frayed at the edge

The long and winding road

Just a quick post, as it will soon be dinnertime, and after a long day on the road we are ravenous (ok, we did stop for lunch, but that was a long time ago).  It was sunny when we left home

 

and sunny when we crossed the border

 

but the further south we got, the wetter it got.  Then we got stuck in a great long tail back of traffic - something we are not used to in the Borders!!

 

but once we broke free of the traffic and turned on to the back roads, we were rewarded with the most wonderful scenery

 

we are staying in a little farm cottage

 

we might not be home until late on Monday, so you may not hear from me until Tuesday.  To finish the week, a bit of fun.  There is a song constantly on the radio  just now, the chorus of which goes something like

she can't sing, she can't dance

but who cares

she walks like Rihanna

 

so thinking about my three fantasy boyfriends, Robert Downie Jnr, Johnny Depp and George Clooney, here is my version

he can't cook, he can't clean

but who cares

he twinkles like Robert

 

he can't saw, he can't nail

but who cares

he smoulders like Johnny

 

and as for what George does, well. this is a family-friendly, pure in thought and deed blog, so you will just have to think of your own third chorus!!

While you do that, I will wish you a good weekend, love Anne

Sweet treats

When we were shopping this morning, I spotted these cuties

 

on the packet, the lady on the left at the back, Pearl Stitch, is knitting ....... but you can't quite see that on the sweet, which is the middle one on the bottom (I did think of licking them to see if that made them clearer, but as this is a "fast" day, I couldn't have eaten them afterwards!)

 

I love meerkats - there is just something so appealing about them ...... and I'm sure I'll love these tomorrow when I get to taste them

 

could you resist them?

 

after such a cold spring, it seemed as if we were never going to have any colour in the garden.  But then we had some lovely warm weather, and everything exploded into life

 

it won't be long until the poppies flower

 

 I don't think we will get any cherries this year

 

but the quince is looking promising

 

we are off to Derbyshire tomorrow, for Malcolm to do a dry stone walling course (I gave him a gift voucher for the course for Christmas).  The cottage we are staying in has wifi, so I should be able to do a post as usual tomorrow.  While Malcolm is having fun with stone (fingers firmly crossed that it doesn't rain!) I shall be finally be hand-stitching the binding on the Birdie Border quilt, Notes of Love and the scrappy strippy quilt.  I also have several magazines to read (some were given to me, I am sticking reasonably well to my resolution to not buy them!)

Showing and telling

Last night's AGM was dealt with very quickly - a quick shuffle round of existing committee members, and two new ones added.  Then it was on to the best bit of the evening (apart from the cake we had later with our cuppa) ....... the show and tell.  It is always good to see what other members have been stitching, and there was a tremendous selection last night.  Here are some of the highlights ....... not always the best of photos, as there was so much to get through that there wasn't time for people to pose with their work

Isa (on the left) with her block of the month quilt

 

Sheila with her textured applique ......

 

....... and her finished jelly roll quilt

 

Sandra and her textured applique

 

Trisha's applique

 

Rinecke with ....... yes, another applique

 

oops, I can't remember who made this stunning quilt!

 

Catherine's exquisite calico quilt

 

Katy's beautiful quilt (but that's not Katy!)

 

Moira's textured applique

 

sorry, I don't know this member's name

 

I was delighted to see so many textured appliques ...... and then I had to admit that I haven't yet finished mine!  My excuse is that I will be teaching again in September, so prefer to have the unfinished one to show the stages of construction (ok, that's a feeble excuse!)  I didn't manage to get photos of all the entries to the clown challenge

no-one else made a clown fish!

 

Katy and Mary's wonderful clown dolls

 

and I also didn't manage to get a photo of the winning clown quilt (oh dear) but I did finally persuade Barbara, the outgoing chairman to present the trophy to the deserving winner, Moira (on the right) ...... they were both a bit shy!!

Decisions, decisions .......

Oh my, what will we start with, donkeys or sewing?  No contest really, it has to be donkeys (and horses - oh, and sheepies too).  I had a quick walk up the road yesterday, to see if the donkeys were about - they were, but in the far field, so I only managed to snap two of them

 

to make up for that, there were horses in the field across the road

 

there were also some chubby lambs ....... oooh, I'm thinking mint sauce and roast potatoes .......

 

an eight-legged lamb?

 

it's a hard life eating grass all day

 

Malcolm would appear to havve won the battle with the swallows ..... I saw these two starting to build a nest under the neighbours' roof

 

and now for some sewing!  I have been doing more handquilting on the "home is where the heart is" block

 

leaves and assorted twirly bits

 

echoing the curves

 

an assortment of hearts

 

echoing the wings

 

I put the binding on the scrappy strippy/strippy scrappy quilt (maybe I should call it strappy or scrippy?)

 

as there are so many colours in the border and the binding, it didn't really matter what colour thread I used, so I took the opportunity to finish up several reels of thread which just had a few yards on them ..... and for once the bobbin didn't run out with a few inches to go

 

I have to admit that I had a blonde moment, and cut far too much binding!

 

Leanne's House went back up on the design wall to be measured for the borders

 

the first border added

 

and the second

 

it's the last meeting of this session of Abbey Quilters tonight.  It is the AGM followed by a show and tell.  When I was folding Notes of Love to put in my bag ..... OOPS - I haven't embroidered the tiny hearts on the right of the centre panel of the heart!!

 

my sewing was interrupted for a while, when Malcolm appeared with a mid-afternoon treat .......

All hands on deck!

First, I have to say that Malcolm thought of today's title (thank you, dear!).  We left here early on Saturday morning to travel up to Stirlingshire.  When we got to Stuart and Alison's they were out, so Malcolm dropped me off and went to buy the deck boards and screws.  I was sitting in the garden reading the paper and enjoying the sunshine when Stuart arrived home, having dropped Alison off at the hairdressers.  I then had a very strenuous day supervising the workers!

Malcolm took this scrap wood to make the legs of the deck

 

my supervisory station

 

ready to start

 

the framework being made

 

the first boards in place

 

Alison came home from the hairdressers, and took me for a walk to see a pair of swans and their cygnets

 

back home the boys were working hard

 

by the end of the afternoon, they had done enough for the table and chairs to be put on the deck

 

Stuart suggested that I take a photo from upstairs, and I was just in time to catch Malcolm having a very well deserved beer

 

leaving Malcolm to tidy up, Stuart headed to the kitchen to make dinner ....... chicken wrapped in Parma ham on saffron and spinach risotto - delicious!!

 

on Sunday morning Alison went off the visit her Granny, and I walked to the shopping precinct to buy the papers. It was sad to see the McCowan's factory boarded up ......

 

....... before we moved here, we lived about a mile away from the factory (in the opposite direction to where S and A live) and there was always the wonderful smell of toffee in the air when you went past.  I think the toffee is still being made by another firm, but I'm reluctant to try it, in case it doesn't taste as good as it did in my childhood.  When I was in New Zealand in 2001, I saw some Highland toffee in a shop.  I remarked to the young man serving me that it was made a mile from my home ....... he gave me one of those "so what" looks, but given that I was halfway round the world from home, I thought it was interesting!  A new shopping precinct has been built since we left, complete with these two magnificent beasts

 

by the time I meandered back (just over an hour later!), the boys had almost finished

 

the last board was fitted in neatly round the fence posts

 

a final check that it was level

 

we brought this garden thermometer from Majorca for them

 

the perfect spot to read the Sunday papers

 

could there be a better way to celebrate the new deck than tucking into sconnage?

 

yes!  This is Alison on the right, with their friends Fraser and Lynsey.  They are drinking a very nice bottle of Australian sparkling wine, which I had bought for them when I went to the shops in the morning

 

back tomorrow with the sewing update ...... and donkeys!!

 

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Last night's red sky .......

 

..... was, for once, the harbinger of a glorious morning.  So I leapt out of bed at 6.30, threw on some clothes, grabbed the camera, and headed out for a walk

a wonderful higgledy piggledy fence

 

apple blossom in the old orchard

 

misty Minto Hills

 

misty Ruberslaw

 

having taken the photo of Ruberslaw on my right, I walked on down the road and looked to my left.  What was this? Had a new hill somehow been formed ....... well, all I'll say is that I looked to see if Job was sitting on it ..........

 

there was a house here until recently ........

 

......all that is left is the garden gate

 

this Jacob's ewe posed regally for me ........

 

....... as her lamb watched

 

the horses were munching on the lush grass

 

while this one had a long lie!!

 

don't you wish you had this view a few minutes from home!

 

an electrical gubbins sparkling in the sun!

 

when we went through for our afternoon cuppa at patch'n'chat ........ yippeeeeee, my favourite apple and sultana cake! 

 

We are off early tomorrow to visit Stuart and Alison.  When they moved into their new house last year, we said that we would give the a deck for their back garden as a house-warming present, so Malcolm and Stuart will spend the weekend making it (Alison and I might ake them a cuppa .... or even pour them a beer!)  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

How to accidently buy .......

...... I know that some of you are puzzled as to how I accidently bought fabric yesterday.  It's very simple.  First you wander round the shop until you notice some wonderful new fabric.  You pick up the two bolts, and look for some co-ordinating fabrics, choosing another two bolts.  You go behind the counter (well, you are a friend and employee of the owner!) and cut half a metre of each fabric.  See, totally accidental!  So, here are the gorgeous fabrics

 

and the cutest of details

 

ok, perhaps gorgeous and cute aren't quite the right words to describe the fabric!  For those of you who like to know these things ......

 

when I asked Anne if she had another project for me, she got a rather wicked look in her eye ....... and produced this mammoth task! 

 

It is actually a double-sided quilt, but I shall make it as two separate quilts, so that both sides can be displayed in the shop. 

 

and again, for those who like to know about the fabric .......

 

as well as working in the shop, Anne is also very involved in various horse-related events, and she hadn't had time to put the borders on Leanne's House, so it came back home with me, along with two lovley fabrics.  I'll also quilt it

 

knowing that rhubarb and ginger jam is Anne's favourite, I took her a jar of the jam I made on Tuesday.  She asked me if I would like some rhubarb, explaining that not only did she not have time to use it, but they are having work done on their kitchen, limiting her cooking.  When I said yes please, she phoned her husband Mick, and asked him to pull the rhubarb and bring it to the shop for me.  I was somewhat taken aback when Mick arrived and handed me this

 

this afternoon I decided to make chutney, using a recipe from this book

 

I had to make some changes, as I didn't have all the ingredients.  So, I used sultanas instead of raisins, lemons instead of oranges, and as I didn't have fresh ginger, I used some of this frozen ginger.  I also used brown sugar instead of granulated, and ordinary vinegar instead of wine vinegar ........ but other than that, I followed the recipe!

 

except I also left out the cardomom, as I'm not particularly fond of the flavour.  However, I did put in the pinch of cinnamon, using one of my special spoons!

 

another specialist piece of equipment is my jam funnel.  I am so glad that I bought it, as using it has put an end to messy, sticky jars

 

instead of my posh jars with the spotty lids (you have to promise to give me the jar back before I give you the jam or chutney!) I decided to use some of the motley collection of recycled jars which I have several boxes of

 

I also prepped another kilo of rhubarb to make more jam tomorrow.  I washed and sliced te rhubarb, then put it in a large bowl, with a kilo of jam sugar and the juice of two lemons.  I also finely diced some stem ginger.  All I have to do in the morning is put it in a large saucepan (maybe a proper preserving pan will be my next investment) and boil it until setting point is reached.

 

ps I haven't even used half of the bag of rhubarb yet!

 

A long day!

I left home at 9am and didn't get back until 5.30pm ......... so where did I go and what did I do?  It was my monthly visit to Anne's, to catch up with what the Wednesday ladies have been doing, and to pick up some more work

Annie was turning these ......

 

into these pretty foxgloves

 

Lucie was piecing diamonds

 

Frances was stitching a pretty applique block

 

the first three leaves for Susan's Lillypilly

 

a detail of Margaret's hand-pieced quilt

 

Roz was tacking pieces in place for an applique block

 

and last but not least, Anne has started "Mrs Billings", a fabulous pattern which we first saw when Meredithe made an award-winning one

 

Anne has a long way to go!

 

and I have an even longer way to go, as I haven't even bought my copy of the pattern yet!  You will have to wait until tomorrow to see what the new projects that I will be working on for Anne ..... and I may have accidently bought some fabric!

A change of plans

I had intended to spend the day in the studio sewing, but that didn't happen!  Malcolm had a day out arranged with his sister, Jennifer ...... but then the man from the company that installed the boiler phoned to say that one of the boys who installed it would come to the house first thing this morning to fill the hole in the wall, and do the final testing.  This meant I had to stay in the house until he arrived and carried out the work, so I decided to make some rhubarb and ginger jam

 

bottle last year's sloe vodka

 

and redcurrant gin

 

of course once the jam was ready I had to do a taste test (delicious)

 

I took my toast out to the garden to take the photo, putting the plate on the new table which Malcolm made yesterday (I must get him trained to take photos!)

 

we have had a change round of the garden furniture, so we needed a little table to sit between the two steamer chairs on the deck

 

I used the table later to take this photo

 

when I finaly got out to the studio, it was a bit late to start sewing, so instead I worked on a couple of designs.  First was the June block for Lucie's A is for Applique challenge.  The theme this month is the birds and the bees.  This is the first  draft of my block - I need to do more work on the birds!

 

I then did some work on the wallhanging that I showed you the other day, using the Moda squares for the borders.  The idea came to me when I was writing an email to Meredithe ....... I was complaining about havinng to do the shopping and the laundry, when  ........

 

but I do have sewing to show you, from the weekend.  I have finished stitching round the tree and fence on Lillyanny, and have also stitched the birds (yes, Anne, more ends to sew in!)  The next stage will be to satin stitch the birds' legs

 

I finished the Baltimore block for Abbey Quilters

 

so what was the detail of, that I showed you yesterday?  We were given a challenge at Abbey Quilters to make something on the theme of clowns.  It has to be ready for next Tuesday, the last meeting before we have our summer break.  I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, so after a quick internet search, and employing Malcolm' drawing skills ........ may I present my wallhanging "I found Nemo!"

 

this is an example of my "sideways" thinking, as Nemo, of course, is a clown fish!!  I found some fish beads that I got years ago when we had a holiday in Western Australia, and some shells that I bought in John Lewis (a big department store) in Edinburgh!

 

to finish ..... the ongoing swallow war!  You might have seen a scarecrow, but have you seen a scareswallow?  This is Malcolm's creation to keep the swallows out of the garage - it looks as if it has a nasty weapon, but it's just a trowel which Malcolm had taped to a pole to reach something in the garden.  It certainly scares the swallows. and it gave me a scare when I opened the garage door yesterday, forgetting that it was there!!

 

 

More excellent sconnage!

We went for a long walk along the River Teviot yesterday.  The air was full of birdsong ....... and the smell of wild garlic

 

there were lots of wildflowers

 

not all bluebells are blue!

 

there were interesting old fence posts

 

an old raised section ......

 

...... and a new one

 

this swan was sailing serenely past

 

but the duck on the right stuck its head under water just as I snapped!

 

the river level is very low just now, but you can see from the detritus caught in this tree how high it can be

 

I love the way this tree hangs out over the river - it reminds me of the Pine Walk in Puerto Pollensa

 

I had to pause as I went to take this photo, as a car drove over the bridge ...... most inconsiderate!

 

we left the path at this point, and walked round the road and on to the bridge.  This is the view from the bridge looking on down the river

 

on the way back along the river, Malcolm spotted these ducklings with the mother.  They were being carried at some speed by the current, so it's not the best of photos

 

having walked so far, we of course needed some sustenance ...... and what better than a two-scone lunch at the mill -  as usual we had half each

fruit scone

 

cheese scone

 

back home I set the camera up on the tripod, in the hope of catching the tits going and out of the nest box.  Ah well, perhaps next time I'll manage to get more than its rear end!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing - I wonder what this is a detail of?