frayed at the edge

Sugar, sugar

We use very little sugar (apart from jam and chutney making), but at the weekend I used very large amounts for the sloe gin and rosehip syrup.  Malcolm volunteered to prick the sloes, then I put them into three small jars ( I didn't have a big one!) and added the sugar and gin.  The jars have to be shaken once a day for a week, then once a week for eight to ten weeks - this is one of them after its shake this morning

 

The recipes for both the sloe gin and the rosehip syrup are from this book, which Stuart and Alison gave me for my birthday

 

The rosehip syrup was very easy to make - but I was disappointed with the colour it turned out - yellow, rather than lovely red.  However, we had some on our porridge this morning, and it was delicious.

I have no idea why this photo is so big!!
 

As promised,  all the lovely things which Alyson sent me ....

scented candles and calming music

 

beautiful soft yarn

 

a lovely scarf and necklace

 

photos, shells from the beach and a felt heart

 

the bookmark which Alyson's son drew for me, a little bag containing sunflower seeds from her garden and a handmade card

Thanks again to Alyson for such lovely gifts.  I think I will use the yarn to knit fingerless mitts ...... and that leads us on to the knitting update.  I have finished these socks, except for sewing in the ends .......

 

........ and started on another pair

 

I have to admit that I have frogged the shawl - I just couldn't get on with the pattern at all, and decided it wasn't worth spending so much time trying to get it right, when there are lots of other shawl patterns that I could knit.  

Gorgeous gifts!

I was sitting having a well-deserved cuppa in the middle of doing the housework this morning and reading a 'book', when the postman arrived

 

I got quite excited, as I knew it was the parcel from my swap partner Alyson.  I opened the envelope to find all these wonderful goodies

 

But you will have to wait until Monday to see everything ..... because a) the light was very bad for taking photos, and b) I just didn't have time before I went to patch'n'chat.  But I can tell you that they are wonderful thoughtful gifts - including a fabulous bookmark which Alyson's little boy drew pictures on for me!

Of course Friday afternoons mean cakes - today we had Annette's superb cupcakes, topped with cream and strawberries

 

Could you have resisted this delicious little cake?  And could you have further resisted when a second one was offered?

 

Earlier in the week, I was going to show you photos of the back garden, now that Malcolm has tidied it for the winter.  But Typepad had different ideas and refused to insert the photos ....... hopefully this time there won't be any problems!

 

Yesterday I showed you photos of the heron on the River Slitrig - but also falling victim to the non-appearance of photos on Monday was this heron on the River Teviot.  It was very windy ..... I had trouble keeping the camera steady, and he had trouble keeping a grip on his rock!

 

We have a busy day tomorrow, starting off the sloe gin and making the rosehip syrup - I'll report on Monday how we get on!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

All can be revealed!!

I've mentioned a couple of times that  I had signed up for Mousy Brown's swap, which she was holding to celebrate the second anniversary of her blog.  The theme of the swap was simple - celebration, two, mice and friendship ....... and you had to fit whatever you were sending your swap partner into an A4 envelope!  My swap partner is Alyson, who lives in Corwall, is crafty and has a two year old son - but she doesn't have a blog so I couldn't read up more about her.  I posted my parcel off to her on Saturday, and now that she has received it, I can show you what I sent ...... some things I made, and some from my stash.

a set of cards with photos of beautiful orchids, taken in Singapore

 

lavender coasters - the lavender if from our garden

 

teeny tiny gift tags and parcel decorations

 

fun socks

 

a fun musical candle

 

a fabric brooch

 

a set of wooden crochet hooks - Alyson has been learning to crochet

 

scrapbooking stickers

 

The last thing to be squeezed into the envelope was very special ....... a very cute little knitted mouse for Alyson's little boy!

 

Now, of course, I am going to be camped out on the drive watching for the postman bringing my parcel from Alyson ....... you know that I love getting things in the post - especially with foreign stamps like this one ......

 

....... which was on my (slightly belated) birthday card from Lee - she makes such wonderful cards that I have been known to steal borrow some of her ideas!!

 

A grand day out!

On Saturday morning, I headed off down the road to Chesters, for the Southdean Show.  I soon had my little table set up in the marquee

 

 

My friend Lorraine had a table laden with all sorts of delicious goodies

 

 

We had some entertainment watching the cask of beer being tapped

 

 

The beer is brewed here in the Borders - 'from plough to pint'.  You can read more here.  I didn't have any - not just because I was driving, but because I just don't like beer!!

 

 

However I couldn't resist the wonderful aromas coming from the barbecue, and had a naughty but nice roll, with a rasher of bacon, a sausage and onions (and brown sauce!!)

 

 

It wasn't just humans who were enjoying the afternoon ...... I could just have popped this little Westie into my backpack and brought him home

 

 

Outside, some brave volunteers were taking turns to hold this beautiful eagle owl.  He is a young one, and probably only half the size of the two that we see at the Waterwheel Cafe

 

 

I did very well with my sales table ....... and then the afternoon got even better when I went in to the hall after the judging of the industrial section.

 

1st and 2nd for the shawl and baby sandals

 

 

2nd and 3rd for the lavender bags

 

 

1st for my lap quilt

 

 

highly commended for the cushion

 

 

2nd for the bunting

 

 

1st for my melon, pear and strawberry jam

 

 

1st for 'best photograpic accident'

 

 

2nd for 'best photographic accident'

 

 

1st for portrait

 

 

3rd for portrait

 

 

1st for 'animal magic'

 

I won two other awards - but they didn't involve any skills!

 

1st for an old gadget - this was my Dad's

 

 

2nd for a photo of me as a baby with my Mum

 

At the end of the afternoon, when the awards were presented ........ I was delighted to receive two trophies!

 

 

 

the photography trophy

 

 

the Industrial trpohy

 

So, altogether, it was indeed a grand day out!!

 

Slightly damp!

When I looked out the window when I got up, it was a bit damp, but not raining, so I went out as usual.  I hadn't even got to the garden gate when it started to rain, but I thought it was only a little drizzle, it wouldn't last.  But it did last and got heavier and heavier, so I turned for home after a mile.  However, I did take some photos on the way (such dedication to you, dear readers, taking photos in the rain and then tucking the camera back under my jacket!)

This field is usually full of sheep, bu today it was full of seagulls ..... I have never seen so many in one place ....... then suddenly a cloud of them rose into the air

 

 

This toadstool has been nibbled on

 

 

as have these two smaller ones

 

 

The garden has been full of birds again - it is very entertaining to watch them ...... although sometimes they have to be told off for fighting, as there is plenty of food for all of them!  This adult robin has been coming to the garden for two or three days now - but it has been very difficult to get a photo, as he bobs about all over the place - just as you get him in focus, he has hopped off again.  However, I finally managed to snap him this morning

 

 

 

 

This collection of birds were well behaved, occasionally swapping perches as they tucked in

 

 

This little one decided to forego food, and shelter from the rain under the roof of the bird table

 

 

This morning, I went to visit my friend Ali, who was having an open day, selling lots of lovely fabrics and threads.  Also there with goodies was  Lindsay.  Did I buy anything - of course!  From Ali I got two lovely  bundles of fabrics and trims - new cushions for the lounge?

 

 

From Lindsay, some little charms

 

 

colourful bits for needle felting/embellishment

 

 

and some excellent, very sharp snips ..... with their own little hand quilted cover

 

 

When Malcolm was heading out this morning, I jokingly asked him to buy me a present ..... and he did!  He had his lunch here, and came home with two packets of gorgeous woollen fabrics

 

 

I finished the shawl last night (hooray) and blocked it this afternoon - I will leave it to dry for a couple of days

 

 

 

I sorted out all my stuff for my sales table - we have to take our own tables, as the village hall ones will be in use. As I can only fit a small table into my car, I thought I had better check that everything fitted on it

 

 

To finish ..... there was a bit of a power tool failure when Malcolm was drilling the holes for the string in this shopping list holder - the fabric caught in the bit and got somewhat mangled!

 

 

Ghastly!

When the post arrived on Saturday morning, I got excited when I spotted this on one of the envelopes ....

 

 

...... as I knew that meant my fabric had arrived from my fabulous bloggy friend Thimbleanna.  When she posted recently about the Ghastlies fabric, I just had to have a piece

 

 

Would you like a closer look?

 

witches knit and natter!

 

 

is she giving out orders from her chaise longue?

 

 

has she noticed the owl on her head?

 

 

this could be me, glass in hand!!

 

What will I make with the fabric ....... I don't know!  I don't really want to cut it up, so maybe I will add borders and make a lap quilt to snuggle under in the winter ...... which will probably arrive any day now, as the weather forecasters say that there will be no more summer weather!  Anna also enclosed this cute card, which contains a set of sewing needles

 

On Saturday afternoon, I headed out to the studio to make two lots of bunting, to enter in the Southdean Show.  Inspired by a post on Lee's blog, I persuaded Malcolm to part with an old road atlas. 

 

 

I stuck three lots of two pages together, and with the help of a template and a spare rotary cutter fitted with a blade that was too blunt to cut fabric, but still sharp enough to cut paper, I soon had all the pieces cut

 

 

I used double-sided sticky tape to stick the fabric strip on - two metres of easy to make bunting

 
 

 

To make the second string, I pulled out some fabrics that I bought some years ago in Aix-en-Provence.  The bright colours are just perfect for bunting!

 

 

This time I stitched the fabrics together and stitched the tape on - again, very quick and easy to make

 

 

Yesterday afternoon, I made the shopping list holders for my sales table - Malcolm will drill holes at the top, so that I can add coloured string for hanging them up

 

 

Of course at this point on a Monday, I should be showing you the knitting update.  Oops, I forgot to take a photo ...... but I have almost finished stitching on the edging.  I shall have to get a move on if the shawl is to be ready for the show on Saturday!

Another soggy day!

It wasn't raining this morning when I went for my walk, but there was plenty of evidence of yesterday's rain.  The water drops on the grass look like jewels

 

 

The other day I had remarked to Malcolm that perhaps I don't really go for walks, but just stroll up to the church and sit on the bench admiring the view for an hour, before strolling home for breakfast!  Of course, my photos let Malcolm know how far I've walked, so this morning I thought I would take one of the white lines on the road, which mark my turning point.  However, there was an obstacle to this plan - or rather several obstacles - lambs!!

 

 

Now that they are older, they are much braver and don't run back into the field as you approach.  This group weren't going to let me stop them enjoying their early morning snacking on the verge

 

 

They weren't the only ones enjoying the lush grass - this lovely boy interrupted his munching to come over to the fence and pose nicely

 

 

His gleaming black coat was a nice contrast to these much paler boys

 

 

I was five minutes from home when it started to drizzle ....... it's amazing how wet you can get in five minutes!!  There was no patch'n'chat today, as most of the chatters were off to Birmingham for the Festival of Quilts (so no Friday cake either).  I spent the afternoon in the studio.  First I finished stitching the hexagon lavender bag, then filled it with lavender

 

 

Pretty, but it needed something more ...... beads!

 

 

 

It didn't take long to make the second lavender bag.  I ironed some wadding on to the silk and cut out two rectangles which I stitched together

 

 

I folded this in half and stitched the long edge, to form a tube

 

 

Then I folded the silk I had chosen to be the lining over, and stitched across the bottom

 

 

I turned the bag right side out, filled it with lavender, tied it with matching ribbon and added two sprigs of lavender

 

 

 

When I went back into the house , it was raining (again) ........ but that didn't deter the birds from tucking in 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you all have a great (and dry!) weekend, love Anne

Creating order out of chaos!

This is what the studio looked like on Saturday afternoon

 

 

 

I had dismantled a sample book of fabulous curtain fabrics, to cover the notebooks, then realised that I could use the backing board for another project involving 'shoppping list' notebooks.  There are several other ongoing projects on the tables as well!

The fabrics are gorgeous ........

 

 

........ but unfortunately have heavy paper frames stuck on the wrong side

 

 

I found this lovely rich remnant of 'silk' fabric in my stash to line the covers with

 

 

and soon had eight covers ready to sew, which took to me to the end of the afternoon

 

 

Yesterday morning was too wet to go for a walk, but we headed out to the Waterwheel cafe for a cuppa.  The scones looked so good, we got a fruit one and a cheese one, and had half each (we didn't have any lunch!)

 

 

We braved the rain and the mud underfoot to visit the eagle owls.  This one wasn't bothered by the horrible weather

 

 

but this one looked thoroughly miserable, barely opening one eye to look at us!

 

 

Malcolm has a very nasty, VERY itchy insect bite ....... but he rejected my suggestion that maybe the owl could scratch it for him!!

 

 

Back home, I finished the eight notebook covers

 

 

I happened to glance down at the carpet ....... oh dear, I think it's time for some serious cleaning

 

 

So, this afternoon I headed out to the studio determined to make it all neat and tidy again, putting things away, vacuuming the carpet - and even cleaning the windows!

 

 

The frogs are glad that they can now welcome people without having to apologize for the mess

 

 

Although we don't seem to have had a very good summer, it has been good for wonderful strawberries .......

 

 

....... and raspberries

 

 

To finish, the knitting update.  I have knitted miles and miles of edging and can now make up the shawl

 

 

You scratch my back ........

......... and I'll scratch yours!  These two horses were using their teeth to groom each others manes this morning

 

 

I saw a flash of white in this field, and thought perhaps it was a carrier bag, caught in the grass ....... but then I looked more closely, and saw that it was one of the neighbour's cats!

 

 

When I went out this morning the air was full of swallows, swooping and diving.  Do you think the ones sitting on the wires were giving them marks for degree of difficulty and artistic merit?

 

Or given how grey the sky was, were they discussing packing their bags and setting off early for Africa!

 

I was delighted when I heard my neighbour Marion's old donkey braying in the field, as I haven't seen him for quite a while.  He has an unusual black and white coat - but unfortunately when I got to the field gate, he was half hidden by the long grass, with his white rear end the most visible part of him!

 

 

However, I was soon distracted from the disappointment of not getting a better photo of the donkey by a very pretty grass seedhead

 

 

I was actually focusing on this seedhead, when the tiny bug (about the size of a pinhead) crawled into sight

 

 

This afternoon, I headed out to the studio, to make a prototype book cover.  I unearthed the books from my stash, and pulled out some fabrics

 

 

I cut the main piece of fabric, and two smaller pieces for the flaps, which I folded in half.  I also pinned a piece of ribbon in place, to make a page marker

 

 

I cut a piece of calico for the lining and pinned it in place.  I stitched round the four sides, leaving a gap at the bottom

 

 

then I trimmed the corners

 

 

and turned the cover through to the right side

 

 

I stitched the opening and pressed the seams, then slipped the book in

 

 

To finish the cover, I added a cord and some wooden beads ..... however I'm not sure about the the rough, textured fabric - I think I will have another trawl through my stash (but don't worry, that one won't be wasted, I'll keep it for myself!)

 

 

To finish, a very special photo!  As I meandered strode down the hill towards breakfast home, I heard what was obviously a large animal in the field to my left.  I looked round, and standing there was a deer!  I held my breath as I turned the camera on and slowly raised it ..... but the deer continued to stand there, watching me

 

Totally, completely, utterly .........

...... wet and miserable morning!  I didn't bother taking the camera with me this morning, as everything was wet and dripping - as was this bird feeder later this morning.

 

 

This poor sparrow looked very bedraggled

 

 

However the rain didn't stop the birds tucking in ........

 

 

 

 

........ and posing prettily between visits to the feeders

 

 
 

 

So what's a girl to do on such a horrid day - head for the studio and sew of course!!  I finished another batch of lavender bags

 

 

As Malcolm was out for lunch, I had a rare treat, made with the simplest of ingredients

 

 

Cheese on toast with piccalilli - delicious!

 

 

Back out in the studio, I cut out the coasters

 

 

I made them the same way as I made the lavender bags, but only put half the amount of lavender in, and I frayed the edges (!) instead if using the pinking blade

 

 

 

 

By the time I finished my sewing, the rain had finally gone off, and this was the much brighter view behind the studio

 

 

After such a grey day, I will finish with some garden photos from last week, to give a splash of lovely colours

 

the sweet pea now has a good grip on the dead clematis

 

 

this rose is tiny

 

 

the bees balm in full bloom