frayed at the edge

Little Jenny Wren

No, that's not the name of the baby for whom I am making the quilt, but rather the name of this tiny bird I saw in the garden this morning.  I rarely see wrens in the garden, and when I do, they are so quick I have never managed to take a photo.  It was just by chance that I was on my out out to the studio with the camera in my hand, so was able to capture the tiny bird

 

the quilt is for Hanna, the second daughter of Stuart's friend (and colleague) Emma.  This is Stuart holding her when she was just a few days old

you can see Hanna's big sister, Mia, here ....... and more photos of Stuart!  You can also see the quilt and shawl that I made for Mia.  Emma had requested bright pinks and purples for Hanna

 

I used the tried and tested "six fat quarter" pattern, and it didn't take long to make the blocks

 

once it was all stitched together .......

 

...... I decided that it just needed a little extra something, and added some flowers

 

I layered up the quilt, then stitched the flowers in place with a combination of raw edge applique and quilting

 

having stitched all the flowers, I then quilted the rest of the quilt with my favourite four-petalled flower-meander - it shows up best on the back of the quilt

 

this morning I trimmed the quilt, folding it to check that it was "square" (except it's rectangular!)

 

I had four fabrics left, from which to cut the binding.  When I cut the triangles off, I added them to the leftovers from teh flying geese blocks for the Aunts' Quilt, so I will be able to make more flowers

 

I have stitched the binding to the front of the quilt, and hope to handstitch it to the back this evening, which will just leave the label to make.  I worked out how much binding I would need using this fun pad.  As soon as I saw it in a shop in Morningtom, Australia, I bought it for Malcolm, thinking that the different elements would suit things he might want to note ...... but I pinched some for myself!

 

to finish, some rather different photos.  I used to take art in the meme Shadow Shot Sunday (yes, it involved posting photos of shadows on Sundays!).  Although I no longer take part, I still notice shadow shots, such as this one of my Indonesian puppet in the studio this morning

 

then, when I was sitting at the sewing machine this afternoon, I saw these two little angels watching me from outside the back door of the studio

 

fortunately I realised that I hadn't died and gone to that great big Sewing Heaven in the sky, but that it was a strange double reflection of my "Naughty Angel" wallhanging, which the sun was shining on!!

 

A change in the weather

It was trying to snow this morning in Berwick, but by the time it was light enough to take a photo, the sky had almost cleared

 

as we walked over to the town centre this morning, I was just getting the camera out to take photos of some swans when Malcolm spotted this heron flying low over the water.  I just had time to snap it before it vanished under the bridge

 

we couldn't decide if the swans were having a good wash or were performing some sort of mating ritual - they were almost turning somersaults in the water

 

beautiful blue sky ........

 

....... which sadly didn't last.  This is what we encountered on the drive home

 

the closer we got to home, the more snow appeared

 

when we got home, it took Malcolm three goes to get the car up the drive!

 

these photos are specially for Lee and Meredithe (and the Squealers) who are currently enjoying lovely summer weather in Australia

 

in the front garden the sparrows were waiting for the bird feeders to be filled

 

but they vanished when it started snowing again

 

when I was in the studio this afternoon, I listened to some appropriate music

 

to finish, I think we need some sustenance to help us cope with the bad weather  ....... how about this cheese and leek scone, which we shared witth our cuppa this morning

 

Winter is here!!

We got up this morning to a heavy frost and a frozen birdbath

 

with only this little bluetit braving the cold to have breakfast

 

after our breakfast, having de-iced the car, we set off south

 

passing some very cold sheep

 

although Ruberslaw in the distance was frost-free

 

on through wintry scenery

 

almost at the border .......

 

........ then over it

 

as we came down into the valley, the mist created a spooky landscape

 

then we were free of the mist

 

we were heading to Waitrose (superarket) in Ponteland, as we had gift vouchers to spend.  Having bought lots of tasty food for Christmas (the freezer is now full!)  we headed to the  Blacksmith's Coffee shop in Belsay for lunch

 

Malcolm had poached eggs on a cheese scone, which he declared to be delicious

 

while I had cheese savoury sandwiches, also delicious (I gave the crisps to Malcolm, as they were a bit too crunchy for my post-extraction mouth!)  (I also gave him the cherry tomato, as you know that I don't like tomatoes)

 

we had more clear blue skies on our journey home

 

as well as some strange clouds on the horizon just after we crossed back over the border

 

on the way home we called in at Kirkeharle to do some Christmas shopping.  I have to admit that as well as buying some presents, I accidently bought some things for me!  A card with a wonderful illustration of a hare by Joanne T Kell

 

and two fun pairs of earrings from Spirit of Colour

 

Blue skies!

It was so good yesterday to see blue skies, after the dreary, grey, damp weather we have had recently.  We decided to go the Mayfield Garden Centre in Kelso, as Anne S had mentioned on Friday afternoon that the major revamp/expansion was complete.  

 

we were glad to see that "Julian's Veg" had survived the upheavals, as they sell exceedingly good stuff

 

the new coffee shop is much larger, and much, much smarter than the old one

 

with a large outdoor seating area, which will no doubt be well used in the summer

 

we had vouchers for a cuppa and a slice of Christmas cake for £1.49 (a bargain!), and we also shared a delicious cheese scone (I was delighted that there was no marzipan on the cake!)

 

we then went for a very enjoyable walk round Kelso

a bright splash of red berries

 

boats on the riverbank

 

more red berries, this time on a holly tree

 

stylish new seating in the square

 

the summer floral displays in the hotel windowboxes are all gone

 

a lovely etched window in the hotel

 

an old chimney ....... and beautiful blue sky!

 

we liked this sign (but we don't like tattoos!)

 

I want this tractor (it's a wine bottle holder!)

 

more blue sky!

 

the Abbey

 

a peaceful scene at the river

 

and to finish - there were one or two sparrows waiting for the bird feeders to be filled this morning!

A riot of colour

Much as I love our little population of sparrows (which has grown steadily since we moved here), they are just brown

 

and the male blackbirds are just black

 

so you can imagine my delight when I saw these wonderfully bright birds in Australia

 

some of this afternoon's cakes at patch'n'chat were rather brightly coloured - a selection of cupcakes, which Katy and Sheila brought

 

brown may be somewhat boring for birds, but, oh my, it is a wonderful colour for cakes!  First, a toffee and pecan cheesecake (that's what I chose)

 

and Cathy's chocolate cake - she asked us to guess the secret ingredient, which none of us did (it was Coke!)

 

we are staying at home again this weekend, so I will be busy in the studio, not only sewing, but also working on a few things for the Craft Fair in Jedburgh (help, it's in two weeks time!!).  We are hoping that the weather will be good enough on Sunday for us to go for a walk (and possibly for some sconnage!).  Whatever the weather, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

Frustration and desperation!

I have been working on the next border for Mrs Billings, piecing the strips on the machine as I really don't like hand piecing!

 

but I just couldn't get the corners to fit.  I found the diagrams on the pattern sheet confusing, and no matter how may times I unpicked and restitched , I just couldn't get it to go together

 

so I did what any sensible person would do ...... I gave up and cut strips of a patterned fabric to the correct size

  

then added the next border

 

I then skipped ahead and cut the background squares for border 9

 

I have still been stitching away on the pyramids for the outer border, and have done just over half of them (I need 100!).  But I have run out of hexagons, so I am going to applique the hexagon flowers for border 9 on to their background squares, so that I can retrieve the hexagons from them to reuse

 

I realised this morning that I haven't shown you the knitting that I did on holiday.  It has still to be blocked, but it looks rather fetching wrapped round my mannequin.  The yarn is a beautiful mix of alpaca and silk - I think it will be very cosy

 

I haven't done any knitting in the evenings for quite some time, so I have decided to divide my evening up and spend some time sewing, then some time knitting.  I know I should finish the UFOs in my knitting basket, but I thought I would ease myself back into the routine with something simple, so chose one of the scarf patterns I bought at Bendigo Mill, and dug out a nice blue yarn from my stash

 

I have started feeding the birds again, which of course also means that I am taking photos of them again

 

the weather has been somewhat dreich, and the sheep in the field across the road didn't look very happy this morning

 

to finish .......I may have mentioned once or twice before that I don't like cats ........ but even I couldn't resist taking a photo of these two!!

 

Far-flung friends

When we were in Sydney, we visited our friends Lee and John, and their beautiful daughters Taylor and Lilly.  Taylor was busy studying for her major school-leaving exams, and Lilly had been singing with the school choir, so was still wearing her uniform.  With a bit of toing and froing, we tried to get everyone in the photos!

 

then it was on to Melbourne and my lovey quilty friends.  When we went for lunch, the lovely waitress patiently took photos of us all with various cameras ........ from left to right Helen, Meredithe, Maree, me and Karen

 

when we visited Patch n Quilt, Mary, the owner, was being in helped by her daughter Claire ....... quite a contrast to Claire's proper job of midwife.  Claire was so lovely that I decided to adopt her -she was quite agreeable, as she fancied travelling overseas to her new home!

 

at the weekend, we were entertained by the seal, who had caught what looked like a salmon and was tucking into it  with relish (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

there weren't very many swans about - this one appeared this morning before it was fully light

 

yesterday, just as it was geting dark, this boat appeared and came in to the the dock at such a speed I only just managed to get a photo as it came through the opening

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

then I got up this morning just in time to see the boat leaving, with lights blazing

 

to finish, I know some of you have been worried about the recent lack of sconnage in our diet ....... but we put that right yesterday, with this magnificent cheese and spring onion beauty!

 

 

Art?

I set off for Kelso this afternoon, as I had an appointment at the hairdresser.  From the salon window - the one above "Dorothy"

 

I had a good view of the new piece of street art ....... I think perhaps these men were as puzzled as me as to what part of a great lump of stone, which looks as if it has been scribbled on, is art?

 

it looks completely out of place in front of the town hall

 

and this beautifully presented hotel

 

I was tempted to flag down this JCB and ask the driver to lend it to me so I could shift the lump somewhere else ........ I think it would look better in a park

 

oh dear - did that sound a bit grumpy?!  It's just not my idea of art.  If only I could show you some of the beautiful pieces in this shop

 

and some of the cakes in this shop window could just about qualify as works of art as well!!

 

we were entertained last night by the robin in the birdbath

 

then this morning I watched this little sparrow jumping into the water

 

then out again, not quite brave enough to have a bath

 

in again

 

out again

 

a blue tit arrived to give him some encouragement

 

come on, don't be scared, just jump in and get on with it

 

ah well, maybe next time!

 

you might wonder why I am including this photo of a Tesco delivery van?

 

because I thought it amusing that it was parked in the Sainsbury's carpark.  Did the driver not believe his employers' adverts that they are better/cheaper, and had popped in on his lunch break to do his shopping?!

So that's where it went!

I pressed Father Christmas this afternoon and put him on the design wall to take a photo

 

but then I noticed a funny little bump under his moustache and beard - yes, his original nose had somehow migrated to a new location!

 

do you like these delicious colours?  You will have to wait to find out what they are for!

 

I did some more work on assembling the kits for the Father Christmas workshop.  White and black felt, and pink fabric for the face

 

wadding, binding and fusible web

 

embroidery threads

 

the robin has been having more fun in the birdbath

 

I think this is a very young female sparrow

 

to finish ...... do you think this firm is owned by the Three Bears?!

 

Access denied!

Did you miss me yesterday?  The naughty internet wouldn't let me online, no matter how many times I asked nicely.  So let's get on with the weekend report, starting with Friday evening, when I captured the moon

 

on Saturday morning, Malcolm picked Jennifer and Judith up from the train station, and after a reviving cuppa, we walked over to the town.  The locals kindly obliged with photo ops ..... first the seal

 

then the heron - who hogged the limelight by catchinng a fish (click on the photo to enlarge it to see the fish)

 

then later this enormous seagull posed happily

 

we had a walk round the old walls, then Jennifer treated us to lunch (sorry, too busy blethering to remember to take photos).  Next was a walk on the beach - here are the siblings gathering seaglass 

 

after a long walk on the beach, Malcolm treated us to ice creams ..... is there anything better on a sunny afternoon at the seaside than eating an ice cream ?!

 

back at the flat, we got excited when not one, but two, seals appeared in the dock 

 

after dinner, we walked J&J to the station, then on the walk back, Malcolm pointed out these heads

 

J&J, knowing that we have a bit of a seaside theme for the decor in the flat, gave us this wonderful glass plaque

 

to finish - the swallows are still preparing to leave, congregating on the neighbours' roof before swooping round the garden (the windows and our cars are splattered!)

 

back tomorrow with lots of sewing!