frayed at the edge

School's out!!

When I got to the College this morning, Tracey wasn't there, so after dealing with the burglar alarm, the next job was to put the urn and the kettle on.  Why both?  Because I needed my cuppa there and then, not later when the urn had come up to the boil!!

 

after a general chat about quilting designs, I showed the students how to hand quilt, then they set about making a start to their practice pieces

Betty

Jo-an

 

Jane

 

Susan

 

on our last morning, the table stayed quite tidy!  

 

all to soon it was time to pack up and say goodbye.  We have had highs and lows along the way, but we have had lots of fun too.  Hopefully I will see them in November for the Father Christmas workshop.

I then headed to Kelso, to help with the setting up of the Abbey Quilters' exhibition ....... I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.  

After a rainy evening yesterday, we had a striking sunset

 

the horses grazed peacefully as the sun set

 

to finish ....... I was entertained this morning by the young robin having his bath

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

 

Feathered brained!

We have been allowed into the big room at the College, as the other class has finished - it's wonderful to have all the extra space

 

the students arrived with their finished blocks, and Betty was persuaded to go first to lay hers out.  She has used a lovely mix of children's fabrics, as the quilt will be used by her grandchildern when they visit

 

Betty has also made an extra block, a wonderful lion.  I suggested that she could make it into a cushion to go with the quilt

 

next was Jo-an, with her autumn tones.  Her tumbling blocks are fabulous, and she said that was her favourite block to stitch

 

Susan went third ....... she has slightly less done as she was away on holiday for some of the time and missed a class.  It's amazing how the different colour choices alter the look of the quilt, given that they are all made with the same blocks

 

and last was Jane, who has struggled at times, as she didn't learn to sew as a child.  However she is making good progress now, and we all love her fabrics

 

next week will be our last (boo hoo) and I will be teaching them to hand quilt, and also how to bind their quilts.  It will be some weeks (or months) until they are all finished, so I hope we will be able to get together some time in the future to see the quilts.

When I got home, there were two interesting little packages for me.  The first one had a neat little packet it in

 

which contained little buckles for the Father Christmas wallhanging kits

 

the other package contained teflon washers to use under the sewing machine bobbin, to help it run more smoothly.  Thay were recommended by Leah Day, when I was watching her Craftsy free motion quilting class, so I thought I would try them.  I will let you know how I get on with them

 

so, to today's title.  I hope you didn't think I was referring to any (or all) of my students!  Rather, it refers to this young sparrow, who was giving his feathers a good going over this morning

 

ah, that's better ....... what a handsome sparrow I am!

 

to finish, a bit of fun.  Jane brought this to class this morning .........

 

 

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

An early start!I

Determined to take a nice selection of photos for you, I made an early start, catching this young robin in the bath just after 7am

 

I water the house plants every second Friday, and was delighted this morning to find another orchid has flowered.  It is just a teeny, tiny one, but the markings are striking

 

the lilies in the hall are going over and will soon head for the compost bin (please note that I managed to avoid getting my reflection in the mirror!)

 

 

the horses in the field across the road were having a leisurely morning

 

at patch'n'chat this afternoon, Margaret was working on another of her fabulous applique quilts (click on the photos to enlarge them to see the wonderful details of her embroidery)

 

Annette wasn't in the shop today, so we were worried that we wouldn't get our usual Friday cake ....... but all was well, as this wonderful raspberry and cream meringue roulade had been purchased from Border Meringues, whose shop is only a few minutes walk from Borderland Fabrics

 

back home, we had tacos for dinner ......... I liked the colours of the platter of accompaniments

 

 

at this point, I saved what I had written so far, as I had just taken some more photos, and wanted to include them  We started with a little bird having a bath after breakfast , and now we have a large one having a bath after dinner!

the forecast isn't too good for the weekend, but I am sure that won't stop us from having a visit to our lovely new holiday home.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

A change in the weather

It's just as well I took these photos of the garden yesterday when the sun was shining, as today has been cloudy and windy.  Everytime I go to and from the studio, I brush against the lavender, releasing a cloud of scent

 

the planter that Malcolm made last year is looking good

 

the shady corner is thriving - I wonder if there are exotic creatures hiding in the luxuriant foliage

 

Malcolm's beans are doing well

 

as are my courgettes

 

the grape vine and olive tree are thriving in their new planter

 

at the back of the garden, the air is full of the scent of honeysuckle

I had to get a new memory card for my camera - the old one simply came apart!  When I put it in the camera this morning, I saw this little sparrow in the garden.  A quick photo to check the card was working ok .........

 

but the cheeky chap flew off as I took a second photo

 

fortunately he didn't fly far, and I was able to take another photo of him

 

 

What kind of doughnuts?!

I spotted these when we were shopping on Saturday ........ they turned out to be quite tasty!!

 

we had a couple with a cuppa as we started to get organised in the flat.  Of course, with all the sport that it on at the moment, some things take priority!

 

another priority ........

 

it didn't take long to go from a jumble in the kitchen

 

to neat and tidy ........

 

.......... despite frequent looking out the window to monitor swan movements

 

yesterday morninng we went over to the Waterwheel Cafe.  We parked and went for a walk along to the cauld to see the archimedes screw

 

 

We were amazed to see that there are major earthworks in progress

 

which of course meant major machinery

 

however as we walked on along the river, peace and calm was restored

 

we saw several trees like this, infested with strange looking webs

 

it won't be long until the thistles turn purple

 

the insects were busy

 

the river was very low ......

 

which meant there was no overspill to turn the old waterwheel

 

then, of course, it was time for a spot of sconnage for lunch

tasty cheese

delicious treacle

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update, but to finish ........ I wonder if this duck knows he isn't a swan!

 

 

Fly little birdies, fly!

When I went out to the studio this morning to get my stuff for work, I saw six little swallows sitting on the fence.  I quickly fetched the camera, thinking they would probably be gone by the time I came back out of the house, but they were still there

 

four on the right ........

 

........ and two on the left

 

I had just crept in to take this closer shot when the parents appeared and chased them off the fence into the air - a reluctant one got a swipe of a wing to encourage it!  Soon they were all swooping round the garden - much too fast to take aphoto!

 

I got to Jedburgh earlier than usual, so I spent a few minutes taking photos of the Abbey in the sun

 

as always I organised the room ready for the students arriving

 

the sun was streaming in the window, making it hard to take a photo of the table (complete with my cuppa!)

 

of course it didn't take long for the usual chaos to appear!

 

I have been asked to teach more classes, so I suggested doing a Christmas wallhanging in November.  Yesterday I got out some of my many Christmas patterns looking for inspiration

 

I decided I would have an applique Father Christmas with borders, so I drew a rough outline (stop laughing, you know I can't draw!!) ..........

 

......... I gave the sketch to Malcolm and asked him to draw a proper version

 

while Malcolm watches the football, I have been watching either Ricky Tim's tv shows, or Craftsy classes, and it has made me realise how much I have neglected my free motion quillting recently.  This is serious, as you really need to do it regularly.  So yesterday I made up a little calico sandwich and popped it in a quilting hoop.  I had barely started when ...... oops, the thread shredded and fankled.  It was my own fault, as I hadn't changed the needle

 

it's hard to get back into a free-flowing rhythm - more practice is definitely required!

 

we will be on tenterhooks tomorrow morning, waiting to hear from our solicitor in Berwick that the purchase of the flat has been completed.  As soon as we hear we will go over to pick up the keys.  All being well there may just be a photo or two in tomorrow's post!!

Paperwork!

When I took the job at the college to teach patchwork, I didn't realise how much paperwork it would generate.  Not just all the form filling for the college, but the pages and pages of instructions.  Normally I would just deminstrate how a block was made, or the sashings added, but because my students are compkete beginners, I need to give them fairly detailed instructions to remind them what to do when they finish their blocks at home

 

scribbles are all very well for me, but I think I will have to make a neater job of writing and drawing these instructions

 

I have been continuing to get things ready for Abbey Quilters' exhibition next month.  I thought I ought to make the effort to stitch the eyes on the little birds on "Lillyanny"

 

I used a combination of sequins and beads

 

 

I have borrowed Stuart's Badger wallhanging for the exhibition.  I like it so much, I may have to make one for myself!!

 

I've been toiling away on my hexies for Mrs Billings

 

after the fabric birdies, I have two real birdies to finish with.  The first one came for a bath yesterday evening.  I only managed to take one photo of him, but I think it is a young robin

 

then this evening Mr Blackbird arrived to do his ablutions

 

Malcolm is channel hopping.  England's cricketers are battling to secure a draw in the Test Match, and their footballers (bunch of numpties) are trying not to lose their final game at the World Cup (having lost their first two).  The Scotland footballers are much more sensible - they just don't bother to qualify, saving us the agony of defeat!!

 

 

A special weekend

Saturday morning saw us on the road bright and early, heading for Larbert to spend some time with Stuart and Alison.  Of course a journey of any length needs a stop for fortification, so we called into the Mayshade Garden Centre for a cuppa.  We may also have shared one of their delicious taster plates

 

in the afternoon, we headed to The Helix, which lies between Falkirk and Grangemouth.  You can read about it here and here.  We had a very pleasant walk round the first part of the development, pausing to admire this swan

 

it was hard to take photos of this water feature without having children getting gloriously wet in the frame, as they ran back and forward through the jets of water

 

 

I was fascinated with the ever-changing coloured lights shining through the water ........

 

but had to drag myself away to continue our walk.  It's hard to believe that until recently this was post-industrial wasteland

 

having walked round the first part of the development, we made our way to see the main purpose of our visit, passing the swan again, who had found a friend

 

then, there they were, dominating the skyline ....... the Kelpies

 

for once I didn't need Malcolm in a photo to give the scale, as there were large crowds walking round the magnificent sculptures

 

I didn't realise until I looked at the photos later, that the little girl looked as if she was about to be eaten!

 

I took quite a lot of photos ....... here are just a few

 

For dinner on Saturday, Stuart had booked a table at The Tea House.  As it was a lovely evening, we walked there, which took about 50 minutes.  I liked the tiny carafes that our wine was served in

 

the food was delicious, but I only took photos of my dishes.  I started with salt and pepper ribs

 

followed by salt and chilli seabass - very, very delicious!

 

the portions were very generous, and none of us had room for dessert ........ not even lemon meringue pie could tempt us!  When the bill was brought, there were sweeties with it.  The others promptly ate theirs, but I brought mine home to take a photo of it!

 

Sunday morning was glorious and we had breakfast out on the deck - that's a year since Malcolm and Stuart built it.  Then we headed for home ....... with a detour to Ikea.  Yes, we had meatballs for lunch, and yes, we bought tealights!

In one of those strange little coincidences in life, I spotted this in the paper this morning .......

 

I did do some sewing last night, and hopefully will get more done tomorrow, so that I will have a sewing update for you!