frayed at the edge

Tasty!

The title could refer to the Friday cake, but you will have to wait until the end of the post for that.  Instead it refers to this tasty mouthful which Mrs Blackbird had gathered to feed to her second brood of chicks.  The nest is in the big conifer in the corner of the front garden, and she was sitting on top of the telegraph pole before she flew down to the nest.  (The photos were taken at full zoom, so aren't a sharp as I would have liked)

 

I was somewhat worried that I didn't have many photos for today's post, then I remembered I still had these ones from last weekend.  Do you have rather a lot of money to buy this house in Berwick?

 

it is a beautiful old house, but sadly dilapidated.  It would be a decided money pit to restore it to its former glory

 

when I was looking through the folder for the previous photos, I spotted this one.  Malcolm pointed out the reflection of the lighthouse on the water

 

and the pilot boat was reflected in the dock.  The little blue boat ties up against the pilot boat and the crew climb on to the pilot boat and then on to the dock ..... the blue boat is too small for the crew to access the dock directly

 

and now for the most important photo of the week ...... the Friday cake!  Annette's treat for us this afternoon was a chocolate, cream and strawberry cake -yum!!

 

Stuart and Alison have already arrived in Berwick (they are having a night out on the town!) and we will join them in the morning.  They have been told to bring old shoes for walking on the beach, and no doubt Stuart will have his new camera with him, so there will be frequent stops for photos!  I hope you have a super weekend, love Anne 

A special day

It was Fathers' Day yesterday, and as Stuart and Alison couldn't visit as they are on holiday, I took Malcolm out for brunch.  I'm showing you the photo of what we had to eat first, as it will take the rest of the post for you to recover from such a big meal (I didn't finish mine!!)

 

now to go back to the start of the weekend.When we arrived at the flat, we made up a small picnic, and headed off to the beach on the far side of the lighthouse.  As we sat eating, we had company.  This enormous seagull crept closer and closer

 

while this crow watched from a fence post

 

on the beach, Malcolm meandered along looking for driftwood, and I looked for things to take photos off

 

 

just the other day I read about building stone stacks on I live, I love, I craft, I am me .... and promptly added building stone stacks to my to-do list.  So on Saturday, I built my first one, topped with a piece of seaglass

 

delighted that it didn't fall over, I then built a shell stack

 

oh dear, I've definitely got the bug, as this morning I built this pebble, seaglass and shell one on my bathroom shelf!!

 

I haven't taken many of my "arty" photos recently, so I put that right over the weekend

 

in contrast to the tiny crab that I found last week, this shell was about 8" across!

 

these two boats were beached by the low tide

 

 

Malcolm spotted these seagull chicks, little fluffy bundles!

 

as we walked across the old bridge, we could see this photographer fiddling about with his tripod and camera (I was getting worried that his tripod would topple over and his camera would end up in the river!).  Then, having got everything set just right. he produced this black cloth and disappeared under it!

 

we can't have a Berwick post without some swans!

 

more geese have appeared

 

the seal popped his head out of the water

 

last week it was a big orange lorry spoiling the view of the dock ........ this weekend it was a beer lorry

 

 

yesterday was the longest day for us in the Northern Hemisphere (yes, it's downhill all the way to Christmas now!).  The sun was just setting at 10 0'clock

 

to finish ...... do you remember the sad tale of our little wisteria, which wouldn't grow and definitely wouldn't flower, no matter how much love we gave it?  Recently Malcolm dug it up, and I gave it to Maureen, to see if it would grow in her garden, as she already has a spectacular one.  She has been sending me regular progress reports, and yesterday she sent me this photo.  The wisteria is still in the plastic bag that Malcolm put it in when he dug it up, and that is sitting in a bucket, waiting for the ground to be prepared for where it will be planted.  Not only has it put out a lot of foliage, it has also flowered!!  We think it didn't flourish in our garden because we are quite high up on our hill - we are about 200 feet higher than Hawick, so we are pleased to see it doing well lower down in Jedburgh!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ladies Race Day

Our special event today at patch'n'chat, at Borderland Fabrics, was a Jelly Roll Race (I'll explain in a minute what that is).  Annette, the owner and Cathy, her right hand woman, thought we ought to have a fun day, and asked us all to dress up as if going to a day at the races - hats were obligatory!

here we are at the start of the morning - Annette is front right, and Cathy front left

 

we had to pick a jelly roll each (without looking), and I was delighted with the one I picked

 

ok, so what is a jelly roll race.  First you join all the strips to make one very long strip

 

after doing that we had to have a short break for refreshments

 

before we resumed sewing, these three handsome chaps from Footeprint, the business next door, came in to judge the "best dressed filly".  They chose Margaret, who had decorated her hat with rosettes and a riding crop, and also had binoculars, so she really looked the part - she could have joined the Queen in the Royal Box at Ascot!

 

back to the sewing!  The next stage was to fold that very long strip in half and stitch along one side, cutting through the fold at the end

 

then the process is repeated

 

oh my, where had the morning gone, it was time to have lunch

 

 

having eaten two kinds of quiche, salad and one of Cathy's delicious puff pastry and potato rolls, I decided to forego the trifle and chocolate cheesecake ...... as I would have fallen asleep at the machine if I had eaten any more!

So, back to more sewing, continuing with the folding in half and stitching together continuing ......

 

until ta-da, I had produced a fabulous (because of the fabrics, not my sewing!) quilt top

 

later in the afternoon we had a break for some very silly fun .......  a hobby horse egg and spoon race!  I was in the first heat, so Maureen took charge of my camera ....... and good friend that she is, she captured the moment I dropped my egg!!

 

this is the second heat - Maureen is second from the left (not counting Pam and Annette in the background)

 

several more tops were finished by the end of the afternoon

 

just before I left, Maria finished her top

 

we were all given a medal for participating

 

and as it was a jelly roll race, that means there was a winner, the first to finish ......... and woohoo, it was me!!  I was absolutely delighted to be given a jelly roll for my prize - thank you very much Annette!!  And Annette also deserves a very big thank you for  laying on the day, providing the jelly rolls, the drink and the food.  Although we all paid a modest sum for joining in, Annette definitely subsidised our fun.  But it is all for a very good cause.  When the quilts are finished, they are being donated to the Margaret Kerr Unit, which is the Borders only Palliative Care Unit.  How much nicer to snuggle under a lovingly made quilt, rather than a hospital blanket, when spending time in the Unit.

To finish ....... Margaret didn't join in the race, as she prefers to hand sew, so she was working on her latest magnificent creation.  Not the best of photos, as I had to take it at a funny angle!

 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend ....... weather permitting we will be on the beach!  Love Anne 

A tale of two beaches

On Saturday, we went for a walk on Spittal Beach.  While Malcolm was busy looking for driftwood, I was looking for interesting things to take photos of.  However the tide was in, so there were no rock pools to explore, or interesting bits of seaweed.  However, I did discover a tiny dead crab

 

and a shell from his big brother

 

and another little dead one

 

of course when I am on the beach, I have to take a photo of the lighthouse

 

there was a bit of excitement when some microlights flew over us - I think the people who fly these things are either brave or mad!!

 

 

I was glad when we went back to the carpark that these beauties weren't sitting on my car!!

 

 

then on Sunday, we decided to head north to Dunbar, birthplace of John Muir

 

I was rather taken with this original entrance to a shop - too often the tiles are removed or covered over.  And you can just see a bit of the mosaic tiled floor

 

this shop had some wonderful things in it, including some lovely driftwood creations

 

and so to the beach.  It is very different to the beach at Spittal - I found it hard going walking on the pebbles

 

it looked better from this side!

 

when we were walking round the harbour, we saw this boat getting ready to set sail

there used to be a castle in Dunbar

 

but this is all that is left

 

however the remains of the walls have provided nesting sites for the seagulls

 

back at the flat, there were lots of swans in the dock, but my view was obscured by this large lorry ..... as an aside, Stuart was at school with Richard, one of the Stevenson family

 

however, the dock gates are open on a Sunday, and I was able to go on to the dockside to take some photos

 

I still have lots of photos left, so I'll just pop in a random selection

 

and to finish ....... more proof that it was a foodie weekend!  For lunch on Sunday we shared a portion of chips.  In our defence, we just couldn't help ourselves, we kept passing people tucking into chips, and the smell was so delicious, we just had to have some!!

Some frantic sewing!

Oh my, it's the 15th of the month, which means that it is time for my next report on the Aunts' Quilt.  I missed last month's report altogether as I was on holiday, and as I was busy when I got back home getting ready for the craft fair last weekend, I am seriously lagging behind!  So this past week has seen me frantically trying to catch up.  I am now working on the setting triangles and the corner triangles, and the first few photos are a bit boring, but they do show that I have been stitching on all my bias stems

 

the last photo, of the corner triangles, is a bit more interesting!  I shall have to knuckle down over the next month to get back on schedule (Miss Anna has already cracked the whip over me!!)

 

we had a very busy weekend, so I will share some of it with you now and save the rest for tomorrow.  I am rushing to get this post done, as I have an appointment with my new dentist this evening.  Yes, I have parted company with Mr Highscoreatscrabble, as I really wasn't happy with his treatment ....... and the fact that I had to wait for weeks between appointments, as he was always fully booked.  So I have gone to another practice in Hawick, and so far I have been very pleased with my new dentist, who as been very thorough and very helpful - and this will be my 3rd appointment in 3 weeks!

On Friday my car had to go for a service in Kelso, so we dropped it off first thing, then went for a cuppa and pottered round the shops until it was ready.  We then headed to Berwick, stopping at The Hirsel for lunch.  Malcolm had the most delicious roll with hot roast beef and gravy - I took the photo when he had lifted the top off the roll so that he could spread horseradish over the beef

 

I had one of my favourites, cheese savoury sandwiches - and I very generously shared my salad with Malcolm

 

after lunch we had a potter round the craft shops.  We hadn't been to the Hirsel for some time, so we were delighted to see this new shop .....

 

........ as soon as we went in I wanted to buy most of the contents of the shop, but for some reason Malcolm stopped me!  I had to content myself with this tiny thing of beauty

 

the twinkly light inside is provided by a battery operated tealight

 

the little Gnome House is beautifully stitched

 

if, like me, you just have to have one of these little beauties to brighten your day, don't despair, simply click here!  It was while we were wandering round the craft shops that I had my chat with the tractor driver ....... then when we went back to the car park, there was more temptation, in the form of this old car.  The sun roof was open, and you could probably start it with a hairpin, but common sense prevailed, and I contented myself with taking a photo, not taking the car!!

 

to finish - you may have been worried that there hasn't been much in the way of sconnage recently ....... but that was rectified this morning, when we popped into the garden centre for a cuppa on or way home.  The cheese scone we shared was delicious!

 

 

ps ...... I will have to spend extra time on the implements of torture this week to work off the above food!!

 

Promoted from the rank and file ........

........ of Abbey Quilters, I am now a member of the committee!  I also have added duties as minute taker at committee meetings, and assistant to the Show Convener, for staging next year's exhibition!  And ...... I have been asked to provide a project for the first evening of our new session in September.  Of course I can't show you the project (not least because it is only half designed) but I can tell you that it is based on these thistle stitcheries, which I designed many years ago (ok, I told Malcolm what I wanted and he drew them for me!)

 

at the meeting last night, all the blocks that we made for the Margaret Fletcher Challenge were displayed

 

we were all given a piece of the background fabric, and had the choice of two blue fabrics, then it was up to us to make a block with a design of our own choosing, and we could add in any other fabrics.  Mary's Dresden Plate was chosen by an independent judge

 

there was a show and tell, and I made the effort to finish my cushion

 

I used rust-coloured thread to sew on the buttons, to pick up the same colour in the fabrics

 

 

after the show and tell, I asked Kathryn if I could take a photo of a piece she has been working on for some time (click on the photo to enlarge it to see the details of her stitching and beading)

 

as it was our end-of-term meeting, the committee laid on supper for us (you know we quilters love our food!)

 

now we have had supper, it's back to the sewing!  You may remember some weeks ago I knitted a matinee jacket and bootees for Rachel's first grandchild,  due in September.  Then Rachel and I had an exchange of emails and a long phone conversation about making a baby quilt.  To considerably shorten the story, Rachel and the Lovely Expectant Mum chose a Moda charm pack for the quilt top, and Rachel chose backing fabric. I arranged the squares on the design wall, and once I was happy with the layout, I stitched the squares together

 

the original plan was to then add a border using one of these fabrics, but I realised that there was enough of the backing fabric to use that for a border.  I pinned the squares to the backing fabric and emailed the photo to Rachel, who approved the layout (she also said I could blog about the quilt, as her Lovely Son and the Lovely Expectant Mum don't read her blog, never mind anyone else's!!)

 

because we were on holiday last month, I missed the May report for the Aunts' Quilt ....... and the next report is due on Monday (crivens, help ma boab and crikey jings!!!).  I have been chained to my work table, trying to catch up

 

would you like a little sneaky peek?!

to finish - if you like hostas, then you will like tomorrow's post!!

A quick tour .....

...... round the rest of the weekend, as it is Abbey Quilters' monthly meeting tonight.  On Sunday we went for a run over to Wooler.  Having lived "down south", I know a lot of people down there think that it is grey, grim and industrial "up north".  If only they had been with us to enjoy the stunning scenery

 

in Wooler, one end of the town is dominated by the church

 

I couldn't remember if I had taken a photo of this pillar box before, but you can't have too many photos of pillar boxes!

 

as all the cafes/coffee shops were shut, we headed to the antique centre at Powmill, where we shared an excellent cheese scone

 

I liked the set my tea was served in, and you can see Malcolm's coffee mug in the background

 

we didn't buy any antiques, but I did come home with several pieces of Liberty fabrics

 

and a good sized remnant to make cushion covers

 

there was a big ship sitting offshore on Sunday morning, waiting for high tide to come into the dock, but it wan't until early evening that the pilot boat went out ......

 

........ and shepherded in its charge

 

and before we leave Berwick, we have to have a swan photo!

 

on our way home yesterday morning, we called in at the Lovatt Gallery in Jedburgh ......

 

........ as the owner, Linda, who had bought some of Malcolm's driftwood creations at the Christmas Fair, had said she would be interested to see more of his stuff.  We were very glad that we made the detour, as she bought almost all of his remaining stock!!  So we went off to Border Meringues to celebrate

 

Malcolm had a rhubarb and ginger scone

 

and I ate what has to be my entire week's month's year's sugar allowance in a slice of rainbow rocky road!  It isn't white chocolate on the top, but a  sort of chewy fudge.  It was delicious, but it will be a long time before I will want to eat anything so sweet again!!

 

must go and make the dinner, but I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing!

 

 

Running off to Gretna .....

........ but not to get married!  Rather, we went out for the day in Malcolm's spiffy new car!

 

to get there, we had to leave Roxburghshire and cross into Dumfries and Galloway

 

passing lots of sheep enjoying the better weather

 

we then crossed the Border into England

 

before crossing back into Scotland!

 

we went to Gretna Gateway Outlet Village for a little it of retail therapy.  I got a nice pair of summer shoes ....... but I forgot to take a photo of them!  I can't show you the other thing I bought, as it is for a birthday present.  We sat outside in the sun to have lunch, which came from here ........

 

....... because we had a voucher for a bogof on a 6" sub.  It tasted much better than it looks in the photo - pulled pork with lots of salad 

 

the sun was still shining on the way home

 

back home in the garden, the osteospermum flowers were turning to the sun

 

and the poppies are ready to flower

 

to finish, a male sparrow, enjoying the early morning sun in the front garden

 

A fun day

On Saturday, I headed over to Kelso for Abbey Quilters' workshops, although I was only going to do the afternoon one, but I went along in the morning to make the tea and coffee.  Left to right we have Tricia, Edith and Moira having a quick cuppa before the morning workshop began

 

our teacher for the day was the delightful Katie (on Katie's left is Val, who will pop up later in the post)

 

I didn't take part in the morning workshop as they were making the "Hana" bag, which I made earlier in the year after buying a kit at the spring quilt show at Ingliston

 

first to finish was Margaret, who had chosen a pretty gold fabric

 

after a break for lunch, the afternoon session was a sashiko workshop.  The first thing we learned was that it is pronounced sashko, with a silent "i".  There were several patterns on offer, and we could each pick two - one to do at the workshop, and one to take to do at home.  We also got two pieces of fabric, sashiko needle and thread, all included in the price, then we were able to buy the handy pink tool

 

 

the pattern marked out ready to stitch.  We had the option of stitching on the single piece of fabric, or stitching both pieces, with all the working hidden on the inside

I had to concentrate on the stitching, as the stitch should be twice the length of the space, whereas I am used to hand quilting, where the stitch and space are the same length

 

at the end of the afternoon, there were lots of lovely things to ooh and aah over

 

but we weren't just sewing ........ we were also shopping, as Katie and her husband Simon had brought along lots of gorgeousness for us to buy!!

 

did I buy anything ...... of course!

a kit for a bag with the most wondrous fabrics

 

a kit for a smaller version of the bag with more lovely fabric

 

all things sashiko

 

if you too would like to own some of these wondrous things, then head over here ...... just don't blame me if you spend all your pocket money!  Of course, you know by now that when we quilters get together there is always cake involved ....... and we had rather a lot of it on Saturday!

 

I mentioned that Val would pop up again ....... she made the cheese scones, and knowing that Malcolm and I are fond of scones, she gave me two to take home.  When I unwrapped them on Sunday to have with our afternoon cuppa, I found that she had buttered them and put cheese on them - she is a real sweetie!

 

I finished my little rabbit on Saturday night .......

 

........ and I am looking forward to stitching my other pattern

 

to finish ........ cute animals!  First, amazing curly coated pigs which look as if they have been cross-bred with sheep, which we saw on Countryfile last night

 

then, this afternoon, a teeny, tiny mouse was running about, looking in the window.  It was so quick, I only managed to get one photo of it

 

 

I saw a ship come sailing in ......

......... or rather, I saw three ships in the studio yesterday, after Malcolm added sails and little flags on the masts

 

and in case I get lost in the garden, I have a smart new sign over the studio door

 

I bought the tiles in Majorca last year, but Malcolm only found the fourth piece of driftwood for the frame on the beach at Berwick when we came home two weeks ago

 

this may seem a funny thing to buy on holiday, but when I saw these pegs they made me smile!

 

I have long been a fan of Marian Keyes, going back to her first book, which was published in 1996

 

so when I saw her latest in the supermarket on Monday when I did the weekly food shop, of course it went in my trolley!

 

I raced through it in a couple of days ....... a real "I couldn't put it down" book (except to eat and sleep!)

 

I shall have to make a space in the Marion Keyes section of the bookcase!

 

This is the first of this year's sparrow chicks that I have seen ....... a little bundle of fluffy feathers visiting the new birdbath

 

in the back garden, I took this photo through the studio door of a blue tit about to pop into the nest box.  You can just see that it has a fly in its beak

 

I keep getting distracted by the sheepies in the field across the road

 

and to end, we have the Friday cake - a delicious chocolate confection flavoured with Ovaltine, and topped with Maltesers ....... bliss!

 

I am going to a workshop at Abbey Quilters tomorrow, so hopefully I will remember to take photos to share with you on Monday!  Have a good weekend, love Anne