frayed at the edge

The next chapter!

Well that's it , I am no longer middle-aged, I am now officially old!  As of today the government has decreed that I am a pensioner ...... although how I can be one when I am only twenty nine I do not know!  Never mind, Malcolm has cheered me up with a bottle of fizz and a box of posh chocolates!

When I was watering the orchids this morning, I realised that there were two which have flowered since the last report.  The first one is quite small

 

while the second one is quite a bit bigger

 

it has very striking markings

 

this is the one which I bought recently, which is still flowering

 

this one has been flowering for months

 

and it too has striking markings

 

I had neglected my knitting recently, but have now made some more progress on my sock.  I have turned the heel and am now knitting the foot

 

so what was the project I started quilting yesterday?  It's my Baltimore bed runner

 

I quilted most of the first block ........

 

........ with my favourite tiny meander

 

at patch'n'chat today, Kay brought in the beautiful batik quilt which I won in Margaret's auction.  Kay has quilted it beautifully on her longarm machine

 

then of course there was the Friday cake ....... bliss, it was our favourite apple and sultana

 

we haven't made any plans for the weekend , but no doubt scones will appear at some point!  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

Bottoms up!

As we were eating breakfast this morning, more and more swans swam into the dock.  There must have been something tasty to eat, as they kept sticking their heads under the water and their bottoms in the air

 

but suddenly there was a commotion, and an adult swan, with its head hooked over the back of a cygnet,  pushed it away from the group, with another cygnet swimming ahead of them as fast as possible to get out of the way

 

there must also have been something tasty on the ground (perhaps from a ship being loaded/unloaded) because the pigeons were having a good peck

 

when I looked out of the window later, I saw some activity on the far side of the dock

 

and in a shabby little boat which had been moored overnight against the pilot boat

 

there appeared to be trouble starting the engine, with much pointing and shaking of heads

 

the man with the new depth gauge soldiered on trying to lower it.  Every time he got out of his machine he had to walk round behind the lobster pots, which must have been somewhat annoying

 

at that point I had to go for my shower, and I was surprised that they were still trying to get the gauge in place when I came back through

 

I had the unkind thought that he might fall off the boat and provide me with some good photos ......

later we went for a cuppa and an exceedingly delicious cheese scone

 

we popped into Serendipity and I couldn't resist this lovely card, by local artist Anne Johnston Gill

then in a charity shop I picked up this rather grubby bag of threads

 

there is a little label inside each reel.  Coton a repriser is darning thread ....... I would have put in a link, but I could only find ones in French!

 

it is lovely thread, and I think it will be good for fine embroidery

 

Malcolm had been doing more work on his wine box chest of drawers, finishing the top and sanding it.  The last stage will be to wax it

 

we got back home at lunchtime and I spent the afternoon in the studio.  I finished the quilting on the space quilt, then I spent the rest of the afternoon working on this ......... but you will have to come back tomorrow to find out what it is!

 

to finish ....... the sun appeared this afternoon, much to the delight of this robin in the front garden

March forth!!

I accept no responsibilty for the punning title of today's post - it was supplied by the other person in the room!  So, today, the fourth of march, we popped over to Berwick.  After a potter round the shops we went for lunch.  This coffee shop used to be on the other side of the road, and was only half the size of its new premises

 

I rather like the painted tables - another project for Malcolm?

 

I ordered the French platter and Malcom ordered the grilled ham, cheese and spring onion baguette ...... then, of course, we had half each!

 

we went for a walk after lunch, which started with having to climb these old steps - I was not a happy bunny!!

but the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and there were old chimneys to take photos of!

 

we had a walk on the beach, and while Malcolm was looking for driftwood, I was looking for odd things to take photos of!

 

of course I was a responsible person and removed the fishing line after I took the photo!  I also picked up another length later on, and popped them both in the bin after our walk

 

we rather liked the way that the wall has been built round the tree

 

Malclm spotted this bird, which was hopping about on one leg!!

 

I had just snapped this swan ......

 

........ when it got out of the water

 

when we walk back home over the old bridge, we always walk on the left side ........ but as we got to the end I crossed over to have a look over the other side, and was rewarded with these photos!!

 

Malcom pointed out the shot of the railway bridge seen through the new bridge

 

and to finish, of course we have to have a photo of the lighthouse - with Bamburgh Castle just visible on the horizon!

 

 

 

Some progress on Mrs Billings!

Now that Meredithe is overseeing my progress on Mrs Billings, I have been very busy.  However, I haven't done any sewing ........ instead I have been doing an awful lot of cutting out!  This was the state of Mrs B at the last report.  The centre and the hexie flower border

 

 

and all of the hexie pyramids for the final border are either sewn or cut out ready to sew

 

I have still to cut out the background fabrics for these borders, but I have cut all the patterned fabrics

I shall have to knuckle down and get a lot of sewing done before next month's report, or Meredithe, who has won awards with her Mrs Billings, might be cross with me!  Of course I have been very busy with the Linus quilts, and have finished the sheepie one

 

on Saturday I made the two quilt tops using the leftover pictures. These are the two centre panels.  As you can see, one has dark blue fabric and the other lighter blue fabric

 

I added an outer border to bring them up to a reasonable size

 

on Sunday I layered the first one, putting a lovely thick spotty fleece on the back.  I also cut the piece needed for the second one, and have enough left over to do two smaller quilts

 

it didn't take long to quilt

 

with a nice big meander in the main section

 

and a line to suggest a spaceship looping round the planets in the borders!

 

the last job of the day was to layer the second quilt

 

this morning I quilted the second quilt

 

I used a big loopy design in the main part

 

and a small loopy design in the borders

 

next, the first of the larger quilt tops, which I layered with a lovely thick fleece with footballs on it.  I got most of the quilting done by the end of the afternoon

 

with a large meander (which Malcolm thought looked like clouds) in the main part

 

and a small loopy design in the border - but I have had to turn the quilt to the wrong side to show you that, as it doesn't show on the right side

 

I had a search today and unearthed photos (these are real photos, so I took photos of them, so they are not very good!) of the very first Linus quilt that I made.  The first one shows me holding up the unfinished quilt at a show-and-tell

 

then a rather fuzzy photo of the finished quilt

 

the note on the left is from Doreen, who was my first "Linus lady", with the thank you note on the right from Molly's parents.  I still get a lump in my throat when I read them (you can click on the photo to enlarge it if you can't read the notes)

 

to finish ........ my special tea in a special mug.  I have had this mug since the the 90s, when I won it at a Quilters' Guild Regional Day, when my lucky programme number was drawn by Lynne Edwards, who had been one of the speakers

 

along with a lot of other members, I was disappointed when the Guild changed its logo from the classic block to this strange design, which could be the corporate logo of any sort of company, and doesn't suggest quilting (although I am no longer a member of the Guild, I still have all my badges!)

What can ewe do .........

....... when waiting for the patter of tiny hoofs?  Just keep eating for two (or three!)

 

but there is always time to pose prettily for the camera!

 

I had hoped to get some closer shots of the Jacob's lambs, but they were in a different field, so this was the best I could do

 

as I turned for home, I almost took a photo of a finch!!

 

we have had sunshine and heavy snow showers today ........ fortunately the snow stayed off while I was out for my walk, and the blue sky provided a bright backdrop for the electrical gubbins

 

the snow was lingering on Ruberslaw

 

I have no idea why this field was so much whiter!

 

these horses looked a bit miserable as they kept their rear ends to the wind

 

I liked the snowdrops against the stone walls

 

back home, the birds were busy eating between snow showers

 

waiting politely for their turn on the feeder

 

 

then hiding away when the snow came on again

 

did you think I had forgotten my favourite bit of landscape?!

 

just to the left of it, there is an all-weather exercise track for the nearby racing stables.  You can see the white railing that borders it

 

 

there doesn't seem to have been much sconnage in recent posts, so here is a very good fruit one that we shared yesterday morning

 

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing, includng a Mrs Billings update.

Fly me to the moon!

So, what have I been doing with the two panels?  I bought them to make quilts for Project Linus, as they are always short of quilt for boys, as most quilters seem to prefer making cute quilts for little girls!  Some years ago I started collecting "sky" fabrics - in fact it is so long ago I can't remember what I was going to do with them!

 

as often is the case with panels, they are out of proportion, being much too long in relation to their width.  So I started out by cutting out the centre panels, and putting borders on.  When it came to the second one, I had to use two different fabrics, but I like the dark and light effect

 

that left the strips from the top and bottom - what could I do with them?  I decided to cut  the pictures out

 

my little revolving mat make it much quicker and easier to cut out the squares

 

I chose two fat quarters .........

 

and cut out more squares.  Did you notice there were lots of things peeping out from behind the panels on the design wall?  Rather than take them all down, I laid out the blocks for the next quilt on my table.  With the addition of sashing, it will be a reasonable sized quilt, and with the remaining pictures and squares, I will be able to make another one the same size

 

I have also been working on this month's applique block for the Aunt's Quilts - here's a sneak peek

 

I have some friends in Australia who  love Patrick from The Great British Sewing Bee and also men in kilts (I won't embarrass them by naming them!) ........ so I hope they don't swoon with pleasure when they see these photos of ......... Patrick in a kilt!!

 

today at patch'n'chat we had delicious fairy cakes with fresh cream - I was very good and didn't have a second one!

winter might still be lingering outside, but in the kitchen it is spring!

 

we are staying at home again this weekend, as the forecast isn't very good for Sunday, so I hope to get the "space" quilts finished.  Whether you are looking forward to the better weather of spring, or the cooler temperatures of autumn, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

Three for a pound!

We took the wine box bookcase over to the flat yesterday, and put it in the entrance to the guest bedroom

 

there was just one problem - we hadn't taken any books or ornaments to put on it!  However when we popped into town for some shopping, we picked up three paperbacks in a charity shop for a pound.  I added Malcolm's special tin, a card with owls, two little Indonesian ornaments and an apple shaped dish

 

I had mentioned to Malcolm that I would need to look out a wallhanging to hang above the bed in the guest bedroom ........ I have to admit that I had forgotten about this one, which is called Sunset over the Bay, so seems appropriate for the flat.  It will look better once there is a quilt on the bed - which will be soon, as the blue and white batik quilt that I got from Margaret's auction is being longarm quilted and I should get it back next week

 

I also took over the ripple rug, which I finished at the weekend.  This prompted the left or right dilemma

 

in the end I just left it along the back of the couch, which is where Malcom sits.  Later I noticed that he had folded it and put it over one of the arms!

 

the ship was still being loaded this morning, but we had to leave as I had a dentist's appointment, so we missed seeing it leave the dock.  After seeing Mr HighScrabbleScore, we headed off for some lunch.  We decided to go to the Jammy Coo, as we hadn't been there for some time

 

Malcolm chose a panini and I chose a bagel, then we chose the same filling, bacon, brie and cranberry (delicious!)

 

I noticed that they had the cute little mugs for sale - but when I saw the price was £11.50, I decided perhaps I didn't like it that much after all!!

 

I just had the little point and shoot camera with me, but it coped quite well taking photos of the scenery from the car on the way home.  You can just make out some snow lingering on the hills on the horizon

 

this is Ruberslaw - Malcolm has been saying that he will walk to the top since we moved here (over eight years ago!)

 

to finish ...... when we passed this tractor, there was no sign of the driver, but Malcolm wouldn't stop to let me see if he had left the key in it ........

 

 

A feast for the eyes!

There were some stunning, beautiful quilts at Ingliston today, but of course I have to respect the makers' copyright, and can only show you some general photos

 

generally the stall holders don't allow photography, but when I was chatting to the man on the Parr's rulers stand (reminding him that he had given me a good deal at Harrogate last year when his credit card maching wouldn't work and I didn't have quite enough in cash), he was quite happy for me to take a photo (as long as I waited until he got out of the way!).  I bought another ruler, but you will have to wait until Monday to see it, along with my other purchases

 

I almost didn't have my usual macaroni cheese and chips for my lunch, as they also had lasagne on the menu.  I ate most of the macaroni, but I only ate about half of the chips.  I did say to Maureen to help herself to chips to go with her (healthy) sandwich, but she declined ........ I wish I had her willpower!  (but then I only have that for lunch twice a year at the quilt shows!)

 

I met lots of friends and had a lovely time catching up with them, then all too soon it was time to head off back down the road.  As I mentioned yesterday, we did indeed call in at the Mayshade Garden Centre, where Maureen treated us to a "plate to share" of delicious cakes - we have to have our Friday cake!

 

as the forecast isn't very good for the weekend, we are staying at home, so no doubt I will be out in the studio doing lots of sewing.  Whatever the weather, I hope you have a great weekend, love Anne

 

ps - do let me know what you think of the new look for the blog - I thought it was time to move on from the winter theme!!

The wrong weather!

We had hoped to go for a little jaunt today, and perhaps find an old church to take photos of.  However the weather didn't co-operate, so we  went for lunch at the Waterwheel Cafe, just outside Selkirk.  I had the coronation chicken baguette

 

and Malcolm had the egg mayo

 

back home, I headed out to the studio ....... but not just to sew!  Yesterday - oh joy - I bought the box set of season 4 of Game of Thrones

with my most, best,  favourite character, the devious, manipulative and conniving Tyrion

 

as we had to change our plans, instead of photos of a charming old church, we will have a sewing update!  On Saturday, I thought I ought to make a start to this year's challenge for Abbey Quilters.  We were given two fabrics, the white one and the one on the left, to make a block with.  I added the one on the right

 

I marked out large large circles to fussy cut

 

then marked out small circles from the remaining fabric

 

I got out one of my bias tape makers

 

and after cutting strips on the diagonal

 

had several lengths of bias ready to use, along with the circles

 

I used the lid of a tin to mark a circle on my background fabric

 

and pinned the bias in place

 

I played with the layout

 

finally deciding on this one.  All I have to do now is stitch it all in place - and perhaps add some embellishment!

 

I also finished the Linus quilt, and inspired by the knitting book that I reviewed last week, I thought I would stage a photo.  But this led to the familiar dilemma - should the chair be on the left

 

or on the right?

 

when we were over at the flat, I was working on my stitcheries.  I am now on the 7th one

 

with the other six looking good on the design wall

 

I have also being doing a lot of work on Mrs Billings, but at the suggestion of Meredithe I am going to do a report at the end of each month on my progress, so you will have to wait to what I have been doing!

Missing book!

Last night I couldn't find a book ......... I started by looking in the bookcase in the lounge (sorry, I had to use flash to take the photos this morning, so some of them look a bit strange)

 

do you like our little blue and white houses?

 

we were given one each time we flew Business Class with KLM - as you can see, we flew with them quite often when we lived in Indonesia. We never drank any of the contents,but it has evaporated from most of them!

 

neither was the book in the piles guarded by JDtractor and SockMonkey on the coffee table

 

I knew the book wouldn't be in the kitchen bookcase, as it only has cookery books - it used to have gardening books as well, but for some reason they have been relegated to the hall cupboard!

in Malcolm's study, it wasn't on the Hedgehog bookcase, which we bought way back in the 80s at a craft fair in Winchester.  The man who made it said that he put the shelves at an angle, as he thought that women used bookcases to display ornaments, so they wouldn't be able to do that on the sloping shelves!

 

the other bookcase in the study didn't have the book either (the name plate on the bottom shelf was given to Malcolm in Indonesia - unfortunately they put his names the wrong way round!)

 

I knew it wouldn't be out in the studio, with my sewing, knitting and craft books, so that only left the somewhat overfull bookcase in the guest bedroom

 

and yes, that's where the book was

 

an update on Patrick's facial hair!  Last night he still sported his luxuriant moustache, but he also had noticeable stubble, which would suggest that he is growing his beard again!

 

today's cake was a chocolate and fresh cream sponge - yes, every bit as delicious as it looks!!

 

and to finish, a photo of the Birthday Boy, wearing his ball end sweater!  Stuart sent me this photo of Fraser's Dad in the sweater - I haven't heard yet if he liked it!!

 

we aren't going over to Berwick until Sunday, as we will be having a romantic Valentine's dinner at home tomorrow (yes, even after 28 years of marriage, we still have romantic moments!) I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne