frayed at the edge

Thoroughly spoiled!

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and as usual Stuaret gave me a sweet card, with a lovely sentiment expressing his apppreciaion of his lovely Mum*.  He also sent me these beautiful flowers

 

the spoiling continued when Malcolm took me out for breakfast - we had intended to go for a walk, but it was misty and dreary, so the walk was abandoned.  We went back to Pirn House Interiors, where we had lunch on Wednesday, as we had seen these two tempting dishes on the menu.  I had French toast with bacon and maple syrup

 

and Malcolm had scrambled eggs with goats cheese and toast

 

having seen the cakes and scones, I think we will have to visit again soon!

 

on the way home, we were rathered surprised when we came round a bend to see these cows feeding.  Malcolm was able to pull into the side of the road to let me out to take photos

 

the troughs were actually on the verge - a most unusual arrangement, with the cows poking their heads through the fence to eat

 

before I got out of the car, I might have been tempted to steal this very cute calf ....... but the smell coming from the field was atrocious!

 

this morning we popped over to Berwick, to return paperwork related to the purchase of our flat to our solicitor ....... ok, we could have posted it, but we were quite happy to have an excuse to have a day out!  As we didn't have any sconnage yesterday, we made up for it this morning, when we popped in here for a cuppa

 

Malcolm declared that this was the best cheese scone he has ever eaten (half of)!!

 

as it was another misty grey day, I didn't take the big lens with me - which of course guaranteed that several photo opportunities promptly presented themselves!  Looking over the parapet of the old bridge, we saw that the seal was there again.  When I half depress the button on the camera  to focus, it emits a beep ..... I am sure the seal heard it, as he immediately moved from lying like this

 

to posing like this

 

there were also various birds

 

we went for a walk on the beach, and while Malcolm collected driftwood, I looked for sea glass

 

there was a rather hazy view of the lighthouse

 

some of the rocks on the beach gave me ideas for quilts

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update

*I lied about the card

 

I would have used my light box ..........

........ but it is currently pretending that it is a shelf!

 

so when I wanted to mark out the pattern for this sashiko bag (part of the year of making kits)

 

I had to do it the old-fashioned way and tape the pattern and fabric to the door

 

I made a good start to the stitching at patch'n'chat

I have also done some more work on blocks for the samper quilt.  I pulled out some more fat quarters

 

if you are wondering why I have picked an orange fabric along with all the shades of purple ........ it will be used in very small quantities to provide a pop of colour in some of the blocks.  I have now made three blocks.  The calico looks out of place against the pale pink of the design wall, but when the quilt is assembled I shall use a dark fabric for the sashing

 

we were delighted this afternoon when we went through fror our cuppa and found that it was our most favourite apple and sultana cake

 

the forecast is good for the weekend, so hopefuly we will get out for a walk on Sunday (no doubt followed by some sconnage!)  I will be working on more blocks for my sampler quilt, and I may also have a bit of a tidy, so that the light box can go back to its proper purpose.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

Spring cleaning

I wonder if this robin had romance on his mind, as he had a thorough bath yesterday morning?

 

we have had a pair of blackbirds in the garden for the last week or so.  They keep vanishing into the climbing rose and honeysuckle over the lounge window, and we have finally discovered what they have been up to.  They have been building a nest - you can just see the moss through the leaves

 

and you can just see the blackbird through the leaves in this photo

 

this sparrow was also gathering nesting materials

 

in the back garden, there were more signs of spring

 

of course I was working this morning, teaching the third class.  Today the ladies made a start to their scissor holder, then put that aside to do some sewing on their bonus project.  I had intended to give them an extra project, but hadn't decided what that would be ....... then on our first morning, when it came to cuppa time, we discovered that we had to drink from horrid polystyrene cups.  I mentioned that quilters usually take their mugs with them, carrying them in  (what else) a mug bag.  So I decided to give them kits to make their own mug bags.  This is mine

 

the ladies have all finished their needle cases and pincushions, and hope to have their scissor holders and mug bags finished for their last class next week - there was certainly lots of sewing going on all morning

 

when I arrive at the College, I have to get my class register to mark the students (and myself) as present, and I also have a folder of paperwork.  I was somewhat surprised to find this in my folder this morning - do the College authorities really think that I am going to take up rugby?!

 

An abundance of cuteness!

As it was a bright, if slightly chilly, morning, we decided to go for a walk.  Malcolm suggested that we went out to the Donkey Sanctuary, as he saw some large spotty pigs in one of the fields when he drove past yesterday.  We didn't see the pigs, but when we got out the car, we saw these little ponies

 

the first donkeys we saw were on the other side of a thick hedge, so I had to look for a gap in the branches to take a photo

 

we decided to return to the main road to walk past the other fields, and on the way I paused to take this photo of the Eildons.  The photos that I take when I go for walks near the house only show two of the hills, so here are all three

 

the first field we came to on the main road had these two cuties

 

they came over to the fence, and one of them tried to eat the camera!

 

I think they were hoping we had food for them, but, alas, we didn't

 

then look what we found in the next field!

 

I decided that this was a female llama, as she ignored me, but followed Malcolm as he walked on along the road

 

not quite so welcome on our walk was this enormous lorry thundering past!

 

we headed off for a spot of lunch at Pirn House Interiors - we hadn't been there before, but Maureen had mentioned in a recent email that she had been there and that it was worth a visit

we both had the chicken and rice soup - it was delicious, just like the chicken soup my Mum used to make

 

 

on the way home, Malcolm stopped the car so that I could take a photo of this fantastic tree house ...... I would love to have one, but unfortunately we don't have a big enough tree in the garden!

 

to finish, we go back to the two cute donkeys.  After taking the first two photos of them, we walked on to the other end of their field.  We couldn't see them as we went, because of the thick hedge ....... but when we could see them again, just look at what we saw!!!!!

 

I know elephants grasp the tail of the one in front, but I've never seen a donkey doing it!

Sew much to do ........

........ sew little time!  OK, you can stop groaning now!  Over the weekend, I prepped lots and lots of hexies

 

and made a start to sewing them into flowers

 

out in the studio this afternoon, I finished getting organised for Thursday's class

 

it was only sometime later that I realised that this was still pinned to the design wall, when it should have been in my bag!

 

I wanted to make a start to designing the samper quilt, and not have a rush at the last minute if the class does go ahead.  I drew out a scale plan, then marked in the blocks

 

I looked out a half metre of calico and four fat quarters to make a start

 

using a template, I drew four hearts on fusible web

 

and cut them out, leaving a small margin

 

next I ironed the fusible web on to the wrong side of the fabric

 

having cut the hearts out, I positioned them on a square of calico

 

the last job of the day was to prep some diamonds with scrap fabric, to make a tumbling block

An unexpected visitor!

No, Stuart and Alison didn't arrive with an extra guest, but look what turned up overnight!  Fortunately the snow was only on the hills, and didn't spoil the weekend

 

I bottled the sloe gin, and gave S&A two bottles to take home with them

 

they had brought a treat for dessert - a box of delicious doughnuts!

 

on Saturday we headed over to Berwick.  Of course we couldn't show them the inside of the flat we are buying, but we did walk past, and pointed out the shops, restaurants, takeaways and pub in the vicinity.  As we walked over the old bridge, we were delighted to see the seal was there again

 

and he was still there when we came back over the bridge later on

 

we had an enjoyable, if slightly chilly walk.  The wind must have made things tricky for these golfers

 

I didn't need this sign to take care to stay away from the sharp drop beside the footpath

 

this is the rail viaduct, which carries the main line from Edinburgh to London

 

Saturday morning shoppers heading into town

 

as we headed for lunch, I was looking forward to a bowl of soup ......only to find that the soup of the day was cream of tomato, my least favourite soup!  So instead I had delicious macaroni cheese (it was such a generous serving that I gave some to Malcolm!)

 

when I was busy working in the studio yesterday afternoon, I was startled by a sudden loud noise ..... large hailstones rattling off  the veluxes

 

to finish, a little oooh and aaah ........ which of course means lambs!  These two, snuggling into their mum, look very new

Where's my breakfast??

No, that wasn't Malcolm shouting at me this morning, but Mrs Blackbird and Mr Robin

 

at patch'n'chat this afternoon I finnished the little macaron case which Glenda in Melbourne sent me

 

when I watered the orchids this morning, as usual I checked to see if there were any new flower shoots and buds.  This orchid has clung on to its last flowers since before Christmas, and has now put out a new shoot

 

this orchid hasn't flowered for months and months, but now not only has it put out a tiny shoot .......

 

....... it has also put out a tiny new orchid!

 

I must go, as Stuart and Alison will be arriving shortly to send the weekend with us.  We have a bottle of fizz chilling in the fridge, to celebrate Stuart's very big promotion at work!  So, as always, to end we have the Friday cake.  Annette had planned to bake our favourite apple and sultana cake - but she couldn't get the apples she needed when she went shopping!  But we didn't mind too much, when we tucked into her light-as-air fairy cakes (most of us had two!!)  Have a good weekend, love Anne 

Model pupils!

We had a much more relaxed morning at the college, as the ladies stitched away on their hexagon pincushions.  Last week they hardly spoke as they concentrated on the sewing, but this week there was lots of chatter as they prepped their hexagons and started stitching them together.  I didn't get round to taking photos until we were having our mid morning cuppa (again, biscuits may have been consumed)

Rosemary, Susan and Betty

 

Vera, Jane and Jo-an

 

I was sewing along with them

 

that looks familiar!

 

I almost finished my  first side - just one seam to sew

 

by the end of the morning, the ladies were well on the way to finishing their pincushions - did you notice their finished needle cases in the first photo?  They are looking forward to making their scissor holders next week, and they will also be getting an extra project - but you will have to wait until next week to find out what that is!

After the class I headed to Kelso to go to the hairdressers (that's why it was raining today!).  I had some time to kill, so I had a potter round the craft department in the Garden Centre.  First, I got some pressed paper eggs, to decorate and hang on my driftwood tree for Easter

 

this is sticky-backed fabric ........ I'm not sure what I'll do with it (cover notebooks perhaps), but it was reduced, which made it  a good buy

 

and last, this magazine was half-price ........

 

......... and who could resist these tiny buttons!

Which is my best side?

I had some help with the photos of my knitting progress, but the vain little bear just couldn't decide which was his best side

 

we were in Jedburgh this morning, and I didn't really intend to take photos ......... but I had to take some shots to show off the blue sky

 

back home, the filtering of the sloe gin goes on - it is a slow job

 

I have been doing more work on Mrs Billings, prepping large amounts of hexies

 

I popped a penny on top of one of the hexies to let you see how small they are

 

 

there were lots of sparrows in the garden this afternoon, with several of them drinking from the birdbath

 

every so often when we are out and about, Malcolm will issue a command to take a photo of something he has spotted ....... so, to finish, we have today's command

Gin at 8am!

No, don't worry, I wasn't indulging in an early tipple of Mothers' Ruin!  Stuart and Alison are comig to stay for the weekend, so I thought I would bottle the sloe gin, which has been maturing since November, so that they could take a bottle home with them

 

it looked a bit cloudy after being strained through the nylon sieve, so I shall have to put it through a paper coffee filter as well

 

on Saturday I headed to Abbey Row for Abbey Quilters' workshop

 

before it became a community centre, the building was a school

 

but why Abbey Row and Abbey Quilters?  Because of this

 

after a quick cuppa (and delicious cheese scones made by Val), the ladies settled down to make Japanese folded patchwork bags, with Lorraine and her Mum Ivy showing them what to do

 

Anne S soon had her first pieces prepped

 

in between making cuppas and washing the dishes, I did some work on Mrs Billings

 

Tricia, who was also on tea duty, was prepping pieces to make a bag

 

some people (I won't embarrass them by naming them!) used the floor as a bin!

 

Moira brought her kimono to show us - she was just auditioning the background fabric, you can see that it is a bit small

 

I was so busy pouring cups of tea theat I forgot to take a photo of the cakes that I took ........ no, don't be silly, I didn't bake them, Malcolm bought them for me on Friday!  But I did get a reasonable amount of work done on Mrs B

 

I did more stitching on her over the weekend, and have finished the centre. It is just sitting on a piece of white fabric for the moment - it will eventually be appliqued to a square of the background fabric

 

I have been working today on the step-by-step instructions for week 4 of Get Set for Patchwork

 

I should have had a knitting update as well, but I forgot to take a photo!