frayed at the edge

A chilly weekend

Usually when we get to Berwick, we go straight to the flat, unpack, then walk over to town.  But because of the horrid weather on Saturday morning, we drove into town first, parked, bought the newspapers, then went for a cuppa at The Corner House.  It had been refurbished since we were last in, and just as I took a photo, the owner walked into the shot - she looks like a ghost!

 

we shared a very tasty, if slightly small, scone

 

we decided it was too cold to go for a walk, so spent the afternoon reading the papers and watching football (Malcolm's team were thrashed!) on tv.  But there was some excitement when the lifeboat whizzed about the dock for a while

 

later on the sky cleared a bit, with some interesting clouds over the town

 

on Sunday morning we were going to go down the coast for a walk on one of the other beaches, but first we went out for a spot of breakfast.  But by  the time we had finished breakfast, the world had turned white!

 

so we had another afternoon of watching football (yawn) and cricket (Malcolm's team were thrashed!).  But then we had a special Valentine's dinner, courtesy of Marks and Spencers

 

and we musn't forget the wine and chocolates ......... all of that for £20!

 

when we got home this morning, it was to find rather a lot of snow.  Having unpacked and put on the first load of laundry, I decided that there was no way I was driving down into Hawick for my usual Monday morning food shop, so instead went out for a walk.  I did think about going for a drive in this tractor, as the engine was running, but there was no sign of the driver

 

you can see why I didn't want to go out in the car

 

the horses didn't mind the snow

 

an old field gate, with the sun behind it

 

the tractor, now loaded with hay, trundled past me

 

a lonely rosehip

 

a snow-covered sign

 

walking up the hill was easy for me

 

but driving down it wasn't quite so easy for this car

 

of course we have to have my favourite bit of scenery

 

why did I walk down to this gate?

 

to take these two arty photos of icy seed heads

 

 

on the way home, I couldn't resist taking photos of these gubbins, with the brilliant blue sky above them

 

I enjoyed my walk so much that I went out for another one after lunch, but I'll show you those photos tomorrow.  To finish, this photo is for Amy, to show her that I do sometimes crochet ..... I made this cosy shawl some years ago, and it was very welcome today for my two walks!

Home alone

The phone rang just after eight this morning,  It was Maureen to say that she was poorly, and would have to go to the doctor, so she wouldn't be able to come over for our sewing day.  She was very upset to let me down at the last minute, but of course I didn't mind (I deny that I was thinking, oh good, more cake for me!!).  I had been expecting a day  of hand sewing, interspersed with cups of tea, biscuits and cake, and of course gossiping blethering erudite conversation.  So what did I do instead?  First, I pressed the latest knitted blanket for Linus

 

then while the table was clear, I layered up the two brushed cotton baby quilts, using my latest gadget

 

then I got organised to make more blocks for the black and red quilt (or is it red and black?).  I forgot to say that Abbey Quilters' exhibition is in July and I thought I ought to start making some quilts for it!!  I looked out these fabrics

 

and cut lots of strips

 

which I stitched together

 

by then it was time for lunch, and I headed into the house.  I often mention going out to the studio or into the house, so here is my journey from the house to the studio.  From the back door I cross the deck

 

then go past the garage 

 

round the summerhouse

 

and into the studio

 

I had my favourite home-alone lunch (Malcolm doesn't like it)

 

then it was back to work, cutting squares on the diagonal from the stitched-together strips

 

having cut four squares, I put them on the design wall

 

and added some of the black and red squares

 

then I stitched together more strips and cross cut them into squares, and cut squares from the red fabrics

 

and turned them into more squares

 

by the end of the afternoon, I had this on the design wall

 

and now, the moment you have been waiting for, my Friday cake!  This is what it looked like when it came out of the oven yesterday

 

the recipe says it can be served with or without butter, so I cut my piece in half to try it both ways ...... as I don't eat a lot of butter, I would be quite happy to eat it without it.  It is a lovely moist fruit cake, although it has no fat in it.  I would say it is a cross between a traditional fruit cake and a dumpling

 

there is snow in the forecast for the weekend, but hopefully we will still get a walk on the beach.  And of course it is Valentine's Day on Sunday, so we will be having a romantic dinner with a glass or two of fizz.  Have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

 

I baked a cake!

Yes, it's true, I baked a cake today!  As there is no patch'n'chat tomorrow, I asked Maureen if she would like to come over for a sewing day, and rashly said I would bake a cake for us.  Yesterday I looked out a recipe, and as directed soaked the fruit overnight, ready to make the cake this morning

 

we had a little piece with our afternoon cuppa (just to check that it was edible!) but you will have to wait until tomorrow to see how it turned out!  I thought I should also tidy the studio, so that we had slightly more than a square foot of table to work on.  First, the two "before" photos

 

ok, there is a third "before" photo, but it is a bit embarrassing to show the state of the carpet

 

after a bit of tidying, and quite a lot of vacuuming, here are the "after " photos

 

did you notice that I had a little play with the black and red blocks?

 

when I was doing the housework this afternoon, the sun was shining in the bathroom window on my little box of succulents

 

but the succulents aren't quite what they seem to be - if you look in the centres you will see wicks.  Yes, they are candles!  And this last photo doesn't have a dirty mark across it!  It is the telephone wire on the other side of the road, which is out of focus behind the sparrow!

Giving a hand

Almost all the members turned up last night at Abbey Quilters, so as it was a very busy I offered to help Tricia with her folded Japanese workshop.  So that meant I didn't make a sample last night, but in true Blue Peter tradition, here is one I prepared earlier, when I had a trial run last week in the studio!

the three fabrics chosen from my stash

 

the block assembled ready to stitch

 

the reverse side of the block

 

one of Tricia's samples, showing how the blocks can be put together

 

when I was rootling through my scrap basket recently, I unearthed these strips, left over from a project from several years ago

 

I stitched the sets of three strips to the sets of four strips

 

and having cross cut the strips into squares, I got out some red fabrics

 

and cut out an equal number of squares

 

after marking a diagonal line on the red squares

 

I put a strip square and a red square together and stitched either side of the marked line

 

I cut along the marked line

 

and pressed the squares

 

I trimmed the squares to size

 

then had a play arranging them on the design wall

 

I know that I have more black fabrics in my stash, as well as more red fabrics, so I can make more blocks

 

this morning we headed out to Pirn House for a spot of lunch, passing this fabulous house, which is now almost finished

 

it was so good to see the blue sky

 

although these horses in a rather muddy field didn't look overly happy!

 

you know that I usually get no further on the menu at Pirn House than the French toast, bacon and maple syrup, but having had scrambled eggs for breakfast, I thought I should have something different!  So I had a most delicious coronation chicken sandwich

 

while Malcolm had roast beef, tomato and horseradish

 

after lunch we headed to Kelso, as I was going to the hairdressers and Malcolm was going to the barbers (he was in the barbers for about five minutes, I was in the hairdressers for about ninety!!).  As we were a bit early for my appointment, we went for a walk by the river

 

and to finish ...... when you are taking photos from the car, they don't always turned out as planned, when a road sign jumps out and gets in the way!!

 

 

 

It's a hoot!

First up today is the animal quilt - I chose this cute owl fleece for the back

 

after pinning the layers together, I quilted the centre with a lazy loopy meander

 

woohoo - I have done more work on Mrs Billings.  I prepped all the big hexies

 

after stitching the first set together, I pinned them in place

 

I got out my Mrs B project tin, with the beautiful Japanese silk threads that I have been using

 

and handstitched the hexies in place.  I am really pleased with how it looks, after all the agonising over what to do instead of the horrid diamonds

 

work has been progressing on the stitchery hexies

 

for each small bite, I select the next set of fabrics from the stack of fat quarters.  There were four colourways for this next pattern - for some of them there are six

 

I've had to take the ones you saw above off the design wall as there is a new project on it (more about that tomorrow), but I squeezed these ones on at the bottom for the photo

 

not a lot more to do - although I have another five over at the flat

 

on a mission to use up some of my stash making Linus quilts, I looked out these brushed cottons, which I had bought as a scrap bag

 

and added in these checked fabrics, which are also brushed cotton

 

after a bit of slicing, dicing and stitching, I had these two centres made

 

I then bought these two exceedingly cute fabrics to use as borders and backing

 

I just have to pin the layers together and they will be ready to quilt, and I will use the false binding technique to finish them

 

I must dash, as tonight is the monthly Abbey Quilters' meeting.  We will be doing a folded Japanese block - hopefully I will have it finished to show you tomorrow.

Two days in a row!

On Saturday morning we were treated to a colourful sunrise .......

 

...... and as the weather was better than forecast, we wrapped up warmly and braved the cold wind to go for a walk on the beach.  As you can see, the sea was rather rough

 

this tree stump looked as if it was growing in the sand

 

there are still a lot of tyres lying on the beach after the recent storms - we have no idea where they have come from

 

there are also a lot of turnips - I would have thought the seagulls would have eaten them, as they often scavenge for food

 

there are still great rotting heaps of vegetation

 

there are several piles like this one, which weren't there when we were last on the beach

 

every so often along the beach there are stony stretches

 

the tide was coming in rapidly

 

so we decided to retreat up on to the promenade

 

this dog had been standing, watching us approach, but as soon as I went to take her photo she sat down and glared at me!

 

we were delighted that the cafe was open again, as we were frozen and in need of a hot drink, and some hot food 

 

we may have had chips the previous evening, but that didn't prevent us from sharing a bowl for lunch!

 

then yesterday on our way home, we popped into the garden centre in Kelso for a spot of sconnage.  Despite all those chips and the scone, when I weighed myself this morning I had lost half a pound!!  I may have to patent my new diet

 

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing, but to finish ........ I should print out this photo and hang it up in the bathroom for visitors to see - because we have our own little sewage plant, we have to be very careful about what goes down the loo!

A box of delights

Just for fun, today's post is in reverse order!  As there was no patch'n'chat today (the shop hasn't yet reopened after being flooded), we came over to the flat this afternoon, and we have just had dinner ........ Malcolm popped out to the local chip shop, and came back with this box

 

which contained the most wonderful fish supper.  As you can see, it was a rather large helping, so we shared it

 

when we arrived, there was a rather large ship in the dock

 

it was being loaded, so hopefully we will see it leave tomorrow

 

when we arrived in Berwick, we parked in the town before going to the flat, as I had a parcel to post.  I treated us to a cuppa ...... and cake.  I had toffee crunch - a little bit sweet, but delicious

 

and Malcolm had toffee cabana, which had a layer of coconut under the chocolate - yummy

 

I met Maureen in Hawick for lunch - but we were blethering so much I forgot to take photos!  However I did take these two photos, to compare with the ones I took when the rivers were flooded.  First, the rocks can be seen again, but the heron hasn't returned

 

the white house on the left was flooded, with the river right up to the walls.  The two men in hi-viz give the scale to how many feet the river rose in the floods

 

and last, a bit of sewing from yesterday.  I found this fat quarter of animals in my stash (when I was looking for something else!)

 

and added the chicken fabric, and the orange fabric which was left over from a recent Linus quilt

 

after squaring the fat quarter, I added a chicken border

 

then an orange border - a quick make which will become another quilt for Linus

 

and I also made the binding

 

how long did that take ....... as long as it took me to listen to SuBo and several country tracks

 

with a pause to drink my mug of hot chocolate, which Malcolm brought out to the studio for me (he's a keeper!!)

 

the forecast isn't too good, so I don't think we'll be walking on the beach.  Whatever your weather, have a good weekend, love Anne

 

 

The things I do for you!

It was a bit wet when we got up this morning, but by the time we popped into Hawick the sky had cleared and the sun had come out, so I decided to go for a walk when we got back home to take photos of the lambs.  This involves walking for a mile there, then of course a mile back ....... only for you, dear readers, would I do this!!  Along the way, I kept seeing snowdrops - why do they grow in the verge and not in my garden?!

 

I think these are aconites but I don't have my wildflower book to hand to check

 

the "whomping willow" tree is still standing, despite the gales

 

I thought I would see if there were any lambs in a field some distance from the road.  This meant either climbing over this gate

 

or walking along this muddy path ....... I chose the path

 

but I should have paid more attention to where I stepped!

 

there were no lambs in that field - but there was this handsome chap

 

so it was on down the road to the other field, where we saw the lambs yesterday.  Are you ready to go aaaw and aaaah

 

and all those woolly little lambs lead to a knitting update!  My mojo is well and truly back - indeed it is working overtime!  I have knitted a blanket for Linus

 

the blanket makes a nice backdrop for my socks

 

I've started another blanket for Linus.  I'm using two balls of four ply in different shades of purple.  It's an unusual pattern, knitted on two different sizes of needles - you do seven rows using one pair, then seven rows using the other

 

yesterday I got out my swift

 

and my ball winder

 

to wind this hank of sock yarn

 

in no time at all the hank was turned from this

 

into this

 

I popped the ball into my yarn bowl

 

and started another pair of socks!

 

and to finish - I grew up drinking Irn Bru (Scotland's other national drink) and I still drink it (although I do drink the sugar-free one now).  Over the years there have been wonderful (and at times controversial) adverts for Irn Bru, and one theme is celebrating its 30th anniversary - "made in Scotland from girders".  I bought this special edition can the other day.  I have to show you it in two photos, because of the curve of the can

 

ps - never mind a vodka and tonic, I can recommend a vodka and girders!!

 

 

Out and about

Yesterday, I went for a brief walk after lunch - brief because it was very windy and very cold!  Here are a few of the photos I took .......

snowdrops in front of a neighbour's wall

 

the Minto Hills, misty in the distance

 

some very nasty potholes!

 

my favourite view

 

 

the church

 

a rather muddy horse

this one's mane was blowing in the wind!

 

a miserable looking donkey

 

the next photos were taken from the car on the way to Jedburgh this morning

 

just look at the blue sky in these photos of the Abbey!

 

more blue sky behind the Clock Tower

 

an excellent shadow shot

 

a traditional red phone box

 

then it was on to the Woodside Garden Centre for lunch

 

I had bacon, brie and cranberry sandwiches

 

and Malcolm had ham, cucumber and mustard mayo

 

while Malcolm paid the bill, I had a look at the garden round the tearoom.  An interesting seedhead caught my eye

 

I couldn't quite read the label for this - I think it was a variety of crocosmia

 

a lovely rusty old water pump

 

I saw this in the shop - I don't think I will be buying it for the birds in our garden!

 

we haven't been using the back road to and from the house, because of all the potholes (see above).  But we did today, to see if the Jacob's lambs had arrived ....... and we were rewarded with a few.  I could just see some more way over at the back of the field - I will need to go back with the big lens to capture them

 

back home, the birds were enjoying the better weather.  This great tit was flitting about, flying off before I could get it in focus, before it finally settled on the bin store

 

this is a very fierce looking sparrow, but I don't know what the bird behind it is - I forgot to look it up in my bird books

 

Nibbling away

I have been continuing with my "small bites" way of working, and am enjoying seeing progress on several projects.  But I won't show you the work in chronogical order, but rather the progress on each project.  First, is the panda cushion.  The first photo was taken in natural light, the second photo with the light on, then the other two photos were taken with a different camera.  So although it looks like different pandas, it is just the one!

the back of the cushion pinned in place

 

the binding stitched to the sides

the top and bottom binding added

 

and the finished cushion

 

the baby quilt for Linus

 

I love the backing fabric .......

 

........ it reminds me of my teenage years

 

I did say that I was making two the same!

 

I started doing some more work on Mrs Billings, but despite my last plan to applique the diamonds in place, I just didn't like them, so it was over to plan C (or is it D?!).  I like hexies, so I am going to put hexies in the border.  I got out these papers, which were free with a magazine - a good fit

 

then I thought I would also put hexies in the narrow border

 

I soon had the hexies cut out, even fussy cutting the ones on the bottom left ......

 

....... except I forgot which way round they would sit in the border - oops!

 

next, another batch of hexie stitcheries (I told you I like hexies!).  I cut out the next six, and just pinned the fabrics to the hexies in the order they came off the pile, so it wasn't planned that the pink fabric would go with the pink elephant!

 

so that's ten done, and looking good

 

and to finish - I took these photos just after half past eight this morning.  It was just by chance that I looked out the window in the guest bedroom and saw the amazing colours in the sky