frayed at the edge

More sewing .........

........ but the title could also have been more snow, as yes, we got up to find more of the pesky white stuff had appeared overnight!  The birds were queuing up for breakfast

 

but we didn't have to queue when we went out for lunch, as we were the only customers in the coffee shop!  I was disappointed to find that the menu had changed since we were last there, and that my two favourite sandwiches, cheese savoury and coronation chicken, were no longer available.  However I enjoyed my cheese and pickle one

 

Malcolm had cheese and cauliflower soup, which was very tasty

 

yesterday, after prepping the rest of the embroidery blocks, I turned my attention to the blocks for the Aunts' quilt.  I sorted out what I needed to finish the two blocks that shoud have been finished for last week, and I made a start to the block which has to be finished for next month

 

then I made a start to one of the two pieced blocks ........ but you will have to wait until the next report to see how it turned out

 

the last task of the afternoon was to look out Mrs Billings from where she had been languishing for several weeks ........

 

....... and make a start to calculating what still needs to be done to finish the hexie border

 

so this afternoon I settled down to organise the work.  First, I had to remove the paper hexies from the completed pyramids, so that I could reuse them

 

then I marked and cut out lots and lots of calico hexies

 

and started assembling little bags with the hexies required to make a pyramid

 

by the end of the afternoon, I had various piles on the worktable.  All the pyramids are finished for the first border

 

for the second border, the coloured pyramids are finished, and there are a few more calico ones to be stitched

 

for the third border,  a few more coloured pyramids and all the calico ones remain to be stitched

 

and as for the fourth border, all I have done so far is count out all the papers for the pyramids!

 

I have an appointment with the dentist tomorrow morning, when he will be making a start to crowning the front tooth that is falling to bits.  If I have recovered from the pain and agony, I will be back with a stripey knitting update!

More snow!

We got up this morning to another light covering of snow, then more fell after breakfast.  After lighting the stove, I went out to take some photos in the back garden while the studio warmed up

the bell outside the studio

 

frozen water butt

 

fern leaves in the shady corner

 

the rusty bird looks unimpressed by the snow!

 

the ladybirds were a souvenir from our holiday in Portugal

 

just as well I didn't need to tell the time from the sundial!

 

 a solar lamp on the deck

 

delicate snow crystals on a shrub

 

after taking the photos, I was ready for a warming cuppa.  Stuart and Alison gave me this posh tea for Christmas

 

and I treated myself to this fun infuser

 

special tea deserves a special mug, so I got out this one (I have to admit that I have a matching teeshirt, but I think that might have been taking things too far!!)

 

 

I have now finished the first four blocks of "Best Friends Forever", which I have been working on when we are over at Berwick

 

at the weekend I made a start to block five

 

and this morning I prepped the remaining blocks (there are thirty two altogether!)

 

I did quite a lot of sewing today, but I'll save the rest to show you tomorow!

Snow!

When we got up on Saturday morning, we found that it had snowed during the night, so we were quite happy to head over to Berwick.  After lunch we wrapped up warmly and went for a walk on the beach.  It was so cold that there was frost on the sand and on the detritus washed up by recent storms (more of that later)

 

but it was also very clear, and way in the distance we could see Bamburgh Castle ........

 

........ and Lindisfarne

 

suddenly, the peace and quiet was shattered by a low-flying helicopter

 

which hovered over the lighthouse

 

then hovered even lower over the town

 

so, to return to all the stuff washed up on the beach.  Unfortunately this piece was too big to bring home for the garden

 

but we collected a bagful of excellent pieces of driftwood for Malcolm's trees and sculptures.  The bag was so heavy we had to carry it between us (and a very nice man walking his dog offered to help carry it up the stairs from the beach!).  As we were still some distance from the carpark, Malcolm headed off to fetch the car, while I guarded our treasures

 

while I was waiting, a little fishing boat came chugging into view.  That presented the usual dilemma - as the lighthouse would be in the photo with the boat, should it be on the left .......

 

......... or on the right?!

 

after Malcolm picked me up, we drove back round to the carpark and headed off on to another section of the beach to collect more driftwood (I shall have to take photos when Malcolm sorts it all out in the garage).  My shadow came with me!

 

on Sunday morning I got up and looked out of the window, to find that it had snowed in the night!!  These first photos were taken at just after eight, when I should have been making breakfast!

 

then these were taken about an hour later

 

I was quite excited at the thought of taking lovely snowy photos on the beach - but by the time we were showered and dressed it was raining heavily, and the snow was rapidly disappearing!  So we had to console ourselves with going for a cuppa, and a very delicious cheese and sun dried tomato scone

 

and to finish ........ we would have loved to have brought a wooden sign home from our Australian trip, but of course that wasn't possible, so instead we bought a tea towel, which Malcolm mounted in an Ikea frame.  The place names are a wonderful reminder of some of the places we visited on our trip - including the excellent Yackandandah!

 

 

 

 

Blooming orchids

We may be in the middle of winter, but I still have orchids flowering on the kitchen windowsill.  This one has been flowering now for months

 

I bought this one recently in one of the local supermarkets - it only cost me £5!

 

this one isn't doing too well - it has only managed to produce three little flowers, which haven't managed to open properly

 

I have solved the problem of the too-hot chilli chocolate - I grated some into my hot chocolate this morning, so that it was tasty but not fiery

 

when we had our afternoon cuppa at patch'n'chat, we were joined by a customer and her husband ...... fortunately there were plenty of Annette's delicious fairy cakes

I forgot to show you the prize that Caroline won for the best suggestion for a New Year's resolution.  I gave her a selection of magazines from my stash, three Australian and two Spanish.  I think she has already bookmarked several projects!

 

we are heading over to Berwick in the morning.  Today's weather has been much better, so we are hoping that continues over the weekend and we will be able to go for a walk on the beach.   I hope you have a geat weekend, love Anne

 

Hot chocolate!

When I picked Maureen up to go to Abbey Quilters last night, she said that she had a bar of chiili chocolate for me.  It had been given to Alan, her partner, for Christmas.  He had tried a small taste of it, and after she had revived him, he declared that it was simply too hot to eat!  So, of course, she gave it to me, knowing that I like spicy food.  We had a little taste this morning after breakfast ....... and yes, it is very hot - I coped slightly better than Malcolm!  So I suggested that I could have some in my afternoon mug of hot chocolate.  When Malcolm brought the hot chocolate out to the studio this afternoon, I assumed he would only have put a little bit in, and took a normal sized mouthful ......... big mistake.  I eventually managed to draw breath again, and then taking moderate sips, thoroughly enjoyed it (Malcolm says he only put the smallest piece in).  So whether you want to try, or avoid, the chilli chocolate, here it is

 

Maureen also gave me this exceedingly cute owl as a thank you for giving her a lift to Abbey Quilters every month - he will be joining the Parliament on the yucca plants in the back lounge

we went for lunch to the Woodside Garden Centre

 

where we enjoyed delicious carrot and lentil soup

 

on the way home we could see snow on the hills in the distance

 

and Fatlips Castle standing proud on the crag

 

it may be the middle of winter, but in the sheltered corner of the front garden, the daffodils have appeared

 

in the garden this morning, the sparrows were perplexed by the frozen birdbath (don't worry, Malcom defrosted it after I took the photos)

 

the seed and fat ball feeders needed refilled, so there was a bit of squabbling over the peanuts

 

while the blackbird just hopped about looking handsome!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with my latest report on the Aunts' Quilt ......... have I managed to complete all the blocks in time??!!

Spooks-athon!

You would think with all those channels on Freeview, I would have plety of choice for something to watch while sewing in the studio

 

so I got out my collection of Spooks DVDs ............

 

......... and settled down to get on with my stitching on the Aunts' Quilt blocks ......... when I could tear my eyes away from the delectable Richard Armitage

 

if you haven't seen him on tv, you may have seen him in the Hobbit films - he played Thorin Oakenshield.  As Johhny Depp doesn't look so good these days, I may have to replace him with Richard (although perhaps George Clooney should get the boot from my most desirable list, as he didn't wait for me, but went off and married someone else!!)  But I would have to put my foot down and demand that Richard shaves - I don't like stubble!!

 

there was a heavy shower this afternoon of hail/snow ....... I couldn't quite decide which it was

 

after the usual Christmas overindulgence, we're back pn the dreaded Fast/5:2 diet.  Yesterday I had made a pot of chilli to have for dinner today.  Rice has far too many calories for a fast day, so I made a batch of cauliflower and carrot "rice", with a tasty extra ingredient

 

I made the chilli with pork mince (simply because I has some in the freezer) and added lots of mushrooms and celery to give a good sized portion, without adding very much to the calorie count.  I was a little bit generous wiht the chilli powder, but it was just the sort of chilly day to tuck into a big bowl of hot chilli!!

 

I'll be off shortly to pick up Maureen, to go to Abbey Quilters for the monthly meeting.  We are going earlier than usual, as we are on "setting up" duty - putting out the tables and chairs. This evening one of the members will be demonstrating how to make a small cushion which resembles a strawberry, for resting your mobile phone on when it is charging.  As I have no need for such an item, I will be doing some more stitching on the Aunts' Quilt!

 

Team work

On Friday afternoon at patch'n'chat, Maureen ordered commanded asked me to turn on my Hudl, and head for this website.  Once there, she directed me to patterns which were in the sale.  Having found the patterns, Margaret was then summoned to look at them, as Maureen was certain that she would like them.  It turned out that she already had some of them, but she didn't have this one, and as she doesn't do the internet, I was tasked with ordering the pattern for her.  I ordered it on Friday evening, and it arrived this morning ..... excellent service!

 

I should have been showing you photos of the snow on Saturday afternoon, but I had a slight oops when I was transferring my photos to my laptop this evening, and accidently deleted some of them (I also deleted photos that Malcolm had taken of a rainbow this morning - sorry dear!!).  Because of Saturday's bad weather, we didn't go for a walk yesterday morning, but we did go for a delicious cheese scone at the woolen mill in Jedburgh

 

after all the snow and rain over the weekend, the rivers were very full in Hawick this morning.  The small island where the trees are was completely submerged

 

the water in the Teviot, in the foreground, was flowing so hard that it was holding back the water from the Slitrig, coming in from the top right of the photo

 

the noise as the water crashed into the bridge was amazing - drowning out the traffic

 

although the rivers were running hard, they were nowhere near flooding, much to the relief of the local residents

 

I have been knitting away on the ball end sweater and finished the back last night.  So to finish, here is Malcolm patiently modelling it for me, after I poked and pulled to get it to sit properly

 

The first of the year

It was good to be back at patch'n'chat today, to catch up with what everyone had been doing during our break.  Margaret has been busy working on yet another of her stunning applique quilts - here are three of the amazing blocks

 

Margaret had also made this fun Christmas wallhanging (the background fabric is a much darker blue - my camera just doesn't like blue!)

 

Maria was working on a crochet blanket for Linus

 

Sheila was busy cutting fabrics for the next jumbo block for a sampler quilt

 

in contrast, Katy was working on tiny hexie flowers - as you can see, this one is sitting on an inch square

 

for our first Friday cake of the year, Annette had made out favourite apple and sultana - delicious!!

 

while we were having lunch, we were visited by Sew - ot was it Sew?  Sew (or Sew) preferred the Ladies toilet to our company.  I am amazed that the two butterflies have survived so long in the shop!

 

We were going to go to Berwick for the weekend, but as snow is forecast, I think we shall just stay at home.  Whatever the weather, I hope you have a great weekend, love Anne 

 

A little bit of sewing!

As I moved a half-done project out of the way on my work table, I thought that perhaps if I just made the effort to finish it, in the long run it would save me time, not having to keep moving it (I hope you followed that!)  So that's what I did.  I had stitched the sashiko some time ago, so all I had to do was assemble the bag

 

the lining is a very pretty Japanese fabric

 

I have to admit that I am very good at starting things, but not so good at finishing them, so spurred on by the pleasure of finishing the little bag, I looked out my Baltimore blocks which were waiting to be made up into a scarf/runner for across the bottom of our bed.  I found the perfect fabric for the sashing in my stash and soon had the blocks stitched together.  It is too long to show you in one go, so you will see the centre block in both photos as I rotated it to show both ends.  When I go to patch'n'chat on Friday I wil get wadding and backing fabric , so that I can quilt it

 

woo hoo, two things done, what can I do next?  When I did the beginners class at the college, the last thing they made was a little bag.  Of course I had prepared several bags, taking each one a stage further.  I got them all out, finished them, and now instead of tatty polythene bags stuck to the edge of my work tables with masking tape, I now have very smart fabric to collect rubbish in.  I made five - one of them is in the house and the other four are pinned to the table edges - here are two of them

 

some time ago, along with a lot of others, I got caught up in the "Farmer's Wife" quilt fever.  However I soon recovered, as I didn't enjoy putting the blocks together - they were "non-standard" sizes and some of them had so many pieces it was hard to be accurate.  When I unearthed them, I found that I had actually made sixteen blocks, enough for a small quilt.  However some of them were decidedly undersized, so I needed to have a bit of a pochle* to get them all to fit.  I stitched borders round all the blocks, then trimmed them all to the same size.  I like the way the inner border makes the blocks "float" on the quilt.  Now all I have to do is quilt it

 

next up was an ongoing, rather than an unfinished, project.  In the evenings I had appliqued the hexie flowers to their background squares, and I have now stitched them together, ready to go on after I have made the next section

 

I have also been stitching away on the hexie pyramids, and have finished another nine

 

I have also made something using these two orphan blocks, but as it is connected to the Aunts' Quilt, you will have to wait until my next Auntlet's report ot see what it is!

 

when Malcolm brought me my afternoon fix of hot chocolate, he also brought me a piece of Christmas cake ....... bliss!!

 

to finish - a little oops!  I had been using this plastic template the other day, and hadn't put it away when I finished with it.  I then was cutting something with the rotary cutter and didn't notice the template on the cutting mat ....... oh dear!

 

* pochle can mean to cheat in a criminal way, but we quilters use it simply to mean adjusting or manipulating bits so that they fit together.

 

Happy New Year!

I have thoroughly enjoyed my break - and not just from blogging.  I have spent very little time online, and have taken very few photos.  So now I am refreshed and revived, and raring to go with another year of blogging.  The weather hasn't been very good, so when we woke up to blue skies on the Sunday after Christmas, we decided to seize the chance to go for a walk.  We parked at the Waterwheel cafe just outside Selkirk, but instead of heading towards the cauld, as we usually do, we went the other way along the millstream.  Since we were last there, the undergrowth has been cleared, and several large trees have been cut down

 

this photo may look upside down ........ but the trees are reflected in the still water

 

although it looks as if it had been snowing, it is actually a heavy frost

 

the bright blue sky provided the perfect backdrop for two "arty" photos ....... first, some electrical gubbins

 

and then a dried seed head

 

these chickens were enjoying the sunshine

 

having enjoyed our walk, we rewarded ourselves with a cuppa and sconnage

delicious cheese

 

and an unusual lemon curd scone

 

I do enjoy a glass (or two!) of wine, but I don't know a great deal about it ........ so if in doubt, I simply choose the bottle with the best label!

 

the weather here was dreadful over New Year - very wet and windy, with some snow flurries.  So with the forecast of better weather in Berwick, we headed over yesterday morning, and enjoyed a good long walk along the beach.  The sun was shining on the lighthouse

 

I think I always take photos of these old wooden posts!

 

I can't decide which of these two feathers stuck in the sand to show you ....... so I guess I'll show you both!

 

it was such a lovely morning we sat outside the cafe on the promenade for a cuppa ....... but no scones as we were heading back to the flat for lunch

 

the sun shone all day, lighting up this small fishing boat in the dock

 

then this morning we were treated to a fabulous sunrise as we ate our breakfast

 

I mentioned at the end of the last post that there might be a prize for the best suggestion for a New Year's resolution ....... I am delighted to announce that the winner is Caroline.  I will see her next week at Abbey Quilters, so will be able to give her the prize then - so you will have to wait to find out what it is.

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing, but to finish, we have a little bit of silliness!  I think SockMonkey has overindulged over the holidays, and probably should not be in charge of JDtractor