frayed at the edge

Another Lovely Grandchild!

Recently, Liz revealed that she is to become a Lovely Grandmother ....... which of course means another Lovely Baby Quilt!  After an exchange of emails, a squishy parcel arrived in the post, containing these lovely bright fabrics

 

I popped the squares from the charm pack up on the design wall

then spent some time moving squares around to get a pleasing balance.  But as always happens, the more I moved them, the more I ended up with two similar squares together.  I summoned Malcolm and he moved a few round, still with the same result, but eventually we reached this arrangement

 

assembling a quilt like this is very straightforward - I started by sewing the first two rows together

 

then repeated that with the third and fourth, then the fifth and sixth rows

 

I then sewed these pairs together into rows

 

after that I sewed the rows together in pairs

 

and finally stitched all the rows together

 

I had intended to do some more work on the quilt yesterday, but unfortunately domestic duties got in the way.  I had a huge basket of ironing to do, as I hadn't ironed last week because of all the decorating and organising of the studio, then I did some cooking for the freezer, and lastly I remembered I had to filter the limon-ginno

 

and bottle it

then I noticed that the one developed olive had fallen off Malcolm's olive tree - oh no, catastrophe, we had high hopes of our own estate-bottled olive oil!!

 

and worse was to come - some nasty little beasty had nibbled it!

 

I trimmed off the nibbled bit, but for some reason Malcolm declined to taste it (I don't like olives)

 

it even had a perfectly formed stone

 

so back to the Lovely Baby quilt.  This afternoon I measured, measured and measured again, just to be sure, before I cut the strips for the binding and the borders, leaving a large enough piece for the back of the quilt

 

I then put that aside to do some other sewing, but I'll share that with you tomorrow, and end for today with our delicious lunch, which we had at Born in the Borders ..... we both had the sausage and bacon sandwich

 

and how stylish was my cuppa?!

All at sea!

Yesterday afternoon, we walked along to the Lifeboat Station

 

to enjoy all sorts of fun

 

the Festival was declared open by the Mayor

 

as well as the Berwick lifeboat, the Eyemouth lifeboat had come down the coast to join in the festivities

 

then there all sorts of watery events ...... I'l start with the raft race

 

the race was won by the Mexican Bandits ...... but when they lifted their raft out of the water after the race, perhaps they should have been disqualified for rafting under the influence!

 

this crew was the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team ....... you might think the man on the left is a roguish looking chap - but he is a respected Berwick business man, whose firm installed our solar panels!

 

but the rafters didn't just have to contend with paddling their unwieldy crafts ...... the lifeboats were having fun whizzing past them setting up large waves

 

the Salmon Queen and her attendants were there too, and went out on the lifeboat

 

I did think about jumping into the water to be rescued by all these fit men

and there were craft of all shapes and sizes on standby

 

but I decided to stay on dry land!  With all the excitement, we were in need of refreshment and retired to the tea tent, where we had earlier seen the Mayor enjoying a cuppa

 

no scones, but we shared two delicious, sweet and sticky traybakes

 

I still have lots of photos to share with you, but they will have to wait until tomorrow.  But I have something very cute to end with ....... we called in at The Hirsel for lunch on our way home today, and Malcolm spotted these four little swallows crammed into their nest

A double post!

I just remembered last night that my next report was due on my Aunts' Quilt!  So I shall start with that, then do the big reveal of the studio.  Having trimmed the applique blocks, I assembled all the bits ready to sew together the main part of the quilt

 

I put the pieced blocks up on the design wall, in the order that they came off the pile

 

then rearranged them to give a better balance of the darker blocks

 

I added the applique blocks as they are shown on the pattern

 

then I added the corner and setting triangles

 

I was delighted that it all fitted together - I only had to make a slight alteration to one seam!

 

I don't like the outer border on the pattern, so I will be doing my own thing - I'll tell you all about it next week.  So now to the big reveal of the bottom room of the studio.  On Tuesday, I got started early and painted the walls, then in the afternoon when the paint was dry, I added a second coat.  Then on Wednesday and Thursday I sorted out the new arrangement of the furniture - it was such a struggle to lift down the top parts of the units, I decided to keep them all at floor level

 

I did have my various quilts hanging on two clothes rails, but they took up a lot of room, so yesterday we popped into Homebase and bought this basic pine shelf unit

 

in the past I have never folded my quilts, but I lined the shelves with acid-free tissue paper and placed the folded quilts on them.  The WIPs/UFOs are on the top shelf, then small quilts, larger quilts, and then quilts with bits on them

the painted cupboard looks good in the corner

 

the office corner needs a bit of reorganisation -  do you think I have too many notebooks? (can you have too many notebooks?)

 

Malcolm and I are very popular with our favourite charity shop in Hawick, as we have taken in vast quantities of craft books and supplies over the last few weeks.  But it means my shelving is no longer stuffed full.  But I shall be very good, and not buy more stuff simply to fill the spaces!

 

having sorted out the bottom room, I thought I ought to tidy up the top room, which had become somewhat messy

 

it's Friday, so of course that means cake!  Today we had Annette's delicious spiced fruit loaf

 

we aren't going over to Berwick until Sunday, so I might catch up on some sewing tomorrow.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

All the fun of the fair!

The weather cooperated on Saturday for the Spittal Family Festival, which we walked along to, after lunch.  The first part of the promenade was taken up with a car boot sale

 

then there was the funfair

 

sadly we missed the performance of the Punch and Judy show

 

this boat was whizzing about

 

the four men on the right were doing some impressive synchronised kite flying

 

there was a climbing wall at the far end of the promenade.  These two young girls may have taken some time to climb up, but it didn't take them long to come back down, as they just launched themselves out from the wall and came down on the safety ropes.  I would never, ever have had the courage to do that!

 

the girls would have had an even better view than this, looking back across the Festival

 

as we walked back along, we enjoyed delicious "99" ice creams

 

on Saturday evening, as it was getting dark, Malcolm pointed out a line of swans coming into the dock.  But by the time I had picked up the camera, they had about turned and were furiously swimming back out

 

so what had spooked them?  This naughty creature!

 

I am going to be very busy over the next few days, finishing the decorating in the studio, so I won't post again until Friday, when hopefully I will have the big reveal!  To finish, I'm not going to make a habit of this, but this is another Gaelic cartoon  - I have decided that the sheep is having to sit on his own because he is eating garlic popcorn!!  Of course it won't be saying that at all, but perhaps you can suggest another silly "translation"!

 

 

 

Sewing!

You may have thought that with all the other stuff going on, that I haven't been doing any sewing!  But I have been working very hard on my Aunts' Quilt, to make sure that I had this month's stage finished.  I started by trimming the applique blocks

 

but you will have to wait until next Friday to see the full report!  The little elephant stitchery is finished

 

and I have made a good start to the next one

 

yesterday I sent Malcolm up into the loft to retrieve two pieces of furniture for me.  First, this half-moon piecrust table, which belonged to my Mum and Dad.  I can vaguely remember them buying it when I was little, so it must be at least 50 years old!

 

I am going to paint it with this Annie Sloan chalk paint, and bring it over to use as a hall table in the flat

 

we had this little chair in the hall of the Victorian house which we lived in, in the 90s.  It was the time of paint effects and stencilling.  I think Malcolm used a stencil for the basic design, then embellished it.  But it too is going to be painted with the chalk paint, and will go in the guest bedroom at the flat.  While I am painting it, Malcolm will recover the seat.  There is a tale to tell about the fabric that is on it at the moment, but I will have to look out the relevant photos to go with the story

this cupboard is now in my studio, another paint effect and stencil job

 

I painted the cupboard in the paler paint, then sponged it with the darker one.  I then stencilled it - even stencilling rosebuds on the handles

I also painted the inside of the cupboard!

 

I wasn't at patch'n'chat this afternoon, as we came over to Berwick.  For a change, we came via Duns, and popped into the Garden Centre for a cuppa.  So there is still a Friday cake ....... the most wonderful scone, filled with blueberry Eton Mess

 

for those of you who may not know, Eton Mess is broken up meringue, mixed with fresh cream

 

the forecast is good for tomorrow, so we are looking forward to the Seaside Festival

 

I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

It's back!!

Hooray, The Great British Bake Off started again last night!  I love this progamme, with the brilliant judges and presenters (if there are funny black shapes on the right of the photos, it is my rubber plant, getting in the way!)

 

I don't know how many photo I took of Mary, and in every one she was pulling a face!

 

but Paul just smouldered as usual, with those piercing blue eyes

 

and Mel and Sue were as madcap as ever

 

fortunately the sight of this cake didn't make me hungry, as it is a walnut cake, which I don't like

 

Marie was named Star Baker

 

while Stu was the first to leave

 

when we were on holiday, we saw some driftwood mobiles that had little fish and other sea creatures dangling from them.  I said to Malcolm that when we got home I would get some air-drying clay to for us to have a go at making some ....... and I have finally got round to getting the clay!  This block is about the size of a shoe box, but it weighs 12 kilos!  I could hardly lift the parcel when it arrived

 

I also got a set of sea themed cookie cutters

 

and a basic set of modelling tools, so now we just need some time to have a go

 

inspired by some of the things we saw at the Gallery on Sunday, I also got this collection of "silver" charms (what we we do without ebay!!)

 

this afternoon I made a start to clearing the bottom room of my studio, so that we can get it painted.  This side is just about empty

 

but I shall have to find a place to put all this stuff from the other side

 

I made this quilt years ago for my Dad when he was in hospital after falling and breaking his hip.  The ward was far too warm, so the nurses would open the windows, but that meant Dad got cold, sitting all day in his bedside chair.  So I unearthed a pile of log cabin blocks and put together a quick lap quilt, with cosy fleece on the back.  I now use it as a table cover in the studio

 

the weather still isn't very summery, so I decided to have some summery music while I was busy - I can play CDs on the built-in DVD player in my little tv

 

to finish ...... I made this little wallhanging years ago, but I don't think it has ever appeared on the blog!

We finally get to Sunday!

On Sunday morning, we headed back over the Border to visit Coldingham Priory ...... or rather the remains of the Priory.  However the parish church .....

 

........ is built on the site of the Priory

 

this board (click on the photo to enlarge it) .......

 

....... explains what these relics are

 

around the site of the Priory are paving stones with messages carved into them

 

I always get a lump in my throat when I see these old gravestones

 

this old gravestone has had a new plaque put on it

 

and this War Grave is particularly sad, that the sailor's family wouldn't have known that their loved one had been buried in Coldingham

 

when we walked by to the car, I spotted this pillar box beside the car park.  It is from the reign of George VI, the Queen's father

 

from Coldingham, we went on to St Abbs for a cuppa.  While Malcolm was placing our order, I was admiring the little table setting

 

I was given a plain, ordinary white cup and saucer with my tea, but as happened the last time we were there, Malcolm was given this stylish cup and saucer with his coffee

 

after our cuppa, we had a potter down to the harbour, where the tide was well and truly out

these boats in the inner harbour would have a long wait until they were afloat again

 

of course I had to take a photo of this boat!

 

we had a hunt on the shoreline for shells and seaglass, but I was distracted by this crab claw

 

this was the first crab I have found with blue pincers

 

 

when we walked back to the car, I was glad that this enormous gull was sitting on someone else's car!

 

on the way home, we stopped to have a look round number four

 

the gallery is filled with all sorts of art works, and as we wandered round oohing and aahing, I had a good idea!  I have been stumped as to what to give Malcolm for his birthday this year ...... so I told him to pick something, which he was delighted to do.  However, as it isn't his birthday until the 3rd of September, you will have to wait to see what he chose.  However, I can show you a general shot of all the loveliness on offer

 

back at the flat, the poor swans were discombobulated again, as yet another boat came into the dock

 

to finish ...... our lovely neighbour (the shoe shop owner) popped in this afternoon to give me a bunch of sweet peas, which she had just picked from her garden.  I wish we had smell-o-blog, as their scent is lovely.  I put them in my favourite little vase, which I bought when we were living in Indonesia, so it is about seventeen years old

The rest of the weekend

When we went for our walk on Saturday afternoon, we saw lots of fruit in the hedgerows

raspberries

 

brambles

 

rosehips

 

at first we thought this was a small apple

 

but after Malcolm cut it in half and we saw the single stone, I realised that it was a greengage

 

on our walk on the beach, we encountered dead crabs in three sizes

small

 

medium

 

large

 

this seagull was keeping an eye on what was going on on the beach

 

and of course we have to have a photo of the lighthouse

 

there were lots of boats about

 

as we walked back to the flat, the pilot boat came out of the dock at a great rate of knots

 

looking round, we saw this large ship heading in

 

by the time we got to the flat, the ship was passing the lighthouse

 

and was soon heading for the dock

 

we held our breath as it came through the opening

 

but the pilot looked quite relaxed

 

the poor swans didn't know where to go, to avoid the ship and the pilot boat, swimming back and forward, and in and out of the dock

 

 

after our walk, we were in need of sustenance ....... these are bought scones, but they were very good, and the blackcurrant jelly was delicious

 

I missed seeing the spectacular full moon on Friday, but it still looked good on Saturday.  The first two photos are from earlier in the evening, then the last one is from bedtime

 

oh dear, today's heading is "the rest of the weekend", but that is only Saturday, so you will have to come back tomorrow to find out what we did on Sunday!!  Here is a sneak peek

 

hooray, an email arrived about a minute ago from Catherine, translating the cartoon (thank you Catherine!)

why did you say "muuuu" like that just now?

 

I was trying out my new language

Leaves on the lawn

It may be the last day of July, and therefore still summer, but the silver birch tree in the front garden obviously thinks it is autumn, and had started shedding its leaves!

 

we recently received a letter from our electricity supplier, telling us that we would have no power today between 9.00am and 4.30pm.  On Monday I received a phone call from a very earnest young man at the power company, checking that we had received the letter, and giving me lots of advice about switching off/unplugging things ..... I bit my tongue and didn't tell him, that considering how often our power has been off recently, I am well aware of what to do!  Anyway, we showered early and generally made sure we had done anything that required power before 9am.  Now, we have a slight problem when the power is off ....... we can't flush the toilet, as our little sewage plant goes off, so thought we might as well head go out.   Malcolm headed off to Galashiels, and I headed off to the garden centre in Kelso.  Armed with a pot of tea and a pot of extra hot water, I sat and read my book.  On the way in I had spotted a display of beautiful orchards, which were on special offer, so one of them had to come home with me

then I went to Julian's fruit and veg shop, which is attached to the garden centre.  As I was being served by a delightful young man, my phone rang.  Seeing that it was the power company, I apologised and said I needed to answer.  Well ....... the young man on the other end announced that the planned power cut hadn't gone ahead, in a manner that suggested I should be pleased to hear that.  In a rather cross tone of voice I suggested that he might have let me know at 9am, not at 11.30.  Why, he said ...... because then I wouldn't have left home at 9am I replied.   While the conversation continued, the delightful young man put my purchases in my shopping bag, and even put my change into my purse and zipped it shut, then gave me a cheery wave goodbye!  I didn't bother taking photos of the veggies (a bit boring) - asparagus, mushrooms and a bag of mixed peppers.  But look at these beautiful cherries ........

 

....... and on the left flat peaches, and on the right flat nectarines

 

and of course we have the Friday cake.  There were only a few of us there this afternoon, so we had a rather large piece each of the delicious Danish apple cake

 

over the weekend, we will pop in to see the exhibition that we helped set up on Monday, and we might even have a walk on the beach!  I hope that you have a good weekend, love Anne

A little bit of bling!

Some weeks ago, I saw a little feature on a beautiful ring in a magazine.  I tore it out, eventually got round to looking at the website and even printed out the guide to ring sizes.  Then I forgot about it until last week, when I got myself organised, measured one of my rings on the guide, and ordered the ring.  On opening the envelope yesterday, I found this delightful tiny drawer

 

which pulled open to reveal this little thing of great beauty

 

a moonstone, a pearl, a peridot and a ruby, set in silver ....... I am so in love with my new ring!  If you too would like one, then click here.  Not only is the jewellery beautiful, it is very reasonably priced, and the service was excellent (and of course I should say here that no-one is paying me to say this!)

 

we popped over to Pirn House for lunch today.  Over the months we have seen this house on the way being built.  Malcolm was able to stop this morning so that I could take a photo ..... it looks fabulous, and will be stunning when it is finished

 

Malcolm had a very tasty ham and cheese toastie

 

when I look at the menu, all I can see is "French toast, bacon and maple syrup", so that is what I had (yet again!!)

 

on the way home, Malcolm spotted these fat woolly bundles ....... and good soul that he is, he turned and went back so that I could jump out to take photos.  I think these Jacob's sheep are in dire need of shearing!!

 

I was busy sewing this afternoon, but I'll tell you about that tomorrow.  On my way back across the garden at the end of the afternoon, I stopped to take some photos.  These clematis flowers have survived the heavy rain showers of the last few days

 

we have lots of teeny tiny olives

 

and some teeny tiny grapes

 

the poppies may have finished flowering, but the seedheads still add interest to the border

 

to finish - the bees were so busy buzzing round the lamb's ears, that this was the closest that I got to a photo of one!!