

It was a busy day, doing a little bit of lots of things.  I have started the machine embroidery on my landscape

 

I had added quite a bit to my other experimental piece ......

 

....... and today looked out a fancy yarn

 

which I needle felted on to the background

 

I think I might add some beads next ...

 

I also did some more prep for the next Baltimore block

 

I made this throw the other day - I bought the fabrics in San Antonio, Texas, in 2005, so I thought it was time that I made it.  You should have seen the mess when I cut the pieces!  The animal prints are a sort of velour and a huge amount of bits came off all the cut edges, then the candlewick fabrics shed fluff everywhere.  It took ages to vacuum all the bits off the carpet!

 

Although the weather has been miserable, it has been very mild.  When we went for a walk in the park the other day, the daffodils had grown  quite a bit since our previous walk

 

I would have got closer to take this photo of a lone snowdrop flower - but you can see that the ground was very muddy!

 

Now, the moment you have been waiting for ....... the swap!!  It is very simple - make a postcard and send it to your swap partner, along with a postcard of your home town.  The postcard can be made using any method - this is a fabric one that I received in a swap some years ago

 

this one was posted just as it is, but you may prefer to put both postcards in an envelope to send

 

Why did I pick postcards?  I wanted something that could be made by anyone - you could draw, paint, collage, glue on fabric or a photo......  also, it will be cheap to send the postcards - I know that some people are put off joining swaps because of the high cost of postage.  The swap is open to everyone who reads the blog - you don't have to have a blog of your own.  If you want to join in, send me an email (there is a link at the top of the right hand sidebar) with your name and address.  I'll put all the names in a hat and  pull out pairs.  I'll let you know next week who your partner is.  To show how simple it is, I took a piece of card this afternoon, and cut out three cards, measuring 6"x4"

 

I used a fine black marker to draw a line down the centre and write Post Card

 

I'll have a bit of fun decorating the fronts tomorrow - I might get Malcolm to do one, as he is much better at drawing than me!  I do hope lots of you will join in!!

Refreshed, revived.......

....... and raring to go!!  I amazed myself at managing to go without blogging for so many days - but now I am looking forward to another year of writing drivel entertaining and informative posts!  (perhaps I should make a New Year's resolution to use fewer exclamation marks!!)  As well as not blogging, I have also not done any knitting ...... over the next few days I will have a browse through all the patterns I have on my to-do list, and decide what to do next.  Perhaps it will be something from this wonderful book that Stuart and Alison gave me

 

Both Alison and I fancy these flip-top mitts

 

But sneaking to the front of the queue could be Cobweb, the Dark Fairy .......

 

....... from this wonderful book, which Malcolm gave me

 

While I am making up my mind, I can enjoy a cuppa in my pretty new mug, which was also one of Malcolm's presents

 

While having a break from my normal round of sewing and knitting, I haven't been completely idle!  I finished this cross-stitch set of needlecase, pin cushion and scissor fob, which I think I started this time last year, then lost interest in

 

I found some blocks that I had made quite a long time ago ...... the fabric that I had was enough to make 48 blocks, but I like square quilts (don't know why, I just do) so I put the blocks aside, intending to make an applique block to put in the centre.  However, having found them in the UFO pile, I decided to be sensible and just make them up into a rectangular quilt

 

Oh dear - did you spot the mistake ...... the blocks in the top left corner are wrong - not only are there two similar blocks together, but there are two blocks turned the wrong way.  A quick unpick and restitch, and all was well.  Now I just need to add an outer border and it will be ready to quilt

 

Next Sunday is my third blogging anniversary (and amazingly this is post number 888!!).  Instead of a giveaway, I have decided to organise a swap to celebrate.  I know that at this time of year we are all a bit skint and a bit weary of crafting after the last minute rush to finish Christmas gifts, so it is going to be a very inexpensive and simple swap, so I hope lots of you will sign up for it ..... come back tomorrow to find out more.

 

To finish, I have some bird photos that I took at the garden centre this morning - we had popped in for a cuppa to get warm after a very chilly, but nonetheless enjoyable, walk