frayed at the edge

Very happy mail!

There was great excitement yesterday morning when the postman delivered a parcel from the other side of the world!

 

so what delights did it contain?

 

a card and presents for my birthday from Meredithe, who was unable to post the parcel to arrive on time as she was quite poorly

 

a fabulous sheepie tin

 

and in the tin, an owl tape measure, and an owl shawl pin, just in time for my hand knitted scarves and shawls coming out of the wardrobe for winter ( which the "experts" claim is going to be very cold and snowy!)

 

and how cute is this tote bag .......

 

....... made to support a good cause.  Thank you Meredithe, for such lovely presents - the tin and tape measure  are now in my sewing basket in the flat

 

I took these photos of my sock knitting yesterday morning, before we left to come over to the flat.  The light was really bad, so they have been taken under the ceiling light in the lounge - some of them on my footstool, and some of them on the rug.  This pair is for Malcolm - they are more green than they look in the photo

 

sorry, this one is a bit out of focus!  Again, these are for Malcolm - the same pattern, but in a blue colourway

 

but there was a bit of an oops in the second sock, where something had obviously gone wrong with the printing of the pattern on the yarn

 

the same yarn in yet another colourway - this pair is for me (and I finished them last night)

 

I've got lots of  left over bits of yarn now, so I have come up with a cunning plan.  I unearthed a skein of yarn from my stash and wound it into a ball.  Now I am going to knit short socks for me.  I'll use the leftovers to knit the rib, then use the skein to knit the feet - after all, no one  will see them in my boots!

 

we walked over to town this afternoon, and of course went round past the Money Pit.  There is still a lot of work going on.  The rotten bits of window frame have been replaced, and the windows painted

 

why did I take this photo?  If you look closely at the big tree on the right, you will see that it is laden with apples!

 

some time ago, we went to have a look round the show house at this development when they had an open day (we had no intentions of buying one, we were just being nosey!).  The work is now almost finished, and instead of a great mound of earth and rubble, the centre space is now being landscaped

 

the little black boat is one of the fishing boats that moors in the dock

 

there weren't very many people on the beach today

 

this is an old fire insurance mark on the front of a house (well spotted, Malcolm!)

 

I rather like this window - I wonder if Malcolm would let me cut a hole in the studio wall to install one?

 

I have shown you this fire escape before - it is on the back of the Money Pit.  I just like the contrast between the curved and straight sections

 

when I was sorting through my photos, I came across this one from earlier in the week.  Has an alien invaded my kitchen?

 

no, it's just a saucepan waiting to be washed up

 

instead of going for a cuppa and cake this afternoon, we had a cuppa and shared a delicious cheese scone at the Garden Centre this morning

 

the forecast is reasonable for tomorrow, so we are hoping to go for along walk on the beach.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

Catching up on the celebrations

On Saturday, we headed up the road to spend some time with Stuart and Alison ........ and to finally celebrate our Pearl Wedding Anniversary, Malcolm's birthday, Alison's birthday, Stuart's birthday and my birthday.  All that celebrating called for a very special meal, so we decided to go to Pierre's in Falkirk.  Stuart and Alison had been there recently, but I think the last time Malcolm and I were there was when we took Stuart and my Dad for lunch in 1999.  Why do I remember it was 1999 ...... because it was to celebrate Stuart's 21st birthday and my Dad's 80th (my Dad's birthday was the day after Stuart's)  Our meal on Saturday started with a little amuse bouche, cream of carrot and coriander soup, served in a tiny espresso cup

 

I only took photos of Malcolm and my food rather than hold up the eating taking photos of all four meals.  This is my starter - hot smoked salmon with a mango and avocado salsa

 

Malcolm had chicken and haggis terrine, with red onion jam

 

my main course - chicken breast, with creamy mashed potato, green beans and a mustard sauce ....... and the two little bonbons - one black pudding and one haggis

 

Malcolm had a ribeye steak with a blue cheese sauce ....... and some wonderful chips, which were supposed to be for two, so he shared them with the rest of us

 

my pudding .... it said on the menu that it was a chocolate panecotta, but it was more like a chocolate mousse, with an orange sauce and orange segments - utterly delicious!! 

 

on Sunday morning, having recovered from Saturday night's meal, we headed to The Wheelhouse for breakfast.  Stuart chose French toast with bacon and maple syrup

 

Alison and Malcolm both chose this - a circle of toast, with mushrooms and hollandaise sauce ....... and a surprise ingredient, black pudding hiding under the sauce!

 

I had ordered egg benedict - but hadn't expected to get a double helping ...... so Malcolm manfully helped me eat it!

 

The Wheelhouse is beside the Falkirk Wheel, and near the Kelpies.  You can read about them here, here and here. I had a quick search through my photos for the Falkirk Wheel and found these two.  The first was taken by me

 

and this snowy one was taken by Stuart

 

I'll be back on Friday with a sock update!

 

 

A selfie!

When I was sorting through my photos for today's post, I came across this one.  I took it on holiday with my Kindle, which I was trying to set up to take photos of our meal, to email to Stuart and Alison.  I don't usually take selfies - but I rather like this one!

 

I used to have two lovely, delightful friends in Melbourne ......... Meredithe and Helen.  But when they were recently at a quilt exhibition, they not only took lots of photos of nasty little beasties cats, they then arranged them in a collage to send to me.  I have told them I may start speaking to them again in about a zillion years time!! (M & H, you know I love you, really!)

 

I hope it really is an old wife's tale that lots of berries in the autumn means we are in for a hard winter, as our rowan tree is laden .......

 

....... with pink berries, which the blackbirds love

 

the climbing rose on the front of the house is still flowering

 

and this clematis in the back garden is flowering for the second time

 

this fuchsia has been flowering for weeks and weeks!

 

after pottering round the garden with the camera, I had a stroll along the road.  There are sheep in the field across the road

 

I think this one was saying "who are you looking at" in a picking a fight sort of way!

 

a little further on, the donkeys were out in their field

 

I was surprised they didn't have their coats on, as they seem to wear them for most of the year

 

three of them stood nicely for the photos

 

but this one just would not turn round!

 

the horse sharing their field just has such a superior air - look at me, I am sleek and handsome, unlike those shaggy donkeys!

 

after spending the summer out in the hedgerows, the sparrows are back in the garden

 

I didn't mind this one turning its back, as it means you can see the striking patterns on his feathers

 

these three were deep in conversation

 

while this one ignored them

 

for every successful bird photo ........

 

........ there are a lot like this

 

and like this, where the camera has focused  on the metal bird, instead of the robin (yes, I am blaming the camera, not my photography skills!) (according to my spell check, both focused and focussed are acceptable spellings, but neither looks right)

 

it's Friday, so that means cake!  This afternoon, we shared a slice of banana bread, which was delicious

 

we are visiting Stuart and Alison this weekend, going out for a belated dinner to celebrate our Anniversary ....... I even have a new dress to wear!  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

An excellent show!

Maureen and Doreen arrived promptly on Friday morning and we set off for Edinburgh.  We encountered some heavy traffic on the way (heavy traffic in the Borders is two cars and a sheep on the road!), so were a bit later than usual getting there ....... and when we arrived, we found that the quilt show was in a different building at Ingliston, as the usual one is being refurbished.  I think there was more room in the new venue, but it was hung with black curtains and the ceiling was black, giving poor lighting conditions for viewing the quilts - and taking photos

 

the vast expanse of black fabric was somewhat oppressive

 

some of the traders were unhappy with the lighting, so I think the organisers will have to address the issue for the next show (the usual building will be unavailable for some time)

 

but on to the quilts!  I bumped into our lovely local longarm quilter Kay, and she was happy for me to take photos of her quilts to share with you.  This is my favourite one, as I love the look of strippy quilts

 

Kay's description of the quilt

 

and a detail of her exquisite work

 

in contrast to the soft colours of the strippy quilt, this one makes my eyes go funny!  It is beautifully pieced and quilted

 

and again we have Kay's description of the quilt

 

the lighting was particularly poor where this quilt was hanging - the background is much blacker than it looks in the photo, and the stars much brighter

 

and again, Kay's description

 

this is a small quilt, as you can see by its size next to the rosette (all of her quilts had rosettes!)

 

her quilting on this one is superb!

 

Kay also gave me permission to show you this quilt, made by her friend Linzi

 

this is Linzi's description of her quilt

 

and this detail shows her quilting and beading

 

after all the hard work of viewing the quilts, I was glad to find that although we were in a different building, the catering was the same, and I was able to enjoy my usual treat of macaroni cheese and chips!

 

of course I did a little bit of shopping!  My first purchase was this super book

 

signed by the author

 

was my purchase of the book influenced by this stylish owl?

 

this fabric will make a good background for applique blocks

 

although I may have to get my French dictionary out!

 

I just couldn't resist this unusual fabric - this is just a quarter of the piece

 

and finally ........ sheepies!

 

I have already done some work on this  ............

 

........ but I am not making a draught excluder.  However, you will have to wait for two weeks to see what I have done ........ as we are off on holiday tomorrow!!  Yes, I can hear you all shouting that we have just been on holiday, but let me explain!  I booked our Anniversary holiday away back in March, as my present to Malcolm for our anniversary, but then several week ago, he was having a little browse online at late bargains, and found an excellent deal for two weeks in Carvoiero, in Portugal.  You may remember we had a holiday there last year.  So we are off at the crack of dawn tomorrow, to drive down to Newcastle airport.  I'll be back on Wednesday the 12th of October to tell you what we got up to - and how we celebrated my birthday, which is on the 2nd!!

Harvest moon

On Friday night, we had a good view of the harvest moon.  I used one of the specialist settings on the camera to take this photo, which also shows that there was some activity in the dock

 

then for this one I used the digital zoom, and there is a little bit of camera shake.  Sadly our moon wasn't orange, as it was in some parts of the country

 

the gates at our end of the dock are only open at the weekend, so on Saturday morning, I snuck in to take a photo of the big green machine

 

and the other two big machines and their reflections

 

because of the full moon, the tide was exceptionally low, and we spotted not one ........

 

........ but two chaps out with their metal detectors

 

the low tide revealed the foundations of the old bridge

 

and the new bridge

 

 

 

and there was only a trickle coming through the railway bridge

 

Malcolm walked on and pretended he wasn't with me when I stopped to talk to this pigeon, asking it to turn its head and look at the camera

 

because of the low tide, we were able to walk round the foot of the walls

 

Malcolm obligingly provided the scale

 

this bricked-up doorway also shows the height of this section of the wall

 

most of the foundations are laid vertically

 

but there was one section which was laid horizontally - we couldn't see any reason for the change of direction

 

this enormous metal flap covers a storm drain - I wouldn't want to be walking past if it suddenly opened and let through a flood of water!

 

a quick pause for an arty photo

 

we left the shore and continued our walk along the quay.  This photos shows the difference between low and high water

 

I had to stand on the edge of the quay and lean slightly forward to take this photo ...... scary stuff, as I get the urge to jump when I do that (I believe lots of people feel the same way).  But the boat caught my eye, with evidence of the many colours that it has been painted

 

but at least it is still in use, unlike this one which is slowly rotting away

 

we had a seat on the quay to enjoy the sunshine, and I amused myself by taking lots of photos of the old bridge.  First a general shot

 

looking through one of the arches to the railway bridge

 

then through another arch to part of the new bridge

 

and another part of the new bridge

 

and then through to houses on the far bank

 

this is one of those street signs which makes you think that they must have had a very long meeting to decide what to call the street at the end of the bridge!!

 

if you walk through this entrance, you will find a very small flat which is entirely under the buildings on top of the walls.  It only has windows looking out into the passage, there are no windows looking to the outside, so you would have to have the lights on all the time.  But if you fancy living like that, it is for sale!

 

on our way home yesterday, we popped into the Mill in Jedburgh for a cuppa and a scone ........ and this photo looks just like the one of last week's scone!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a knitting update ........ and some very handsome young men on motorbikes!!

Basking in the sun

Butterflies don't appear in our garden in any numbers until September, when they congregate on the buddleia

 

these ones were way up at the top of the bush ......

 

........ which meant the photos were of the underside of their wings (is this the butterfly equivalent of sheep turning their rear ends to the camera?!)

 

there were also dozens of bees, but they never stay still long enough for a photo

 

the last clematis of the year is flowering - these flowers are just opening

 

then these ones are fully open

 

and this is what is left when the outer petals fall off

 

 the everlasting sweet pea has decided to flower this year, after sulking for several years!

 

I love how the tendrils curl round themselves when they can't find anything else to grip

 

the climbing rose on the pergola is still flowering

 

this bud is on a miniature rose - it is only the size of the tip of my little finger!

 

the osteospermum has decided to flower again

 

and the olive tree is looking very healthy

 

although I don't think we will be harvesting these olives any time soon

 

I could have been naughty, and said these olives were on our tree, but they were on a tree we saw down in Hampshire!

 

we have lavender bushes all over the garden - I brush past these ones going to and from the studio, which fills the air with a delightful smell

 

I spotted this the other day.  Do you know what it is?

 

here is the plant it is growing on ....... yes, we have our very own passion fruit!!

 

when we walked over to town this afternoon, I paused on the bridge to take this photo of the Money Pit, on the other side of the river, in case there were workmen about when we walked past

 

but there was no-one there, so I could take a close up of the very serious scaffolding which has been put up since last week

 

as we walked along the river, there was suddenly a great sound of flapping wings, as some swans took to the air

 

we were very restrained when we went for a cuppa, sharing a delicious piece of lemon drizzle cake .........

 

........ as, unusually for a week night, we were going to have pudding!  Maureen had given me some plums, so this morning I added some strawberries, a teaspoon of sugar and a drizzle of vanilla, and after a quick zap in the microwave, had the base for a crumble

 

as we have limited space in the kitchen in the flat, I don't have a big store cupboard of ingredients, so I bought a crumble mix

 

just out of the oven

 

delicious!!

 

whether or not you are eating delicious puddings, I hope you have a super weekend, love Anne

 

A busy night

As always for our first night back at Abbey Quilters, there was a great deal going on.  Lots of chatting, as we caught up with those members we hadn't seen over the summer break, the queue to pay our dues for the coming year, Sandra our chairman welcoming us back and outlining the syllabus (lots of good talks and workshops).  Then it was my turn, to give a quick introduction to the different methods of doing appliqué, as our challenge block this year is an appliqué one.  I had made up boards with little samples

 

and had taken in a pile of quilts to show the different methods in use

 

my neat and tidy display didn't last long, as after my little talk the members had a good look at the quilts

 

as it was just an ordinary meeting, there was no home baking, just biscuits

 

and then we had the star of the evening, the supremely talented Margaret, with a selection of her stunning quilt tops (they haven't yet been made into quilts)  Some of the angles of the photos are a bit wonky, as the tops were laid out on tables and draped over chairs.  I love everything about this one, the cute bunnies and the beautiful fabrics

 

this is my favourite bunny

 

can you see that this cute little girl has a tiny doll in her pocket?

 

of course I love this wonky, cross-eyed owl!

 

Margaret thought the original pattern of penguins in the snow and ice was a bit boring, so she sent them on a sunshine holiday

 

I think this one stole Dame Edna's specs!

 

she has done several teddy quilts .........

 

....... I need another word to use instead of cute, to describe this one

 

this one is from when she was going the a "bling" phase, with lots of beads and crystals

 

you may recognise this little girl ........

 

....... and this one, as they are similar to the fabulous little girl she gave me for my birthday last year

 

I guess this frog is waiting for the princess to kiss him - he already has his crown for when he turns into a handsome prince!

 

and now for something completely different to finish ........ Maureen had emailed my to ask if I would like a courgette from her garden - and would I like a long one or a round one.  I replied that I would like a long one, as I would probably spiralise it.  However, I won't be spiralising the one she gave me - I have put my reading specs in the photo to give the scale

 

she also gave me a round one ....... I shall have to have a hunt through my cookery books for a recipe for this one - perhaps scooping it out, stuffing it and baking/roasting it

 

I have had a fabulous day out today - I shall tell you about it tomorrow!

A lazy (long) weekend!

We went over to Berwick on Thursday, and just as it was starting to get dark, a very large lorry drove onto the dock (it is used as an overnight lorry park) with a very large dumper truck on the back.  I was planning to get up in the night and steal it ....... but I slept in!

 

when we walked over to town on Friday, the salmon fishermen were out on the river

 

it must be hard work hauling the net in

 

work continues on the Money Pit.  The worn stone under the window had been replaced

 

and the pillar on the left has been plastered

 

there didn't seem to be much happening at the Big Money Pit, although some piles of rubbish have appeared in the back yard

 

seeing these coins lying on the pavement, of course I bent to pick them up ........ but they were glued in place!  I wonder if someone was filming all the people who tried to pick them up ....... maybe I'll be a star on social media!!

 

on Saturday, we stopped for a chat with the man on the sausage stall at the Saturday market.  OK, I meant we stopped to have a sample of sausage which he had just cooked (despite having just had breakfast!).  The sausages are so delicious, we regularly buy a pack - but on Saturday we succumbed to the "buy three, save money" offer.  Don't worry, we won't be guzzling them in one go, they have gone in the freezer

 

on the beach on Saturday afternoon, I thought I could see a face on this stone

 

and I am sure there is an angry bird on this rock, with his eye in the middle, and his big beak pointing to the right

 

if you are romantic, you will see a heart, if not you might see a little fat bird

 

there are still flowers growing in the sand

 

and of course we have to have a photo of the lighthouse - I decided to put it to the left of the photo this time

 

they say when you visit somewhere you should only take away memories, and only leave footprints ...... but I did take away my heart shaped stone

 

on our way home yesterday, we popped into the Mill in Jedburgh for a cuppa and sconnage ........ a very good cheese scone

 

I'll be back tomorrow to show you the one or two little things I brought home from our holiday (in addition to all the happy memories!!)

Checking out the fibre

 No, I wasn't closely examining some fabric ........ we popped over to the flat this morning, as Malcolm had signed up for fibre broadband, and it went "live" today.  It's not quite up to speed, as is to be expected on the first day, but it is FAST!!  As it was a lovely morning, we went for a walk round the old walls (on top, this time).    You can just see people walking out to the lighthouse

 

it was very clear, and way, way in the distance, you can see Bamburgh Castle on the right, and Lindisfarne  on the left

 

there were lots of people enjoying the sunshine on the beach

 

we are used to seeing weeds growing out of the top of the wall round the allotments, but this is a small raspberry cane (and Malcolm may have pinched a ripe raspberry from it!)

 

looking through the trees to the church

 

we went to Lowrie's at the Chandlery for lunch.  Malcolm had egg mayo sandwiches

 

and I had my favourite Coronation chicken

 

back home in the garden, yet another clematis is flowering

 

the passion flower produces a new flower almost every day

 

and the hellebore has decided to flower again!

 

when I was sorting through my photos, I realised that I had forgotten to show you what I bought last week at Sue's shop.  I didn't bother taking a photo of the stitch'n'tear, as that would be a bit boring!  So first we have this delicious charm pack

 

just look at those scrummy fabrics!

 

then something practical - tape for joining odd bits of wadding together.  Yes, I could stitch them together, but this is the equivalent of the tape that lazy people non-sewers use to hem their trousers!

 

I do love receiving happy mail, especially if it from my wonderful friend Lee (Just like Martha).  There are birthday cards for Malcolm and me, and a wonderful set of inspirational cards - these are just a few of them

 

to finish, we pop back over to Berwick.  This is the back of the Money Pit.  As the front is accessed from the walls, it is only 3 storeys high, but, as you can see, the back is 5 storeys (and the van and wheelie bins help with the scale)

 

and this shot of the fire escape shows just how big it is

 

but even bigger is this old school, which has been lying derelict, home only to pigeons.  But this morning there were workmen busy about the place, so it will be interesting to see what happens to it.  I have named it the Very Big Money Pit!! 

 

I shall be back tomorrow with some very special news!

We weren't expecting that!

 There was a very large ship in the dock last week - this is only half of it

 

we were watching the big green machine scooping up the cargo and depositing it in a succession of large lorries

 

but we weren't expecting not one ..........

 

but two men to pop out of the bucket!!

 

they had obviously decided that it was too much work to manually sweep up the remaining cargo, and instead lowered this little machine into the hold to do it instead!

 

by the time the ship was ready to leave, the rain had started

 

the pilot boat ready to guide the ship out to sea

 

the next two photos were take through the rain-spattered window in the lounge, as the shipped turned, ready to leave

 

but then I opened the bedroom window and braved the wind and rain to take these last two photos, as the ship squeezed out of the dock

 

when we were in the Garden Centre on Friday morning, I couldn't resist these two exceedingly cute (and very inexpensive) mugs.  Why are they called Back To Front Mugs?

 

because this is the other side - given how often I encounter this when taking photos, of course I had to buy them!!

 

do you remember the house I christened the Money Pit, that I had hoped that Malcolm would buy for me so that I could turn it into a quilting retreat?

 

we were pleased to see that the new owners are making a thorough job of refurbishment, and not just patching it up

 

I think the house with the red tiled roof in the middle of the photo could do with some help - you can see that the right hand end has sagged, if you compare the slope of the roof with the one behind it

 

although we didn't go for a walk yesterday, we did share a delicious scone with jam and clotted cream

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing!