frayed at the edge

There's a fairy at the bottom of my garden .....

..... or there will be, once she's finished!  Yes, I know, I should be finishing all those WIPs, but yesterday I delved into my stash for something to take to patch'nchat.

 

I've only had this kit for four years (I bought it when we went to Melbourne for our very special holiday when Malcolm 'retired'), so perhaps there were other projects further up the queue, but who could resist such a cute little doll!!

 

By the end of the afternoon I had cut out most of the pieces, aided by the other two Annes, as the fabric supplied with the kit was only just big enough!  (except for the net for the overskirt - I was able to cut a second layer!)  Of course with all that hard work, I had to be fortified with not one, but two pieces of cake.

 

The sponge is another light-as-air offering from Annette, and the ginger cake is from Anne S., who has started baking again, now that she has a wonderful new oven!

 

This afternoon, I was out in the studio, sewing away at my Woodland Fairy

 

You can see the two layers of net skirt and her pretty underskirt

 

The body parts stitched and turned through, with the aid of my trusty bodkin!

 

She needs a face!!

 

I'll do her make-up later

 

No stuffing, so I'll shred this wadding

 

I ironed her underskirt using my mini-iron - less chance of burning my fingers!

 

only velvet is good enough for this fairy's jacket!

 

The next decision is her hair - the kit came with dried moss (front left), which I don't really like, so there is a choice of two colours of doll's hair at the back, or dressing gown cord, (front right) which unravels to make cute blonde dolls' hair!

 

Tomorrow, of course, it's a day out at the Woolgathering, so hopefully you will get to see the finished fairy on Monday, but here she is today, perched on the sewing machine

(don't forget to come back tomorrow to see Shadow Shot Sunday)

 

ps - for those of you who liked my pink knife, you can get a similar one from Lakeland .

Something from (almost) nothing

We have been watching a new series on BBC2, Economy Gastronomy.  It's quite simple - each week they look at a family who spend an ENORMOUS amount on food, mostly convenience food and takeaways.  They then give them advice on how to shop (!) and then how to cook simple, healthy food on a budget.  We end up shouting at the tv (I have to say that's a common occurence in our house)!!  It's all too easy to say that cooking is no longer taught in schools, but such dishes that I learned to cook at school  I never cooked again, and Malcolm certainly wasn't taught to cook at school!!  Although our mothers never formally taught us to cook, Malcolm and I picked up the basics from them, as Stuart learned from us, and of course now there is an unending supply of cooking programmes, books and magazines.  And as for producing cheap meals, perhaps the BBC could show what I did with these ingredients!

 

A leftover piece of feta cheese, the end of a cucumber, a tomato, some thinly sliced red onion (leftover from the previous night's dinner), some basil (from the 69p pot of supermarket basil that has been flourishing on the kitchen windowsill all summer) and in the bowl at the back, some foraged (free!!) raspberries and blackcurrants.

First I made a starter - thinly slicing the tomato (for Malcolm) and the cucumber (for me), cutting the feta into small cubes and chopping the onion.  This was then arranged on plates, along with basil leaves.

 

I then seasoned them with rock salt and coarsely ground black pepper, and drizzled them with olive oil

 

The result - two tasty starters from bits and bobs!!

 

 

Next was the fruit - I decided to make a coulis.  After cleaning the fruit, I put it in a plastic sieve (don't use a metal one, it can discolour the fruit) and pushed it through using my very high-tech gadget

 

Ok, it's not high tech - it looks like a darning egg!  I saw Delia using one some time ago - it is just much easier than using a wooden spoon.  After squeezing every last drop out of the fruit, I added a dessertspoon of icing sugar to both sweeten and thicken the coulis

 

mmmmm - yum, yum!!  So what did we have with the coulis?  The fruit bowl provided the ingredients for a fresh fruit salad - a quick, easy and economic pudding!

 

Reading this over, I guess it sounds like a bit of a rant and I know that a lot of people say they don't have time to cook ..... but for me, cooking comes first, then other things get done in the remaining time.

 

I've got off my soap box, and thought that I would end by showing you my little salt bowl and spoon, which you caught a glimpse of earlier in the post

So much to tell you ....

... that I had better dive right in!

After all the excitement of Sarah and Andy's visit, there was even  more excitement yesterday when the post arrived.

 

This is the prize I won in the lovely Anne's recent giveaway 

 

she had stamped the envelope

 

stamped the tissue paper and made this beautiful gift tag

 

all that loveliness - and there was still the prize to see!

 

A set of wonderful stamps, complete with little sparkly decorations

 

my card isn't quite as good as Anne's wonderful work!

 

but of course it's the thought that counts

 

I obviously need a bit more practice!  I won't post this to Anne, but I will be sending her a little something else!!

Then of course it was off to chat'n'patch, where Chris was working on a lovely scrappy cushion cover

 

the fabric behind it will be the back of the cushion

 

and of course there was cake - strawberry pavlova - yum, yum, yum!!

 

I am sure you have all been fretting overnight to know if it stayed dry for Jim the farmer to get his hay baled.  Well, I am delighted to tell you that even as I write this they are busy baling it

 

after the tractor and baler have gone so far.....

 

..... out pops the hay bale!!

 

meanwhile, the other tractor driver had fun creating a circle!

 

fuchsia flowers remind me of ballet dancers

 

a butterfly on the buddleia

 

I took this photo yesterday when I was out for my walk - the colour of the hydrangea is wonderful

 

it was sad to see this butterfly dead on the road, but the colours were still strong!

 

the grass was greener on the other side for this lamb!

I'm sorry these last photos are out of order - I just had so much to squeeze into today's post I forgot to start with them!!

 

 

A perfect day!

This morning dawned bright and clear, and although Sarah and Andy were arriving mid-morning, I still got up and went for my walk.  I was glad I did when saw these beautiful boys - the pale one stood and posed for the photo, looking at me with his great big eyes!

  

I was slightly nervous waiting for Sarah and Andy to arrive - what if we didn't like them - we had invited them to spend the whole day with us!  I needn't have worried - from the moment they got out of their car we got on fine (Sarah did say later they had similar thoughts!)  Malcolm was the perfect tour guide, taking us to all sorts of wonderful places.  I have previously blooged about some of them (one day I'm going to learn how to put in a link to previous posts!!)  Malcolm took this photo of Sarah and me, with the wonderful Victorian railway viaduct, which crosses the River Tweed, behind us.  I'm squinting a bit as the sun was in my eyes!

 

We had a wander round the shops in Melrose (Sarah was delighted to find a shop which sold cake glitter!) then after a lovely lunch at the Waterwheel Cafe, near Selkirk, we had a look round the sights of Hawick, before getting back home in the late afternoon.  Of course Sarah and I headed out to the studio, while Malcolm and Andy sat out on the deck enjoying a glass of wine.  It was such a lovely day, we decided to have dinner out in the garden.  We started with soup - roast red pepper, tomato and sweet potato.  As you can see, I served it in teacups (with some fresh basil) - we once had soup served like that in a posh restaurant!  It's great if you only want a small helping, so you don't spoil your appeteite for the main course!!

 

Malcolm did the main course - pot-roasted brisket (a Donald family secret recipe - but if you want to know, just ask!) served with Ayrshire potatoes, turnip, cut green beans, Yorkshire puddings and of course lots of gravy.  There is just one problem - I forgot to take a photo - but I think this photo shows how good it was

 

Of course there was pudding!!  A sort of cheesecake in a glass - it was delicious (if you would like the recipe, leave a comment and I'll e-mail it to you!)

 

here are the other three about to tuck in

 

and just relaxing and chatting

 

Sarah brought me a very special present - something that she made for me ....

 

.... a Victorian pillar box (you know I have a bit of a weird thing about pillar/post boxes!).  I will have to get a nice frame to put it in - it is so lovely I think it will have to go up on the wall in the house, rather than in the studio.

We had a wonderful day with our new friends - hopefully one day soon we can visit them in London!

A trip down memory lane

Yesterday I headed off up the A7 to visit Stuart.  The first excitement of the day was when I got to the outskirts of Edinburgh and got to drive on, first, dual carriageway, and second, motorway - so I could drive (legally) at more than 60mph - oooh, the thrill!!  My first stop was at Torwood Garden Centre for lunch

 

Suitably fortified with my carrot and orange soup, I set off on a nostalgic trip to see the various places we have lived in over the years.  Our first home was in Brightons, just outside Falkirk

 

When we lived there I did lots of of knitting and sewing, but I no longer have any of it!  We then moved to Hampshire and then to Cambridgeshire (I'll tell you about that another time), before moving back to Falkirk.  This isn't the best photo, but it was a bit awkward lingering in the lane to take photos!!

 

Please admire the fence - Malcolm cut the shape into the top of every upright!!  It was while living here that I got seriously involved in patchwork, having previously dabbled in it when we lived in Hampshire.  These are the first two quilts I made (but photographed in this house)

 

 

We sold that house when we went to Indonesia, buying a flat for Stuart to live in (and for us to stay in on trips home!) - it's the upstairs bit to the right of the lamppost

 I did do some sewing there on visits home, but I don't have photos on the the computer (sorry, not entirely organised after my two days away!) - but the sewing link comes from the view of the back of the flat - I made the Austrian blinds for our house in Cambridgeshire - so they are 20 years old!!

 

When Stuart left home, he moved into this flat in Falkirk High Street (technically, there was no parking in front of the flat, but he and his neighbours would sometimes park overnight - until Stuart got a parking ticket issued at 3am!!)

 

His were the three windows with the Roman blinds - yes, I made them, but the sewing connection is this cushion ... . it must be about 8 years old, but I took this photo this morning!

 

This was made using the same technique as the zebras -  it's funny, but the badgers are much clearer in the photo.  Just a little aside here - Stuart has tropical fish, the biggest of which is called Charlie (please don't ask me what kind he is!)  Last night, he posed for this photo ....

So where were we - oh yes, when we came back from Indonesia we moved here, in Larbert - again, near Falkirk

 

As you can see, this photo was taken when the house was for sale before we moved here - it doesn't look quite like that now, as the new owners extended into the right hand side of the garage!!  I did so much sewing when we lived there, it's hard to choose a photo, so we'll just go for the largest quilt!!

 

I can only claim credit for the applique, as I had it professionally quilted!  I made it for Stuart, but it was hard to part with it!!

I started with food, so I'll finish with food!  This morning I went to Aromas coffee shop, where Malcolm and I used to go every Saturday morning for breakfast (we would go in, sit down and start reading the papers and, as if by magic, our bacon rolls, tea and coffee would appear in front of us - the lovely waitress, Lindsay, gave up asking what we wanted as we had the same every week and Jane, the owner's daughter, would just start cooking the bacon,!!)  Although it's almost three years since we moved here, when I went in this morning, Jane said hello and started making what is possibly the best bacon roll in the world for me

 

There is a little footnote to this story - when I went into Aromas, sitting in her usual corner table was a lovely lady (who is also called Anne!) along with another lady who also had breakfast on Saturday mornings - not only did they remember me, but Anne said she had seen me taking a photo yesterday (it was the one of the Austrian blinds).

I hope you have enjoyed this look back over the years!!

 

Free food and fun

Hugh Fearlessly-Eatsitall might have done it before me, but on my walk yesterday morning, I could have breakfasted handsomely on free food from the hedgerow! 

 

Some gorgeous gooseberries

 

A few ripe raspberries

 

Rosy red apples

 

Not yet enough for rosehip syrup

 

But enough berries for hawthorn jelly

 

The brambles (blackberries) have a while to go

 

A second flush of nettles for soup

 

A little fresh dandelion for a salad ....

 

..... decorated with geranium flowers

 

After all that free food, I then went off to Borderland Fabrics, where I didn't do any sewing, as I was too busy having fun with the gorgeous Harry, Annette's grandson

 

We drew a picture of Granny's shop, we looked at Granny's shop on my blog (I had my laptop with me, and Jedburgh has free wi-fi access) and then we played computer games - Purble Place, making cakes (we got one wrong, which was put in the bin, much to Harry's delight!), then we played Inkball (he got very excited when we got gold balls instead of the blue and orange ones!).  Then that was all abandoned when Pam arrived for her first visit to the shop since her hip replcement.  Young Harry was thrilled when he got to help take a photo of Pam

 

I had just taken this photo of Jane, and her wallhanging (now with the borders on) (she wouldn't smile, so I told her to imagine having s*x with Brad Pitt!!!) .....

.... when the camera batteries ran out, so no photos of cake this week, which is very unfortunate, as we had a choice between a sponge so light it floated off the plate and the most wonderful moist chocolate brownies (some people who will remain nameless had both!!)

 

 

 

Running very fast .......

....... just to stand still!!  The last few days have been very busy, and I still have photos from Friday and  Saturday that I want to show you, as well as all the wonderful stuff from yesterday's Woolgathering.  So, let's get started!!

 

The table mats and runner which I was sewing in Friday

The brown areas are chenille = the texture is lovely

This is the swallow tail shawl, soaking in tepid water, with 'Ecover Delicate', for about twenty minutes.  I then rinsed it thoroughly and squeezed out the excess water (NEVER wring your knitting!)

 

I rolled the shawl in a towel, to soak up as much water as possible (I left it rolled up while I had lunch!)

 

Ready to block the shawl - a clean sheet, my new blocking wires, pins and tape measure 

 

It took a little while to carefully thread the wires through the top edge and then through the points of the swallowtails - but then it was so easy to stretch the shawl out to the correct size and shape and push pins into the carpet to hold the wires in place. (if you have never blocked a shawl like this - it is a long job if you are pinning each point and trying to get them even!)

 

lovely even points!

 

I knitted the shawl to wear with my good winter coat (which I've had since 1996) - I think it looks fabulous!

 

Many thanks to Helen for the beautiful yarn (it's alpaca, silk and cashmere) - and the shawl only took 32 grams - so I could do another two!! 

 

So yesterday, it was off down to Chesters for another Woolgathering, organised as ever by Lindsay. who was experimenting with some needle felting (do you remember Lindsay's lovely holiday cottage?  She still has some vacancies, so if you want to come and see the glorious Borders, do check out her blog)

  

Fiona was doing some more work on her amazing felted ram

 

Janet was spinning using her wonderful new spinning wheel

 

Lizzi was busy with her needlepoint

 

Tricia is getting to the end of her latest knitting project

 

Lorraine was working on her sampler quilt - it is entirely handstitched!  (and she has another one the same well on the way to completion!!)  (LtoR Tricia, Lorraine and Janet)

 

What was I doing?  Well after a bit of needle felting, I was working on my knitting that I can't tell you about, but Janet took this photo of me eating cake!!

 

Some of those there yesterday said I showed too many cakes on the blog - girls, girls, there is no such thing as too many cakes!!  So you know that I am going to finish with cake related photos!!  I got up at 5am to bake these scones - they looked so good I thought they deserved Granny's traycloth and pretty china for afternoon tea

 

Would you like a closer look - oh yum yum

 

Oh dear, I've just told you a great big fib - of course I didn't bake the scones - I bought them this morning in Morrisons! Complete with raspberry jam and fresh cream!)

That was a bit of a marathon post, but now I've caught up with all the things I wanted to share with you - I hope you have enjoyed it!

 

A tale of two cakes!

It has been such a busy week, that there is a bit to catch up on today.  On Thursday I met my friend Lorraine for lunch.  I had quiche and salad - a bit boring for a photo, but then ...... to justify sitting so long at our table, of course we had to order something else ....... and somehow we ordered chocolate fudge cake.  Well, what's a girl to do, of course I had to eat it!!

 

I told you yesterday that I was going to Borderland Fabrics in the morning - now I can tell you why.  Judi, assistant editor of (British) Patchwork and Quilting magazine, was coming to see the shop, in order to feature it in a future issue.  So the usual Friday afternoon gang all turned up early, so that we could show off the wonderful facilities we have for sewing in the shop.  While Judi was busy taking photos, I turned the tables and took one of her

 

The workroom was looking fabulous, with a colourful selection of quilts hanging all round the room

 

 

 

Isn't this just so cute!!  The article on the shop will be in the September issue, which will be on sale in the third week of August - who knows, I might even be in one of the many photos that Judi took (probably when I was sitting in the coffee shop enjoying my mid-morning cup of tea!)

After Judi left, we were all busy sewing.  Jane was trying to finish her wall hanging, which she started at a recent workshop in the shop.  Unfortunately, she didn't get her outer borders on, but it's looking pretty good

 

I was working on other set of placemats and table runner - this time for the dining room.  I forgot to take a photo yesterday, so I took one this afternoon in the studio ....... well I was going to show you a photo, but every so oftern Typepad throws a wobbly and won't show the photo - I guess you'll have to wait until another day!

This morning we were in Hawick as usual, and walked past the sub-post office as usual, but today I stopped to take a photo of - yes, another pillar box.  I don't know how many times I've walked past this one, without noticing how fabulous it is!

 

Just look at the ornate top

 

After looking at the royal initials from all angles, we think it's VR - what do you think?

 

So I started with cake, and I'll finish with cake!  Annette produced another masterpiece for afternoon tea yesterday - I gave her 12/10 for this one!!

  

 

Borderlands

I got up at 6.30 this morning, put on my walking shoes (and some clothes!) and headed out into a glorious summer morning.  It's almost three years since we moved to the Borders, and in answer to the question - why did we move here ....

 

Looking over to the Eildons

 

The Minto Hills in the early morning sunshine

 

The morning rush hour!

 

The sweet smell of honeysuckle and the hum of bees

 

This afternoon, of course, it was off to Borderland fabrics for the weekly patch'n'chat.  Do you remember way back I was working on Malcolm's chicken quilt?  Well, I thought I ought to make an effort to get it finished, before the plump chickens turn into stringy old hens!

 

Just a few of the blocks

 

Eggs for us, a worm for the chickens, or would you prefer

 

Annette's strawberry pavlova!

 

Wouldn't it be nice to have a job where you could lie down?  Cathy, Annette's right hand woman, seems to think that she has one!

 

But as she re-upholstered the chaise longue with some of her wonderful patchwork, I guess she deserves to occasionally put her feet up!

 

Have a good weekend, love, Anne

What's the recipe today?

Do you remember Jimmy Young on Radio 2, when he would ask ''what's the recipe today?' (or am I showing my age?!)  I said I would tell you what I cooked for dinner when I was having my lazy day on Tuesday - so first of all the ingredients

 

Two lovely plump turkey steaks, an onion, a sweet orange pepper, a small (but very juicy) orange, olive oil and Uncle Roy's Moffat Meadows seasoning salt and Scotch Bonnet chilli salt.

I put a good glug of olive oil in the bowl and added the juice from the orange, along with some Moffat Meadows salt (it's wonderful, with dried wild flowers in it) and just a little of the chilli salt (it's hot!!)  Next I sliced the onion and pepper with the mandolin (very scary, it is so sharp)

 

I put the onion and pepper over the turkey, then poured the oil/orange mixture over

 

I covered the dish with foil, then popped it in the fridge to marinate

(I have to pause here, as Andy Murray has just saved a match point .... but in the time it took me to type that, Andy Roddick won - my poor nerves are shredded!!)

as I was saying, I left it to marinate, then once I knew Malcolm was on his way home, I put the dish in the oven, still covered with the foil for the first part of cooking - when I uncovered it, I drizzled some honey over it (yum yum)  I served it with some baby baked potatoes with garlic and herb butter (ok I confess, I bought them ready prepared!)  So here is dinner

 

I'm sorry the photo is slightly out of focus - of course I didn't discover that until I saw it on the computer after dinner - when it was too late to take another one!  The turkey was tender, the onions were soft and succulent, the peppers sweet, but with the bite of the chilli salt to stop it being too sweet.  A successful dinner!