frayed at the edge

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?!

 

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 

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

Decisions, decisions

After I folded up the Abbey Quilers' raffle quilt, ready to take it to tonight's meeting, I had to decide which quilt to have on top of the pile on the guest bed.  Perhaps the second quilt I made, way back in 1993?

 

or the Birdie Border quilt, which the lovely Helen gave me ......

 

........ I could turn it over to show off Kay's wonderful quilting

 

the next option is the Row quilt

 

this quilt has been folded over the back of a chair for quite a few months, so I thought I would put it on the bed for a while.  I made it in March 1994 for my Mum's birthday.  Sadly she died only 18 months later

 

when I made this little lap quilt, I was going to give it to Malcolm's Mum .......

 

........ but having hand-quilted it, I decided to keep it for myself (I did make her another one!)

 

I love having a big vase of flowers in the hall.  I bought these lilies two weeks ago, and they have only just opened fully.  The hall is full of their rich scent

 

the sun has been shining again today, so Malcolm decided to open up the summer house, and give it a quick clean.  You can just see him wielding the vacuum cleaner

 

there is another sign of spring ....... I have been woken up at 5am for the last few mornings by the birds chirping and singing outside our bedroom window.  They are starting to investigate the little gaps at the top of the house wall, which they use for nests

 

last spring, swallows started to build a nest on our neighbours' house.  I wonder if they will have another attempt at building it this year

 

to finish - we are used to seeing small birds in the garden, but this pigeon is considerably larger!!

 

Was there a pot of gold ......

........ at the end of this rainbow on Saturday morning?

 

no ........ just some sheepies!!

 

so what did I buy on Friday?

three bargain metre lengths, to use for Linus quilts

 

ricrac for the kits for the patchwork class

 

I love a bargain!!

 

a small hoop for machine quilting, to use with my smaller sewing machine

 

sashiko thread

 

lots of luscious beads

 

I'm blaming Maureen for this last purchase .......... she dragged me to the stall and twisted my arm up my back until I bought it....... she pointed out this delightful kit, knowing that I am an owl fan

 

when I got home, there were two little parcels for me.  The first contained these sewing-related charms.  I had been looking for scissor charms when I found this pack of mixed charms

 

but as I needed eight scissor charms, I searched further, and found these ones

 

when I was busy sewing on Saturday, this film was on tv

 

the film starts with Charlton Heston getting in a pod, to sleep for a year.  He is clean-shaven when he gets in, but as you can see, he has a full beard when he wakes up.  I don't want to nit-picky ......... but why does he have short fingernails - surely they would have grown as much as his beard?

 

the nuthatch paid a brief visit to the peanut feeder this morning

 

when I was out in the garden this afternoon, a little flash of yellow caught my eye.  These are miniature narcissi, just six inches high

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update, although I can't show you one of the the things I am working on at the moment ........ I am hand quilting the Abbey Quilters' raffle quilt.  I am spending two hours every evening stitching away, crosshatching twenty five Baltimore blocks.  I have done the lines in one direction on all the blocks, and am on the tenth block working the lines going the other way.  Once I have finished, I'll pass the quilt on for quilting to be done on the applique centres of the blocks, then someone else will put the binding on.  I hope to be able to show you the quilt soon.

 

 

Bumped!!

Just like last Monday, the planned post (yes, it's hard to believe that I actually plan the posts!) has been put on hold, to make way for donkeys and lambs ........ and some birds.  I was standing at the bedroom window this morning, drying my hair (we have a deep windowsill which has a mirror on it), when some long tailed tits swooped into the garden and settled on the fat ball feeder.  The hair was abandoned and I rushed through to the lounge to grab the camera

 

after lunch I went for a walk to see if there were any more lambbs.  I braved the muddy path along to the field gate, only to find that the ewes were still waiting

 

so I walked on round to the other field

 

hooray for the big lens!!!

 

while I was taking the photos, this goose (or is it a gander?) kept honking at me, obviously annoyed that I was looking at her/his flock!

 

on the way up the hill, the donkeys had been in the far paddock, but when I came back down, they were in the field beside the road

 

the ponies were obviously annoyed that the donkeys were getting all the attention, and lined up to have their photo taken

 

these ewes probably have about six weeks to go, before their lambs arrive

 

a few more sheep to finish - or a few sheep bottoms!  As I was about to turn out on to the road from the drive this morning, several sheep walked past.  Just when I thought that I would have to get out the car and round them up, our neighbour BillytheFarmer appeared behind them on his quad bike.  By the time I got the camera out of my handbag, all I got was a view of their rear ends as they turned into the stable yard, on their way to the field behind

 

Gallivanting again!

We were back in Berwick this morning ....... I can't tell you just yet why we have been there several times recently, but hopefully I will be able to tell you soon.  We got there just in time for a cuppa - this is my tea, Malcolm as usual had coffee

 

then we added to our sconnage scoffing, with this very tasty cheese and herb scone

 

this was the first time we had been in this coffee shop/restaurant, and we were very impressed with it

 

I loved this section of wall, made of padded squares of fabric ........I have so much fabric I could probably cover most of our walls like this!

 

after we had taken care of our bit of business, we braved the biting cold wind to have a walk round the town.  I remembered my own advice to look up, and spotted this on a house wall .......

 

........ then a few houses further on, the same decoration, but painted this time

 

I liked this detail above a window

 

the three bridges - from front to back, the old, narrow bridge into town, just wide enough for one lane for cars and two narrow pavements for pedestrians, then the "new" bridge, which takes most of the traffic, and at the back the railway viaduct, which carries the East Coast Main Line

 

these pigeons were wise to shelter from the wind on this ledge on the new bridge

 

I was trying to be arty, looking through the new bridge, to the viaduct beyond

 

we discovered this wonderful shop, full of beautifully painted furniture, and spent some time chatting to the delightful owner

 

as our extremities were going numb with the cold, we headed off to the garden centre for lunch.  As we fancied both soups, we got a bowl of each, then shared them!

broccoli, cauliflower and cheddar - delicious

 

lentil - almost as delicious

 

we also shared a cheese and pickle toastie - it might not win a prize for presentation, but it made up for that by being very tasty!

 

after lunch we headed over to Coldstream, as Malcolm had to take his car in to the dealers, as he had had a recall notice to have his battery replaced.  While the work was being done, we went for a stroll round the town, and came across these two young swans (I was struggling to hold the camera, with the long lens, steady in the wind, so the swans are off to the side)

 

I have taken lots of photos of this bridge - Scotland is on the left and England on the right

 

a flash of colour caught my eye - I don't know what this plant is

 

a hazy view, with the snow-topped Cheviots in the distance

 

at the end of the path above the river we found this new, very stylish, wooden shelter

 

by this time we were decidely cold againn, and glad to head back to pick up the car.  After all the food we consumed while we were out, we had a very light dinner!  But we will be having a special, romantic dinner tomorrow for Valentine's Day ....... and there may be a bottle of something bubbly to go with it!

Running out of gas

As today is a fast day, I decided to make this delicious soup

 

I chopped up enough vegetables to make double the quantity in the recipe, so that I could freeze some for future meals

 

I used my cute little cup to measure out the bouillon powder

 

I started sweating the vegetables, but as I washed up the chopping board and knives, I realised that the vegetables weren't cooking.  Oh dear, the bottled gas had run out!  Of course we have a spare bottle, so I went out and had a look, as Malcolm did show me how to switch from one bottle to the other.  However that was quite some time ago, and I wasn't sure what to do.  As I didn't want to blow up the house, I took the sensible option, and transferred the soup to the slow cooker!

 

I spent the afternoon at the hairdressers, and I was so hungry when I got home, that I forgot to take a photo of the soup before I ate it.  So here is some, ready for the freezer (180 is the amount of calories in a portion)

 

it took me several attempts to snap this coal tit - every time I got it in focus, it flew off!

 

it took three attempts to capture this blackbird, pecking at the crumbs from the fatballs.  First he moved, then he turned his back, then finally he stood still long enough

 

but the robin posed nicely on top of the stone owl

 

two silly things to finish with,  First, everytime I receive a communication from this shop in Edinburgh, I want to add an apostrophe ........ but should it be the Nomad's Tent, or the Nomads' Tent?

 

and second, these silly signs in this shop window made us laugh when we passed it this morning

 

Another grey day

Oh dear, everytime we have a glimpse of blue sky and sunshine, we hope that it will last for more than a day ......... but after the bright end to yesterday afternoon, this morning it was back to grey skies (and later in the day it rained again).  Even the birds were reluctant to be out and about this morning, but eventually they appeared on the feeders and the hawthorn tree

 

this sparrow preferred to sit on top of Mr Owl and watch the others squabbling on the feeders

 

we had lunch today in the Rhymer's Fayre deli in Melrose (I can't find a link for it).  Malcolm had a cheese and pickle toastie (the photo looks very dark, but the table was dark brown and Malcolm was wearing a dark brown jumper!)

 

I had delicious cheese savoury sandwiches

 

after lunch we drove on up the road to Galashiels, and after a bit of a detour because of roadworks, we eventually found the Borders College campus.  I popped in to see Tracey in HR, and she helped me complete the reams of paperwork.  She also took a photocoy of my passport, to prove that I am me, and not someone pretending to be me!  (Note to self, remember to renew your passport soon!)

 

and now for yesterday's sewing.  I decided to quilt the scrappy batik quilt using a hoop.  The first stage was to pass the outer ring under the needle

 

and then lay the ring flat

 

the quilt was then passed under the needle and the area to be quilted first centred over the ring

 

I passed the inner ring under the needle and pushed it into the outer ring - this is the opposite way to how hand-embroidery is put in the hoop

 

before I started sewing I brought the bobbin thread up to the top, so that I didn't stitch all over it on the back of the quilt

 

with the needle down ready to sew, I held the threads to the back of the needle, out of the way.  Once I had worked several stitches on the spot to secure the threads, I cut the tails off

 

I stitched a meandering design, with big loops ........

 

....... all over the centre section (it shows up better on the back)

 

then I stitched a meandering sort of flower round the border - this shows it wandering round a corner

 

to finish - I have added another lovely tin to my collection.  This one contained biscuits - we ate the last ones yesterday

 

 

Not the best way .......

......... to spend Monday morning, with not one, but TWO visits to the dentist!  Last week one of my fillings fell out, and I had intended to phone the dentist this morning to make an appointment, but then over the weekend I had toothache in another tooth.  So this morning I phoned and asked for an emergency appointment.  I had to wait until they had received all the calls for an appointment and decided who could have one.  Fortunately I got a return call to say I could go in at 10.15.  I didn't see my usual dentist (the one with the name that would score well at Scrabble), but instead saw a delightful lady dentist who poked, prodded, tapped ...... and eventually said that there was no sign of decay, and that she thought the tooth was sore because of pressure from the clasp on my partial denture, and that also the gum was inflamed.  She gave me some advice, and said to go back to see her on Friday, and as I hadn't used up all the appointment time, she had a look at the tooth the filling fell out of.  She said that the "hygienist dental therapist" could put in a new filling, so I went off to the reception desk to ask for an appointent with her ....... there was a cancellatiion, so I could have an appointment at 11.50!  So I went to Sainsbury's, whizzed round and did the food shopping, drank a cupppa in record time, and went back to the dentist.  The hygienist dental therapist turned out to be a girl who looked about twelve!  She made a very good job of the filling, which turned out to be a marathon job as there was a lot of decay to be drilled away ....... better than some dentists I have endured in the past!  She explained that she can't diagnose dental problems, but can carry out quite a lot of treatments, freeing up the dentists to see more patients.

 

So after that tale of woe, lets have some photos of our walk in Jedburgh yesterday morning, when the rain stayed off just long enough!

 

as we headed back to the car to go for our cuppa, it suddenly clouded over, and started to rain, and by the time we had eaten this magnificent cheese scone it was raining so hard we had to make a dash for the car!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing ......... and some VERY exciting news!  To finish - don't worry that Jedburgh has been invaded by giant toadstools - this is a garden ornament!