frayed at the edge

Scraptastic!

After finishing the 64 strippy blocks, I set about making more of the crazy blocks.  I had made 16 by yesterday

 

then today ended up with 25, which I have stitched together

 

I then made a start to stitching the strippy blocks together.  I got the rows done, before I had to go back into the house to make dinner!

 

I started work on the pattern for the badger, first transferring the different parts of the face on to tracing paper

 

then I cut the pieces out from card

 

I changed the black strip on the left, changed the ears, and added nostrils and eyes.  I'm not happy yet with the strip on the left - I think it needs to be wider, so that the eye is bigger

 

I''ve had to take my big clock off the wall, as it kept going slow (I don't wear my watch when I'm sewing, as it is quite loose and bangs on the machine).  I gave Malcolm this little clock many, many years ago for either his birthday or Christmas.  I don't quite know how it has ended up in the studio.  It is usually down in the bottom room, so I've moved it to the top room, sitting it on the light box (which doubles as a shelf when not in use!) so that I can see it

From the sublime to the somewhat silly!

Yesterday, Kate posted about a wonderful book on Shetland Lace knitting - do pop over and read all about it.  I, on the other hand, have just bought a brilliant, but rather silly, book .......

 

who could resist these gorgeous little sheep

 

if I knit Andy, will I have to include the horrendous blister that he had during the Australian Open?

 

at least I won't get fat with this pie (they are even tastier when they are deep fried, and no, I have never had a deep fried Mars Bar!!)

 

and I could wash the pie down with a glass of whisky ....... except, and as a Scot I am embarrassed to admit this, I simply don't like the taste!

 

while we are on the subject of food, we went out for lunch today.  We had the most delicious Thai chicken soup - I shall have to try to make this!

 

I took these photos about ten days ago - then forgot about them!  When I made Lilly Pilly for Anne last year, I thought thhat I would make a version for myself using my favourite autumn colours.  Then Lucie started her version as part of her using up scraps project, with a pieced background.  Ah, I thought, I could use the six fat quarter top from the fmq pile.  Then, I was looking out of the window at the sparrows sitting in the hawthorn tree .......

 

....... and I had a lightbulb moment!  I'm going to do my Lilly Pilly with bare branches, with little fat sparrows perched on them (and perhaps a robin?)  I found a nice dark piece of fabric in my stash for the tree, to stand out against the background

 

when I was telling Malcolm about my plans, I said that I should give my version a different name.  My first idea was Anny Pilly, but that didn't sound right.  So this is what I decided on

What's that on the wall?

It's a little bit of sunlight!!

 

I was in the studio at half past nine this morning, and spent the day working on several projects.  First on the design wall was the batch of strips that I stitched over the weekend

 

I cut 22 squares from the strips, with a big pile of offcuts left to make more squares from

 

I put them on the wall, along with the other squares that I had made previously (it was only later that I noticed some of the squares are the wrong way round!)

 

after joining up bits of the offcuts, I ended up with 64 squares (I think they are all the right way round this time!)

 

when Stuart and Alison moved into their new house last year, they asked if I could make roman blinds for their kitchen and hall windows.  For a variety of reasons (including being out of the country for a total of 8 weeks!) I hadn't made a start on them, but a couple of weeks ago one of the curtain fabric shops in Hawick had a closing down sale.  We popped in for a look and I found a length of fabric that I thought might do for the kitchen.  The earthy background colours go well with the cupboards and floor tiles, and the purple spots match their accessories

 

I sent them a photo to see if they liked the fabric - but it wouldn't have been a problem if they hadn't, as it cost the amazing sum of £1.75!!  It didn't take long to check the measurements and cut the fabric to size, but then I had to put it aside as I will have to get some curtain lining

 

I had a hunt through my stash to see if I had anything suitable for their hall window.  I knew they wanted something to go with their black and cream colour scheme, so I pulled out these two fabrics

 

I bought them some years ago from a wonderful little shop in Selkirk, which sadly has closed down

 

they are both beautiful pure wool fabrics, and I sent them photos to see if they would like one of them.  They decided on the black and grey one, but just to be sure I sent them swatches - and they changed their minds!  I decided to use the black and grey fabric as the lining fabric, which you might think is very extravagant - until I show you the price tags!

 

it's just as well I tidied the lower room, as I needed to lay the fabrics out on the floor to pin them

 

I stitched down one side, across the bottom and up the other side.  I then turned the blind through to the right side.  After pressing it, the next job will be to stitch channels across it to take thin pieces of dowel.  I have folded it to give you an idea of how it will look

 

on Saturday, I got one of the little quilt tops from the free motion quilting pile, and layered it up with some cotton wadding and backing fabric

 

I started in the centre and stitched a sort of flower with tendrils, and a filler stitch in the surrounding triangles

 

I then stitched flowers in the flying geese that make up the centre sections

 

on Sunday, and then again today, I stitched more flowers in the dark squares.  I am starting to get into a rhythm with the stitching, with just the odd squiggle where I have gone over lumpy seams

 

in the evenings I have been doing the embroidery for the Leanne's House quilt.  It is slow going, as the flowers are quite small, and I can only stitch for a couple of hours before I start to go a bit cross-eyed!!

 

Stuart recently received a somewhat cryptic email from his friend Fraser, which said "do you think your Mum could make this?" followed by this link.  Hmmm - a knitted badger cushion.  I could do it, but it would take a while, so instead I suggested an applique one.  The message came back from Fraser that an applique one would be fine, and offering payment in chocolate and wine!!  If he had wanted a knitted one, I would have had to buy some knitting graph paper - knitted stitches are rectangular, so you need graph paper with rectangles rather than squares to design on.  However the only specialist equipment needed  for an applique badger is a Malcolm ....... it's handy being married to someone who can draw!!

Almost gone!

We have had some very wet and windy weather, so the snow has almost gone.  There is still some on the higher ground, and pockets lingering in hollows.  When I set out for Kelso on Saturday to go to my workshop, our road was still only passable with care, and the main road was slushy.  However it wasn't that which stopped my getting to Kelso ...... unfortunately there had been a bad accident and the road was closed.  There were ambulances, fire engines and lots of police.  Malcolm had set out some time before me, so I was relieved to see him parked at the side of the road - he thought it was better to wait until I arrived, rather than passing me on his way back to Hawick.  After a quick chat, we decided to head into Hawick and have some breakfast, bbefore going home (ok, I admit it was a second breakfast for me, as I had a small bowl of cereal when I got up!)  Yesterday we went to Melrose for a walk along the river.  We have never seen the river so full, and the noise was quite frightening as the water roared over the rocks

 

these horses (or are they ponies?) looked a bit miserable

 

but this one was more sensible and only had its head poking out of the stable

 

remember the last time we were in Melrose I saw the tractor wine bottle holder?  Well, yesterday in its place in the shop window was this church - I think it would make a quirky wedding ppresent!

 

this tea towel is much too nice to dry the dishes with!

 

Malcolm wouldn't buy this set of musical instruments for me - I wonder why?!

 

Malcolm was very interested in this stretch of dry stone wall, which is being rebuilt.  For Christmas I bought him a gift voucher for a weekend course on dry stone walling, which he is looking forward to

on the drive home I was able to take some photos of the last of the snow (although it's amazing how often the car goes over a bump just as I take the photo, and I get yet another shot of the sky!)

 

a little bit of blue sky!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update, but to finish ....... do you remember the Daleks?  They gave me nightmares when I was little, but the 1965 film which was on tv on Saturday didn't scare me!!

A pain in the bahookie*

It's snowing again ....... it has been snowing off and on all day.  Our road would probably be described as "passable with care", but I really didn't care to drive down it to go to patch''n'chat!  So with an unexpected free afternoon, I thought I would tackle the pile of magazines which has been sitting beside my chair since before Christmas (I haven't bought any magazines for weeks, as I felt guilty for not finishing the ones I already had!)

 

however, I have succumbed to buying a book, after seeing it on Lucie's blog

 

the instructions are very clear, taking you from the most basic stitching (I'm thinking of you, Meredithe!)

 

through decorative stitching

 

how to fill in shapes

 

ending with designs like this one, which looks complicated, but as the title of the book says, it is a continuous line of stitching

 

I forgot to take a photo of tonight's dinner ..... as it's Burns' Night, we of course had haggis, neeps and tatties!

The garden has been full of sparrows

 

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I shall be going to an Abbey Quilters' workshop.  I hope you will join me in cheering on Andy Murray, who reached the final of the tennis today, having "bitten" Roger Federer!  Whatever your weather, be it too hot or too cold, I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne 

 

*I am sure you guessed what bahookie means, but if not, you can find out here

Criticism!!

We had lunch in the studio today ........ and Malcolm said it was looking very untidy, if not downright messy!!  Well, ok, maybe there were one or two things lying about .........

 

what's that you are shouting at your computer?  You agree with Malcolm?  Oh dear, I had better tidy up then

 

Now that it's all neat and tidy again, on with the sewing report!  I have finished not one ......

 

....... not two

 

but all three runners

 

and with the offcuts, I made a cushion cover!

 

and then I stitched together the offcuts of the offcuts ....

 

....... but you will have to wait to see what I did with that last piece!!  I have become addicted to making the scrappy strippy blocks

 

and the crazy scrappy blocks with the offcuts

 

whenever I go out the front door, the birds start chirruping at me, demanding more food.  I don't mind, as long as they then earn their dinner by posing for me!

 

I wonder if the drip above the sparrow landed on its head?

 

the horses in the field across the road scrape the snow away to get to the grass

 

the  scenery does look good with its blanket of snow

 

after sewing yet more strips ...

 

....... I thought I should clean the machine

 

..... and change the needle.  If you look closely at the old needle on the left, you can see how rough the shank is!

 

when we are using the implements of torture in the morning, we have the tv on.  Because the machines are noisy, we have the subtitles on.  Most of the time they are accurate, but sometimes they are hilariously wrong ...... as happened yesterday morning.  The reporter said that "Andy Murray has beaten the Frenchman" ....... but the subtitles said " has bitten the Frenchman" ........ conjuring up a visionn of Andy leaping the net and sinking his teeth into the Frenchman's neck!  Could this be an idea for a film ...."The Vampire Tennis Players Massacre" could be a possible title!!!!!

A very special day!

I think you know by now that we will have a celebration for anything and everything ....... but yesterday was definitely a special event.  As well as celebrating our wedding anniversaries, we also celebrate the day we moved in together/became a couple ....... and yesterday was the 30th anniversary of that special day!  You also know that we don't need much of an excuse to have something tasty to eat, so the day got off to a good start with smoked salmon and toasted brioche for breakfast (sorry there is no lemon wedge, but as we were snowed in on Monday and couldn't get to the shops to buy a lemon, we had to do with a splash of lemon juice from the bottle in the fridge!)

 

lunch was comfort food - boiled eggs and toast soldiers (sorry, no photo of that) then for dinner, I chose a recipe from this book

 

we don't particularly like parsley, so I left that out, and I didn't have any gherkins to sprinkle on the top, but it was delicious - I'll definitely make this again

 

for pudding, I got the icecream out

 

and topped it with rhubarb which I had cooked in ginger and lemongrass syrup, and crushed up biscuits (the little ones that you get with a coffee)

 

and of course a celebration means something bubbly to drink (Stuart and Alison gave us the glasses for our Silver Wedding)

 

the snowy weather continues - I took these photos yesterday

a confusing ruler - there was 5" of snow on the garden table (better than the 20" of two years ago!)

 

the birdbox looks cute with its snowy hat!

 

the view over the back garden gate

 

icicles on the ivy

 

because of the weather, I have been doing much more sewing than usual.  Yesterday I finished piecing Notes of Love, although I still have a little bit of embroidery to finish. 

I'll be back tomorrow with lots more sewing, but to finish, photos I took of the scented candle on the kitchen table, which we light after dinner to dispel any cooking smells

That's enough, thank you!

The snow finally got serious on Friday night, and this was the view through the front door on Saturday morning

 

we went to St Boswells for a walk yesterday morning.  It was a bit on the chilly side, with flights of snow in the air, so in between photos I wrapped the camera in the ends of my woolly scarf!

I was tempted to dognap this little cutie!

 

this dovecote is on a modern garage roof

 

William's surname is pronounced Marshbanks!

 

an unusual window in an old house

 

a snazzy footprint

 

a very old postbox

 

sheep in the snow

 

our reward - Tunisian lemon cake ...... delicious!

 

it has been snowing all day - Malcolm has cleared the paths and drive three times, having learned that it is much easier to clear an inch or two several times, rather than six inches in one go!  The birds have been back and forward to the bird table - I think they have now eaten all the food!

 

by the end of the afternoon, the front garden looked like this

 

I won't be posting tomorrow, as it's a special occasion for us, but I'll be back on Wednesday to tell you all about it.  To finish today ...... when I was taking photos of the birds, I noticed this rider in the field across the road.  I'm surprised the horse wasn't galloping  to get back to the stable!!

Steaming!

When I declared this the year of using things up, I didn't expect my big steam iron to be one of those things!  But unfortunately I must have used used it too much (!) and it has died and gone to the great iron heaven.  I loathe ironing, so I was anxious to get another big iron, rather than using the ordinary steam iron that I use in the studio.  After a bit of research, I found one online and it was delivered yesterday.  I thought I ought to try it this morning just to make sure it was working ..... isn't it a thing of beauty!

 

Malcolm realised on Christmas Eve that he hadn't bought a book for me (shock horror) ......but fortunately  a quick trip to the supermarket fixed that!!  I started reading it this morning, and I am thoroughly enjoying it.   Even if you don't know who Clare Balding is, I can recommend her book as a very entertaining read

 

two of my smaller orchids have just started flowering  A pale pink one ......

 

....... and a pale yellow one

 

did you notice the new clips holding the orchids in place?  They were also a Christmas present from Malcolm

 

when I saw this little compost bin was being sold at half-price, I thought it would look much better in the utility room than the grey plastic one which we have had for some years......

 

....... especially as it matches the paint!

 

the plant is a silk one, as the utility room doesn't have a window.  And do you like the banana planter?  When we moved to Indonesia, we at first lived in an apartment complex.  There were occasional social events for the wives (we weren't allowed to work), one of which was an afternoon tea, at which we played some silly games.  One of them was simple - a prize for the first wife to produce a photo of her husband ...... and I won!  I still have the photo of Malcolm (it's in my purse) but as it's a dreadful passport photo, I won't show it to you!!

 

we have been fortunate, and have only had a dusting of snow, unlike some parts of the country, so I was able to go to patch'n'chat.  The snow did get a bit heavier in the middle of the afternoon, so those of us who have further to travel were keeping an eye on the weather in case we had to leave early, but fortunately we were able to stay and have Annette's delicious cupcakes

 

my friend Anne S regularly sends me emails with jokes or funny photos, but the email she sent the other day had photos which she thought Malcom would like - all sorts of imaginative things that people hade made with their log piles.  This was his favourite ........

 

...... but I don't think he is tempted to reorganise our logs!  Whatever the weather over the weekend, I shall of course be out in the studio sewing.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

Next time I meet a shepherd .......

........ I shall ask him if this morning's skies were a warning

 

yesterday I finished piecing the last block of Leanne's House, and brought out the first block from the house, as I had finished the applique and embroidery

 

or rather, I thought that I had finished  - but when I went to take a close-up, I found that I hadn't done the satin stitch on this flower

 

Malcolm has been doing quality control, and has criticised the stitching of this point!!

 

there is a great deal of embroidery to do - this is just a small part of one block  There is even embroidery round the applique hearts

 

I was going to make more scrappy strippy blocks, but decided that I would instead get on with the runners I am making with the wonderful Australian fabric that Lee gave me for my birthday.  Having stitched some of the blocks together, I then prepared another batch of strips

 

today I finished stitching this runner

 

then made this one with crazy blocks from the offcuts

 

and almost finished a third one.  Here they are being tried out in the hall

 

all this talk of using things up reminded me of an email that I was sent years ago.  I liked it so much I printed it out and put it on my notice board (click on it to enlarge it)

that, I hope, will be me!!