frayed at the edge

Where was I?

Oh yes, I was in the middle of my post yesterday when the naughty little gremlins crept in!!  Malcolm had been trying to sort things out for me, but things still aren't quite right - it's just so annoying!!  Never mind, let's get on.

Before we went to Carlisle last week, I washed the baby shawl and blocked it using the wires I bought recently - they make things so much easier!  On Saturday I threaded pink ribbon through the eyelets ....

 

I took the photo on my favourite chair!

 

detail of the ribbon

 

I bought this book on Sunday - not just for the recipes, but because I couldn't resist a book with such a daft title!!

 

and if you think that's daft ....

 

dafter ......

 

and the daftest footnote!!

 

Yesterday (Monday) we went out for a walk after lunch.  Usually we head up the  hill from the house, but we went downhill for a change!!  I'm glad we did, because we saw these beauties!

 

 

Today we went to visit Malcolm's Dad.  We took him to Newbiggin for lunch.  He wisely stayed in the car when we went for a walk ......  it was just a bit windy, and the sea was a bit rough

 

We saw a bird that we didn't recognise - it was quite far out, so even with maximum zoom, we still can't tell what it is - if you know, please leave a comment!

On the way home, it started to rain and the sky looked quite dramatic.  The next two photos were taken from inside the car (what, you expected me to get out in the rain ... don't be silly!!)

It's funny when it's raining, but you can see blue sky!  Well, I'm exhausted after all that catching up - I'm off for a browse round all your blogs!!  Blogspot/blogger is refusing altogether to let me comment just now, so please don't think I've deserted you - of course I think everything you write is wonderful and your photos super!!
 

 

 
 

 
 

Knitting and sewing!

Yes, today's content is all about knitting and sewing, after the distractions of the last two days!

First, what do you do with a pile of squares?

 

Well - influenced by the way I assemble quilts, I have started sewing them into blocks of four.  Certainly as far as patchwork is concerned, sewing squares into blocks and then joining the blocks keeps things square.  If you sew them into long strips and then join them, there is more chance of the end result being distorted, so I'm applying that principle to my throw.

 

Tomorrow afternoon when I go to patch'n'chat, I will be getting on with Oliver's quilt.  I thought I had sewn in all the ends, but when I laid the quilt out to take a photo - oh no, of course I has missed one!  Don't worry, I sewed it in before I took the photo

 

Now, I know the last photo is of a book - but it is a book about knitting, so I think it's allowed!  I was jumping up and down with excitement when I saw this book in Tesco this morning (ok, not literally, but in my mind I was!)  I so enjoyed the first book, (even if I did weep buckets at the end) I think I might have to read this before I finish the book I am currently reading (which is a big thick one that I'm only half way through).  So what is this wonderful book .....

 

While I'm writing this, we are watching the first semi-final of the cricket Twenty20 World Cup - it's exciting stuff!  (Yes, I know most of you will think that exciting cricket is an oxymoron!)  The second semi is tomorrow and the final is on Sunday.  We will hardly have time to draw breath before Wimbledon starts, then of course England play Australia in the Ashes Tests - but in case you think I'm a sports fanatic, don't worry, I don't watch rugby, despite living in the Borders, where they are all rugby mad (when not out on their horses!) and I only watch football when Malcolm makes me watch Newcastle lose play!

A little coincidence

This week, we have had a change to our usual routine, doing the housework today instead of tomorrow, and going out for lunch today instead of yesterday (oooh - we are just such little devils!!)  So, it was off to St Boswells, to lunch at The Main Street Trading Company - a wonderful mix of coffee shop, books, gifts and antiques (and did I mention books?)  We arrived a little early for lunch (we are always early!), so first we relaxed with a cuppa and the papers

 

After including a photo of wild garlic in Tuesday's post, it was one of those funny little coincedences to find that one of the soups on today's menu was chickpea and wild garlic!  Of course I chose that, while Malcolm had the pea and ham ..... and we also shared a wonderful venison sausage  sandwich

After lunch, we had a browse round the shop

 

a good selection of antiques

 

lots and lots of books

more books and gifts

 

and a wonderful selection of children's books.

 

Did I buy I book?  Oops, I spent all of this month's pocket money and bought two!!

 

I read Mimi's column every Sunday in You magazine, so I'm looking forward to reading her book

 

I could have bought this book just for the beautiful baby on the cover!!  The patterns are gorgeous and the whole layout is delightful - a book to pick up and browse through, as well as use!

 

We had a bit of a detour on the way home, to take in some history and  some stunning scenery - come back tomorrow and I'll tell you the rest of the story!

 

A plethora of socks

 

We were in Morpeth on Saturday, which of course meant a browse round Appleby's book shop.  They always have a good selection of craft books, some of them at bargain prices.  I was delighted when Malcolm bought this book for me.  I have never knitted one sock by the magic loop method, never mind two at the same time, but I will give it a go (although it may be some time before you see the results of my efforts).

 

Sunday found me out in the studio, working hard on my Delights of the Sea piece.  I have moved so far out of my comfort zone with the method I am using for this that I'm almost on another planet!  It's going to be all raw edges and big stitch quilting.  To show the contrast with my usual style, this is last year's entry ...

 

... Bonnie Baskets, with hand applique and embellishments and machine quilting, which you can see in this detail ...

 

The working title for this year's entry is Sunset over the Bay, which is better than the working title of this one ...

 

... which was Taking the P*** .... it was at a time when lots of quilters were doing weird things with raw edges, burning holes, using anything and everything - generally creating 'art quilts', so this was my (rather tongue in cheek) art quilt!

 

Sunday night saw me finish the Happy socks.  I am very pleased with how they turned out, although the Channel Island cast on does not have a lot of stretch, so I don't think I would use it again for socks.  The bamboo feels lovely and silky, so I am looking forward to wearing them.

 

I'll finish with an update on the new kitchen.  You can see how much lighter the new wall units are, compared to the old floor units.  We are also replacing the black worktops with much lighter ones, so hopefully the kitchen will look lighter and brighter.

Allowed out to play ...... again

   

Yesterday morning, it was off to nearby Chesters, for the Woolgathering, a meeting of crafty folk organised by local textile artist Lindsay Roberts ,seen here at her spinning wheel.  There were ten of us there and we spent the day knitting, sewing, giving and geting advice and just generally immersing ourselves in crafts ... a pleasant way to spend a Sunday which was wet, windy and miserable! 

 

Lindsay also dyes yarn.  I knitted these socks from a skein of her lovely sock yarn which I bought last summer.  In fact it is altogether a talented family ... husband Hugh is an artist and their chocolate labrador, Ash, has her own blog - who says chocolate labs are dim!

 

I bought this yarn last week.  If you haven't yet seen it, it is 75% bamboo and 25% nylon.  It has a lovely soft silky feel, but you have to be careful not to split the stitches.  I love yarns like this, when you don't know how they will turn out.  I haven't knitted enough of the first sock yet to show you, but it's looking good.

 

I also took along my most recent books to share.  (Two of them were bought before Christmas and the other two with a book token I got for Christmas, so I haven't broken my New Year's resolution - yet!)  I enjoyed Stephanie Pearl- McPhee's book, Free Range Knitter.  There is one part where she is talking about recognising fellow knitters, which reminded me of an incident from some years ago when I was living in Falkirk.  I was walking up the High Street one day, minding my own business, when I saw a woman walking towards me.  She changed direction and it was obvious that she was going to talk to me, which was puzzling, as I didn't know her.  However, as she didn't look like a crazed axe murderer, I stopped when she spoke.  She said she had been at Purely Patchwork in Linlithgow (hmm, I wonder what they sell) and the staff had told her there was also a fabric shop in Falkirk, so could I give her directions. I told her where the shop was and we went our separate ways ..... but then I thought ... out of all the people on the High Street, why did she approach me?  I wasn't  wearing patchwork clothing or have needles and pins about my person.  Did she somehow know I was a quilter, or did I just look like a kind and helpful person?

ps - I just have the button to sew on my aran cardi, so you'll see it next time.