frayed at the edge

Another guest quilter

Before introducing you to the mystery quilter, some photos from yesterday evening and this morning

the big machine framed the boats

 

a catamaran came in to dock for the night

 

 

the first stitchery is almost finished

 

 

click to enlarge the photo to see how many seagulls were on the dockside and in the water

 

this afternoon, I asked Malcolm if he could pop into the studio for a minute.  Not suspecting that I was being mischievious, he was a bit surprised when I sat him down at the machine, which was set up for free motion quilting.  As he didn't want to lose face by saying that he couldn't do it, he had a go.  He filled in a gap between my doodles.  His doodling was ok, but he had trouble writing his name!

 

when I was having my practice on Sunday, I had trouble with this "c" curve ...... I had to concentrate so hard on which direction I was stitching in, the shapes were decidedly irregular

 

my first two efforts today were an improvement

 

then by my third attempt I finally got the hang of it

 

I thought I would have a go at an owl ........ Malcolm only laughed a little bit at it!

 

then I thought I would have a go at a sheep - perhaps it is as well that the thread ran out

 

after that I settled down to doing some prep for Mrs Billings, cutting out triangles for for the first border (I have done a lot of work on some of the outer borders)

 

while I was busy in the studio, Malcolm was playing with big boys toys in the garage

 

what was he making?  You know that I am going to tell you tomorrow!

Natural born stitcher*

So who was the mystery stitcher?  The story starts five years ago when Sarah and Andy came to visit.  Sarah was the first blogger that I met in real life, and we had a great day when she and Andy visited all those years ago.  So when Sarah got in touch to say that they would be in Northumberland again this summer for a holiday, of course we invited them for another visit.  They were a little bit late getting to us because of a major road diversion, so as soon as they arrived, we set of for lunch at Harestanes.  We were chatting so much I forgot to take a photo of lunch (delicious, freshly made sandwiches).  However, as we walked round the courtyard the camera came out

 

we then went to Mary Queen of Scots House in Jedburgh

 

the next stop was at Borderland Fabrics, but for some reason Malcolm and Andy chose not to go into the shop, and instead went to Border Meringues for a cuppa.  After Sarah did a little bit of fabric shopping, we joined the boys for a cuppa - but we resisted all the cakes and made do with the little meringues that came with our drinks

 

back home, we went out to the studio, as Sarah had asked if I would show her how to free motion quilt.  I had prepared a couple of sample pieces at the weekend, and looked out this book

 

I had a little go at the basic exercises on Sunday

 

so I was ready to show Sarah what to do

 

she took to it straightaway - Andy could only watch in wonder as she effortlessly doodled her designs

 

as she was doing so well, I rethreaded the machine with a luscious variegated thread, and she was off again

 

then, to finish, she stitched this owl on a branch, over her first efforts

 

unfortunately the weather wasn't good enough for us to have dinner outside, but the food tasted just as good eating at the kitchen table

asparagus soup (before the crumbled blue cheese was added)

 

roast chicken and gravy, with charlotte potatoes and Malcolm's green beans

 

meringue with 3-berry compote and cream

 

all too soon it was time for Sarah and Andy to head back to their holiday cottage.  We had a super day ...... and we hope it won't be another five years before we do it again!!

 

we zoomed off down to Stitchin' Heaven this morning, as Anne's major summer sale had just started.  The shop has been reorganised, and looks even better

 

Anne was cuddling a very special customer

 

Anne has started stocking some beautiful yarn, which comes from here.  So if you knit rather than sew, you can pop in to the shop and Anne will make you a cuppa while you decide which delicious colours to buy

 

after Malcolm dragged me out of the shop with rather a lot of fabric, we headed to Wooler.  We had lunch here, sharing a cheese and ham toastie and a cheese and onion toastie - yum!

 

but what was this?  Behind the coffee shop area, we discovered a small but perfectly formed patchwork shop.  It hasn't been open long, so if you are in the area, do pop in and support them

 

from Wooler, we came over to Berwick, so I am writing this post in the flat.  OK, I can here you all shouting "what did you buy"!  First, from Patchquirk, I got this super beach hut furnishing fabric, which will make more cushions for the flat

 

then from Anne's I got : the two white fabrics are for the Father Christmas wallhanging kits; the dark red variegated embroidery thread is for a Christmas project (I bought the fabric for it last year); the bright variegated threads are for stitcheries; the ruler is a handy size that I have been meaning to buy for some time; and the three coloured fabrics are for a Christmas throw for the couch in the flat

 

in case you don't think they are Christmas fabrics, here is a detail

 

of course if we are at the flat we have to have a swan photo (no close up of the seal, as Stuart has borrowed my big lens)

 

and to finish ...... I wonder if the person who parked this big machine on the dock left the keys in the ignition .......

 

*  apologies to Humble Pie for (almost) using their song title

It's usually town v country .........

........ but today we have country v seaside, as we are in Berwick (woo hoo, this is my first post from the flat!)

So lets start with some photos from yesterday's post-lunch walk

 donkeys

 

sheepies

 

the Mintos

 

the Eildons

 

my favourite view!

 

now for some photos taken on our post-lunch walk today

a misty grey sky behind the cliff

 

fishing from the breakwater

 

a small boat passing the lighthouse

 

do the golfers bite?

 

a seaside bee

 

the railway bridge in the background, with the road bridge in front

 

back at the flat, I had to check out the swans

 

and the seal obligingly popped his head out of the water

 

we saw this van and trailer before we went for our walk

 

then when we came back, a boom had been put round the pilot boat

 

but there didn't actually seem to be a problem, and eventually the boom was taken in again

 

I want one of these (please) ....... you can't tell from the photo, but it was going backwards!

 

the new cushions look good

 

and to finish - some things are the same whether they are in the country or at the seaside.  Can you tell which is the country seedhead arty photo, and which the seaside?

That's it all over .......

......... for another two years!  It may have taken a whole day to hang all the quilts, but it only took about an hour to take them all down again.  It had started to rain late in the afternoon, so our banner, which was hanging outside, got rather wet.  I brought it home and hung it out yesterday to dry

 

while I was waiting for Malcolm to get home from Berwick, I had some fun trying to take photos of the many bees in the garden  - just as you get them in focus they buzz off to the next flower

 

 

the olive tree is flowering

 

and the grapes are swelling

 

Malcolm came home with some photos of the dock.  Another large ship had come in, this time to be loaded

 

several large lorries came in and parked, spoiling his view somewhat!

 

once the ship was ready to leave, the pilot boat appeared

 

yet again the swans had to make a dash for safety!

 

on Saturday afternoon he was entertained by a great cloud of seagulls

I had to get an emergency appointment at the dentist this morning, as a filling had fallen out (it was soon sorted, and the bill was more painful than the treatment!)  When I parked in Hawick, I spotted this very large gull hopping from car to car 

 

I was a bit early for my appointment, so I walked along to the cauld

 

I was delighted to see a heron standing in the water - there have been few sightings of them this summer

 

 

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing

I saw a ship come sailing in ........

When we arrived at the flat on Saturday morning, we could see, through the mist, a large ship out at sea

 

we popped out for some shopping, and when we came back, the pilot boat ..........

 

......... was guiding the ship in

 

as the ship came round to follow the channel, we got a proper look at the size of it

 

so we were glued to the window to watch it coming into the dock

 

we held our breath as the ship squeezed in

 

we weren't the only ones watching - quite a crowd had gathered

 

the only ones not enjoying the spectacle were the swans, who gathered in the top corner of the dock, well away from the ship

 

I took these photos later, when the tide had gone out - you can see the channel of deep water that the  ship had to follow

 

it didn't take the seagulls long to check out the new arrival

 

when we got up yesterday it was raining, and although it did go off, we thought it would be a bit wet for a walk on the beach, so we headed down the A1, stopping first at Sunnyhills

 

where we indulged in some excellent sconnage

cheese

 

fruit

 

then it was on to Bamburgh, where we visited the Grace Darling museum.  I wasn't able to take photos in the museum, but when we went upstaits to the panorama window, I was able to take a photo looking out over the churchyard where she is buried

 

when we left the museum, we crossed the road to the church - it is so big I had to take two photos

 

Grace's grave is very elaborate, as befits a heroine

 

but how sad that she died so young

 

we then had a stroll round Bamburgh, which is dominated by the castle

 

our next stop was in Seahouses, where the harbour was busy in the afternoon sunshine

as we strolled round, we could smell the tantalising aroma of CHIPS!  There were several places where we could have bought a portion to share for lunch, but as soon as we saw this photo in the window we had to buy them here

 

these are probably the best chips we have ever eaten - crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside - we will be back for more!

 

we had an audience while we ate them, waiting for titbits - but they were much too good to share

 

Malcolm laughed when I wandered off to take a photo of this pile of wood - but then a man walking past came over to say that he was glad that it wasn't just him that found the pile a thing of beauty!

 

as we drove back towards Bamburgh, the castle again dominated the skyline

 

before we left this morning, the unloading of the ship commenced, with a succesion of lorries driving in and out

 

 to finish ........ we keep seeing a seal in the dock, but as soon as I reach for the camera it disappears below the water.  Finally, a (slighty fuzzy) photo

 

Keeping an eye on the time

We popped over to Berwick this morning, as we thought our dining furniture might be delivered - there was a bit of confusion, and finally we found out it won't arrive until next week.  Never mind, the sun was shining and we had a lovely day.  We took over some more bits and pieces, including this fun clock, which I got from here

 

once we had sorted out and put away the various bits and bobs, we headed out for lunch.  We went back to Cafe Crema, where we shared a bacon roll and a roll and sausage - delicious

 

we had a potter round the shops, popping into Serendipity, where we were delighted to see my lovely friend Caroline, who is one of the crafters involved in the shop.  She handed us a little parcel with a housewarming present

when we said how much we loved them, she introduced us to the woman who was standing behind the counter with her, saying that Catriona had made them, and had only just brought them into the shop this morning.  Malcolm had already given me some of Catriona's buttons and a brooch for Christmas, so it was good to meet her.  Thank you Caroline for the super gift - we have plans to frame them.

After we had finished our shopping, Malcolm suggested that we went for a little stroll along the old walls.  I guess the seagulls think these high buildings are better than cliffs

 

can you spot the three seagulls in this photo?

 

what a wonderful place to play golf (not that I ever would, I can't hit the ball)

 

as we walked on,  there was the lighthouse ....... I shall have to get Malcolm to do a drawing for me to turn into a quilt!

 

back at the flat, it was time to check on the swans ........ but where were they, there weren't any in sight.  Then two appeared at the entrance to the dock ........ and suddenly dozens of them appeared from the corner of the dock that we can't see

 

Malcolm pointed out these two unusual lorries on the other side of the dock

 

to finish, one last seagull ....... they love perching anywhere high - this one is on top of a floodlight

Creeping ever closer!

I thought that I should make the effort today to get everything ready for next week's Abbey Quilters' exhibition.  First task was to finish my name badge

 

I then had to make a patchwork sash to wear said badge on.  I pulled this bag from my scrap basket

 

and cut lots of strips

 

it didn't take long to chain piece them in pairs

 

then stitch the pairs in pairs, and then the pairs of pairs ....... well you get the idea!  Miss Mannequin was happy the model the trial run

 

a little bit short, so I added some more strips, then trimmed the edges

 

I folded the strip in half, and stitched across one end, then down the length of the strip

 

the next job was to turn the strip right side out.  For this I enlisted the help of a ruler

 

pushing the stitched end through, until it appeared out of the other end

 

I then unpicked the stitched end

 

so that I could press the sash with the seam in the centre

 

Miss Mannequin modelling the finished sash and badge

 

she was delighted with the trim on the ends of the sash

 

I finished putting labels and hanging sleeves on my quilts, then turned to the last job of the day ........ making a cushion for the raffle.  I looked out some curtain sample pieces - two pure silk ones, and two silk/linen mix ones.  The colour don't look quite right in the photo, despite several attempts - the fabric in the top left hand corner isn't grey!

 

the four squares stitched together

 

the back stitched on ....... now I just have to add the binding

 

I just laid the cover on top of the cushion pad to see how it looked - pretty good I think!

 

to finish, a few more photos from the weekend.  On Sunday, we went for a long walk on the beach, and of course did some beachcombing.  Malcolm collected lots of driftwood, and I picked up shells and sea glass.  Back at the flat, I washed my treasures, then added them to this little driftwood sculpture, which was the first one that Malcolm made

 

as well as watching the swans gliding in and out of the dock, there were also boats to be watched

how do you like this fine fellow - he is in a temporary frame, until we get a suitable one (I got the print here)

The furniture fairy?

We went over to the flat on Saturday morning ........ and what was this when I went into the lounge?  Had the furniture fairy visited ........ or had the furniture been delivered when Malcolm was there on Tuesday?

 

but the bed isn't being delivered until next Tuesday, so Malcolm had to inflate the temporary  bed (with the help of a battery-operated pump)

 

which turned out to be surprisingly comfortable

 

we had lots of stuff to sort out

 

so were more than ready for a cuppa

 

things took much longer to do than they normally would, because we had to keep seeing what the swans were doing.  They would swim into the dock

 

they would sit on the bank outside the dock when the tide was out

 

they would swim back out of the dock

 

and this one had to use his wings as if he was doing the butterfly stroke to get out of the way of the boat (click on the photo for a closer look)

 

then of course there is the lighthouse looking good in the sun

 

and we musn't forget the seagulls

 

when we were out for a walk yesterday, we spotted these seagull chicks on a roof

 

this one didn't look very happy

 

there was a nice sunset on Saturday

but last night we had torrential rain

 

followed by an amazing double rainbow

 

I still have lots more photos to sort out, so I'll share some more with you as the week goes on.  But to finish, we had better see what the swans are doing now