frayed at the edge

That Friday feeling!

I am sitting in my jammies, with my feet up on my footstool, sipping a very pleasant glass of wine, just a touch weary after a very busy week.  We were a small company at patch'n-chat this afternoon.  Tricia was working on this delightful wallhanging for her granddaughter

 

Maureen is making this little wallhanging for a relative's expected baby in Arizona - hence the cowboy hat on the bunny!

 

she was also working on this wallhanging

 

I finished the sashiko for my little bag

 

then did some more quilting on the sampler that I started at a Sheena Norquay workshop.  I want to get it finished for Abbey Quilters' exhibition in the summer

 

the Friday cake was one of Annette's wonderful chocolate sponges - delicious!

 

tomorrow morning I will be going to a coffee morning at Abbey Row, being hosted by the little group that meets every week to make quilts for Project Linus.  There will be a display of quilts, and of course home baking - there is always home baking when quilters get together!  The forecast isn't very good for Sunday, so I don't think we will get out for a walk.  Whatever the weather, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

Thoroughly spoiled!

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and as usual Stuaret gave me a sweet card, with a lovely sentiment expressing his apppreciaion of his lovely Mum*.  He also sent me these beautiful flowers

 

the spoiling continued when Malcolm took me out for breakfast - we had intended to go for a walk, but it was misty and dreary, so the walk was abandoned.  We went back to Pirn House Interiors, where we had lunch on Wednesday, as we had seen these two tempting dishes on the menu.  I had French toast with bacon and maple syrup

 

and Malcolm had scrambled eggs with goats cheese and toast

 

having seen the cakes and scones, I think we will have to visit again soon!

 

on the way home, we were rathered surprised when we came round a bend to see these cows feeding.  Malcolm was able to pull into the side of the road to let me out to take photos

 

the troughs were actually on the verge - a most unusual arrangement, with the cows poking their heads through the fence to eat

 

before I got out of the car, I might have been tempted to steal this very cute calf ....... but the smell coming from the field was atrocious!

 

this morning we popped over to Berwick, to return paperwork related to the purchase of our flat to our solicitor ....... ok, we could have posted it, but we were quite happy to have an excuse to have a day out!  As we didn't have any sconnage yesterday, we made up for it this morning, when we popped in here for a cuppa

 

Malcolm declared that this was the best cheese scone he has ever eaten (half of)!!

 

as it was another misty grey day, I didn't take the big lens with me - which of course guaranteed that several photo opportunities promptly presented themselves!  Looking over the parapet of the old bridge, we saw that the seal was there again.  When I half depress the button on the camera  to focus, it emits a beep ..... I am sure the seal heard it, as he immediately moved from lying like this

 

to posing like this

 

there were also various birds

 

we went for a walk on the beach, and while Malcolm collected driftwood, I looked for sea glass

 

there was a rather hazy view of the lighthouse

 

some of the rocks on the beach gave me ideas for quilts

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update

*I lied about the card

 

I would have used my light box ..........

........ but it is currently pretending that it is a shelf!

 

so when I wanted to mark out the pattern for this sashiko bag (part of the year of making kits)

 

I had to do it the old-fashioned way and tape the pattern and fabric to the door

 

I made a good start to the stitching at patch'n'chat

I have also done some more work on blocks for the samper quilt.  I pulled out some more fat quarters

 

if you are wondering why I have picked an orange fabric along with all the shades of purple ........ it will be used in very small quantities to provide a pop of colour in some of the blocks.  I have now made three blocks.  The calico looks out of place against the pale pink of the design wall, but when the quilt is assembled I shall use a dark fabric for the sashing

 

we were delighted this afternoon when we went through fror our cuppa and found that it was our most favourite apple and sultana cake

 

the forecast is good for the weekend, so hopefuly we will get out for a walk on Sunday (no doubt followed by some sconnage!)  I will be working on more blocks for my sampler quilt, and I may also have a bit of a tidy, so that the light box can go back to its proper purpose.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

An abundance of cuteness!

As it was a bright, if slightly chilly, morning, we decided to go for a walk.  Malcolm suggested that we went out to the Donkey Sanctuary, as he saw some large spotty pigs in one of the fields when he drove past yesterday.  We didn't see the pigs, but when we got out the car, we saw these little ponies

 

the first donkeys we saw were on the other side of a thick hedge, so I had to look for a gap in the branches to take a photo

 

we decided to return to the main road to walk past the other fields, and on the way I paused to take this photo of the Eildons.  The photos that I take when I go for walks near the house only show two of the hills, so here are all three

 

the first field we came to on the main road had these two cuties

 

they came over to the fence, and one of them tried to eat the camera!

 

I think they were hoping we had food for them, but, alas, we didn't

 

then look what we found in the next field!

 

I decided that this was a female llama, as she ignored me, but followed Malcolm as he walked on along the road

 

not quite so welcome on our walk was this enormous lorry thundering past!

 

we headed off for a spot of lunch at Pirn House Interiors - we hadn't been there before, but Maureen had mentioned in a recent email that she had been there and that it was worth a visit

we both had the chicken and rice soup - it was delicious, just like the chicken soup my Mum used to make

 

 

on the way home, Malcolm stopped the car so that I could take a photo of this fantastic tree house ...... I would love to have one, but unfortunately we don't have a big enough tree in the garden!

 

to finish, we go back to the two cute donkeys.  After taking the first two photos of them, we walked on to the other end of their field.  We couldn't see them as we went, because of the thick hedge ....... but when we could see them again, just look at what we saw!!!!!

 

I know elephants grasp the tail of the one in front, but I've never seen a donkey doing it!

An unexpected visitor!

No, Stuart and Alison didn't arrive with an extra guest, but look what turned up overnight!  Fortunately the snow was only on the hills, and didn't spoil the weekend

 

I bottled the sloe gin, and gave S&A two bottles to take home with them

 

they had brought a treat for dessert - a box of delicious doughnuts!

 

on Saturday we headed over to Berwick.  Of course we couldn't show them the inside of the flat we are buying, but we did walk past, and pointed out the shops, restaurants, takeaways and pub in the vicinity.  As we walked over the old bridge, we were delighted to see the seal was there again

 

and he was still there when we came back over the bridge later on

 

we had an enjoyable, if slightly chilly walk.  The wind must have made things tricky for these golfers

 

I didn't need this sign to take care to stay away from the sharp drop beside the footpath

 

this is the rail viaduct, which carries the main line from Edinburgh to London

 

Saturday morning shoppers heading into town

 

as we headed for lunch, I was looking forward to a bowl of soup ......only to find that the soup of the day was cream of tomato, my least favourite soup!  So instead I had delicious macaroni cheese (it was such a generous serving that I gave some to Malcolm!)

 

when I was busy working in the studio yesterday afternoon, I was startled by a sudden loud noise ..... large hailstones rattling off  the veluxes

 

to finish, a little oooh and aaah ........ which of course means lambs!  These two, snuggling into their mum, look very new

Where's my breakfast??

No, that wasn't Malcolm shouting at me this morning, but Mrs Blackbird and Mr Robin

 

at patch'n'chat this afternoon I finnished the little macaron case which Glenda in Melbourne sent me

 

when I watered the orchids this morning, as usual I checked to see if there were any new flower shoots and buds.  This orchid has clung on to its last flowers since before Christmas, and has now put out a new shoot

 

this orchid hasn't flowered for months and months, but now not only has it put out a tiny shoot .......

 

....... it has also put out a tiny new orchid!

 

I must go, as Stuart and Alison will be arriving shortly to send the weekend with us.  We have a bottle of fizz chilling in the fridge, to celebrate Stuart's very big promotion at work!  So, as always, to end we have the Friday cake.  Annette had planned to bake our favourite apple and sultana cake - but she couldn't get the apples she needed when she went shopping!  But we didn't mind too much, when we tucked into her light-as-air fairy cakes (most of us had two!!)  Have a good weekend, love Anne 

Gin at 8am!

No, don't worry, I wasn't indulging in an early tipple of Mothers' Ruin!  Stuart and Alison are comig to stay for the weekend, so I thought I would bottle the sloe gin, which has been maturing since November, so that they could take a bottle home with them

 

it looked a bit cloudy after being strained through the nylon sieve, so I shall have to put it through a paper coffee filter as well

 

on Saturday I headed to Abbey Row for Abbey Quilters' workshop

 

before it became a community centre, the building was a school

 

but why Abbey Row and Abbey Quilters?  Because of this

 

after a quick cuppa (and delicious cheese scones made by Val), the ladies settled down to make Japanese folded patchwork bags, with Lorraine and her Mum Ivy showing them what to do

 

Anne S soon had her first pieces prepped

 

in between making cuppas and washing the dishes, I did some work on Mrs Billings

 

Tricia, who was also on tea duty, was prepping pieces to make a bag

 

some people (I won't embarrass them by naming them!) used the floor as a bin!

 

Moira brought her kimono to show us - she was just auditioning the background fabric, you can see that it is a bit small

 

I was so busy pouring cups of tea theat I forgot to take a photo of the cakes that I took ........ no, don't be silly, I didn't bake them, Malcolm bought them for me on Friday!  But I did get a reasonable amount of work done on Mrs B

 

I did more stitching on her over the weekend, and have finished the centre. It is just sitting on a piece of white fabric for the moment - it will eventually be appliqued to a square of the background fabric

 

I have been working today on the step-by-step instructions for week 4 of Get Set for Patchwork

 

I should have had a knitting update as well, but I forgot to take a photo!

 

Today's post is brought to you by ........

......... the colour yellow ........

 

......... with a little help from white .........

 

........ and a touch of purple

 

yesterday we went for a walk in Hawick

a rather grand house

 

an enviable woodpile

 

the new bridge was simply built over the old bridge

 

 

in memory of Bill McLaren, the best rugby commentator ever

 

a sad memorial

 

one of the many bridges over the river

 

the first welcome to the town

 

a second welcome

 

after a good long walk round the town, we headed to the Mill for a cuppa and (of course) delicious sconnage

cheese scone

 

chocolate and walnut scone

 

to finish ....... a very large amount of aaaaah and ooooh and sweeeet.  Yes, lots of lambs!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing.

A tale of two cakes

So, looking back to Tuesday night at Abbey Quilters' monthly meeting.  Charlie showed us how to make a folded Japanese kimono, but before we attempted to do it with fabric, we had a trial run with paper

 

Charlie was happy for me to take photos of her fabulous wallhanging - I love the colours of her fabrics

 

at patch'nchat this afternoon, I was working on the tiny macaroon case which I was sent by the lovely Glenda in Melbourne.  I have put my thimble in the photos, so you can see how small it is

 

and now, the two cakes.  As well as showing us how to fold our kimonos, Charlie also treated us to the most delicious cakes.  She and her husband had done a workshop at Cocoa Black in Peebles,and  they had come home with more cakes than they could possibly eat, so she brought a selection to share with us.  There were little chocolate tarts, New York cheesecake ......... and the most wonderful lemon meringue pie

 

then this afternoon Annette had a new cake for us to try.  She couldn't remember what it was called, so we decided to call it raspberry ripple coconut cake

 

there is an Abbey Quilters' workshop tomorrow, making a folded Japanese patchwork bag.  I will be there, but I won't be making the bag.  I am taking my turn at making tea and coffee for the participants.  I'll take Mrs Billings with me to do some more stitching, as I haven't had a chance to work on her since last week at Anne's.  As always we are hoping for good weather on Sunday so that we can go for a walk.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

On top of the world!

No, we didn't have a quick jaunt to climb Everest, getting back in time for dinner!  Instead we set off in the sunshine this morning, to climb Minto Craigs to Fatlips Castle (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

we parked the car and set off up the track

 

there were lots of distractions along the way

 

the path went ever upwards

 

the trees suddenly gave way to views out over fields

 

and still the path went up, and up

 

then we rounded the next bend, and there it was

 

but what's this - a door with three locks behind a metal grill

 

no problem, the grill was only bolted and we had the key!

 

an impressive barrel vaulted roof on the ground floor

 

then I had to take a deep breath and overcome my intense dislike of ......... a spiral staircase!

 

but it was worth the effort of climbing all those horrid stairs to see this

 

then I had to take a very, very, deep breath to overcome my fear of heights and step out on to the roof.  But it was worth it to see the amazing views

 

Malcolm snapped me, snapping the view

 

back at ground level, Malcolm was auditioning for King of the Castle

 

as we set off back down the hill, I took this arty shot of the sun shining through the trees beside the castle

 

at times we had to go "off'track"

 

hooray for my serious boots and walking pole!

 

after all that exertion, we were ready for lunch!  We went to the Cream Puff in Denholm (after returning the Castle key)

 

we both had the spicy lentil soup - and it was very spicy!  The bread was delicious too

 

right, I'm off to do my nails, so that I look glamorous for my first day in my new job ........ I may even put on some slap in the morning!