frayed at the edge

Day 31 ....... and it's Halloween!

Here are some things you might not know about Halloween (taken from today's "i" newspaper).  The most suprising thing is that dressing up probably started in Scotland! (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

when we left Stuart and Alison's this morning, we popped in to Torwood Garden Centre, which is just along the road from them.  We were faced with a dilemma - would we have the very reasonably priced, but somewhat naughty, cooked breakfast, or would we just have a cuppa and save ourselves for meatballs for lunch when we called in to Ikea ........

 

yes, the breakfast won!  Sausage, black pudding and mushrooms ...... and I got scrambled eggs and Malcolm got a hash brown, which we then shared.  And as if that wasn't enough, we also had a slice of toast!  (and as always, tea for me and coffee for Malcolm)

 

we used to visit this garden centre regularly, as it was near where we used to live before we moved here (S&A now live about halfway between our old house and the garden centre).  However since we moved, they have done away with the old coffee shop, and added a much larger one - possibly because a new hospital has recently opened just a short distance away ....... I am sure a lot of the staff will lunch there

 

 

one wall is covered with paintings done by local artists.  A portion of the money made is given to The Macmillan fund and a lot of money has already been raised

 

suitably fortified, we went on to Ikea, where we managed NOT to buy a packet of tealights!  I bought some storage boxes for the studio, but couldn't persuade Malcolm that he wanted to replace the kitchen that he fitted a few years ago with shiny red one!  Going to Ikea meant that we came home through Peebles, where we would noramlly have stopped for a cuppa and a walk round the town ....... but it was pouring with rain the whole way home, so no photos of Peebles and no photos of the stunning autumn colours (sorry!)

So all I have left  show you is some knitting!  First, my ripple rug, which is finished except for darning in the ends.  I just kept knitting until I ran out of yarn, but it has turned out to be quite a bit wider than longer, so I will use it this way round

 

I have now started one for Malcolm, in softer colours than mine.  As it is a very simple pattern, I was able to do some in the car.  I've just started to repeat of the colours

 

well ....... that's the last post for Blogtoberfest!  But of course I will be back as usual tomorrow, when hopefully the rain will have stopped - and maybe the sun will come out!

I'm starting today with some photos from yesterday ....... first a cheeky little robin having a good time in the birdbath

 

then, on the way to bed last night, I noticed the moon ........ there were hazy rings round it, making it very spooky!

 

it was frosty ..... the roof of the house next door was glittering - you have to look hard at the bottom right hand corner to see it!

 

this morning we headed up the road to visit Stuart and Alison.  Of couse this meant stopping for lunch!  I had the most delicious cream of mushroom soup

 

Malcolm had pea and mint ....... but when he tasted mine, he wished he had chosen the mushroom too

 

there was a good selection of rolls, so we chose two different ones, and then as usual had half each

 

so, just one more post to go, and I will have posted every day in October ....... I may have to go and lie down in a darkened room to recover!!

We have been waiting for months for the new neighbours to arrive, and now that they are here ........ they are so handsome, so gorgeous, so cute ........ but don't worry, I'm not lusting after young men again!  We haven't seen the human neighbours yet, but we have seen these lovelies in their field

 

it was only when I looked at the photos on the laptop that I noticed the name on the tiny donkey's coat - perhaps that's what he wants to be when he grows up!

 

after oooohing and aaaahing over the donkeys, we went for a very enjoyable walk - although it was starting to cloud over and threatening to rain.  After doing the little landscape workshop, I thought I would take some photos to perhaps use to make more little wallhangings ....... here are just a few of the stunning views

 

the donkeys weren't the only animals that we encountered.  There were horses .........

 

........ and there were sheep - but not just any sheep, but Shaun the Sheep lookalikes

 

when they saw us looking over the gate, they came running over, obviously hoping that we were going to feed them - you can see the wooden feeding trough in the previous photo

 

even the sheep at the far side of the field made their way over

 

one of my new friends in Melbourne, Helen, has a four-year old granddaughter, Jazi, who adores Shaun the Shheep.  Little Jazi thinks that it is wonderful that her Granny's new Scottish friend has  Shaun sheep in the fields round her home ...... so these two photos are for Jazi (Helen, stop squealing!!)

 

do you think the farmer would mind if I took along some bolt cutters and took the horrible modern chain off this fabulous old gate and gatepost?

 

to finish ...... if you think this is a sunset, think again!  This was the moon disappearing over the horizon at 6.30 this morning.  I just hope that the neighbours didn't see me shivering on the front doorstep in my nightie, taking the photo!  The pink in the sky is the reflection of the sunrise

Just a quick post, as I am  somewhat tired after two days of intense concentration (and a lot of blethering!)   So here is today's progress

a typical Borders higgledy piggledy fence

 

fussy cut leaves

 

that funny clump on the right will turn into trees!

 

wadding tacked on the back, and some markings added with a chalk pencil

 

and to end, I thought you might like to see this fabulous tree that Charlie machine-embroidered

 

Last night I drove over to Eckford, where Sheena Norquay was scheduled to give us a talk, illustrated by a Powerpoint presentation.  As I drove into the village, I noticed that the street lights were off (as we don't have streetlights, I was thinking huh, if we had streetlights, I would never switch them off!)..  I parked and walked over to the hall, wondering why the outside lights weren't on (yes, I was a bit slow on the uptake!) .......  there had been a power cut.  The hall was lit by camping lights and candles

 

so in the absence of her Powerpoint presentation, Sheena gave us an off the cuff chat about her life in sewing, and held up her samples above the camping light for us to drool over.  We had a cuppa (thanks to someone in the village who heated water on their gas cooker for us!) ....... then just as we were thinking about going home - the lights came on!  Sheena prompty fired up her equipment, and gave us her scheduled presentation ....... so we had a rather late night!

 

Then this morning, it was off to the Abbey Row Centre in Kelso for the first day of our 2-day workshop.  As I had my sewing machine and workbag, I thought I would use the lift (which I usually avoid, as I don't like small spaces) and I was joined by two of our older members.  It's actually a bit of an exaggeration to call it a lift - it is really just a platform which goes up inside a metal shaft.  We had only risen a few feet when it ground to a halt (gulp!!).  We pressed the alarm button - it turned out that this then dialled the emergency hotline, where after a rather difficult shouted converation with a young man who couldn't understand us ( and we couldn't understand him) we eventually grasped that it would be about 45 minutes until an engineer arrived.  We could here people both above and below us complaining that they were having to wait so long for the lift to arrive ..... so after some very loud shouting (by me!) they got the  message that we were stuck, and one of them sensibly went off to phone the Fire Brigade.  To cut the long story short ...... we were rescued by these gorgeous hunky men!  (who offered us a fireman's lift - we were tempted!)

 

so, on to the sewing!  Sheena gave us a pattern to use, or we could draw our own - I decided to use her pattern.  Here is the first stage, with the pieces ready to sew

 

stitched and trimmed

 

Sheena mentioned that as yet no-one in a class had split the scene ....... so of course I decided to be teacher's pet and split mine (another Scottish work for you - I was a "sook" ....... as in sucking up!)  Here it is with the outer borders added

 

I was sharing a table with Charlie, who, using the same basic pattern, produced this stunning black and white version

 

of course we didn't work all day without refreshment ...... some of the group members very generously gave up their day to make us cuppas, and to serve lunch which was supplied by a local pub.  The most delicious  lentil soup and a vast platter of assorted sandwiches

 

 

I should have mentioned that there was a minor drama this morning when we woke up to this ...... the first snow of the winter!!

 

and what did the engineer do when he finally turned up? (long after the handsome chaps had rescued us)

Finally, all is revealed!  I am off tonight to a talk being given by the award-winning quilter Sheena Norquay.  The talk has been arranged by Abbey Quilters ....... and you know by now that if quilters are involved, there will be food!  The talk is also open to non-members, so all the members are taking along cakes/biscuits/traybakes to share for supper after the talk.  Meredithe's recipe for hedgehog was ideal for me to make, as it can be made in advance ....... all I have to do is remember to take it!  Then, over the weekend, I am doing a two day workshop with Sheena, which I am really looking forward to.  I had great fun last year when I did the dotty bird workshop with her

 

there is quite a long requirements list for this weekend's workshop, when we will be stitching a little landscape

 

I got our my big workshop bag, which I designed some years ago as a project for beginners, as it is made from two small quilts which cover the basics of piecing, applique and quilting.  The two quilts are then sewn together with a deep gusset to make a roomy bag

 

 

there is a pocket inside for a cutting mat and ruler

 

there are also two zipped bags, which are attached to the inside with velcro

 

these take all the sharp pointy things, like scissors and needles, so that you don't accidently stab yourself when you reach  into the bag, and other odds and ends that would otherwise get lost at  the bottom of the bag

 

all packed up ready to go

 

when I was looking for the needles I need, I found this packet, which as you can see from the price is somewhat old!

 

my Dad bought the needles for me way back in the early 70s.  I had been off work ill, and although I wasn't well enough to go back to work, I was well enough to go out for the day with Dad, who had a day off.  He took me to Glasgow to show me where my grandparents had a shop on the 30s, then we went into the city centtre, to go to the Singer sewing machine shop.  I can't remember now what I bought there, but I do remember that Dad bought these needles for me

 

of course Friday means cake at patch'n'chat, and today it was Annette's wonderful cupcakes.  I usually have a pink topped one (for no particular reason) but this afternoon I went wild and had a purple topped one

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, while I am havinng fun with fabric!  Love, Anne

 

ps, it is trying very hard to snow!!

 

So, what was in the lovely bag?  First, there was this fabulous pattern

 

and these wonderful fabrics and threads to make it

 

just a few of the fabrics - I must read the thesaurus, I'm running out of words to describe gorgeous fabrics!

 

next, what do these two patterns have in common?

 

these beautiful/gorgeous/delicious/etc Tilda fabrics, which I am going to use to make both of them. 

 

I also bought some fabric for the quilt top that Helen gave me in Melbourne.  It was a slightly extravagant purchase for a quilt back, as it is Moda fabric, but it just goes so well with the top ....... I will give it to Kay next Friday to have it longarm quilted - but Kay isn't just an ordinary, everyday longarm quilter, but a multi-award winning Scottish Champion quilter!

 

I made a start this afternoon, cutting the pieces for the Needle Nookie (sorry, but the name makes me laugh, as here nookie is a term for s*x!!)  I have added a piece of felted wool, which is from this pack, which I bought all those years ago in San Antonio.  I hadn't even opened the pack before!

 

all cut, and ready to start sewing

 

the next stage is to iron on the transfers for the embroidery ...... but that will have to wait until next week

 

did you notice that the square of fabric on the right is back-to-front?  It's because we couldn't find another fabric in the shop that went with the Tilda fabric to work the main part of the embroidery on, so I suggested using the wrong side, as it is much paler and better for showing off the stitching.  I had remembered the tip given to me by the teacher (sorry, I've forgotten her name) of a class I did in 2003 in Houston.  She was a substitute teacher for the quilter who should have been teaching the class, who had fallen and broken her ankle (oops, can't remember her name either!).  The substitute teacher was horrified when we all produced the fat quarter of floral fabric which had been on the reqirements list, and promptly suggested that we turn them over and use the faded-looking reverse side

 

You can just see how much deeper the colours are on the little bit I could turn back (and don't you just love that variegatedquilting thread!)

the next job was to make a template for cutting out the pieces of fabric for the clamshells.  I temporarily stuck one of the clamshell papers to a piece of thick card (using a doubled over piece of masking tape).  This is where it is advantageous to be married to an engineer (or at least one who used to draw plans by hand, not use CAD on the comuter)....... I handed the card to Malcolm and asked him to draw round the shape, adding a quarter of an inch, as I knew he would make a much better job than I would

 

I cut out the card template, cut some strips of fabric, organised the other things I needed to make a start to sewing, ready to take to patch'n'chat tomorrow ......  and what better thing to put the work in, than this Tilda tin, which Anne gave me yesterday

 

so, what haven't I revealed ...... well, I've still to tell you why I was making the hedgehog for tomorrow night.  You will just have to come back tomorrow to find out!!

 

It was another grey, dreary morning when we set off for Longframlington this morning, but I still managed to take some photos of the autumn trees

 

 

 

we were a bit worried when we saw this lorry with a snow plough blade on the front - has the driver had access to a weather forecast we don't know about?

 

arriving at Anne's shop, I recognised one or two of the quilts on the walls!

 

 

 

feast your eyes on all these lovely fabrics (the colours aren't true for some of them, as the dull day meant the lights were on, which affects the colour)

 

 

 

there was a new stand filled with gorgeous patterns

 

these are just some of Anne's collection of old sewing machines

 

through in the kitchen area is a bookcase full of extra patterns and fabric bundles - I got sidetracked when I was supposed to be making a cuppa!

 

Anne's website isn't fully up and running, but do have a look at it here, to see what goodies she has on offer, or if there is something in the photos that you like, then phone her at the shop (the phone number is on the website - down at the bottom right, click on the contact details)

 

When Malcom came back for me, he had a cuppa (and a piece of hedgehog!) and a blether with Anne, then we set off for home.  The closer to home we got, the better the weather was, until eventually there was blue sky ...... the first we have seen since Sunday!

 

this is the first house on the Scottish side of the border - it looks as if they had just lit the fire

 

we passed a sign at the side of the road saying "hedge cutting in progress " ...... and this is what was round the next bend!

 

and on round the next bend

 

while I was at Anne's, Malcolm went out for lunch with his sister Jennifer.  She gave us a very special birthday present

 

so ....... what work did I came home with?  You will have to wait until tomorrow to find out what is in here!!

Some of you wondered in your comments yesterday what kind of fruit was in cola (in the jubblies).  I unearthed the box from the recycle ...... so you can see just what is in the jubblies - and I noticed that that there are even fewer calories than I thought, I had looked at the calories per 100g, not per jubbly!

 

I was interested to see that there is hibiscus in the jubblies, as when we were in Singapore, we popped into Starbucks one day for a delicious iced hibiscus tea.  In the interests of equality, over the holidays we also visited McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and KFC  ...... of course we had the healthy option menu in each establishment!

 

I had to pop into Hawick this morning, and took a rather circuitous route from Sainsbury's carpark to the High Street, crossing the River Teviot by one footbridge, then recrossing by another, in the hope of seeing a heron, but all I saw was a duck!  However I did pause on the second bridge to take these two views of the river

 

 

when I returned to Sainsbury's, I handed in this pile of books.  The shop has come up with a novel way (sorry, bad pun) of raising money for a local charity.  There is a table of books which have been donated, and for 50p, you can borrow a book to read, returning it for someone else to borrow.  The scheme has already raised a lot of money, and as the pile of books was somewhat depleted when I was in yesterday, I thought I would have a look through my bookshelves for books I know I won't read again

 

I have borrowed this one - I really enjoy the Inspector Lynley books, although I haven't watched the tv series, as not just the actor playing Lynley is wrong for the part, but the actress playing Barbara Havers is absolutely nothing like her description in the book

 

this afternoon I was busy in the kitchen, turning these ingredients

 

into "hedgehog", a delicious traybake, using a recipe I got from Meredithe.  The bits on the plate are the raggedy offcuts, the rest is in the two tubs, one of which I will take when I go down to Longframlington tomorrow to see Anne, now that she has recovered from last week's illness, and the other tub is for Friday night (but you'll have to wait to find out about that!)

 

so, would you like to guess what this is?

 

the recipe came from here, as did the bottles.  It is apple, cider and sage sauce, and according to the recipe it should last for two moonths (I think it will be eaten long before that, as it is delicious!).  I also finally made some rosehip syrup, with the rosehips that we picked last week.  Here are all the bottles, waiting for their labels

 

and how was my soup for lunch - delicious, with a spoonful of half-fat creme fraichhe stirred in!

I had just come through from having my shower and getting dressed this morning, when Malcolm, in his role as photo-op spotter, told me to grab the camera and follow him out to the garden.  It was very misty and damp, ideal conditions to show up the many spider webs.  Here are just a few of them

 

 

 

 

when I got in the car for my usual Monday morning trip to Sainsbbury's I noticed there was a spider web on the wing mirror, so when I got back in the car to come home, I took a photo of it ....... but not just the web, but also its reflection in the mirror.  And if you look carefully, you can see a car with a red canoe on its roof - not a very nice day to go canoing!

 

I made the first pot of soup of the winter - although I think it is still officially autumn, until the clocks change at the weekend, it has been such a mesierable day it definitely felt like winter!  As always, after taking this photo, I realised that I had left out an ingredient - vegetable oil.

parsnips, apples, onions, spices, seasoning and chicken stock

 

I chopped up the onions, parsnips and apples, and sweated them in a little vegetable oil.  I added the spices and seasoning, stirred it well, popped the lid on, turned the heat down and let it all sweat away gently. 

 

I made up the chicken stock with some boiling water, added it to the pot, and simmered the soup unti the veggies were soft.  Then it was into the blender, as I like smooth soup ..... ever since I was little I have disliked soup with "bits" in it!

 

a quick whizz later, a big bowl of delicious soup, and a little bowl to taste

 

finally, in to containers ...... two double portions for the freezer, and a single portion for my lunch tomorrow

 

when I went on my road trip in Melbourne with Meredithe, Mrs Mac and Helen, we were chatting about all things Scottish that Mrs Mac had learned from her Scottish Granny.  One of them was a "piece" ...... which can either be a sandwich, or a snack.  When I was at primary school, we took a "playpiece" to eat during the morning "playtime"  ...... the ten minutes mid-morning when we went outside for a break.  It reminded me of a song about children in Glasgow moving to high rise flats, and finding that their Mum's couldn't throw them a sandwich ....... this is the chorus

Oh ye cannae fling pieces oot a twenty storey flat,
Seven hundred hungry weans'll testify, to that.
If it's butter, cheese or jeely, if the breid is plain or pan,
The odds against it reaching earth are ninety-nine tae wan.

 

Mrs Mac was delighted when she mentioned jubblies and I knew what she meant ........ so when I noticed this box this morning in Sainsbury's, of course I had to buy it!

 

when I was little, we didn't have a fridge, never mind a freezer, so we had to buy our jubblies in the "wee shop" at the top of the road, not buy a box and freeze the at home.  These ones are the same shape, but considerably smaller than the childhood ones ....... but then at 27 calories each, I won't have to feel guilty about having one

Day 30 ....... and October is almost over!

I'm starting today with some photos from yesterday ....... first a cheeky little robin having a good time in the birdbath

 

then, on the way to bed last night, I noticed the moon ........ there were hazy rings round it, making it very spooky!

 

it was frosty ..... the roof of the house next door was glittering - you have to look hard at the bottom right hand corner to see it!

 

this morning we headed up the road to visit Stuart and Alison.  Of couse this meant stopping for lunch!  I had the most delicious cream of mushroom soup

 

Malcolm had pea and mint ....... but when he tasted mine, he wished he had chosen the mushroom too

 

there was a good selection of rolls, so we chose two different ones, and then as usual had half each

 

so, just one more post to go, and I will have posted every day in October ....... I may have to go and lie down in a darkened room to recover!!

Day 29 ...... and the new neighbours have finally moved in!

We have been waiting for months for the new neighbours to arrive, and now that they are here ........ they are so handsome, so gorgeous, so cute ........ but don't worry, I'm not lusting after young men again!  We haven't seen the human neighbours yet, but we have seen these lovelies in their field

 

it was only when I looked at the photos on the laptop that I noticed the name on the tiny donkey's coat - perhaps that's what he wants to be when he grows up!

 

after oooohing and aaaahing over the donkeys, we went for a very enjoyable walk - although it was starting to cloud over and threatening to rain.  After doing the little landscape workshop, I thought I would take some photos to perhaps use to make more little wallhangings ....... here are just a few of the stunning views

 

the donkeys weren't the only animals that we encountered.  There were horses .........

 

........ and there were sheep - but not just any sheep, but Shaun the Sheep lookalikes

 

when they saw us looking over the gate, they came running over, obviously hoping that we were going to feed them - you can see the wooden feeding trough in the previous photo

 

even the sheep at the far side of the field made their way over

 

one of my new friends in Melbourne, Helen, has a four-year old granddaughter, Jazi, who adores Shaun the Shheep.  Little Jazi thinks that it is wonderful that her Granny's new Scottish friend has  Shaun sheep in the fields round her home ...... so these two photos are for Jazi (Helen, stop squealing!!)

 

do you think the farmer would mind if I took along some bolt cutters and took the horrible modern chain off this fabulous old gate and gatepost?

 

to finish ...... if you think this is a sunset, think again!  This was the moon disappearing over the horizon at 6.30 this morning.  I just hope that the neighbours didn't see me shivering on the front doorstep in my nightie, taking the photo!  The pink in the sky is the reflection of the sunrise

Day 28 ...... and no dramas!

Just a quick post, as I am  somewhat tired after two days of intense concentration (and a lot of blethering!)   So here is today's progress

a typical Borders higgledy piggledy fence

 

fussy cut leaves

 

that funny clump on the right will turn into trees!

 

wadding tacked on the back, and some markings added with a chalk pencil

 

and to end, I thought you might like to see this fabulous tree that Charlie machine-embroidered

 

Day 27 ...... and a tale of two dramas!

Last night I drove over to Eckford, where Sheena Norquay was scheduled to give us a talk, illustrated by a Powerpoint presentation.  As I drove into the village, I noticed that the street lights were off (as we don't have streetlights, I was thinking huh, if we had streetlights, I would never switch them off!)..  I parked and walked over to the hall, wondering why the outside lights weren't on (yes, I was a bit slow on the uptake!) .......  there had been a power cut.  The hall was lit by camping lights and candles

 

so in the absence of her Powerpoint presentation, Sheena gave us an off the cuff chat about her life in sewing, and held up her samples above the camping light for us to drool over.  We had a cuppa (thanks to someone in the village who heated water on their gas cooker for us!) ....... then just as we were thinking about going home - the lights came on!  Sheena prompty fired up her equipment, and gave us her scheduled presentation ....... so we had a rather late night!

 

Then this morning, it was off to the Abbey Row Centre in Kelso for the first day of our 2-day workshop.  As I had my sewing machine and workbag, I thought I would use the lift (which I usually avoid, as I don't like small spaces) and I was joined by two of our older members.  It's actually a bit of an exaggeration to call it a lift - it is really just a platform which goes up inside a metal shaft.  We had only risen a few feet when it ground to a halt (gulp!!).  We pressed the alarm button - it turned out that this then dialled the emergency hotline, where after a rather difficult shouted converation with a young man who couldn't understand us ( and we couldn't understand him) we eventually grasped that it would be about 45 minutes until an engineer arrived.  We could here people both above and below us complaining that they were having to wait so long for the lift to arrive ..... so after some very loud shouting (by me!) they got the  message that we were stuck, and one of them sensibly went off to phone the Fire Brigade.  To cut the long story short ...... we were rescued by these gorgeous hunky men!  (who offered us a fireman's lift - we were tempted!)

 

so, on to the sewing!  Sheena gave us a pattern to use, or we could draw our own - I decided to use her pattern.  Here is the first stage, with the pieces ready to sew

 

stitched and trimmed

 

Sheena mentioned that as yet no-one in a class had split the scene ....... so of course I decided to be teacher's pet and split mine (another Scottish work for you - I was a "sook" ....... as in sucking up!)  Here it is with the outer borders added

 

I was sharing a table with Charlie, who, using the same basic pattern, produced this stunning black and white version

 

of course we didn't work all day without refreshment ...... some of the group members very generously gave up their day to make us cuppas, and to serve lunch which was supplied by a local pub.  The most delicious  lentil soup and a vast platter of assorted sandwiches

 

 

I should have mentioned that there was a minor drama this morning when we woke up to this ...... the first snow of the winter!!

 

and what did the engineer do when he finally turned up? (long after the handsome chaps had rescued us)

Day 26 ....... and a big night out!

Finally, all is revealed!  I am off tonight to a talk being given by the award-winning quilter Sheena Norquay.  The talk has been arranged by Abbey Quilters ....... and you know by now that if quilters are involved, there will be food!  The talk is also open to non-members, so all the members are taking along cakes/biscuits/traybakes to share for supper after the talk.  Meredithe's recipe for hedgehog was ideal for me to make, as it can be made in advance ....... all I have to do is remember to take it!  Then, over the weekend, I am doing a two day workshop with Sheena, which I am really looking forward to.  I had great fun last year when I did the dotty bird workshop with her

 

there is quite a long requirements list for this weekend's workshop, when we will be stitching a little landscape

 

I got our my big workshop bag, which I designed some years ago as a project for beginners, as it is made from two small quilts which cover the basics of piecing, applique and quilting.  The two quilts are then sewn together with a deep gusset to make a roomy bag

 

 

there is a pocket inside for a cutting mat and ruler

 

there are also two zipped bags, which are attached to the inside with velcro

 

these take all the sharp pointy things, like scissors and needles, so that you don't accidently stab yourself when you reach  into the bag, and other odds and ends that would otherwise get lost at  the bottom of the bag

 

all packed up ready to go

 

when I was looking for the needles I need, I found this packet, which as you can see from the price is somewhat old!

 

my Dad bought the needles for me way back in the early 70s.  I had been off work ill, and although I wasn't well enough to go back to work, I was well enough to go out for the day with Dad, who had a day off.  He took me to Glasgow to show me where my grandparents had a shop on the 30s, then we went into the city centtre, to go to the Singer sewing machine shop.  I can't remember now what I bought there, but I do remember that Dad bought these needles for me

 

of course Friday means cake at patch'n'chat, and today it was Annette's wonderful cupcakes.  I usually have a pink topped one (for no particular reason) but this afternoon I went wild and had a purple topped one

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, while I am havinng fun with fabric!  Love, Anne

 

ps, it is trying very hard to snow!!

 

Day 25 ....... and (almost) all is revealed!

So, what was in the lovely bag?  First, there was this fabulous pattern

 

and these wonderful fabrics and threads to make it

 

just a few of the fabrics - I must read the thesaurus, I'm running out of words to describe gorgeous fabrics!

 

next, what do these two patterns have in common?

 

these beautiful/gorgeous/delicious/etc Tilda fabrics, which I am going to use to make both of them. 

 

I also bought some fabric for the quilt top that Helen gave me in Melbourne.  It was a slightly extravagant purchase for a quilt back, as it is Moda fabric, but it just goes so well with the top ....... I will give it to Kay next Friday to have it longarm quilted - but Kay isn't just an ordinary, everyday longarm quilter, but a multi-award winning Scottish Champion quilter!

 

I made a start this afternoon, cutting the pieces for the Needle Nookie (sorry, but the name makes me laugh, as here nookie is a term for s*x!!)  I have added a piece of felted wool, which is from this pack, which I bought all those years ago in San Antonio.  I hadn't even opened the pack before!

 

all cut, and ready to start sewing

 

the next stage is to iron on the transfers for the embroidery ...... but that will have to wait until next week

 

did you notice that the square of fabric on the right is back-to-front?  It's because we couldn't find another fabric in the shop that went with the Tilda fabric to work the main part of the embroidery on, so I suggested using the wrong side, as it is much paler and better for showing off the stitching.  I had remembered the tip given to me by the teacher (sorry, I've forgotten her name) of a class I did in 2003 in Houston.  She was a substitute teacher for the quilter who should have been teaching the class, who had fallen and broken her ankle (oops, can't remember her name either!).  The substitute teacher was horrified when we all produced the fat quarter of floral fabric which had been on the reqirements list, and promptly suggested that we turn them over and use the faded-looking reverse side

 

You can just see how much deeper the colours are on the little bit I could turn back (and don't you just love that variegatedquilting thread!)

the next job was to make a template for cutting out the pieces of fabric for the clamshells.  I temporarily stuck one of the clamshell papers to a piece of thick card (using a doubled over piece of masking tape).  This is where it is advantageous to be married to an engineer (or at least one who used to draw plans by hand, not use CAD on the comuter)....... I handed the card to Malcolm and asked him to draw round the shape, adding a quarter of an inch, as I knew he would make a much better job than I would

 

I cut out the card template, cut some strips of fabric, organised the other things I needed to make a start to sewing, ready to take to patch'n'chat tomorrow ......  and what better thing to put the work in, than this Tilda tin, which Anne gave me yesterday

 

so, what haven't I revealed ...... well, I've still to tell you why I was making the hedgehog for tomorrow night.  You will just have to come back tomorrow to find out!!

 

Day 24 ...... and it's back to work

It was another grey, dreary morning when we set off for Longframlington this morning, but I still managed to take some photos of the autumn trees

 

 

 

we were a bit worried when we saw this lorry with a snow plough blade on the front - has the driver had access to a weather forecast we don't know about?

 

arriving at Anne's shop, I recognised one or two of the quilts on the walls!

 

 

 

feast your eyes on all these lovely fabrics (the colours aren't true for some of them, as the dull day meant the lights were on, which affects the colour)

 

 

 

there was a new stand filled with gorgeous patterns

 

these are just some of Anne's collection of old sewing machines

 

through in the kitchen area is a bookcase full of extra patterns and fabric bundles - I got sidetracked when I was supposed to be making a cuppa!

 

Anne's website isn't fully up and running, but do have a look at it here, to see what goodies she has on offer, or if there is something in the photos that you like, then phone her at the shop (the phone number is on the website - down at the bottom right, click on the contact details)

 

When Malcom came back for me, he had a cuppa (and a piece of hedgehog!) and a blether with Anne, then we set off for home.  The closer to home we got, the better the weather was, until eventually there was blue sky ...... the first we have seen since Sunday!

 

this is the first house on the Scottish side of the border - it looks as if they had just lit the fire

 

we passed a sign at the side of the road saying "hedge cutting in progress " ...... and this is what was round the next bend!

 

and on round the next bend

 

while I was at Anne's, Malcolm went out for lunch with his sister Jennifer.  She gave us a very special birthday present

 

so ....... what work did I came home with?  You will have to wait until tomorrow to find out what is in here!!

Day 23 ...... and the fruit in cola!

Some of you wondered in your comments yesterday what kind of fruit was in cola (in the jubblies).  I unearthed the box from the recycle ...... so you can see just what is in the jubblies - and I noticed that that there are even fewer calories than I thought, I had looked at the calories per 100g, not per jubbly!

 

I was interested to see that there is hibiscus in the jubblies, as when we were in Singapore, we popped into Starbucks one day for a delicious iced hibiscus tea.  In the interests of equality, over the holidays we also visited McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and KFC  ...... of course we had the healthy option menu in each establishment!

 

I had to pop into Hawick this morning, and took a rather circuitous route from Sainsbury's carpark to the High Street, crossing the River Teviot by one footbridge, then recrossing by another, in the hope of seeing a heron, but all I saw was a duck!  However I did pause on the second bridge to take these two views of the river

 

 

when I returned to Sainsbury's, I handed in this pile of books.  The shop has come up with a novel way (sorry, bad pun) of raising money for a local charity.  There is a table of books which have been donated, and for 50p, you can borrow a book to read, returning it for someone else to borrow.  The scheme has already raised a lot of money, and as the pile of books was somewhat depleted when I was in yesterday, I thought I would have a look through my bookshelves for books I know I won't read again

 

I have borrowed this one - I really enjoy the Inspector Lynley books, although I haven't watched the tv series, as not just the actor playing Lynley is wrong for the part, but the actress playing Barbara Havers is absolutely nothing like her description in the book

 

this afternoon I was busy in the kitchen, turning these ingredients

 

into "hedgehog", a delicious traybake, using a recipe I got from Meredithe.  The bits on the plate are the raggedy offcuts, the rest is in the two tubs, one of which I will take when I go down to Longframlington tomorrow to see Anne, now that she has recovered from last week's illness, and the other tub is for Friday night (but you'll have to wait to find out about that!)

 

so, would you like to guess what this is?

 

the recipe came from here, as did the bottles.  It is apple, cider and sage sauce, and according to the recipe it should last for two moonths (I think it will be eaten long before that, as it is delicious!).  I also finally made some rosehip syrup, with the rosehips that we picked last week.  Here are all the bottles, waiting for their labels

 

and how was my soup for lunch - delicious, with a spoonful of half-fat creme fraichhe stirred in!

Day 22 .......and thank you to my spotter!

I had just come through from having my shower and getting dressed this morning, when Malcolm, in his role as photo-op spotter, told me to grab the camera and follow him out to the garden.  It was very misty and damp, ideal conditions to show up the many spider webs.  Here are just a few of them

 

 

 

 

when I got in the car for my usual Monday morning trip to Sainsbbury's I noticed there was a spider web on the wing mirror, so when I got back in the car to come home, I took a photo of it ....... but not just the web, but also its reflection in the mirror.  And if you look carefully, you can see a car with a red canoe on its roof - not a very nice day to go canoing!

 

I made the first pot of soup of the winter - although I think it is still officially autumn, until the clocks change at the weekend, it has been such a mesierable day it definitely felt like winter!  As always, after taking this photo, I realised that I had left out an ingredient - vegetable oil.

parsnips, apples, onions, spices, seasoning and chicken stock

 

I chopped up the onions, parsnips and apples, and sweated them in a little vegetable oil.  I added the spices and seasoning, stirred it well, popped the lid on, turned the heat down and let it all sweat away gently. 

 

I made up the chicken stock with some boiling water, added it to the pot, and simmered the soup unti the veggies were soft.  Then it was into the blender, as I like smooth soup ..... ever since I was little I have disliked soup with "bits" in it!

 

a quick whizz later, a big bowl of delicious soup, and a little bowl to taste

 

finally, in to containers ...... two double portions for the freezer, and a single portion for my lunch tomorrow

 

when I went on my road trip in Melbourne with Meredithe, Mrs Mac and Helen, we were chatting about all things Scottish that Mrs Mac had learned from her Scottish Granny.  One of them was a "piece" ...... which can either be a sandwich, or a snack.  When I was at primary school, we took a "playpiece" to eat during the morning "playtime"  ...... the ten minutes mid-morning when we went outside for a break.  It reminded me of a song about children in Glasgow moving to high rise flats, and finding that their Mum's couldn't throw them a sandwich ....... this is the chorus

Oh ye cannae fling pieces oot a twenty storey flat,
Seven hundred hungry weans'll testify, to that.
If it's butter, cheese or jeely, if the breid is plain or pan,
The odds against it reaching earth are ninety-nine tae wan.

 

Mrs Mac was delighted when she mentioned jubblies and I knew what she meant ........ so when I noticed this box this morning in Sainsbury's, of course I had to buy it!

 

when I was little, we didn't have a fridge, never mind a freezer, so we had to buy our jubblies in the "wee shop" at the top of the road, not buy a box and freeze the at home.  These ones are the same shape, but considerably smaller than the childhood ones ....... but then at 27 calories each, I won't have to feel guilty about having one