It was one of those afternoons ....... Anne S brought Cadbury's creme eggs, Ruth brought tablet
Andrea brought Lindt chocolates
and Annette gave us cupcakes .......
....... toppped with mini eggs!
Mindful of "a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips", I was very restrained and had two pieces of tablet, one chocolate and one cupcake. I will have to have an extra long walk at the weekend! Whether you are out walking, or indulging in Easter eggs, have a good weekend, love Anne
We had the Irn Bru and chilli sausages for breakfast yesterday
we couldn't taste the Irn Bru, but the sausages were delicious
we needed a hearty breakfast, as we were going out for a walk. It was bitterly cold, but we were just glad to get out and stretch our legs and enjoy some fresh air. We went to Melrose where, as ever, I spotted things that I hadn't noticed before
a commerative plaque on an old building
a sign over a shop doorway
a snowy hill with tiny trees
this is a colour photo, but it looks B&W!
of course I can't have a walk in Melrose without taking photos of the Abbey!
this little clump of crocus provided a bright spot of colour
the latest bottle cover in the deli window was a chef
of course after such a cold walk, we had to go for a cuppa! Instead of a scone, we shared a raspberry muffin
Malcolm was concerned when he saw that they were serving a different coffee, but the new brand turned out to be as good as the previous one
back home, there was a treat for me on tv while I was sewing ...... Bugsy Malone (yes, I was singing along!)
Jodie Foster stood out as a future star - doesn't she look gorgeous! I'm just looking out the window as I type this ...... the sun has come out, just in time to set!! I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing, but to finish ...... our once a year treat of Cadbury's Creme Eggs!
It was an afternoon of birds at patch'n'chat. First Margaret, having finished her dog quilt, had moved on to birds
then Maureen was working on her version of the Lovebirds
finishing it just before it was time to go home
Katy, just back from a wonderful cruise, was working on tiny log cabin blocks
and showing of this delightful bag, which she bought on her travels
the Friday cake was very, very delicious ..... I think conversation came to a halt as we all savoured the beautifully light sponge, cream and raspberry jam
the forecast this morning said that there would be a band of snow moving in from the west, and another from the east. For most of the day, we only had the odd flight, but it is snowing now. I am supposed to be going to Kelso tomorrow for a Linus Coffee Morning ..... I am starting to think there is a gremlin trying to stop me going to Kelso!! Whatever your weather, I hope you have a good weekend, and to cheer up those of you who are enduring the continuing winter weather ...... a quirky photo taken on a very sunny day in Sydney last year!
You may think that eating this for lunch ......
(while Malcolm ate this)
wouldn't be conducive to weight loss! But for the last six weeks, I have been following the Fast Diet. The basic idea is that for two days a week, you have very restricted calories, and the rest of the week you eat normally. I have lost about seven pounds, and have already fitted back into clothes that have been languishing in the back of the wardrobe. But the best thing is that my engagement ring fits me again ..... I hadn't worn it for quite some time as it was too tight
we had lunch in Jedburgh, and on the way home, I took a few scenic photos
I took these bird photos recently, but somehow didn't get round to including them in a post
when I was sewing yesterday, I didn't just have my stove to keep me warm ....... I also had some music!!
Tomorrow, I'll show you my multi-pocketed bag, but to finish, I'll give you this little sneak peek - what am I doing?
We got up this morning to even more snow than we had on Saturday. I am seriously thinking about emigrating!!
Never mind, on with the sewing!
the two Linus quilts, trimmed ready for the binding
the binding machine-stitched to the front, ready to be hand-stitched on the back
borders added to the crazy block quilt
I thought I ought to make a start to my Baltimore block for Abbey Quilters' raffle quilt for next year's exhibition.
using the light box to trace the pattern on to freezer paper
ready to cut out
choosing the fabrics
the fabric centred on the pattern, again on the light box
the first pieces pinned in place
so, what was in the goody bag!
a fat quarter of pretty butterfly fabric
a kit to make a fabric brooch
a pattern for a quilt, tied up with pretty ribbon
in case you are worried about our diet with the occasional mentionn of two-scone lunches, I hope what we had for dinner last night will reassure you that we do generally eat healthily ..... a vegetable stir fry
I wonder if Malcolm is trying to tell me something ...... not once, but twice today, when I tried to go in the back door, it was locked!! He said it was just habit ....... at least I had somewhere warm to go if he hadn't let me in!!
.......when an emergency trip to the dentist is involved. A bit had broken off a tooth, so I popped into the dental centre when I was in Hawick first thing this morning, to see if I could get an emergency appointment. There wasn't one available, but the receptionist said she would phone if there was a cancellation. She phoned at lunchtime to say that she could give me an appointment at 2.40. Because it was an emergency appointment, Ididn't see my usual dentist, but I was very pleased with the treatment that I received from Claudia. She discovered that a large part of the tooth had broken off, meaning that thhe filling was loose. When she removed the filling, she discovered a lot of decay underneath (yes, I know, decidedly tmi!!). By the time she finished drilling, I thought she was going to come out through the bottom of my jaw! She put in a dressing, a lining and a very large filling, so hopefully all will be well. I am still numb, and will have to wait quite a while before I can have my dinner!
The original title was going to be something about snow, as this was the scene that greeted me on Saturday morning when I got up
of course I was due to drive to Kelso, for Abbey Quilters' 25th birthday party, so I was a very unhappy bunny! As I've mentioned before, our road is very nasty to drive on in the snow, as it is steep, with several nasty bends. Malcolm kindly said that he would drive me down to the main road, then walk back up the hill (isn't he a sweety!!). I took these photos, which aren't very clear, as the camera focused on the wet windscreen
This photo is from a couple of years ago, but it gives you an idea of how steep the road is
as I drove to Kelso, the snow turned to rain, then the rain stopped, so I was glad that I had taken the photos to show the others why I was late. A reviving cup of tea, and I was ready to join in the fun
Sarah, on the left, had baked a cake, which she had iced beautifully. Lily, one of the founder members, helped her cut it
we had the most wonderful lunch
I demonstrated how to make the Lovebirds, Sandra showed us how to make a mug bag (we take our own mugs for our mid-meeting cuppas)
Lorraine showed us a selection of mug rugs
we played a silly game .......
which ended with us all receiving a goody bag
there has been a distinct lack of sconnage recently, so we put that right yesterday, when we had a two-scone lunch at the Waterwheel Cafe
cheese
fruit
I'll be back tomorrow with the sewing update ...... and I'll also show you what was in the goody bag.
Maureen has been a very busy girl! First, she had four quilt tops for Linus ....... this is the one I liked best
next, she had finished her redwork Santas
and finally ..... she has finished her multi-pocketed bag!
Margaret didn't want me to take a photo of her latest quilt, as it isn't finished ....... but after a little persuasion a lot of nagging, she let me take this photo
as always, Annette had baked a little tasty something for us to have with our afternoon cuppa ...... her light-as-air cupcakes (it was hard, but I managed to resist having a second one!)
when we were doing the housework this morning, Malcolm shouted for me to come through to the back lounge. We had bought this bunch of pussy willow wands before Christmas
and this morning he noticed one of the wands has tiny leaves emerging!
tomorrow I'll be heading to Kelso for Abbey Quilters' 25th birthday party. I will be taking a platter of sandwiches to share, and of course showing the others members how to make the love birds. Sandra (the vice chairman) was decidedly unforthcoming about all the surprises she has organised for tomorrow - it promises to be a fun day!
I hope you too have a fun weekend, love Anne
....... that if you put these two ingredients together
you would end up with sausages
we saw the sausages in a butcher's shop inn Hawick this morning, and as I like chillis, and of course grew up drinking (and still drink) Scotland's other national drink, I had to buy some! Then I saw these haggis truffles (haggis wrapped in sausagemeat and a savoury coating), so I had to buy them too
then the butcher mentioned that he also had black pudding truffles
but don't worry that we are going to overindulge in these tasty treats! I have popped them in the freezer ...... but I don't think it will be long before the lure of Irn Bru sausages is too much to resist. I made one last purchase before escaping from all the temptation on offer. We saw this book yesterday, but thought it a bit too dear - but there it was on the butcher's counter at a considerably lower price
the recipes look delicious, although I'm not so sure about this one!
but of course the best way to eat haggis is with neeps and tatties
this afternoon I finished the quilting on the second Linus quilt, but not without difficulty! I only had four more rows to stitch on the outer border when the bobbin thread ran out (typical!). I filled the bobbin, rethreaded the machine, started sewing ........ clonk, clonk, oops. I threaded it again, took out and reinserted the bobbin. More clonk etc. I cleaned the machine - still clonk. I changed the needle - yes, more clonk. I did think of getting Malcolm to have a go, as when I can't get my laptop to do something, I give it to him, he does exactly what I was doing and it works!). I fiddled and faffed ..... and it just started sewing properly again!! You can't really see the quilting on the right side
it shows much better on the wrong side
Last night I picked up Maureen (you know her from patch'n'chat) and we headed off to Kelso for our evening at Abbey Quilters. The first part of the evening was taken up with seeing what to do with the squares that we had made for the January meeting, which was of course cancelled because of snow. The project was to make a multi-pocketed bag, but we only pinned the folds in place, as we need to do some machine stitching. The first fold was on the diagonal
then we folded the point on the left over to the right
the point on the right over to the left .....
...... but then this point is manipulated to form another small pocket
my new apprentice Maureen held the bag open to show off the pockets - there will be seven of them when it is all sewn together (once I have finished the bag I will take some clearer photos)
the next item on the agenda was me! I handed out the requirements list, explained the little bit of prep I want them to do before the meeting, and showed them the little wallhanging and some other samples that I had taken with me. In a sign of the times, several ladies got out their mobile phones and asked if they could take photos, to help them with their fabric choices!
Then Caroline, on the right, helped by Sandra (as well as being our wonderful Linus Lady, she is also vice-chairman of the group) showed off the fabulous quilt that she will be teaching at a workshop in April (boo hoo, I can't go!!)
and then ....... Caroline produced a smaller quilt, which is made with the leftovers from the first one!
for the last part of the evening, we watched a DVD about stained glass patchwork ..... but I didn't take any photos!
This morning we headed to the Dryburgh Abbey Hotel for a financial seminar (thrilling stuff!!) It is a beautiful old building
the first room we were in had beautiful faded old walllpaper with butterflies
the second room had another old wallpaper, which had me thinking of quilting patterns!
then, the reward for sitting through all the dry financial stuff ...... a delicious lunch!
Yesterday was Mother's Day,and the day got off to a good start when Malcolm brought me my orange juice and tea in bed. I opened my card from Stuart, with this wonderful message .......
....... but of course, as Stuart has my strange weird wonderful sense of humour, that wasn't the whole message!
Malcolm took me to Milestone Garden Centre, for what was to be breakfast, but given the portions, turned out to be brunch!
and if you think that is a lot, let me lift the top of the roll, to let you see what's inside!
we were going to go for a walk after breakfast, but the sun had gone in, it was flighting snow, and the wind was bitterly cold ...... so we did the sensible thing and went home! However, I did take some scenic photos on the way
back home Stuart phoned, and as we chatted, I could tell there was something bothering him. Everntually he asked if I had checked my emails ......no, I hadn't. As we spoke, I quickly looked at them, and found that he had sent me an Amazon gift voucher! I'm not sure if he was worried that it had gone astray, or if I was just being ungrateful and not saying thankyou. I shall, of course have no difficulty in spending it (thanks again, son!) Also, as we chatted, it started to snow, and then snowed off and on for the rest of the afternoon, while I was busy in the studio
then this morning, we got up to find it had snowed in the night
I wonder if my car was warm under the blanket of snow!