frayed at the edge

Catching up

You know that my blog is my little happy place, where the outside world isn't usually allowed to intrude ....... but after the terrible terrorist atrocities, I just want to say that I hope, far from being in Paradise, the perpetrators are roasting in the deepest, hottest pit of Hell

 

I promised you some special sewing, and here it is.  At the end of Margaret's exhibition, I brought the penguins home to quilt, as Harry (who has been winning more gold medals at Boccia!) had declared that this was his favourite.  Last Wednesday I met up with Margaret at Sue's shop, and she bought the necessary backing fabric and wadding

 

isn't this just the most fabulous quilt top!

 

of course the penguins should be in the snow and ice, but Margaret decided to send them to the beach for a holiday

 

the three layers on the work table, ready to pin

 

by the end of yesterday afternoon the pinning was done, and I hope to start the quilting tomorrow

 

I have a bit of a backlog of photos (I still have photos from Majorca to share with you), so here is a quick catch up.  On Friday we went for a walk on a different beach in Berwick.  This piece of driftwood would look fabulous in the garden, but alas it was too big to carry!

 

I had picked up this little dead crab and put it on a rock to take a photo ........ but when I went to put it back on the sand, it decided it wasn't dead, and feebly waved a leg about!  So I turned it the right way up before putting it back

 

it's ages since I built a stone stack (Malcolm decided to help me, so there was a bit of a competition to find the best stones!)

 

and what better way to end a walk on the beach than with an ice cream!

 

this month's man on my "naked men" calendar is obviously a bit shy ........ but wait until you see next month's chap!

 

ok, I know I have watched it several times, but when I saw the Minions film was on tv, I just had to watch it again ........ and I still laugh out loud when I watch it

 

yesterday we went to Newbiggin for a stroll along the seafront.  I rather like the puffins on top of the bollards

 

these tractors on the beach are for pulling boats out of the water

 

this couple are a smaller land-based version .......

 

of this Couple

 

Malcolm spotted this shadow shot ....... isn't it fabulous!

 

this cauliflower was being sold cheap as a wonky vegetable ........ it only cost me 54p, but a non-wonky one half the size would have cost me £1.  I added the can of Dr Pepper to show you how big the cauliflower is - it will make at least four meals.

 

the outer leaves went into the compost bin which sits in the utility room

 

and will the be added to the smart new garden compost bin which I bought for Malcolm as an early birthday present ....... I know how to spoil him!

 

well, a rather eclectic collection of photos, but at least I have caught up a bit!

Happy mail x 2!

The lovely Kelly emailed me recently to say that she had a little package for me, that she would send to arrive when we got back from Majorca.  Well ....... what a cornucopia of delights.  I can't show you everything, as some of the gifts showed where she lives, but look at the first thing out of the package ...... John Deere fabric!  I think this is going to be made into a cushion for me!

 

a postcard of Kelly's home state ....... I shall have to look for a postcard of Northumberland to send her

 

an owl bookmark, which is already tucked into a book

 

Kelly had recently been at a quilt show, where she saw this amazing quilt .........

 

........ I cannot imagine stitching so many tiny pieces of fabric together!

 

and last, but certainly not least, a bag with the cutest of owls!  Thank you so much, Kelly, for such wonderful, thoughtful gifts!!

 

then, on to the second piece of happy mail.  I'm not the only Scottish blogger called Anne ....... there is of course the wonderful Anne Lee.  In a recent post she shared with us the delightful creatures she had created with her embroidery machine, to make a mobile for her gorgeous granddaughter, Emily.  I asked her very, very nicely if she would make a sheepie for me (of course offering payment for it) ...... and she not only made it, she insisted on sending it as a gift!  Thank you so much, Anne, I just love my sheepie!   I am so lucky to have such wonderful blogging friends

 

I have lots of photos that I have taken since we got back from holiday, so here is a quick selection.  I know that Kelly will like this shadow shot, which I took last week when we were in Alnwick - yes, the lettering on the blind is a shadow, not printing!

 

we popped into our favourite café in Alnwick, The Olive Branch

 

where we shared an excellent cheese and chive scone, which came with a little pot of homemade chutney

 

Malcolm had to leave his olive tree behind when we moved, so I bought this replacement for him last week.  It looks good in its pot, sitting beside the kitchen door

 

the new garden has a lot of hedges - fortunately Malcolm inherited his Dad's electric hedge trimmer, which makes it much quicker and easier to keep the hedges looking neat

 

this pigeon was sitting on the grass, enjoying the early morning sun

 

while the blackbird was looking for something to eat

 

you know that sheepies very often turn and present their rear ends to the camera ........ and now the swans are doing it too!!

 

last Sunday we went to Eyemouth and had a walk round the harbour.  I wanted this .......

 

........ while Malcolm preferred this

 

the seal posed prettily - will I look this way

 

or that?

 

it's Friday, so of course that means cake.  As we ate lots of several one or two cakes on holiday, I thought I would share them with you over the next few Fridays.  We were delighted to discover this new little bakery/coffee shop, up a little side street in Pollensa

 

which was both quirky and stylish

 

with mismatched furniture

 

and a tiny courtyard

 

this was an amazing confection of all things strawberry ...... and of course everyone knows that cake eaten on holiday has absolutely no calories!!

 

we have been in Berwick since yesterday afternoon, and we will be heading home in the morning.  Weather permitting, Malcolm will be getting on in the garden, and I hope to get some very special sewing done - I'll tell you about it on Monday.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

17 UFOs in 2017 : April report

I am posting my April report a little bit early ........ as tomorrow we head off for our annual sojourn in Majorca!  First up is a bit more progress on Mrs B - another batch of hexies (yawn!)

 

the next project wasn't on the original list - I have chosen this one to replace the counted cross stitch map that I gave up doing (and donated to a charity shop).  As you can see from the bottom right square, I started this in 2103!  It was a workshop with Sheena Norquay, where we had to fill each square with different stitches/embellishments

 

I added some more stitching round my A

 

I had only worked the four centre lines in this square, so added the big stitching and the lazy daisies

 

for this one, I decided on clumps of French knots in some of the squares

 

and lastly on this one I added a row of beads.  I don't know what I will do now the stitching is finished - it may well end up as an ABC (Another B****y Cushion!!)

 

hooray, I have finished the hand quilting on my Amish runner!

 

I haven't done much hand quilting recently, but working on this reminded me how much I enjoy it

 

the squares started out as samples for teaching the little group of ladies who were members of my "Wacky Patchers" group in Indonesia.  To explain our name ....... we were all members of WAC - Wanita Asing Cilegon, which translates as the foreign (or strange) ladies of Cilegon, the city where we lived in Java Barat (west Java).  Yes, that is me with the grey hair, before I embraced my inner blonde!

 

we were a very international group with Scottish, English, American, German, Japanese, Korean and Filipina members (and did you notice our youngest member, asleep in her mother's arms, in the previous photo?)

 

having finished the hand quilting, I trimmed the edges

 

I didn't have any plain black fabric (and even if I had, it probably wouldn't have matched), so I used this mottled black/grey fabric for the binding

 

woohoo - a finished project to tick off the list!

 

as it was made in Indonesia, it seemed appropriate to put it on a piece of Indonesian furniture

 

and another big woohoo ...... I have finished all the big-stitch quilting on the hexies!

 

I put them up om the design wall - although this isn't all of them there wasn't room for the last three rows.  It just put them up as they came off the pile, so it will take a bit of rearranging to get a balance of colours - but of course that will have to wait until we get back from our holiday

 

regular readers know that at this point on Friday, we have photos of cake to drool over - Malcolm and I make the supreme sacrifice of eating cake, just so that you can enjoy them without the calories!  This afternoon we walked along to Nelson's the wonderful coffee shop in the village.  I had a Crunchie slice 

 

and Malcolm had a mint Aero slice - both were delicious

 

I have a little bit of sewing to take on holiday - the first two blocks of the wonderful Potty McDotty, the new block of the month from Irene Blanck (photos used with Irene's permission)

 

 

you can find out more about the wonderful Potty here 

 

don't forget to pop over to Meredithe on Sunday, to see her end of the month report, and be sure to scroll down to the link, to see what the other participants in the 17 UFOs challenge have achieved this month.  I am going to set up some posts to appear while I am away, which I hope you will enjoy, love Anne

 

A fun purchase!

When I saw these pencils featured in a magazine recently, I succumbed to temptation and ordered a set.  They have been designed by Alex Anderson of The Quilt Show ........

 

........ and these are the little sayings on them.  I shall now have to do a lot of writing and drawing!

 

when they arrived in the post, I was a bit surprised by the size of the envelope ........ but then I discovered that I had also been sent this book as a gift

 

it has all sorts of wonderful drawings/patterns in it - and they are copyright-free, meaning that I can incorporate them in my own patterns

 

after closing her quilt shop in Longframlington, Anne has now opened a new one at Kirkharle.  When I picked up this leaflet on Saturday .........

 

.......... I was somewhat pleased to see that the photo advertising her new shop shows two of the quilts that I made for the old one

 

we popped down to Heighley Gate Garden Centre yesterday morning, as Malcolm needed some potting compost ........ so of course we had a cuppa and shared a delicious cheese scone while we were there!

An important appointment!

You know what it's  like ........ when you find a good hairdresser, you don't want to part company with her, so yesterday morning we headed up to Kelso, for my regular appointment with the wonderful Melissa.  We stopped on the way at Powburn

 

where Malcolm was tempted by this sit-on mower ....... until he saw the price (£2,000!!!!)

 

our cuppa and cheese scone wasn't quite that expensive!

 

after having my blonde gorgeousness restored, we went on to the flat. This afternoon, when we went out for a walk, I couldn't sneak on to the dock for photos of the boats, as the gate is closed through the week ........ 

 

....... so I had to stick the camera through the bars and use the zoom for a close up of the small boat's new paintwork

 

the building at the end of Bridge Street has now been fully restored - you can read about the Berwick Cockle here

 

we went in to look at the exhibition, which was fascinating

 

they have made a superb job of restoring the building

 

and as you can see from these two photos, the side of the building is on a very steep lane

 

having huffed and puffed up the hill, I turned back to take this photo, showing just how steep it is

 

it started to rain, so we popped into Fantoosh for a cuppa.  I took the photo in a hurry, when there was a slight gap in passers-by, and it is a little bit blurry

 

the tray on our table - the little bird salt and pepper are cute!

 

Malcolm had a slice of pecan tart - as it was the last slice, it was a bit bigger than a normal portion!

 

could you have resisted this chocolate cupcake with a chocolate bunny on the top?  I most certainly couldn't!!

 

and just in cast that's not enough cake ........ Stuart sent me this photo this morning, of a cake made by Tea Jenny's, who made the cake that they brought me a slice of when they visited recently.  Irn Bru and cake - a perfectly balanced diet!!

 

whether or not there is cake involved, I hope you have a great weekend, love Anne

The third walk

On Monday we went to Alnwick for another long walk.  We stopped to admire this larger than life statue of Harry Hotspur

 

a detail from his armour

 

as we crossed the Lion Bridge, I paused to take an arty shot

 

looking over the bridge to the sheep below

 

we walked down on to the river bank, looking over to the castle on the other side of the river

 

unlike a lot of castles, it isn't built on a rocky outcrop, but I wouldn't want to attack it ......

 

....... with these fearsome men on the battlements

 

but don't worry if you visit the castle, they are statues!

 

the ewe in the centre of the photo was keeping an eye on us as we walked past

 

but these ones weren't interested in us

 

I was slightly nervous walking past this cow and her calf, as there was no fence between us!

 

then I had a bit of fun, first taking a colour photo .........

 

....... then taking a black and white one a few yards further on

 

Malcolm suggested this shot, with the clouds over the castle looking menacing

 

we couldn't decide what this is ...... it looks like a giant deck chair!

 

I do  like an old door and a stone wall!

 

beautiful blossom on the way into the Alnwick Garden

 

the Owl and the Pussycat, in their beautiful pea-green boat

 

we will have to go back another day to explore the Treehouse Restaurant

 

we were back in Alnwick yesterday, as I had an appointment for a check up with my new dentist.  After a collection of dentists over the last few years who had names that would score highly at Scrabble, it's nice now to have a dentist called Victoria!  Although when I went into the room, I thought at first she was there as part of a "bring your daughter to work day", as she looks about twelve!!  As I really, really don't like going to the dentist, I bribed Malcolm to go with me, with the promise of a cuppa and a very tasty cheese scone!

A busy week!

All sorts of things have been going on this week!  On Monday, I worked on my new design wall.  I taped together two of the sturdy cardboard  boxes which the removal firm had given us, then  I called in the man with a hammer (aka, of course, Malcolm) and he nailed them to the wall

 

I then looked out this horrible grey wadding - I have had it for so long, I can't remember what I bought it for!  I also unearthed my spray adhesive

 

fortunately I had some small pieces as well, to patch in the gaps  (I haven't cut off the corner of the photo, that's the opening for the velux!)

 

next, I sprayed the wadding, and stuck the sheet which was my old design wall on to it.  It still needs tidied round the edges, but I popped a few things on to the wall - looking good!

 

yesterday morning, this crane appeared where a new house is being built

 

I popped upstairs for a better look - you can see the points of the roof trusses that the crane was lifting

 

later on, back in the kitchen, I finally captured a truss in mid-air

 

in this photo, the crane looks as if it is fishing for the orchids!

 

on Tuesday, our lovely former neighbours (the shoe shop owners) came down for a visit, and brought back our two very large house plants which they had been looking after for us.  The parliament of owls were delighted to have their home back

 

and the rubber plant obviously enjoyed its holiday, as it has put out several new leaves

 

they also brought our bay tree, which we have grown from a small cutting they gave us some years ago

 

and they brought us a present of two plants for our new garden, which Malcolm will plant this week (once we make up our minds where to put them!)

 

there are some old trees in the garden, which the previous owners told us are fruit trees.  We think they said there are two plum trees and an apple tree.  I should have googled to see which this is, but no doubt one of you more knowledgeable gardeners will tell me!!

 

we came up to Berwick this morning, and as it is Friday, of course we went out for a cuppa and cake this afternoon.  As usual we had a debate as to where we would go, and as usual we went to Café Crema!

 

Malcolm has a peppermint slice

 

and I had a fudge delight ....... both, as always, were delicious!!

 

we have had a lazy afternoon, and may be having a refreshing glass of wine this evening.  We will head back down the A1 tomorrow afternoon.  Weather permitting, Malcolm no doubt will be busy in the garden on Sunday, and I will be busy working on a project which I will be teaching at Sue's shop later in the year, so I can't show you my usual step-by-step photos!  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

Margaret's exhibition - part one

When I walked into Eckford Village Hall on Saturday morning, I was amazed by the wonderful display of quilts!  I stood on the stage to take this overview

 

then I went back down to the body of the hall to take this photo of the stage

 

and here is proud Granny Margaret,  with her amazing grandson Harry.  The exhibition was to raise money to fund Harry's travelling in pursuit of more gold medals playing boccia.  I don't know the final total, but I know that over £1,000 was raised on Saturday from the entrance money, sales of raffle tickets, books magazines and other sewing stuff, and some very generous donations

 

before we look at some of the quilts, lets look at the other important part of the day!

 

Margaret's friends had excelled themselves baking and donating a great array of cakes

 

and some excellent scones

 

I'll start with this quilt, as yesterday the lovely Ivy asked me if I has taken a photo of this one, as it is her favourite

 

this is my favourite

 

and I love this little cutie

 

and this is my second favourite

 

while all the dogs round the outside are digging, looking for the bone

 

this cheeky little chappie has pinched it!

 

a lot of people commented on this little bear's necklace.  We all agreed that we would simply have put a circle round her neck, but the way Margaret has done it gives a marvellous impression of movement

 

this little fairy is from when she was going through a bling phase - click on the photo to enlarge it to see all the little crystals she has embellished the fairy with

 

unusual colours for a Christmas quilt

 

this lovely quilt has little bits of lace and delicate embroidery

 

Margaret uses a lot of buttons for her embellishments, buying any that she sees that she thinks she will use in future quilts 

 

a fun Christmas quilt

 

I still have a lot of photos left, so I shall share more with you on Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

More exploring!

Yesterday morning, having completed our various tasks in Alnwick (a trip to the tip, food shopping etc), we decided to head over to Alnmouth for a spot of lunch.  Although there is a bit of cloud in this photo, it was actually a glorious sunny morning

 

the gift shop is packed with all sorts of wonderful things - I'll show you later what I bought

 

and this is where we had lunch

 

it's a charming place .......

 

...... with the most delicious food - we both had the hot beef stottie

 

I think I have shown you this photo some time ago

 

a necessary warning, as the road borders the golf club

 

I don't think I would risk sitting on this old bench

 

but I wouldn't mind sitting in this lovely new conservatory (Malcolm pointed out the rather posh green cover for the gas meter!)

 

so what did I buy in the gift shop?  First, I bought this for Malcolm to add to his collection of little boat related things that he has in the flat

 

and I bought this for me - inspiration for an appliqué block?

 

you can find out more about the cards at the website at the bottom of the card

 

I also took this photo as a reminder for Malcolm, as he may go over for the Food Fest ........

 

....... while I am helping at Margaret's exhibition (I am up at the flat, as it would be a bit far to travel from the house each of the two days, but it is a short journey from Berwick).  I have these three things to take tomorrow for raffle prizes.  You can find the directions to the exhibition here

 

I came up to Berwick after lunch, and walked over to town this afternoon.  Oh dear, as Malcolm isn't here, I had to eat a whole piece of cake myself!  This delicious confection is a slice of creme egg cake ........ the chocolate sponge was very light, with custard in the middle - and of course a bit of creme egg on the top

 

I hope I will see some of you tomorrow at Margaret's exhibition, but if you can't be there, I will take lots of photos to share on Monday.  Have a great weekend, love Anne

Sunny days!

We popped up to the flat yesterday morning, and as the sun was shining we went for a walk on the beach.  I think it may be a law that the first photo taken has to be of the lighthouse!

 

I find it fascinating how the sand constantly shifts.  The groynes on the right are usually about shoulder height, now they are about waist height, and you can no longer see the ones on the left

 

although this is just an empty crab shell, it looks quite menacing

 

I wonder if this is one of its legs?

 

a lone daffodil on the sand ........ we have no idea where it could have come from

 

although it was a sunny day, the brave souls who went for a paddle were shrieking at the cold water

 

on the way home this morning, we popped in for a cuppa

 

although the sun was shining, it was just a bit chilly to sit outside

 

so we headed into the welcoming coffee shop

 

although the flowers are plastic, they brightened up the tables

 

interesting shadows!

 

we resisted the sweet, chocolatey cakes

 

and instead shared a delicious chees scone.  We do like places that bring you an extra plate when you say you are sharing the scone or cake!

 

I spotted this branch on the beach at the start of our walk, and although it was heavy, I carried it all the way for the rest of the walk, as I was determined to bring it home for the garden.  Malcolm set it up in the front garden this afternoon, and hung a couple of bird feeders from it.  He will need to build a plinth for the birdbath to sit on

 

but our Indonesian  birds don't need the feeders!

 

there is a lot of grass all round the house, which was rather long when we moved in.  Malcolm has gradually been getting it cut, and the edges tidied.  The deck needs a good clean and a bit of refurbishment, but that didn't stop us having both lunch and our afternoon cuppa on it

 

I'll be back on Wednesday with lots of sewing (woohoo!)