frayed at the edge

Not so much rained off ........

.........as drizzled off!  When we left home yesterday morning, there was just the slightest hint of rain in the air, but by the time we drove down the hill to Hawick, there was a steady drizzle.  So we abandoned our plan for a walk, and instead headed to Milestone Garden Centre.  We had a cuppa and a delicious savoury scone - goat's cheese and spring onion

 

back home, I decided to rearrange the layout of my worktables, as when I was using the cutting mat, my back was to the television - this is a much better arrangement

 

in contrast to yesterday's dreary weather, today was dry and bright, so I headed out into the garden to capture some of the signs of spring

ornamental quince

 

flowering currant

 

now this is where I need the help of Jessica to remind me of plant names

 

I do know that this is forsythia

 

all the clematis have new growth

 

the hellebore is still flowering

 

these tiny buds, tinged with pink ........

 

........ turn white when they flower

 

in the front garden, the hawthorn hedge is turning green

 

and there are lots of clumps of tiny daffs

 

now that I have finished quilting the raffle quilt ........ I have been knitting!  I bought this kit from Kate some time ago, but just hadn't had time to do it, so I enjoyed making a start at the weekend.  But I have to confess that I should have started wih a Turkish cast on, or a magic cast on.  But I would have had to swat up on them, as it is so long since I used those methods, so I just did a standard cast on, and will have to stitch the bottom closed

 

this is the first time for weeks and weeks that I have been able to take photos of a project in the garden as it has been too wet or too windy

 

to finish - you will be delighted to know that the tiny lamb in the field across the road is thriving! 

 

 

Rock star!

We were in Berwick again today (I'll tell you why at the end!).  These are the last photos I took as we crossed the old bridge on our way back to the car, but they deserve star billing

 

we were so engrossed watching the seal, which seemed to be responding to our voices, that we forgot that we were running late for getting back to the car.  We were somewhat worried when we saw an official looking car parked in front of ours, but fortunately it turned out to be a Coastguard car, rather than a traffic warden, so we didn't get a parking ticket for being 15 minutes past our allotted parking time!  So, back to the beginning of our day out.  We started with a cuppa (you of course knew that!) and a lemon and poppy seed muffin

 

then we walked down to the river, making a slight detour to snap these lobster pots

 

what a wonderful front door - but the building seems to be unoccupied

 

it is such a shame that this magnificent building is slowly rotting away

 

a reminder of the town's turbulent past

 

we walked along the breakwater to the lighthouse, having duly noted this stern warning

 

we thought the sign on the lighthouse would tell us its history, so we were surprised to see this

 

mindful of the warning notice, we managed to not trip over this large rusty ring

 

we had a detour to collect driftwood and sea glass

 

we admired these details on a building .......

 

which sadly is empty and delapidated

 

I'll save the rest of the photos for tomorrow, so that I can show you my accidental fabric purchases

 

I love fabric that has text on it

 

you may have thought that the red and white check fabric was a bit boring - but look at it opened out!

 

when we got home, there was a parcel for me

 

oh dear, another accidental purchase - when I saw Kate's latest design I somehow clicked my mouse several times and bought a kit!

 

so, why have we been visiting Berwick so often?  We are buying a little holiday home there!!  I didn't want to say anything until the process was well under way, but we have now signed the first lot of paperwork, and we should complete the purchase at the end of June. 

 

 

Mud, mud .......

........ not so glorious mud!  I suggested that we put on our serious boots yesterday morning, so that we could go for a woodland walk.  And we certainly needed them

 

but it was worth squelching through the mud to see snowdrops

 

daffodils

 

and the first shoots of wild garlic

 

after the soggy winter, there was a lot of bright green moss

 

and some interesting fungi

 

we reached the end  of the wood .......

 

........... normally we would turn round and walk back, but because of the mud, we deciced to walk down the road, although we weren't quite sure where it went

 

these sheep were enjoying the lush grass

 

the sun was shining on Ruberslaw

 

usually I show you the Waterloo monument way in the distance

 

the road eventually took us to the main road ........

 

........ quite a long way from where we had left the car, in the garden centre carpark

 

we were ready for our cuppa ....... but, oh no, they had run out of scones!!  So instead of scoffing sconnage, we had to make do with border tart

 

and orange sponge

 

when we got back home, I noticed a little white bundle in the field across the road.  A tiny lamb - the wrinkles show that it is very young

 

the weather was good again today, so after lunch I went for a walk, braving the muddy path again.  The ewes in the first field still haven't had any lambs, but I could see some in the field beyond them

 

I walked on round to the other field, where the old donkey was enjoying the sunshine

 

however he was obviously unhappy at having his photo taken, as he raised his head and let  out a volley of hee-haws!

 

as I walked back home, I was startled when a voice behind me said "ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling" - it was a rather elderly gentleman on a bike

 

I'll be back tomorrow with the usual Tuesday sewing update, and to finish ........ two of my favourite arty seedheads

 

A tiny envelope .......

......... arrived in the post this morning

 

containing teeny, tiny buttons, some of which I am going to add to the kits for the hexagon pincushions

 

when we stopped for our cuppa in the middle of the housework this morning, I had to open a new tub of hot chocolate.  As they are vacuum packed, I only open one tub at a time.  After a great deal of "will I have this one, will I have that one", I decided on the creme brulee ......... delicious!

 

at patch'n'chat this afternoon, Maureen showed us a delightful little wallhanging that she has made for her friend Jane, who keeps chickens

 

I was going to say that I finished my little sashiko sampler, but you would then tell me that I haven't worked the last row!  The reason for that is that I ran out of the thread that Rinecke gave me when she demonstrated how to do sashiko at a recent meeting of Abbey Quilters, and the new thread that I bought last Friday is a bit thinner.  But don't worry, the extra marking will wash off.  Then I will add a border and make it into a small wallhanging

 

then there was the Friday cake - Annette's delicious, light-as-air chocolate sponge

 

I will of course be busy sewing at the weekend, finishing of my step-by-step samples for week 3 and week 4 of my classes.  I think it is to be chilly over the weekend, but if it stays dry we will, of course, go for a walk on Sunday morning.  And no doubt sconnage scoffing will happen too!!  Have a good weekend, love Anne

Still waiting!

When the sun came out for about three minutes yesterday morning, I decided to go for a walk.  The muddy path was as muddy as ever .........

 

but I carefully traversed it to see if any more lambs had arrived - but, alas, the ewes are still waiting

 

I walked on round to the other field, but the ewes and lambs must have been on the other side of the slope, and all I could see was the top of the old donkey

 

although I was disappointed at not seeing any cute little lambs, I did have lots of wonderful scenery to enjoy.  I walked on down the hill, to where the funny little house was demolished last year.  The garden gate is still there - if I wasn't such a good law-abiding person, I would steal it!!

 

just beyond the gate, I took a few steps along a farm entrance.  Looking to my left, I saw (two of the three) Eildons

 

in front, (one of the two) Mintos

 

to my right, Fatlips Castle on top of the bluff

 

and further to my right, way in the distance, the Waterloo Monument

 

on the way home I had fun seeing monsters/animals in gnarly bits of old hedges

 

the sun was still shining, lighting up the church

 

of course sunshine and blue skies mean a photo (or two) of electrical gubbins!

 

what's that you're shouting, you want to see my favourite view?

 

this morning we went to Kelso, and had a potter round the shops.  We then went to the Hoot'n' Cat for lunch

 

Malcolm had a jacket potato with cheese and pickle, and a nice healthy salad

 

when I asked for a coronation chicken sandwich, the waitress asked if I wanted salad or crisps with it.  Immediately my inner crisp demon made me ask for crisps!!

 

I can hear you shouting at me again, asking if I bought anything when we were browsing round the shops.  You know I love magazines, and especially first issues of magazines, so of course I had to buy this one

 

these super cute pincushions may have to go on the to-do list

 

my other purchase is a brilliant bargain!  I was raking through a basket of fabric remnants when I found this piece of very heavy furnishing fabric with elephants - I think there are six repeats of the elephant.  When I showed it to Malcolm, he agreed it would make smart cushions for the front lounge.  I took it to the counter and asked how much it cost ......... when the shop owner said £1, I paid up quick and we made a sharp exit before she changed her mind and charged me more!  The elephant is actually a much richer colour than it looks in the photo, but the camera refused to show the true colour!

 

a bit of fun to finish - this brings a whole new meaning to walking the dog!!

 

A grand day out!

Maureen arrived ten minutes early this morning, but as I am a very punctual person, I was ready even earlier!  We had a good run up to Edinburgh, although there was a bit of rain and sleet.  Suitably fortified with a large cup of tea, we split up and hit the show.  I decided to look at the quilts first.  As you know, I'm not supposed to show you the quilts, in case you copy them, so I'll just show you some details

 

when I was waiting in the queue for lunch, I was chatting to the lady in front of me ....... like me, she was hoping that macaroni and chips was on the menu.  Hooray, it was!!!!  (I don't like tomato ketchup, I am a brown sauce girl!)

 

of course I spent all my pocket money (and possibly a little bit more) ....... I'll show you my purchases on Monday.  After a further bout of quilt viewing and shopping after lunch, Maureen and I decided that we would head for home, and stop off at a garden centre on the way for a cuppa and cake ........ we were tucking into the cake when Maureen realised that I hadn't taken a photo - oh well.

 

For the rest of this evening, I will be sitting with my feet up on my stool, resting my weary legs ........ and enjoying a delicious glass of wine or two, a present from Maureen to say thank you for giving her a lift.  As always I shall be busy sewing over the weekend, and I hope you have a good weekend too, love Anne

Strolling along ......

........ through the streets of Alnwick, there was still plenty to see.  It's a while since I included a photo of a postbox - this one is Victorian, so it is well over a hundred years old!

 

I haven't been able to find out anything about this imposing structure

 

this is part of the parish church

 

a very stylish headstone

 

this sad little stone doesn't have a name on it

 

this one is heartbreaking

 

if only Edward Stamp could have seen this testimonial!

 

this used to be the route of the A1 - the main road down the east side of the country from Scotland to England (or up from England to Scotland)

 

this is the entrance to the castle

 

with these quirky figures on the top

 

I usually take photos of the scenery through the windscreen, but this section of road was like a rollercoaster, and as the car swooped up and down, I just couldn't take a decent photo.  Fortunately Malcolm spotted a layby and pulled over, so that I could take photos of the wonderful  (if a bit hazy) scenery

 

Malcolm gets very impatient if he is held up at a junction, but I didn't mind when we had to wait for several cars to go past before we could turn, as it meant I could snap these chickens, wandering about just inches from the traffic

 

we had a stop on the way home for a cuppa, at the Cafe Maelmin.  Years ago we used to call in here regularly for breakfast when we were on our way to visit Malcolm's parents.  Over the years the decor has changed several times, but there is always a friendly welcome, and the food is good.  We couldn't resist the lemon drizzle cake!

 

tomorrow Maureen and I will be heading up the road to Edinburgh for the spring quilt show  I have some pocket money to spend, and I'm hoping that macaroni cheese will be on the menu for lunch!

<

A long way for a short cut ......

..... a short haircut, that is.  Malcolm is very fussy about how his hair is cut, and recently has been going to a barbers in Alnwick - he goes after he has dropped me off at Anne's shop.  As usual, for at least the last two weeks I have been saying "You need a haircut dear", so on Monday he suggested that, as the weather forecast was reasonable, we could have a day out in Anwick on Wednesday.  As I hadn't been to the town for years, I happily agreed.  It was a bit grey when we left home, but as we drove south the weather improved

 

while Malcolm was getting his hair cut, I pottered round the town looking for things to take photos of, first looking up

 

then looking round

 

 

a shop devoted to chocolate!!

 

when Malcolm eventually emerged from the barbers (who knew it took so long to have short hair cut a bit shorter!) we went to this delightful coffee shop for lunch

 

Malcolm had chorizo quesadilla, with salad, mayo and hummus

 

and I had a delicious seeded roll with cheese savoury, also with salad, and mayo in the cute little pot

 

after lunch, we walked round to Barter Books

 

there were so many books, it was a bit overwhelming, and in the end we didn't buy anything.  I think we would need to go back when we had much more time to spend browsing

 

as we continued on our walk, we spotted this flowering currant, which is much further on than the one in our front garden

 

our next stop was at Alnwick Castle, but as the castle is closed for the winter, we just had to view it from afar

 

we could have visited Alnwick Garden, but we decided to save that for a brighter day.  We just had a sneaky peak through the entrance at the water cascade when the attendant wasn't looking!

 

as we left, I noticed this tiny rusty door - it is about the size of an A4 sheet of paper.  I wonder what it is for?

 

continuing our walk, we came across this fine statue of Harry Hotspur

 

I still have quite a few photos left, so I shall save them for tomorrow.  To finish today's post ....... a litttle hint of spring, some bright aconites

 

The rest of the news ........

........ after the excitement of yesterday's lambs and donkeys, I hope you are not too bored by today's post of scenery and sewing (and some excellent sconnage)!!  I headed over to Kelso on Saturday morning for the Abbey Quilters' workshop.  It turned out to be a quiet day, with only seven of us there.  But it got off to a very good start when the lovely Val produced a tin of delicious scones, topped with a tasty, sharp cheddar

 

then at lunchtime she produced a wonderful chocolate tray bake - yum, yum!

 

I was working on my samples for my upcoming classes - more of that later.  On Sunday we got up to blue skies - hooray!  We decided to go for a walk to have another look at the Archimedes screws, as they were having problems with them when we were there just before Christmas with Stuart and Alison.  There was a lot of water going over the cauld

 

and a lot going through the screws

 

I paused to read the informative signs (click on the photos to enlarge them)

 

now that the building work is finished, we were able to walk on along the riverbank

 

I wonder why someone had spray painted this pine cone

 

we walked back to the Waterwheel cafe for a cuppa - but had a diversion over to the neighbouring field to take photos of the sheep

 

the scones were delicious ...... one cheese and one fruit

 

I took some photos of the scenery as we drove back down to Hawick - you can see a little bit of snow on the hills in the distance

 

today I finished off the prep work hhat I was doing on Saturday for the needlecase, which is week one of the classes, and pinned all the stages to a polystyrene sheet

 

I finally decided which fabrics to use for the kits that the students will get

 

this is what they will get on the first morning - I have still to add the ricrac and a length of ribbon

 

the last thing to go in the pack will be the worksheets - I know they will be last as I haven't written them yet!

 

I was very spoiled this afternoon when Malcolm brought out my hot chocolate ...... he had bought some custard doughnuts when he was out this morning ........  I will have to work extra hard on the implements of torture for a few mornings to work off the calories!!

<

Romance!

I have mentioned before that when we have our cuppa on a Friday morning, in the middle of doing the housework, I have proper hot chocolate, made with milk.  For Christmas, Malcolm gave me a tub of pink, bunny shaped marshmallows which I finished last week.  I mentioned in passing yesterday that I would have to get some more marshmallows, as I had become somewhat addicted to having one floating on the top of my hot chocolate.  So I was delighted when he gave me a tub of heart shaped ones for Valentine's Day

 

Malcolm has his coffee in this mug, which I gave him some years ago

 

our delicious drinks

 

what did I give Malcolm?  A little woodblock sign (it's the size of a postcard)

 

at patch'n'chat, I finished my sock monkey, so that is another kit off the list.  As soon as I got home, the naughty boy was swinging from the kitchen cupboards ......

 

........ then making himself at home in the lounge

 

we had our absolutely best most favourite cake this afternoon, the apple and sultana one

 

weather permitting, I am going to an Abbey Quilters' workshop tomorrow (it has been snowing again).  Whether you are wet or snowy in the northern hemisphere, or far too hot in the southern one, I hope you you have a good weekend, love Anne