Oh dear, yesterday's weather was rather bad ...... freezing cold first thing, then snow, then freezing again! Only the lovely Katy and her friend Ailsa were brave enough to venture out during the day, to come and do some shopping....
and have mulled wine (sorry forgot to take a photo of that) and delicious nibbles for lunch
at least the evening visitors didn't have far to come ....... all the way from next door! Jackie (owner of the gorgeous shoe shop in Hawick) and her Mum joined me in sipping yet more mulled wine, then Malcolm and Jackie's husband David joined us for a glass of white wine and nibbles (I don't think I'll get on the scales for a few days!!) Both Jackie and her Mum bought one of Malcolm's driftwood trees - he had made another four, and I had promptly spirited one away, to make sure that I got one!! There was a great deal of debate about which one Jackie's Mum would have ....... she told Jackie in no uncertain terms that she was having first pick, then Jackie could choose between the remaining two!!
this year I remembered to take photos of the Christmas wallhangings in the studio, before I blu-tacked them to the hall doors ...... it was difficult last year to take decent photos of them once they were on the doors!
there is a little story attached to this last little wallhanging ....... I designed it many years ago, when I was Chairman of Stirling Castle Quilters. It was a "mystery" wallhanging, the members being given the instructions over several meetings. There was an amusing moment, when one of the members asked to see my completed one, so she knew what it looked like ....... no, the whole point of a mystery quilt is that you don't know what the finished one looks like. Another of the members was a prison officer at Scotland's only female prison. She taught the inmates to sew (they made bedding for the prison) and decided that the mystery wallhhanging would be a good teaching aid. One of the inmates disagreed with this, but by the time I deleted all the expletives from her objection, what was left of the sentence isn't worth sharing!! Then some years ago a friend borrowed the little wallhanging to put it in an exhibition. It came back minus the beads and reindeer bells which hung from the prairie points at the bottom, and I have never got round to replacing them
oh bother ....... after several attempts, I still can't get the photo to upload, so I'll try again tomorrow!!