frayed at the edge

Swanning about

As we walked across the car park to the car after our usual Thursday morning potter round Hawick, I suggested that we walked on towards the river

 

we were rewarded with a pair of swans

 

however the seagulls looked somewhat unhappy at the lack of water

 

because of the extended spell of good weather, the council workers have been able to cut the grass in public areas of the town, making everywhere look very neat and tidy

 

I can only think that it is the hot weather which has persuaded this orchid to start flowering again. 

 

there had only been two flowers left on it, when it suddenly put out more buds

 

this one also had only two flowers left, and it too has put out more buds

 

these two were languishinng on the windowsill in the back bedroom, as it is some time since they last flowered - but they have both put out flower spikes since I checked them last Friday, when I watered the house plants

 

this afternoon I layered up and pinned Country Cottages ready for quilting

 

I did some in-the-ditch quilting, then started quilting round the cottages

 

when I did the workshops with Gail Lawther, she mentioned frequently that she always uses the knee-lift on her sewing machine.  This is a lever which you push with your knee (you probably guessed that) to lift the foot, instead of using the lever.  This leaves both hands free to manouevre the quilt, and also makes it a bit quicker.  I have rarely used mine, but thought I would have a go as there was a lot of turning back and forward quilting round the cottages

 

once I got into the rhythm of using it, I decided that it does indeed make it quicker and easier, and I will continue to use it.  I don't have one for my other machine, as it has a feature that raises the foot slightly every time you stop stitching.  It would be great if you could get a sewing machine with all the best features from every machine you have ever had ...... I've just counted up, and I have had eight machines over the years, starting with a very old Singer treadle machine which a friend of my Mum's gave me when I was a teenager!

 

the birds have been making good use of the bird bath.  The collared dove had been having a drink

 

whereas the sparrows like to have a good splash

Des res*

Work has been continuing on the Country Cottages.  On Saturday I finished stitching the raw edge applique - eek, look at all those ends to sew in!!

 

on Sunday I added some little bits of machine embroidery - later I will add little flower shaped beads

 

the next stage was the checkerboards and strips round the blocks

 

 

On Monday I started adding the sashing

 

today, I finished adding the sashing, but I forgot to take a photo, as my friend Lorraine was here for a day's sewing (and blethering).  However after she left, I remembered to take this photo, which shows the completed top

 

the honeysuckles in the garden have been basking in the sunshine.  This one is in the front garden

 

and this one in the back

 

the purple elder looks striking in the front garden

 

Malcolm has finished painting the summer house - but I should have closed the doors so that you could see that they are painted in the darker colour

 

the plants in the new planter are filling out nicely

 

the funny, scruffy little robin has been back in the birdbath

 

well, I'm off to stir the lamb curry which is smelling delicious.  It is for tomorrow's "fast" day ...... it is made with no fat or oil, which keeps it low in calories.

 

* des res - estate agent shorthand for desirable residence

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Coming clean!

We arrived home from our shopping trip to Hawick with all of this ......

 

...... have I been bitten by the cleaning bug?  NO!!  When I did the weekly food shop on Monday, I was given a coupon which said that I would get another coupon for 7p a litre off fuel if I spent £30 on cleaning products (did you follow that?).  As I needed to fill the car, we popped into Sainsbury's on the way home and stocked up - I then saved £1.75 on my fuel bill!

 

Once I had tucked everything away in the utility room, I headed out into the sunshine to take photos of the bits'n'bobs that I picked up on the beach while Malcolm was collecting driftwood.  I popped the shells and bits of seaglass in a little glass jar

 

I think this is a bit of a Coke bottle

 

they have joned my little seaside vignette on the bathroom windowsill

 

when I went for my walk on Tuesday morning, the donkeys were in the faraway paddock, but when we went past yesterday, they were in the paddock next to the road. So I had a walk along the road after lunch in the hope that they would be there again today.  The haymaking is in full swing - this is the field across the road from the donkeys

 

oh dear ..... the poor donkeys were being tormented by flies!  The little spotty one had on a fly coat and hood

 

the other little one and the medium one had hoods

 

the big one was coping by constantly flicking its tail and ears

 

I spent the afternoon in the studio, but you'll have to wait until tommorrow to see what I was doing!  While I was sewing, Malcolm was making progress painting the summer house

 

to finish, I can now show you what I sent Sarah as her prize for the giveaway.  As well as the stitch markers, I sent her a mounted photo of a heron, as I know that she shares my love of them

 

you will have to wait to see what I sent Meredithe, as her parcel hasn't yet reached Melbourne!

Sun, sun, sun!

The weather is still glorious, so instead of using the implements of fitness torture, I headed out the door at 6.40am for a walk.  I was so early the sheep were still lying about in the field across the road

 

but the horse was up and about

 

every few yards there was a pop of colour in the verge

 

and this handsome chap added even more colour

 

this ewe kept an eye on me through the fence

 

while her lamb watched through the gate

 

this dog regularly barks at me

 

but these two sweeties are very well behaved.  They belong to Marion, the owner of the Jacob's sheep.  I remember when she got Jason, on the left ...... and now he is the father of the other gorgeous dog (whose name I can't remember!)

 

after breakfast, I headed out to the studio to do some more work on the Vineyard wallhanging ...... but before I show you what I did, I have to show you these photos, which I forgot to do yesterday.  So with apologies to Charlie, Anne S and Sheila, here is what they did on Sunday (having pestered them to take photos for the blog, I am very embarrassed to have forgotten to put them in yesterday!!)

 

this morning I filled in the rest of the scene and added the borders

 

then added some of the iron-on bias strips

 

I must make the effort to scrub and repaint my chair, which is looking very neglected

 

it sits beside the studio doors.  Do yoy like my heart decoration?  I could lie and say that I made it, but I bought it yesterday in Sainsbury's!

 

at teatime, a collared dove appeared to drink from the bird bath

 

isn't life grand when the sun shines!!

A wonderful weekend!

After patch'n'chat on Friday, I headed to Kelso, as it seemed silly to go home for dinner, only to retrace my steps to go to the talk by Gail Lawther.  It was a lovely evening, so I bought some fish and chips and sat in the sunshine to eat them

 

I still had some time to kill, so I took some photos of the Abbey

 

Gail's talk about her travels in New Zealand was very entertaining, and she had twenty five quilts to share with us.  She asked us not to take photos of the quilts, but when I asked if I could take a photo of her for the blog, she offered to pose with one

 

I enjoyed the talk as I have been to many of the places she mentioned, including the public toilets at Kawakawa, which were designed by Hundertwasser.  This is a postcard which I brought home with me

 

the New Zealand theme continued on Saturday, when I chose a pattern which featured a vineyard nestled in the hills.  I was so busy that I didn't take very many photos!  The stitching is done from the back .......

 

......... the piece of fabric for the sky stitched in place

 

the mountains added

 

lunch was supplied by a local pub - delicious leek and potato soup

 

and a wonderful selection of sandwiches (we had the same soup, but different sandwiches on Sunday)

 

the eager beavers back at work after lunch!

 

by the end of the afternoon, this is how far I got

 

yesterday the theme was Japanese - I chose Mount Fuji.  Again, I started with the sky

 

stitching the mountain

 

adding the shrine and the outer border

 

looking good by the end of the afternoon

 

Gail had lots of patterns for sale (you can find them on her website) and I bought two ....... but I can only show you one of them, as the other one is to make a Christmas present with

 

the weather has been glorious, and the peony has finally flowered - and isn't is beautiful!!

Soggy!

I'm not at home this evening, as I am at a talk by Gail Lawther, organised by Abbey Quilters.  However,  I wrote this post last night, and scheduled it to appear tonight.  I took these photos of rather soggy flowers in the garden yesterday morning

honeysuckle

 

peony

 

climbing rose

 

clematis

 

harebell

 

miniature rose

 

even more miniature rose - that's my little finger

 

clematis seed head

 

more foliage, but still no flowers on the wisteria

 

Malcolm's bargain of the year - a £3 olive tree

 

this grape vine is lagging behind .......

 

....... this one

 

as well as going to the talk tonight, I am also doing two workshops with Gail over the weekend, so I will have lots to share with you on Monday.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

 

A busy day!

First thing this morning I popped my knitting in to soak

 

it is knitted with the most wonderful soft alpaca yarn, which I bought here, when we were in Australia lst year

 

once I had rinsed it, I squeezed out the excess water ...... remember, NEVER wring your wet knitting!  Then I rolled it in a towel and squeezed it some more

 

I put an old pillowcase on the rug in the back lounge, and got out my blocking wires.  I had invested in them some time ago when I was knitting a lot of shawls (both baby and adults ones).  They make it much, much easier to block out knitting

 

so, finally, here it is!  I got the idea to knit a cowl from Meredithe, who knitted a very pretty one recently.  I started knitting it when we were driving up to Stuart and Alison's the other weekend ......

 

........ and that's when a slight problem arose!  Through not paying close attention, and also because I was using a circular needle that was slightly too long, so I was juggling the stitches ....... I somehow managed to twist the knitting, and have ended up with a somewhat different cowl to the one I intended to make.  However, once it is dry and I can take photos wearing it, you will see that it actually has turned out ok (just don't ask me to produce another one the same, as I don't know what I did!)

While the cowl was soaking, I cleaned this vase.  I don't know quite how old it is, but I remember it as already being old when I was a child

 

I think the vase probably belonged to my grandparents, and would have been given to my parents when Granny and Grandpa moved to Galway to live with my only aunt and uncle (I only had one set of grandparents, as my Mum was an orphan).  The top of the vase is silver, so I had to unearth the silver polish from the back of the cupboard

 

once it was clean, I grabbed the secateurs and had a quick snip to fill the vase

 

by then it was time for a cuppa.  I would love a teapot like the one on the box!

 

so, what was the other thing that Malcolm made at the weekend?  A miniature chair!

 

I saw a tiny chair in this post on Thimbleanna's blog, and asked Malcolm to make one for me.  The frame is made from bits that he recenty removed from the gate-leg table in the studio, and the seat is oak that he used when he made crackets (stools).  The plan is to paint the frame, then upholster the seat.  I think he is worried that I am going to steal the paint he used for his chair, which several of you enquired about (he needn't worry, I intend to use Annie Sloan chalk paint)

 

when Malcolm was out and about this morning, he popped into the garden centre to get some compost and plants for his new planter.  Considering that it only a few hours to make, and is made with scrap wood, it looks exceedingly good!

 

I spent the rest of the day quilting, and have just about finished the in the ditch quilting - this evening will be spent sewing in rather a lot of ends!

 

a bit of silliness to finish.  I heard that annoying "walks like Rihanna" song on the radio this morning, and I thought of another chorus

She can't serve

She can't volley

But who cares

She shrieks like Sharipova .........

 

Shrieking!

No, not me, but Maria Sharipova this afternoon at Wimbledon!  I think that if I were her opponent, I would leap the net and stuff a tennis ball in her mouth to keep her quiet ..........

On Saturday, I got ready to start the quilting on Leanne's House.  As always when starting something new, I cleaned the machine and put in a new needle

 

it's amazing how much fluff accumulates under the bobbin case

 

I taped the backing fabric to the table, followed  by the wadding, and then added the quilt top

 

the next job was to thoroughly pin all the layers together

 

I decided to quilt in the ditch, which means stitching along the seams.  Once I have done that, I will add some decorative quilting on the bigger blocks

 

as the stitching doesn't show on the front, this is the back, showing how far I had got by the end of this afternoon

 

we were going to go for a walk yesterday morning, but just as we parked the car, it started to rain heavily.  So we just had to make do with some sconnage for an early lunch

cheese

 

cherry

 

when I did the food shopping this morning, I popped a bunch of flowers in the trolley - pretty sweet williams

 

while I was busy sewing over the weekend, Malcolm was sawing and hammering in the garage.  He has only just put the chair he made last year out in the garden, and yesterday it was joined by his latest creation, a sturdy planter

 

he also made something else, but you will have to wait until tomorrow to see it ........ yes, I forgot to take a photo of it!!

<

A bit of a blur

I was at the optician's this morning, for what I thought would be my regular eye check ....... but no, because of my age (!) I needed an extra test, which required havinng drops put in my eyes.  I really don't like having things put in my eyes - I have never tried contact lenses ....... so it didn't help when the optician said it would sting a bit (yes, it did!).  But the main thing was that it left me with blurred vision for the rest of the day.  The good news is that my distance sight has actually improved, and she has tweaked my reading prescription.  I eventually picked a new pair of glasses - but you will have to wait until the 1st of July to see them.

So, to finish off our trip.  On our way home, we stopped at Masson Mills.  But we didn't stop for the shopping (ok, we did have a look round), but for the museum

 

just when it looked as if we were going to have a weekend with no sconnage, we stopped at a coffee and farm shop ........

 

....... and shared a delicious cheese scone

 

when I got up yesterday and looked out the window, I decided to go for a walk, rather than using the implements of keep-fit torture.  Although it was only 6.45, this tractor was already hard at work

 

I just missed getting a photo of this bale as it popped out the back of the baler

 

this Jacob's ewe was keeping an eye on me through the bars of the gate

 

while this one ignored me and went on munching

 

sharing the field with the ewes is this old donkey - I think it is about 30!

 

back home I had breakfast, followed by my usual Wednesday morning soak in the bath (with a book and a mug of hot chocolate).  Then we headed to Old Melrose, where we went on a new walk

 

after his flirtation with stone, Malcolm went back to his first love of wood when he saw this rustic bench

 

we passed Old Melrose House

 

on our way to here

 

back home, I was taking some photos of the poppies in the back garden .......

 

........ when I saw this

 

slightly worried that it was some sort of nasty bug which would bite or sting, I poked it with a stick ...... only to find that it was the outside of a bud, which had fallen into the flower!

 

the hostas are looking wonderful - I much prefer them before they flower

 

well, I think that's me all caught up, except for one last thing from the weekend.  Malcolm saw a book he fancied, but having hummed and hawed he didn't buy it.  Then of course afterwards he wished he had bought it.  So being a loving and caring wife, of course I went online and ordered it for him, and it arrived this morning - he says it's full of all sorts of wondrous stuff about wood (ok, that might not be an accurate quote!!)

Sweet treats

When we were shopping this morning, I spotted these cuties

 

on the packet, the lady on the left at the back, Pearl Stitch, is knitting ....... but you can't quite see that on the sweet, which is the middle one on the bottom (I did think of licking them to see if that made them clearer, but as this is a "fast" day, I couldn't have eaten them afterwards!)

 

I love meerkats - there is just something so appealing about them ...... and I'm sure I'll love these tomorrow when I get to taste them

 

could you resist them?

 

after such a cold spring, it seemed as if we were never going to have any colour in the garden.  But then we had some lovely warm weather, and everything exploded into life

 

it won't be long until the poppies flower

 

 I don't think we will get any cherries this year

 

but the quince is looking promising

 

we are off to Derbyshire tomorrow, for Malcolm to do a dry stone walling course (I gave him a gift voucher for the course for Christmas).  The cottage we are staying in has wifi, so I should be able to do a post as usual tomorrow.  While Malcolm is having fun with stone (fingers firmly crossed that it doesn't rain!) I shall be finally be hand-stitching the binding on the Birdie Border quilt, Notes of Love and the scrappy strippy quilt.  I also have several magazines to read (some were given to me, I am sticking reasonably well to my resolution to not buy them!)