frayed at the edge

Little and large

When I was watering my orchids this morning, I popped these two on to the radiator cover in the kitchen, to show you the difference in size

 

I knew it would be difficult to decide which tub of hot chocolate to open first, so I simply stuck my hand in the cupboard and pulled out the nearest one! Hot chocolate for me, coffee with frothy hot milk for Malcolm, and a piece of florentine each (I had the bit with most cherries, as I love glace cherries - I have been known to eat as many as I add to my baking!)

 

Liz asked to see a photo of me in my disreputable housework clothes ........

 

I can hear you shouting at the computer about my extravagance buying this magazine ......

 

....... but of course I didn't pay that much, it was in the bargain bin!

 

today is St Andrew's Day, so we had some fun and games at patch'n'chat to celebrate

 

Annette made patriotically decorated cupcakes ......

 

....... there were Tunnock's snowballs

 

those of us who were on the winning team were given a Lees macaroon bar.  I have a little bit of trivia for you about John Lees, the inventor of macaroon bars.  He was married to my sister's husband's Aunt Isabel.  Confused ..... let me explain further.  There were three sisters, Isabel, Margaret and Betty.  Isabel, as mentioned, married John Lees,  Margaret is my sister's mother-in-law, and Betty lived next door to us (and Isabel was at school with my Dad)

 

my fingers are very firmly crossed that I sell lots tomorrow at the Christmas Fair!!  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

Pyrography

When we were in Hawick this morning, Malcolm had to pop into the Sorting Office, to pick up a parcel which the postman had tried to deliver yesterday.  As I wasn't allowed to see the parcel, I had a wander along the river, camera in hand.  I was delighted to see a heron ..... but despite several attempts, I couldn't get him properly in focus, as he blended in so well with the stony background!

 

the view along the river was lovely, with lingering autumn colours

 

now ....... the goodies that I bought yesterday.  When we did our shoppinng in Gretna last year, I had stocked up on Whittards hot chocolate, buying three tubs, as it was a "3 for the price of 2" offer.  I only drink it on Friday mornings, when we have a cuppa in the middle of doing the housework, so the tubs lasted all year - I had the last serving last Friday.  This time the deal was "buy 1 get 1 half price", so it seemed sensible to buy four tubs.  Although it is made with proper chocolate, unlike the diet stuff I drink the rest of the time, a serving is only seventy calories, not counting the milk ........ and I don't count the milk, as I am supposed to drink lots of milk as I have thin bones

 

I have loved Fry's Chocolate Cream since I was little ....... but don't worry, I won't pig out on all these bars, as I get Malcolm to dish it out a few pieces at a time!

 

this bag of chocolate popcorn was a bargain compared to buying the small bags that are sold in shops.  We will divide it up into lots of smaller bags, to enjoy when we are watching movies on tv

 

more chocolates - but these ones aren't for us!  They are for a little extra something for the Christmas Fair, which also includes glasses (recycled from scented candles) and some toiletries from Arran Aromatics

 

I made up six bags, each of which contains three little bottles of assorted toiletries, and some chocolates

 

having packed up everything ready to put in the car on Saturday (I won't have time tomorrow), I did some sewing, as I wanted to see how the machines performed after the service.  I put together the latest top for Linus - the Husqvarna stitched beautifully, and was noticeably quieter

I then switched to the Janome for some free motion quilting.  Again it stitched well, although I should have altered the tension.  I stitched the small area diagonally across the centre, in between the flowers I has stitched previously

 

I'm sure by now you are wondering what has happened to the pyrography - well here it is now!  Malcolm's final creations for the Fair, six bookmarks and one letter opener, made with very thin pieces of wood, and decorated with his poker pen.  I looked out the last of my stash of poly bags which I bought (very, very cheaply!)  in Indonesia, to package them

 

some ribbon and pretty labels, and they are ready to sell

Shooting the moon!

There have been reports today that the Americans planned to blow up the moon during the Cold War, but all I used to shoot the moon at 6.30 this morning was my camera!  The photos cold perhhaps have been sharper, but I was shivering on the front doorstep in my nightie!

 

we headed off this morning for Gretna, where there is an "outlet village", to do some Christmas shopping.  It was wonderful to see blue sky and sunshine after all the recent rain

 

we had a browse round the shops, deciding what to buy, then went for a bite of lunch.  The last time I ate in Subway was after I walked across  Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was perhaps preferable to doing the dreaded shopping!  Today we both had the "big beef melt" - delicious, and actually reasonably healthy eating!

 

suitably fortified, we did the shopping, then moved on to another small shopping outlet ..... but before we looked round those shops, there were many more photos to be taken!  First there were belted Galloways and Highland cows.  As you can see, all the rain has turned their field into a sea of md, quite a lot of which has transferred itself on to the poor beasties

 

then there were lots of rusty old farm machines

 

although Gretna is in Scotland, we had to pass through a few miles of England ....... should Our Fearless Leader (Wee Eck) get his way, will we have to go through border checkpoints and passport controls in the future?

 

more wonderful scenery

 

with the occasional reminder of the wet weather, with run-off from the fields flowing across the road

 

every time I see this sign, I suggest to Malcolm that we stop, so that he can buy some jewellery for me ...... but he keeps saying that I don't need any more - but what has need got to do with lovely rings, pretty bangles, gorgeous earrings, delightful necklaces........

 

we didn't just do Christmas shopping, we also bought some treats - I'll tell you all about them tomorrow!

A thorough clean

I had a very special visitor today - Ian "the sewing machine guy"*.  He had been recommended to me by Anne and several of her customers.  I got in touch with him, saying that I had two machines which both in need of a  service, and that perhaps some of my friends might want their machines done too.  Would he be prepared to travel up to Hawick?  The answer was yes - and even better, if there were four or machines to be done, he would charge less per machine.  I let the other members of Abbey Quilters know, and Anne S, Caroline and Lorraine Y all brought their machines.  My friend Lorraine D (the one I am sharing a table with at the Christmas Fair on Saturday) also came for the day, although she didn't have a machine to get done, she just came for the company!  It was a bit disconcerting to see the innards of my Husqvarna

 

and even more disconcerting for Caroline when her machine was stripped down to this

 

this is just some of the dirt and fluff from one of the machines - it shows how important it is to clean your machine regularly

 

Ian joined us when we went into the house to have lunch at the kitchen table ...... although we didn't pay a lot of attention to what we were eating, as Anne had brought her new Kindle Fire, and we were all agog at its fabulous features (please can I have one Santa, I've been a good girl!!).  Back in the studio, the machines were finished and tested.  What a difference it makes to have them serviced, they run smoothly and quietly - I am looking forward to using them!

I thought I ought to provide a little tasty something for us to have with our cuppas, so yesterday I made florentines, using the recipe that I shared with you last week.  This is the chocolate set in the bottom of the baking tray, and the cornflake mixture ready to put on top

 

ready to go in the oven

 

I love my cooker, which we bought not long after we moved here.  The cooker which came with the house was old and inefficient - and it was also all-electric, which would mean a problem if we had power cuts.  So we bought this one, which has a gas hob (bottled gas) and electric ovens.  I much prefer to have a gas hob, and I really like the small oven on the right - ideal for cooking small things, without having to heat a big oven

 

but there was one little annoying thing - I found it very hard to set the oven temperatre, as the markings on the dials are a bit vague.  However, that was easily solved with an oven thermometer

 

this morning I got out a rather big knife .....

 

and cut the big square into bite-size squares.  It is delicious, very sweet and gooey - the girls all went home with a copy of the recipe

 

and that's not all they went home with - Anne and Carolinne both went home with one of Malcolm's driftwood trees!  Anne bought the small one, and Carroline the medium-sized one.  Malcolm has also finished his latest creations - wooden plant pegs

 

while all the machine servicing was going on, I actually got some sewing done!  I cut out the embroidery for the Needle Nookie and pinned it in place

 

then stitched it on with tiny applique stitches

 

*if you live within a reasonable distance of Morpeth and are interested in having Ian service or repair your machine, either leave a comment or email me (there is an email link at the top right) and I'll email his details to you.

Oh deer!

No, that's not a spelling mistake ........ we came round a bend in the road, just down the hill from the house on Saturday morning, to find three deer crossing the road!

 

this photo is blurred, as I took it through the side window of the car as we drove past

 

it was a wet, miserable day yesterday, so we didn't go for a walk, which meant I had even more time to spend in the studio getting everything ready for Saturday's Christmas Fair

 

I always save cardboard packaging, as it is useful for all sorts of things .......

 

...... but not wanting to give Amazon free advertising, I added a covering of pretty paper!

 

this is a shoe box

 

this one started out as a flat piece of cardboard, but with a bit of cutting, folding and sticking, and a length of ribbon ........

 

I had a scrounge round to see what else I could sell, and decided to include the toilet roll covers that I made for the Southdean Show (Malcolm suggested labelling them "award winning", as I got a 1st and a 2nd for them!).  So this is all my stuff, but of course there will also be Malcolm's three driftwood trees and some other things he has been working on in the garage, which I have yet to take photos of 

 

I don't think that I mentioned that I bought some fabric when we visited Anne's shop.  When Anne's lovely husband Mick served me, he asked if I wanted a bag.  I said no, but Malcolm reminded me that we had seen the latest bags when we arrived ........

 

......... so this bag came home with me!  The fabric on the left is mine - I thought it would make a lovely background for applique or stitchery blocks.  Katy had asked me to get her blue Christmas fat quarters, to make a Christmas stocking for her gorgeous grandson Aaron ...... the big question, of course, is will I give her the fabrics in the bag?!

 

having taken the photo of the bag in my "photo box", I decided that the fabric lining could do with an iron and a tidy

 

the mottled pattern of the fabric makes a good background for photos

 

to finish ...... a question.  What do snowflakes smell like?  Well, if you buy a scented candle from Sainsbury's, you can find out!

That's better!

Fortunately the stormy weather had gone when we got up this morning, and we escaped the floods and power cuts which have affected other parts of the country.  I nipped out in the middle of doing the housework to take some photos ...... and got caught by the postman, who raised an eyebrow at my disreputable houseworking clothes!  The Eildons were hazy in the distance

 

when I stood on the front doorstep to take this photo, I realised how much the trees in the foreground have grown in the six years we have lived here, as they now obscure the Mintos

 

that photo was taken with the big lens, but when I was leaving for patch'n'chat, I nipped out into the middle of the road, to take this photo with the small lens

 

once in the car, I didn't get very far before I had to swerve into JimtheFarmer's drive ........ because look what I saw in the field across the road - DONKEYS!!

 

at patch'n'chat, Jen had finished a little quilt for Linus

 

I was playing with another batch of fabric samples

 

this was the first version

 

I then added centre strips, as I did with the black, white and red quilt

 

then added a square in the centre

 

then, of course, there was the Friday cake ....... Annette's delicious chocolate sponge

 

over the weekend, I shall be putting the finishing touches to my stuff for next Saturday's Christmas Fair.  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

A dearth of photos!

It has been a miserable wet day (of course it rained, I was at the hairdresser!), so I wasn't out and about with the camera.  I did take three photos in the kitchen ....... first, Helen in Melbourne asked me what stovies are.  I got out this book

 

and found this recipe

 

I laughed when I read the bit about his not liking the kind made with tinned corned beef, as that is how I make mine ...... briefly, dice an onion and fry it until soft.  Add sliced potato, seasoning, stock (I generally use chicken stock) and a tin of corned beef.  Simmer until the potatoes are cooked and the liquid almost boiled off.

 

Yesterday I took a bag of homemade Florentines when I visited Anne, as I know she likes them.  The recipe is very simple (ignore the asterisk, that was just a note I made to remind me that I had also made them with porridge oats).  I'm sorry I don't have a photo - I shall take one next time I make them!

 

now, in best Blue Peter "here's one I made earlier" traditon, here are some photos I took earlier in the week!

Two happy bloggers!

We didn't take our usual route to Longframlington this morning, as we were picking up my friend Lorraine, who had a Christmas cake and marzipan fruits to deliver to Anne.  As Lorraine has to sit in the front, as she suffers dreadfully from carsickness, I was only able to take some photos of the scenery on the way to collect her

 

Malcolm dropped us off at the shop and went off to do some beachcombing ...... he found lots of bits of wood, but he won't be able to use them for some time, as they will have to dry out.  Lorraine and I spent the day drinking cuppas, eating lunch, blethering ........ oh, we did manage to do some sewing as well!  The most important piece of news is that Anne is having a major sale next week, to celebrate the first anniversary of opening the shop, so if you are anywhere near Stitchin Heaven, do call in .......

 

....... and treat yourself to some of these delicious fabrics!

 

But the highlight of the day was meeting Lucie, whose blog is The Happy Quilter.  So there were two happy bloggers, as it isn't very often that you get to meet other bloggers in the real world!  I had assumed that Lucie would have a northern accent, so I was surprised to discover that she is Canadian - so now when I read her blog, I will have her accent in my head!

 

However the photo of the day has to be this one - how cute is this dog on the back of the quad bike!

Half a moon

We are off down to Longframlington tomorrow ...... I am going to see Anne, and Malcolm (weather permitting) is going beachcombing.  So I thought I ought to get a bit more work done on my projects for Anne!  I finished the clamshells .......

 

......and trimmed the piece

 

I added iron-on wadding, and layered it with the lining fabric

 

I stitched round the edges, leaving a gap to turn it through to the right side

 

I looked out a magnetic bag clasp ..... and fortunately I read the instructions, as I will need to fit it before I do the quilting!

 

the next stage was to make templates for the Suffolk puffs (yoyos) which form the ends of the bag, and for the hearts which are cut from felt and appliqued to the inside to hold needles

 

I have also been getting on with the embroidery for the Needle Nookie.  I have finished the first piece

 

and am making progress with the bigger piece

 

I did a little bit of work on my little landscape this afternoon.  I decided that I didn't like the trees, and fortunately when I heated them with the iron, they peeled of without leaving a sticky residue.  I had thought about doing some free motion quilting before I added the backing, but I decided to put the backing on and make a start to the quilting

 

you can't see from the front, but following advice from Sheena Norquay during the workshop, I stitched the seams in the ditch using invisible thread (horrible stuff!!).  You can see the lines of stitching on the back

 

it had rained for most of the afternoon, but when I came out of the studio to head into the house to make dinner (a big pot of rib-sticking stovies), the sky had cleared, and there was a half moon ..... but half an hour later the clouds had rolled in again!

Extra cake!

Saturday morning saw me trundling back to Borderland Fabrics - I'm there so often I'm sure the car could drive thereo n its own!  That's my machine on the left, and Kathleen's on the right, and you can see part of my quilt top on the table

 

Kathleen was working with these lovely fabrics (I think they are Moda)

 

Having already cut her strips last week, Katy made rapid progress with her top (it was all a bit confusing, as we had Cath, Cathy, Catherine, Kathleen and Katy, all tending to answer to anything resembling their name!)

 

we also had two Helens, one of whom was working with these pretty fabrics

 

you know that when quilters get together, it won't be long until food and drink appears!  First we had a cuppa and biscuits

 

then we had delicious lentil and tomato soup, made by Annette, for lunch

 

and then Annette produced the most wonderful cupcakes for our afternoon cuppa - she really does look after us!!  (I shall have to spend longer exercising this week, to work off the extra cake!)

 

so how did my top turn out?  After stitching the pieces together that I had aready cut, I had a rummage and found more black and white fabrics to make an outer border ......

 

so it is now ready to layer up and quilt

 

I had enough bits left over to make the binding too

 

yesterday we went to the big craft fair in Kelso, but although there were lots of lovely things, we didn't buy anything.  However, as it was a beautiful sunny morning, we went for a walk ...... here are just a few of the many photos that I took

 

the next three photos were taken by Malcolm

 

it has been wet, windy and miserable (but mild) today.  However, the bad weather didn't stop the birds from tucking in