frayed at the edge

A very creative weekend!

Malcolm thoroughly enjoyed his stained glass course, which was run by The Glass Barn Studio.  I had given him my tiny point and shoot camera to use, and he remembered to take some photos to share with you.  They started by practising cutting glass shapes, using plain glass.  The aim was to fit the glass pieces into the lines on the pattern sheet.  As you can see, he made a very good job of it

 

then came the scary bit, cutting the coloured glass .......

 

....... for his panel

 

once all the pieces were cut

 

he started assembling the panel

 

looking good!

 

they all made such good progress, that they were able to make a second piece yesterday

 

perhaps one day Malcolm will produce pieces like these - at least this is a craft he can do at home, unlike that last course he went on, to learn dry stone walling!

 

when he came home at lunchtime today, I took his pieces out to the garden to take photos.  I think he has made a super job of his first attempts!!

 

if you are interested in the stained glasscourse, do check on the link above.  There are also details of the other courses they run - I think that Malcolm may well go back to try his hand at one of them.

 

 

 

Creative difficulties!

Malcolm finished his wine box bookcase this afternoon, so I was all set to take photos when I finished in the studio.  As it was a lovely bright afternoon, I was looking forward to getting good photos in natural light.  Then, about five minutes before I finished my sewing, dark clouds came over and it started to rain!!  So I had to turn the lights on in the kitchen, where the bookcase was sitting.  This caused another problem, as the bookcase would have looked a bit strange with kitchen cupboards behind it.  I arranged the bits and bobs on the shelves, then got Malcolm to hold up the Birdie Border quilt, with the back facing me.  Perfect!

 

as the bookcase is made with wine boxes and has all the corks that Malcolm patiently cut in half decorating the middle section (he also cut his thumb!), I thought that it could also be used as a sort of wine rack/bar

 

there was a slight delay in putting some bottles of wine on the shelves, as I discovered that only bottles with proper corks fitted the wine boxes - those with screw tops are just a little bit too big.  I also wanted a bottle of New Zealand wine for the middle section, but after searching his various wine racks in vain, Malcolm could only come up with an empty bottle.  I wanted a NZ wine to sit with these very special glasses

 

they aren't special just because they (almost) have my name on them.  I bought them from a restaurant called Annie's in Christchurch (the one in NZ, not England!).  I bought the first one when Malcolm and I were there on holiday in 2000, then I bought the second one when I was in NZ the following year for a Quilt Symposium.  Amazingly they both survived the journey home in my hand luggage!

 

these little handpainted goblets are also well-travelled ....... we bought them on one of our wonderful Australian holidays!

 

when I was in the studio this afternoon, I did some more prep for Mrs Billings, then I free-motion quilted the other Linus quilt that I made recently

 

I had already made the binding, so it didn't take long to stitch on.  All I have to do now is handstitch the binding on the back of the quilt

 

Maureen and I are off the Edinburgh in the morning for the Spring Quilt Fair at Ingliston.  We have raided our piggy banks, just in case we are tempted to by a fat quarter or two.  And we might stop at the Mayshade Garden Centre on the way home for a cuppa and cake - you know we have to have cake on Friday afternoons!!

 

 

 

Smiling again!

I forgot to tell you yesterday that I was at the dentist in the morning to have my new crown fitted.  There was a slight delay as Mr GoodScrabbleScore couldn't remove the temporary crown.  He pulled and he tugged, and he tugged and he pulled, and eventually had to resort to the drill.  I am delighted with my lovely new crown - perhaps Malcolm will capture me smiling over the weekend!

I have shown you the driftwood drying in the garage, but I haven't shown you my seaglass and assorted bits, which have been drying on the draining board in the utility room, after being thoroughly washed with bleach

 

it'a amazing the great assortment of pieces that you can pick up on a short walk

 

this old shell has been home to a host of other small creatures

 

I like this partial shell

 

having previously framed some for Malcolm's shower room in the flat, I framed these ones for my bathroom at home

 

I was glued to the Great British Sewing Bee last night ....... but I still can't decide if I like Patrick without his beard, but still with a moustache!  (he's still gorgeous, but is he slightly les gorgeous!)

 

we were delighted that there was a contestant from Jedburgh, a lovely lady called Annie who is a retired dairy farmer and cheesemaker (we have eaten her delicious cheese).  Here she is with the delightful Claudia

 

Patrick and his fellow judge May examining a piece of sewing (the funny dark shapes on the right hand edge of the photos are from the large rubber plant which sit beside the tv)

 

while I was watching the programme, I was casting on my Ripple Rug.  As I had to cast on 282 stitches, I used stitch markers to show where the 100th and 200th stitches were, to make it easier to keep count

 

now for the star of tonight's post - Malcolm's wine box bookcase.  He has made the basic carcase

 

there will a shelf in the middle section, and after some deliberation, he has decided that instead of putting pine panelling at the back, he will put a piece of plywood and cover it with wine corks!

 

and of course to finish we have the Friday cake - our favourite apple and sultana

 

we'll be heading off to Berwick in the morning, hoping for good weather to get out for a good long walk.  I hope you all have a great weekend, love Anne

Retail therapy!

We don't have a lot of shops in Hawick, and since the turn of the year several more have closed, so I enjoyed a good bout of retail therapy on Tuesday.  First I bought some trousers, which you will probably see me wearing in future photos,then I bought some undergarments, but you definitely WON'T see me wearing them!  So here is a quick selection of my purchases.  First, from Poundland (yes, everything costs £1) this frame for my silly card

 

and a box of long matches for lighting the stove

 

from Wilkos, home of bargains, but not quite as cheap as Poundland, tiny pegs (I do have a vague idea for using them)

 

and little price tags which will be good for the next batch of driftwood trees

 

Stuart and Alison gave me this absolutely fabulous charm/bead for Christmas ........

 

....... so I popped into Next and found this pretty bracelet to put it on.  There were also some extra charms, one of them a cupcake - so this will be a perfect bracelet to wear to patch'n'chat

 

of course we had to have a look in Hobbycraft.  I wasn't going to buy any fabric, I wasn't, I wasn't ........ but then I saw this bundle of six spotty fat quarters for only £7!

 

when I saw this Duck Tape, it too had to come home with me!

 

my pile of goodies from Ikea

 

another four black picture frames, more pockets for my filing cabinet, and the metal curtain rods are for hanging up my remaining bigger quilts - you can see I have hung up the Country Cottages quilt

 

I used one of the frames and some of the Duck Tape

 

to frame this card, which states my preferred age!

 

having finished the ball end sweater, I had a look in my knitting basket last night, and unearthed this sock, which I started in November!  The pattern, by the fabulous Kate, is actually quite quick to knit, so hopefully I will get them finished soon

 

when I ordered the yarn for the ball end sweater, I thought I had better get a few extra balls, as I wasn't quite sure how much I would use of the various colours.  There were five balls left, so I looked out the Ripple Rug pattern, which I have already knitted two of, so I know that it is an easy knit if there is something on tv that needs a bit more attention ........

 

........ like later tonight when the new series of the Great British Sewing Bee is on.  I have to concentrate on swooning over Patrick, one of the judges.  However the main debate won't be about the sewing, but whether I preferred him before he shaved his beard of (what, me, shallow??!!)  I'll be back tomorrow with a progress report on Malcolm's wine box bookcase  - it's looking good!

 

 

Winter!

It snowed on Sunday night, melted a little bit, then froze again.  I took these photos yesterday morning before it was quite light, and the moon was still out

 

you know that I love to receive squishy envelopes in the post, especially when they contain a surprise! (and isn't it a wonderful seasonal envelope, with snowflakes on it)

 

first, I opened the card .......

 

and then the parcel ........ the ribbon is a clue to what was inside

 

thank you Dawn, for such a gorgeous little owl.  He has joined the parliament of owls, which live in the yucca plants in the back lounge (this was taken with flash, as I forgot to take it earlier, and as it is such a miserable day it got dark before I remembered to take the photo!)

 

I also forgot to incclude this photo in yesterday's post!  This is the fabulous Gallery that is going to sell Malcom's driftwood sculptures

 

after dinner, I will be heading out to pick up Maureen in Jedburgh, then we will go on to Kelso for this month's meeting of Abbey Quilters.  It is our Christmas party, with a show-and-tell, and a silly game which we play every year!

An eventful day!

On Friday morning we went to Jedburgh Town Hall to set up our stalls - we had been allocated a table each

 

as soon as Malcolm unpacked his first box of trees, the other stallholders and organisers clustered round to admire them.  And can you just see the decorations made from birch bark on the right - I didn't take any photos when he was making them, and I can't take photos now as he sold them all!

 

his fish and whales also attracted a lot of attention, and when we went back into the hall at teatime, the big bird at the back had a note and money under it from one of the other stallholders, anxious to buy it!

 

in fact, Malcolm had so much stuff that he not only took up part of my table.......

but he had to use the windowsill as well!

 

once we had got everything done, Malcolm dropped me off at Borderland Fabrics for my patch'n'chat lunch

 

Scotland introduced a much lower level for drink-driving on Friday, but as Malcolm was chauffering me, I was able to enjoy a small glass of wine (ok, plastic cup!) with my lunch

 

having eaten rather too much savoury food, we then found room for pudding - this is only half of the sweet treats on offer

 

we played a silly game, which ended in us all getting a Secret Santa present - this is mine

 

at the end of the afternoon, Malcolm picked me up and we headed back to the Town Hall.  When we left, only a handful of stalls had been set up, but everything was ready when we went back

then the doors were opened and the crowds poured in

 

so how did we do?  Well, I was happy with the amount I sold - but as for Malcolm .........well, there has been no living with him over the weekend, as he did so well!!  Not only did he sell all of his birch bark ornaments, ten of his trees, the big bird and all but two of his fish and whales ........ he has orders for two more big birds, and Linda, who owns the Lovatt Gallery, has commisioned him to make fish and whales for her (she bought two of the whales).  She had bought one of his trees last year to display jewellery  in the gallery, and loved his whales - she snatched one from under the hand of a man who was thinking about buying it!  She knows that it may be some time before he finds suitable driftwood, so he has just to get in touch once he has made some.

To finish, at our lunch on Friday, the food wasn't just on the tables ........ Margaret brought in her latest wonnderful quilt, which has lots of cute gingerbread men

Not the best start to the day!

I had an appointment with my dentist (he of the Scrabble name etc) at 8.45.  Bad enough to have to have such an early appointment, but even worse if you are having a tooth taken out!!  Obviously there was no pain, but I could feel him wiggling the tooth from side to side to loosen it, then I could hear the crunch (inside my head) as it came out!  However I was pleased to have it removed, as it was so badly broken that it was all sharp edges - the temporary repair had lasted about two days, then even more had broken off.  The worst thing now is that I have to rinse my mouth out with warm salt water (yeuch!)

So, back to Saturday, and more preparations for the craft fair.  Malcolm has now made 18 driftwood trees

 

I have made up little bags of shells, sea glass and pebbles, which can be scattered round the bottom of the trees to create a beach scene, after they have been used as Christmas trees

 

I've looked out some things which didn't sell at previous fairs - hopefully they will sell this time ...... photos, cards, and fabric covered notebooks

 

but these are my favourites, which I managed to do without sticking my fingers together with superglue!  I had bought the tiny frames recently, and when we were in Berwick last week, we popped into the picture framer's to get some little bits of mounting board.  The shells and bits of shells are from our beachcombing - I just thought they looked really interesting (and if they don't sell, I know exactly where I am going to hang them in the flat!)

 

at the end of the afternoon, I had a little play.  When I made the pieced blocks for the Aunts' quilt, I had lots of lefteover bits from making the Flying Geese ....... yes, Meredithe, I know you are jumping up and down shouting that I should have used your no-waste method, but I knew what I would use the leftovers for

 

it's quick and easy to poke the bits of fabric into the polystyrene ball .......

 

........ to make a flower

 

on Saturday, when I was heading back into the house from the studio, I paused to take photos of the sunset.  I have a setting on my camera for sunsets, which captures the wonderful colour in the sky

 

then I noticed the moon peeping out through the pink clouds.  However, the sunset setting wouldn't pick up the moon, and the setting that would focus on the moon lost the pinks from the sky!

 

Pickled!

We went for a cuppa in Cafe Crema in Berwick this morning.  Having ordered our drinks, I asked the waitress about the scones - she said they were just about to come out of the oven, and oh joy, one of today's flavours was the cheese and pickle one that we enjoyed so  much recently

 

as it was another grey day, I had just poppped my little point and shoot camera in my bag, not expecting to take any photos other than that of the scone.  Which of course meant that as we walked back over the old bridge, there was the seal posing prettily for us!!

 

on the way home we called in at the Garden Centre, and were delighted to find that they had two very special visitors

 

part of the Christmas display featured these bears, which were a bit scary, as they moved like real ones!

 

however the penguins were very cute

 

to finish, a very small sewing update.  After spending yesterday afternoon wrestling with large curtains, it was a pleasant change to work on a stitchery last night

A finish!

Because I haven't done much knitting recently, I kept forgetting to take progress photos of my scarf, so we go straight to the finish!!

 

what's that you're saying, you can't quite see what it says on my teeshirt?

 

this morning I got out my Cuttlebug and cut some butterflies

 

which I used to make pictures for next week's Craft Fair

 

I cut two of each butterfly, embossing the top ones

 

next I looked out these blank cards (is there no end to this stash!!??)

 

I made these two cards

 

but I decided they needed a little extra something, and added pretty heart-shaped buttons

 

by the end of the afternoon I had made ten cards

 

now that I have finished my scarf, I will have to investigate the UFOs in my knitting basket and finish them before starting something new!

A sense of proportion

I have been working on my challenge piece - the horrible nasty revolting delightful foundation-pieced landscape.  The little bit you saw yesterday was the start of a row of trees.  I then added the trunks

 

then I added a higgledy piggledy fence across the bottom field

 

then I thought I would have a bit of fun and add some sheepies.  Unfortunately the best field for them was the green one at the top, so the sheep are way out of proportion to the rest of the picture!

 

I made the sheep with little bits of wool, held in place with some free-motion stitching, and machine embroidered the faces and legs

 

feeling reasonably pleased with the results, I showed it to Malcolm.  Once he had stopped laughing at the gigantic mutant sheep roaming the hills, he remarked that my trees look as if they had been drawn by a five year old.  Regular readers will know that my drawing skills have never progressed since I was five, so I wasn't too insulted!  Following his advice, I did some more stitching on them - and Malcolm then said that they looked like palm trees!  At least that means that the monster sheep are terrorising a tropical island, far, far away!

 

the next job was to quilt the little sashiko wallhanging

 

you can see the quilting on the wrong side

 

I also finished the quilting on this little landscape, which I started at a workshop with Sheena Norquay

 

I also did my stage-by-stage samples for this week's class

tumbling blocks

 

friendship  star

 

to finish ......... if you had one of these, what would you do?

 

if you are Malcolm, you start making a planter for the garden