frayed at the edge

Our favourite cake!

With all that happened last weekend, I forgot to show you the progress I made with the clamshells at patch'n'chat last Friday.  I used the card template that I had made to mark the clamshells on strips of fabric, then cut them out

 

the next stage was to use temporary fabric glue to stick the top edge of the fabric to the paper clamshells

 

the first one done ...... only another 76 to go!

 

having been busy all weekend with the Sheena Norquay workshop, then away from home on Tuesday and Wednesday, I didn't do any more work on the clamshells until this afternoon's patch'n'chat.  I finished prepping the last batch, and chose the first six to form the top row (I took the next two photos when I got home)

 

the fold in the fabric is there as a guide to stitch the shells in a straight line.  Once they are stitched down, I will remove the papers, then add the second row

 

after we had lunch in the garden centre on Tuesday, we had a little potter round all the lovely things in the shop.  I saw ribbon which looked a measuring tape, so of course I decided to buy a reel.  I went to the checkout, where two members of staff were discussing some stock sheets.  I put the ribbon on the counter and got out my purse ...... and stood there while they went on with their conversation.  They  both then walked off!!  You can guess what happened next .... yes, the ribbon was left on the counter.  On Wednesday night I had a quick google search and promptly found this company - I love their postal address!

 

 ordered on Wednesday night, it arrived this morning ........ much better service than the garden centre.  It's a pity that the staff don't have the manners of the lady owner - she said hello and held the door open for us when we passed her on the way back into the main part  of the building after lunch (no airs and graces, although she is a very well known star of a gardening programme on BBC Scotland!)

 

and that little extra something which makes all the difference ......

 

a length of ribbon with quite a few repeats of these little messages

 

the Friday cake was our favourite apple and sultana cake - there was silence as we all tucked in!

 

we weren't the only ones tucking in - these sparrows were feasting on the fat balls!

 

 

I don't know where this week has gone!  I'll be busy over the weekend sorting the cards into packs and labelling them, ready to take to the gallery on Tuesday (it's closed on Mondays), and of course getting on with lots of sewing!  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

Day 30 ....... and October is almost over!

I'm starting today with some photos from yesterday ....... first a cheeky little robin having a good time in the birdbath

 

then, on the way to bed last night, I noticed the moon ........ there were hazy rings round it, making it very spooky!

 

it was frosty ..... the roof of the house next door was glittering - you have to look hard at the bottom right hand corner to see it!

 

this morning we headed up the road to visit Stuart and Alison.  Of couse this meant stopping for lunch!  I had the most delicious cream of mushroom soup

 

Malcolm had pea and mint ....... but when he tasted mine, he wished he had chosen the mushroom too

 

there was a good selection of rolls, so we chose two different ones, and then as usual had half each

 

so, just one more post to go, and I will have posted every day in October ....... I may have to go and lie down in a darkened room to recover!!

Day 19 ....... and I stroke an owl!!

After lunch at patch'n'chat, when we went back through to the workroom I checked my phone, and found that I had a missed call from Malcolm.  When I phoned home, he told me to go across the road to the Woollen Mill, as there was a display of owls and hawks in front of the mill (he had driven past earlier).  I grabbed my camera, and some money, as I knew that I would be expected to put some in the donations bucket in return for taking the photos.  I started taking photos from a reasonable distance, but the two men with the birds said to get as close to them as I wanted - I would be quite safe!  So just look at these beauties ......

a red tailed hawk

 

I was a bit nervous about getting close to that beak!

 

a Mackinders eagle owl - he is 14 years old!

 

a gyr

 

I was fascinated by the tiny stitches on the hood .......

 

....... and the beautiful markings on the feathers

 

when I went over to take photos of this Eurasion eagle owl, one of the men said to me that the owl, named Ollie, didn't like men.  He told me to stroke his chest (the owl's, not the man's!) ..... well, I didn't need to be told twice to do that.  It was amazingly soft and fluffy, and the owl was obviously quite happy to be stroked.  Then the man said, ok, watch this.  He stepped up to the owl, which immediately rose up and hissed at him!!

 

 

 

I have saved the best till last ....... get ready to say aaaaaah!  This is a four-month old Asian brown wood owl

 

 

 

all that remains is for me to hope that you all have a good weekend, and to share with you the Friday cake - a delicious fruit loaf.  Love Anne

Day 17 ..... and a change of plan

I should have been going to Longframligton today, to visit Anne in her wonderful shop, but I had an email yesterday from her husband, Mick, to say that Anne was poorly.  I won't tell you in the graphic terms that Mick used what is wrong with her .... I shall simply say that she can't stray far from the bathroom!  But I didn't mind too much when I saw the awful weather this morning and I was even more glad that I had stayed at home when Malcolm came back from Coldstream (the same route that I would have travelled) and said that the roads were dreadful, with a lot of flooding.  This is the rain bouncing off the ice in the birdbath

 

Such a miserable can only mean one choice for breakfast, a warming bowl of porridge with a spoonful of homemade jam

 

we had scary company at the breakfast table ......

 

a white chocolate ghost which briefly was part of my autumn decoration on the kitchen table (he has now been eaten by Malcolm - regular readers know that I don't like white chocolate!)

 

it was hard to decide what to do with my unexpected day at home, but first I caught up with watching several Ricky Timms programmes, which had been lurking in my inbox.  Then I spent quite a lot of time sorting out photos to have made into cards, for sale in The Reivers Moon Gallery (they have sold some of my photos - hooray).

Next, I tackled the pile of magazines next to my chair, which is threatening to topple over.  But all that happened is that most of them went into a new pile, with dog-eared pages, marking things I want to look at online!

But I kept being distracted by the sparrows in the front garden, who were either sheltering from the heavy rain in the hawthorn tree

 

..... or thinking about havinng a bath (brrrr)

 

...... or tucking into the birdfood which I put out yesterday

 

 

 

but for every photo of the birds that turns out well, there are quite a few like this one!