frayed at the edge

Leaves on the lawn

It may be the last day of July, and therefore still summer, but the silver birch tree in the front garden obviously thinks it is autumn, and had started shedding its leaves!

 

we recently received a letter from our electricity supplier, telling us that we would have no power today between 9.00am and 4.30pm.  On Monday I received a phone call from a very earnest young man at the power company, checking that we had received the letter, and giving me lots of advice about switching off/unplugging things ..... I bit my tongue and didn't tell him, that considering how often our power has been off recently, I am well aware of what to do!  Anyway, we showered early and generally made sure we had done anything that required power before 9am.  Now, we have a slight problem when the power is off ....... we can't flush the toilet, as our little sewage plant goes off, so thought we might as well head go out.   Malcolm headed off to Galashiels, and I headed off to the garden centre in Kelso.  Armed with a pot of tea and a pot of extra hot water, I sat and read my book.  On the way in I had spotted a display of beautiful orchards, which were on special offer, so one of them had to come home with me

then I went to Julian's fruit and veg shop, which is attached to the garden centre.  As I was being served by a delightful young man, my phone rang.  Seeing that it was the power company, I apologised and said I needed to answer.  Well ....... the young man on the other end announced that the planned power cut hadn't gone ahead, in a manner that suggested I should be pleased to hear that.  In a rather cross tone of voice I suggested that he might have let me know at 9am, not at 11.30.  Why, he said ...... because then I wouldn't have left home at 9am I replied.   While the conversation continued, the delightful young man put my purchases in my shopping bag, and even put my change into my purse and zipped it shut, then gave me a cheery wave goodbye!  I didn't bother taking photos of the veggies (a bit boring) - asparagus, mushrooms and a bag of mixed peppers.  But look at these beautiful cherries ........

 

....... and on the left flat peaches, and on the right flat nectarines

 

and of course we have the Friday cake.  There were only a few of us there this afternoon, so we had a rather large piece each of the delicious Danish apple cake

 

over the weekend, we will pop in to see the exhibition that we helped set up on Monday, and we might even have a walk on the beach!  I hope that you have a good weekend, love Anne

A revamped project

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had been asked to provide a project for the members of Abbey Quilters to do at our first meeting of the new session , on the second Tuesday of September.  I had decided to do something based on my thistle stitchery pattern, but hadn't really developed the idea.  Then, yesterday, I had a lightbulb moment, and decided to design a sewing kit.  So I removed the borders I had previously added to the stitchery I had worked.  From left to right, the thistles are stitched with running stitch, back stitch and stem stitch

 

I cut a piece of felt the same size as the stitchery, and another piece that was half the height (the black area in the top left corner is a shadow ....... the sun managed to come out just as I took the photo!)

 

I marked and stitched two lines to make pockets

 

I then decided to sub-divide the pockets, to give nine small pockets into which I could put lots of sewing bits and bobs

 

once the extra lines had been stitched, I cut a piece of fusible web and bonded the felt to the stitchery - but I forgot to take a photo of that stage!  The last stage was to add binding

 

so here is the finished sewing kit, filled with my bits and bobs

 

the first side folded over

 

and then the second

 

to finish - there was a slight hiatus on Sunday when I went to work on my next stitchery.  I discovered that I had only prepped the first sixteen, so I had to sit and baste the next sixteen to the wadding.  Having forgotten that I hadn't done them, it was funny that this was the next stitchery!!

 

A little bit of bling!

Some weeks ago, I saw a little feature on a beautiful ring in a magazine.  I tore it out, eventually got round to looking at the website and even printed out the guide to ring sizes.  Then I forgot about it until last week, when I got myself organised, measured one of my rings on the guide, and ordered the ring.  On opening the envelope yesterday, I found this delightful tiny drawer

 

which pulled open to reveal this little thing of great beauty

 

a moonstone, a pearl, a peridot and a ruby, set in silver ....... I am so in love with my new ring!  If you too would like one, then click here.  Not only is the jewellery beautiful, it is very reasonably priced, and the service was excellent (and of course I should say here that no-one is paying me to say this!)

 

we popped over to Pirn House for lunch today.  Over the months we have seen this house on the way being built.  Malcolm was able to stop this morning so that I could take a photo ..... it looks fabulous, and will be stunning when it is finished

 

Malcolm had a very tasty ham and cheese toastie

 

when I look at the menu, all I can see is "French toast, bacon and maple syrup", so that is what I had (yet again!!)

 

on the way home, Malcolm spotted these fat woolly bundles ....... and good soul that he is, he turned and went back so that I could jump out to take photos.  I think these Jacob's sheep are in dire need of shearing!!

 

I was busy sewing this afternoon, but I'll tell you about that tomorrow.  On my way back across the garden at the end of the afternoon, I stopped to take some photos.  These clematis flowers have survived the heavy rain showers of the last few days

 

we have lots of teeny tiny olives

 

and some teeny tiny grapes

 

the poppies may have finished flowering, but the seedheads still add interest to the border

 

to finish - the bees were so busy buzzing round the lamb's ears, that this was the closest that I got to a photo of one!!

Sweet treats

On Saturday, I got out my tried and trusted preserves book.  I bought it some years ago in a charity shop, but it actually dates back to the 70s

 

then I got out my snazzy new scales (the old ones are now over in the flat) to weigh the blackcurrants

 

I gave them a good rinse

 

and stripped them from the stalks

 

I added some water, and left them to simmer for about 45 minutes

 

while they were simmering, I weighed the gooseberries (I just wanted to show off the snazzy scales again!)

 

after washing them, I simmered them with a little water, then pressed them through a sieve

 

there then followed an awful lot of stirring ...... and stirring ...... and even more stirring

 

but it was worth to produce all these jars of delicious loveliness

 

by the time the curd was made, the blackcurrants were ready to go into the jelly bag to drip through

 

on Sunday morning, I transferred the juice to a jug and left it in the fridge while we went over to Berwick, then this afternoon I put it in a large pyrex bowl with some jam sugar and zapped it until it reached setting point.  It produced two jars of luscious jelly

 

although I think the set may be just a little bit on the firm side ........

 

while I was busy in the kitchen on Saturday, Malcolm was cutting to size the two tops that I bought for the chest of drawers and the right hand unit

 

I bought these four box shelves some time ago in a charity shop, but hadn't yet used them.  I was pleased to find that my cork board (made by Malcolm) fitted exactly in between them

 

we found these white box shelves half-price lasst week, and I already had the long shelf, so it was a low-budget job to give me display space for my tins

 

and there was room beside the tv for my old Singer sewing machine 

 

to finish ...... the gooseberry curd is a little bit runny, but it was delicious for pudding on Sunday, with meringue and a little taste of leftover strawberry and champagne cream!!

A veritable pot pourri of a weekend

I was very busy in the kitchen at home on Saturday, and then equally busy in the studio, but I will tell you about that tomorrow.  Instead, I will start with what we have been doing in Berwick, both yesterday and today.  When we arrived yesterday, we went out for a walk round the town

old chimneys

 

who needs a cliff when you can use chimneys!

 

a different view of the lighthouse

 

a pigeon on the old walls

 

more old walls

 

did the English defenders fire on the pesky Scots invaders from here?

 

windpower

 

horsepower!

 

looking down the High Street ...... then looking up at the buildings

 

 

 

the window of the new dental practice

 

of course after all that walking we needed sustenance

a tasty cheese scone

 

and a delicious toasted teacake 

 

and back at the flat, the swans were waiting in the dock for us

 

this morning, we were helping to set up this exhibition

 

I have two pieces in it - my "Sunset Over the Bay" wallhanging, and a little canvas with a driftwood and seaglass boat (which you can just see perched on the radiator on the left)

 

Malcolm was helping with things involving large ladders

 

while I was assigned this wall to pin up some schoolchildren's work

 

after I had pinned up all my pieces

 

I helped Malcolm to hang these paintings of the lighthouse

 

while on the other side of the room, there was some discussion about the positioning of my wallhanging

 

all too soon it was time for us to head off for some lunch, and on the way out I picked up this card, illustrated by local author Cara Lockhart Smith

 

this side shows you where the Watchtower Gallery is (bottom left), should you be able to come to the exhibition

 

while this side shows the wider area

 

we had a rather indulgent lunch.  Malcolm's didn't win any points for presentation, but it was exceedingly tasty ...... homemade corned beef pie, with rather a lot of beans

 

while I had a delicious Coronation chicken panini 

 

we had lunch at Marshall's, and popped into the outlet shop afterwards for a quick look round.  I was very glad that we did, as I got the bargain of the year (if not the decade!!)  A super warm jacket, which will be good for walking on the beach in the winter

 

it has an extra detachable bit inside, which when fastened grips round the hips to stop the wind blowing in

 

I wouldn't have paid the original price, although I may have paid the outlet price ........

 

......... but all I paid was £19!!!

The morning meeting

This year for the first time we had starlings nesting in the ivy (I didn't manage to take photos of any of them).  There must have been several nests in the area, as every morning they all meet up on the phone wires across the road

 

there is always a squabble for the best positions - move over, no you move over!

 

this afternoon, Maureen gave me a jar of her summer fruit jam, which she had just made this morning.  I may have to attempt making some scones ...... there is nothing finer to have with a cuppa than a scone with cream and delicious home made jam!

 

she has a very productive garden, and also brought me luscious plump blackcurrants

 

and delicious red gooseberries ....... I guess I will be busy making jam, jelly and curd over the next few days!

 

and now for the Friday cake ....... our favourite apple and sultana.  There were only a few of us there at the start of the afternoon, so we were anticipating a large slice each - we were unhappy bunnies as more and more people arrived and the envisioned slices got smaller!!

 

apart from the afore-mentioned jam/jelly/curd making, I hope to do some sewing over the weekend!  I hope you have an enjoyable weekend, love Anne

 

 

Photos from another planet?

We have all been fascinated by the photos of Pluto ......... but did I find a new planet when I was taking photos in the front garden last night?

 

alas no ....... it was just me playing about with the camera settings when taking photos of the sunset!

 

the front garden looked slightly different when I popped out to take some photos this afternoon

 

the cherry tree was given a good taking to, after only producing five cherries last year.  Oh dear, there hasn't been any improvement in this year's crop!

 

this is the beginnings of a quince ..... for the last few years the quince haven't matured, but hopefully they will this year, so we can have some quince jelly

 

I haven't fed my orchids for a while ...... they generally thrive on neglect!  But when I saw the drip feeders on a BOGOF this morning, I thought I would give them a treat!

 

and to finish ...... I bought this bag of salad leaves this morning for tonight's dinner.  As you can see it contains 90g

we had half the bag each - a generous serving.  But according to this panel, a serving is 80g.  You would have to be very fond of salad to eat that much in one sitting - and what would you do with the leftover 10g?

 

 

You have seen the before .......

......... so here is the (not quite finished) after.  Having already sorted out my magazines, today I turned my attention to my books.  I find it hard to part with books, but I was very strict with myself and ended up with a big pile to go to the charity shop.  The bookshelves were looking good, with even a small space left on the top shelf

 

but then I went out to the garage to bring in some more stuff ...... and found more books and magazines!

 

I have sorted out my fabric (none of that is being given away!) and stored it all away neatly.  OK, I admit it, I took the photo before all the fabric was in place!!

 

so here is the view from the four corners

 

and now for some sewing!  I have finished another two stitcheries ....... so that's half of them done!!

 

or perhaps I should have said almost, as I ran out of brown thread and have still to embroider the tree trunks

 

did you notice the big project box on the table?   That's my Aunts' Quilt box.  Yesterday afternoon I looked out my Perfect Circles

 

ready to make a start to the many, many circles I need to finish the applique on the corner and setting triangles

 

the circles for the first triangle

 

the method is simple - a line of running stitch round the edge

 

put the circle in place and draw up the thread

 

a quick press, and there is the first perfect circle

 

this is the last you will see of the circles until next month's report!!

A taste of honey

In one of those little coincidences in life, we had already decided to visit the Chain Bridge Honey Farm on Sunday morning, before I finished the jar of honey on Saturday.  We started with  a walk round the visitor centre, where we learned all there is to know about bee-keeping through the years.  Then we had a cuppa - in a bus!

 

as we can remember travelling on buses like this when we were little, we headed for the upper deck, which was the preferred place to sit.  We could have sat at one of these little tables

 

but we preferred to sit at the front, where we tucked into a delicious cheese scone .....

 

...... and a slice of lemon drizzle cake, which came with a little dish of superb lemon curd

 

suitably refreshed, we headed back outside to see lots of  old vehicles and tractors

 

I was rather taken with this old caravan

 

it has been beautifully restored inside

 

there was also a wonderful collection of old household appliances.  I was careful not to get any part of my anatomy caught in the mangles

 

I remember that we had a Hoover like this when I was little (I'm not that old, it was probably my Granny's!)

 

as soon as I saw it, I remembered the words on the front

 

just a short walk from the Honey Farm is the Union Chain Bridge.  On one side of the river you are in  .........

 

......... and on the other side you are in

 

with this wonderful old bridge to cross from one to the other

 

 

there are plans to restore the bridge

 

there are wonderful views from the bridge

 

of course we had to buy some honey ...... after much deliberation, we settled on this one

 

and these two cards also came home with ....... but I don't think I will be sending them to anyone, but rather I will be framing them!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a studio update ........ and some sewing!!

Delete, delete, delete!

On Saturday afternoon, while Malcolm was out, I caught up on some way-overdue housekeeping on my laptop.  First was my "favourites" list, where I have all the blogs I read, the on-line shops I use, a few YouTube music videos and some quilting tutorials.  A lot of things were deleted, and the list was reorganised into categories ...... a good job done!  Next, I sorted out my photos.  I take lots of photos, and I always mean to keep on top of things, putting them into the appropriate folders, and deleting those which were taken for the blog and don't need to be kept.  So I won't have to wade through dozens of daily folders to find the photos for today's post, after a very serious amount of delete, delete delete!!

I made some honey butter on Saturday - I first encountered this when we were in Australia last year, but only made it once when we got back home, but for some reason I remembered about it on Saturday.  There was just enough honey left in the jar .......

....... to beat into some softened butter

 

the delicious honey butter was spread on toasted teacakes to have with our afternoon cuppa

 

 

you can see that the lifeboat was travelling at speed - but this was on the way back to the lifeboat station, not on the way out to a rescue!

 

I have lots of photos from what we did yesterday morning, so I will save them for tomorrow, and instead show you what happened in the afternoon.  First, we went for a walk on the beach - there were two little boats flying along on the stiff breeze

we made a new friend

 

of course there has to be a photo of the lighthouse

 

and Bamburgh Castle away in the distance

 

a little clump of beach detritus

 

most of the groynes have been covered up as the sand has shifted over the winter

 

but the little bit left exposed provided me with two arty photos

 

after our walk, we headed along to the old bridge to wait for the float parade.  We could see over to "Reaper", which had its sail raised, as the wind had dropped

 

we had a little while to wait for the parade to appear, so we succumbed to temptation

 

at last the parade appeared, led for some reason by a police riot van!!

 

later in the afternoon, there was a flurry of activity on "Reaper", as the sail was lowered and secured

 

then she swung round

 

and headed round the channel and out to sea

 

and to finish ...... on Saturday afternoon the swans suddenly took off at a great rate of knots, heading out of the dock

 

what had spooked them?  A crowd of rowdy canoeists!