frayed at the edge

Too many cooks may spoil the broth .......

....... but two cooks make a good dinner!  Usually one or other of us cooks dinner, but today's was a joint effort.  I started my dish by finely slicing a large apple and onion, arranging them in an ovenproof dish, and adding orange juice and thyme

I seasoned it with this wonderful salt that we brought back from Majorca

 

then I put pork chops on top, spooned some of the orange juice over them, and added some black pepper

 

Malcolm's contribution was cauliflower and broccoli cheese - here are the two dishes just out of the oven

 

Delicious!!

 

To backtrack to this morning, when we were in town, we saw this bird on the River Teviot - neither of us knows what it is - but I'm sure one of you will be able to tell me (my book only has garden birds!)

 

Over on the River Slitrig, this duck was quite well camouflaged

 

unlike the drake, resplendent with his beautiful plumage

 

This was a tiny little rose

 

a fraction of the size of this gorgeous full one

 

After lunch I went out for a walk ...... I had hardly gone any distance when I had to step on to the verge to let this waggon go past

 

This photo is for Thimbleanna, who loves sheep ..... especially Scottish ones!!  But the little rascals will turn their bottoms to the camera!!

 

When I saw this horse, I thpught it was in the garden, but then I realised that there was a fence between it and the house!

 

I'm not the only one who has to avoid large things on the road ...... the truck just managed to squeeze pat the JCB  (I think I might have to put that JCB on my list for Father Christmas!!)

 

Back from my walk, I headed out to the studio.  Today's fmq was fun!  I think this pattern was called sea anenome

 

I really enjoyed doing this one, and would use it as an all over pattern on a quilt.  The little bit of green quilting that you can see is from the practice session I had on the other side

 

Malcolm, meantime, was up in the loft putting down the last of the insulation - he moved just as I snapped, so you can't see him, but he is there at the far end ...... the tiny glimpse of orange in the middle of the photo is his boiler suit!!

 

ps - I wasn't paying proper attention when I was slicing the apple with the mandolin ........

If you are on a diet ......

..... look away now!  We went up to Galashiels this morning, as Malcolm wanted to go to B&Q to buy more insulation for the loft - he has gradually been adding an extra layer, which is a big job as, because it is a single storey house, we have a lot of loft!!  Once that was purchased, and we had done a little bit of shopping, we had to decide where to go for lunch.  We could have had a delightful burger from the van which is always parked in B&Q's carpark ......

 

or we could have visited a certain well known fast-food chain (if you torture me I will admit that I am partial to a Big Mac ....... in fact you don't have to torture me, just tickle my feet!!)

 

However, good taste prevailed, and we went to Lochcarron, where we had the most wonderful Thai chicken soup, with cheese and onion bread

 

Back home, I quickly put the shopping away, before heading put for knit'n'natter ..... but I did take a moment to take aphoto of the new pots of herbs that I had bought for the kitchen windowsill ......

 

...... and yet another photo of this fabulous orchid

 

When I was in Kelso for knit'n'natter, I bought this month's Good Food magazine.  It was in a package which contained this calendar ......

 

....... and a recipe card for a choclate cheesecake, which I won't be tempted to make as it made with white chocolate, which I really don't like!

 

I hadn't yet decided what to knit with my lovely laceweight yarn, after frogging the shawl I had started, but then I saw this pretty scarf.  The pattern does look a little bit complicated, so I may just knit a little swatch first!

 

A silly photo to finish!  I took this first thing this morning through the back bedroom window.  It may look as if the sheep is standing on top of the wall, but really it is in the field behind the house!

I promised you chocolate ......

...... and here it is!  First chocolate for children ..... I used templates from a magazine to cut out stockings and mittens

 

 

which will be filled with chocolate coins

 

For the grown-ups (well, probably for Mums!) there are candle glasses filled with chocolates, and with a scented candle to put in the glass once the chocolates have been eaten

 

Next ..... the gingerbread biscuits.  Oh dear - I turned my back for two minutes on the first batch ..... and they got just a little bit overcooked!  Not quite burned, and just about edible

 

The second batch turned out better

 

Two simple ingredients to make some delicious icing ....

 

...... they may not win any prizes, but they are tasty and were easy to make

 

I had a bit more success with my latest attempt at free motion quilting.  This effort was based on Leah's pattern cracked paisley  .... it may not be the right shape, but I am pleased with it (I thought it looked a bit like figs, Malcolm thought it looked like onions!

 

I finished the Christmas card which I had started at Abbey Quilters on Tuesday night ..... it is folded Somerset patchwork, and was quick and simple to make

 

I can combine yesterday's day out at the Woolgathering with this week's knitting update!  I have started another pair of afterthought heel socks.....

 

...... although I still have to sew in the ends on the first pair (it's the bit of knitting that I don't like!!)

 

I was also working on another pair of fingerless mitts in cotton sock yarn, which I finished last night (apart from sewing in the dreaded ends!!)  This pair is for a friend who is allergic to wool - and I have given the first pair like this , that I did some weeks ago, to a friend who has painful hands due to arthritis.  The warmth from wearing them helps her joints, while leaving her fingers free to do things.

 

To finish, a photo of some sparrows on the birdbath ...... as you can see, there is a rather large stone in it at the moment.  That is because during some recent very windy weather, the top blew off!  I think Malcolm is going to get some sort of sealant/adhesive to fix it to the base

Gingerbread family

Yesterday I mentioned that I had bought some ready made gingerbread pastry - you may have thought I had just made that up ........ but it is true!

 

I have a set of cutters to make an entire gingerbread family ......

 

...... but I also have this set, which has all sorts of shapes, which is probably what I'll use, having been inspired by this post from Rattling on...

 

It was a hard decision to pick one of my new hot chocolates this morning, but I finally settled on the Rocky Road.  It was delicious ..... dark and rich, but not too sweet.  Do you like Malcolm's coffee mug - I bought it for him some years ago.  When you drink all the coffee, there is a heart on the bottom!

 

Every so often, my bathroom door hinges start squeaking.  I like to have a quick and easy way to do things - so this fits the bill!  It only takes seconds to oil the hinges and there is no smell

 

At patch'n'chat this afternoon, Cath was working on a small quilt which she is making to go across the bottom of the bed in her guest bedroom.  I love the colours - autumn shades are definitely my favourites

 

Now that we are well into November, we are allowed to mention Christmas!  Pam was working on some bright Christmas stockings

 

And now for the best bit of Friday posts ...... the cake.  Annette has been unwell, so she hadn't baked this week.  But we had the next-best thing - cakes from local firm Border Meringues.  First there was lemon drizzle cake, one of my favourites ..... absolutely yummy

 

Then there was an unusual orange and chocolate cake.  I had of course to eat a piece of this one as well, solely so that I could tell you about it!  It was enjoyable, but not as good as the lemon drizzle. 

 

I'll be busy tomorrow making things for my sales table (chocolate could be involved!), then on Sunday I'm off to have a day with like minded crafty folk at a Woolgathering ... I missed the last one, so it will be good to catch up with what the others have been doing.  Whatever you are doing, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

I might get married again ......

.....if I can go to the wedding in this!

 

If you too would like to get married in style, then the websites are helpfully displayed on the horsebox!

 

There was another reason for thinking about weddings - we were in the historic town of Gretna, which has a long and colourful history of slightly unusual wedding ceremonies.  Do click on the link - it is fascinating reading!

However we were there for a very different reason - we had gone to do some Christmas shopping at Gretna Gateway shopping centre.  However, before we could start shopping, we had to make the most of several excellent photo opportunities.  As we drove in to the car park, we saw some wonderful cattle in the adjoining field

 

Then there was all this wonderful old farm machinery

 

When we left Gretna, we crossed into England for a few miles ....... but soon we were back on the right road!

 

We stopped in Langholm for a cuppa, where Malcolm spotted this old sign painted on the wall of a hotel

 

Of course I can't show you the presents that we bought, but I can show you what I succumbed to ........ when we do the housework on Friday mornings, we have a mid-morning cuppa.  I make a cappuchino (I'm not sure that's the correct spelling!) for Malcolm, amd I have a proper hot chocolate made with milk.  There were all sorts of flavours, so it took me some time to decide which ones to buy (although the white chocolate ones were ruled out immediately, as I really don't like white chocolate!)

 

I also bought the lovely shopping bag.  I now have so many re-usable shopping bags in the boot of my car, I hardly have enough  room to put the shopping in!

Friday round-up

When I was doing the housework this morning, I moved the orchids off the kitchen windowsill so that I could clean it, which reminded me that I haven't yet shown you the latest ones to flower!  We have one wall painted a dark red in the kitchen, which provided the perfect backdrop  for the photos .......

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I filled the bird feeders this morning, it wasn't long before the tits were tucking in

 

 

 

Then the bully boy sparrows turned up!

 

 

The Friday cake at patch'n'chat was a delicious spiced tealoaf - most of us spread some butter on it, for an extra treat!

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I will be busy sewing!!  Love, Anne

 

 

An excellent weekend!

The fun got under way on Friday night, when I went to Sheena Norquay's talk.  I already knew quite a bit about Sheena being inspired by Orkney, where she grew up, as there was a large feature about her some years ago in this magazine

 

The wonderful colours of the scenery round her childhood home have heavily influenced her colour palette .....

 

...... and she stitches symbols from Norse legends into her quilts

 

So after an enjoyable evening on Friday, I was looking forward to the workshop on Saturday ........ and it turned out to be fabulous!!  First, we drew a fantasy bird on paper - I based mine on a heron

 

After transferring the drawing to fabric ......  the fun really began, as we used fabric paints to print all sorts of circles on the birds

 

I cheated a little bit and used a brush to fill in some of the body!  I decided to stick to the two colours of paint that I had, pearlescent red (which looks pink!) and silver

 

We finished the printing in time for lunch, which was supplied by a local pub ....... delicious lentil soup (sorry, I had eaten half of it before I remembered to take a photo!) .......

 

...... and trays of very tasty sandwiches

 

Then it was back to work! 

 

 I trimmed the fabric round my bird, added borders, then tacked it to a piece of wadding, ready to stitch.  This was the first time I had stitched using an embroidery ring - and I loved it - it just made it so much easier!!

 

This is a detail of the tail

 

All too soon, it was time to go home, but not before everyone posed with their birds, with Sheena sitting on the bottom right hand side of the photo ..... and I should say at this point a very big thank you to Sandra and Lorraine, who spent the day keeping us supplied with drinks and served the lunch, and then Sandra took the photo for me

 

Sheena had given us excellent instructions on how to finish our wallhangings, so yesterday afternoon, I started on the next stage, which was just a little bit scary - trimming away the excess wadding from around the bird - I was worried that I would accidently cut through the fabric as well

 

The next stage was to layer and baste the wallhanging, then to stitch in the ditch between the centre fabric and the border (I actually find sewing in a straight line difficult, and took three attempts before I was happy with it!)

 

Having successfully used the embroidery ring on Saturday, yesterday I got out a bigger quilting hoop and set it up. 

 

I stitched round the bird, then checked the back ...... disaster!!  The tension had obviously gone haywire, and a lot of the stitches on the back were big loose loops! 

 

After unpicking all the wonky stitching, I decided to leave it there for the day ...... and that's where I'm going to stop today ...... I will tell you more tomorrow, but now it's time for the knitting update.  I didn't do any knitting on Saturday evening, as I was somewhat tired after the workshop, but last night I finished the second sock, except for the Kitchener stitch

 

I have one more ball of sock yarn to use ........ someone recently told me about a method of knitting a sock with an 'afterthought' heel.  I'm sorry, I haven't got a link for it, but I just did a search on Ravelry and found it (if you're looking for me on Ravelry I'm Carenza!)  I forgot to print out the pattern earlier, so I'll just read the first stage from the laptop when I start knitting later!

 

ps - why do I still have that magazine?  Because of this page, which shows the Callender House wallhanging which I helped to make, and the church banners, a wonderful project which was organised by my friend Grace Graham

 

Just popped in .......

...... to say a quick hello before I head out for the evening - and of course to bring you the Friday cake!

Something diferent today - iced chocolate sponge squares, with chocolate sprinkles - yummy!!

 

 

I hope you all have a great weekend, love Anne

Sugar, sugar

We use very little sugar (apart from jam and chutney making), but at the weekend I used very large amounts for the sloe gin and rosehip syrup.  Malcolm volunteered to prick the sloes, then I put them into three small jars ( I didn't have a big one!) and added the sugar and gin.  The jars have to be shaken once a day for a week, then once a week for eight to ten weeks - this is one of them after its shake this morning

 

The recipes for both the sloe gin and the rosehip syrup are from this book, which Stuart and Alison gave me for my birthday

 

The rosehip syrup was very easy to make - but I was disappointed with the colour it turned out - yellow, rather than lovely red.  However, we had some on our porridge this morning, and it was delicious.

I have no idea why this photo is so big!!
 

As promised,  all the lovely things which Alyson sent me ....

scented candles and calming music

 

beautiful soft yarn

 

a lovely scarf and necklace

 

photos, shells from the beach and a felt heart

 

the bookmark which Alyson's son drew for me, a little bag containing sunflower seeds from her garden and a handmade card

Thanks again to Alyson for such lovely gifts.  I think I will use the yarn to knit fingerless mitts ...... and that leads us on to the knitting update.  I have finished these socks, except for sewing in the ends .......

 

........ and started on another pair

 

I have to admit that I have frogged the shawl - I just couldn't get on with the pattern at all, and decided it wasn't worth spending so much time trying to get it right, when there are lots of other shawl patterns that I could knit.  

Gorgeous gifts!

I was sitting having a well-deserved cuppa in the middle of doing the housework this morning and reading a 'book', when the postman arrived

 

I got quite excited, as I knew it was the parcel from my swap partner Alyson.  I opened the envelope to find all these wonderful goodies

 

But you will have to wait until Monday to see everything ..... because a) the light was very bad for taking photos, and b) I just didn't have time before I went to patch'n'chat.  But I can tell you that they are wonderful thoughtful gifts - including a fabulous bookmark which Alyson's little boy drew pictures on for me!

Of course Friday afternoons mean cakes - today we had Annette's superb cupcakes, topped with cream and strawberries

 

Could you have resisted this delicious little cake?  And could you have further resisted when a second one was offered?

 

Earlier in the week, I was going to show you photos of the back garden, now that Malcolm has tidied it for the winter.  But Typepad had different ideas and refused to insert the photos ....... hopefully this time there won't be any problems!

 

Yesterday I showed you photos of the heron on the River Slitrig - but also falling victim to the non-appearance of photos on Monday was this heron on the River Teviot.  It was very windy ..... I had trouble keeping the camera steady, and he had trouble keeping a grip on his rock!

 

We have a busy day tomorrow, starting off the sloe gin and making the rosehip syrup - I'll report on Monday how we get on!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne