frayed at the edge

All hands on deck!

First, I have to say that Malcolm thought of today's title (thank you, dear!).  We left here early on Saturday morning to travel up to Stirlingshire.  When we got to Stuart and Alison's they were out, so Malcolm dropped me off and went to buy the deck boards and screws.  I was sitting in the garden reading the paper and enjoying the sunshine when Stuart arrived home, having dropped Alison off at the hairdressers.  I then had a very strenuous day supervising the workers!

Malcolm took this scrap wood to make the legs of the deck

 

my supervisory station

 

ready to start

 

the framework being made

 

the first boards in place

 

Alison came home from the hairdressers, and took me for a walk to see a pair of swans and their cygnets

 

back home the boys were working hard

 

by the end of the afternoon, they had done enough for the table and chairs to be put on the deck

 

Stuart suggested that I take a photo from upstairs, and I was just in time to catch Malcolm having a very well deserved beer

 

leaving Malcolm to tidy up, Stuart headed to the kitchen to make dinner ....... chicken wrapped in Parma ham on saffron and spinach risotto - delicious!!

 

on Sunday morning Alison went off the visit her Granny, and I walked to the shopping precinct to buy the papers. It was sad to see the McCowan's factory boarded up ......

 

....... before we moved here, we lived about a mile away from the factory (in the opposite direction to where S and A live) and there was always the wonderful smell of toffee in the air when you went past.  I think the toffee is still being made by another firm, but I'm reluctant to try it, in case it doesn't taste as good as it did in my childhood.  When I was in New Zealand in 2001, I saw some Highland toffee in a shop.  I remarked to the young man serving me that it was made a mile from my home ....... he gave me one of those "so what" looks, but given that I was halfway round the world from home, I thought it was interesting!  A new shopping precinct has been built since we left, complete with these two magnificent beasts

 

by the time I meandered back (just over an hour later!), the boys had almost finished

 

the last board was fitted in neatly round the fence posts

 

a final check that it was level

 

we brought this garden thermometer from Majorca for them

 

the perfect spot to read the Sunday papers

 

could there be a better way to celebrate the new deck than tucking into sconnage?

 

yes!  This is Alison on the right, with their friends Fraser and Lynsey.  They are drinking a very nice bottle of Australian sparkling wine, which I had bought for them when I went to the shops in the morning

 

back tomorrow with the sewing update ...... and donkeys!!

 

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A change of plans

I had intended to spend the day in the studio sewing, but that didn't happen!  Malcolm had a day out arranged with his sister, Jennifer ...... but then the man from the company that installed the boiler phoned to say that one of the boys who installed it would come to the house first thing this morning to fill the hole in the wall, and do the final testing.  This meant I had to stay in the house until he arrived and carried out the work, so I decided to make some rhubarb and ginger jam

 

bottle last year's sloe vodka

 

and redcurrant gin

 

of course once the jam was ready I had to do a taste test (delicious)

 

I took my toast out to the garden to take the photo, putting the plate on the new table which Malcolm made yesterday (I must get him trained to take photos!)

 

we have had a change round of the garden furniture, so we needed a little table to sit between the two steamer chairs on the deck

 

I used the table later to take this photo

 

when I finaly got out to the studio, it was a bit late to start sewing, so instead I worked on a couple of designs.  First was the June block for Lucie's A is for Applique challenge.  The theme this month is the birds and the bees.  This is the first  draft of my block - I need to do more work on the birds!

 

I then did some work on the wallhanging that I showed you the other day, using the Moda squares for the borders.  The idea came to me when I was writing an email to Meredithe ....... I was complaining about havinng to do the shopping and the laundry, when  ........

 

but I do have sewing to show you, from the weekend.  I have finished stitching round the tree and fence on Lillyanny, and have also stitched the birds (yes, Anne, more ends to sew in!)  The next stage will be to satin stitch the birds' legs

 

I finished the Baltimore block for Abbey Quilters

 

so what was the detail of, that I showed you yesterday?  We were given a challenge at Abbey Quilters to make something on the theme of clowns.  It has to be ready for next Tuesday, the last meeting before we have our summer break.  I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, so after a quick internet search, and employing Malcolm' drawing skills ........ may I present my wallhanging "I found Nemo!"

 

this is an example of my "sideways" thinking, as Nemo, of course, is a clown fish!!  I found some fish beads that I got years ago when we had a holiday in Western Australia, and some shells that I bought in John Lewis (a big department store) in Edinburgh!

 

to finish ..... the ongoing swallow war!  You might have seen a scarecrow, but have you seen a scareswallow?  This is Malcolm's creation to keep the swallows out of the garage - it looks as if it has a nasty weapon, but it's just a trowel which Malcolm had taped to a pole to reach something in the garden.  It certainly scares the swallows. and it gave me a scare when I opened the garage door yesterday, forgetting that it was there!!

 

 

Sconnage!

Hooray, the weather was good on Saturday and Sunday (back to normal wind and rain today).We were able to go for a good long walk yesterday morning.  We decided to go to Abbotsford, to try out the new riverside walk, which goes past the back of the house.  The house is due to reopen soon, after a major refurbishment

 

This rhododendron was in full flower

 

but this one was still covered in buds

 

I haven't seen a heron on the rivers in Hawick recently, so it was good to see this one

 

I don't know if this is the same one, further along the river

 

these horses  have a beautiful spot to graze, on the bank of the river

 

I love ferns when they are unfurling ...... I think they look like something from a sci-fi film!

 

a higgledy piggledy fence, with a sea of wild garlic round it

 

we may complain about the rain, but we wouldn't have such a green countryside without it!

 

I think we must have missed a signpost on the last part of the walk, as we ended up going past the house

 

then it was into the Visitor Centre for a cuppa ....... and scones!

cheese

 

fruit with jam and cream

 

to finish - the warmer weather has encouraged the blossom to come out - just in time to be damaged by this morning's wind and rain

 

back tomorrow with lots of sewing.

 

 

In a bind

I thought it was time that I put the binding on my Birdie Border Quilt.  For new readers, the quilt top was given to me by the lovely Helen when I was in Melbourne last year, and I had it longarm quilted by Kay before Christmas.  So on Saturday I made the binding

 

After machine stitching the binding on to the front of the quilt, I put clips on this corner to let you see how it will look when I get round to hand stitching the binding on the back (hopefully it won't have to wait another five months!)

 

I also stitched the binding on Notes of Love

 

today I was trying to draw better cottages for my wallhanging, but I was getting nowhere, so decided to put that to one side until I can get Malcolm to do some drawing for me.  Instead I got out this drawing, which I did several years ago for a little quilted wallhanging which I made for a swap.  OK, I didn't draw it, I took a photo of a teapot, cup and saucer and traced them!!

 

I decided to make an applique version, with a view to developing it into a pattern to sell.  These are the pieces drawn on fusible web

 

I decided to use these Tilda fabrics

 

this was the first version ..... the teapot doesn't stand out against the background fabric

 

this is the second version ...... better, but still not quite right

 

then, finally, I was happy with this one

 

I had printed out the wording for the original drawing from my laptop, but as I'm not sure about copyright for computer fonts, I thought I would rewrite it, using the same style of lettering as I have used for the A is for Applique blocks

 

the last stage was to decide on fabric for the border.  When I couldn't make up my mind, I arranged four different ones round the centre - I think I'll go with this!

 

when I was trying out the first teacup and teapot, I didn't fuse them to the background fabric.  This is a trial block from the cottages wallhanging, and it shows them off better than the patterned fabric

 

this afternoon I saw a great tit going in and out of the nest box on the wall next to the studio.  I don't know how many times I stood with the camera, hoping to get some photos - this is what I ended up with

 

however, when I went back into the house at the end of the afternoon, I was delighted to see a pair of collared doves in the front garden ..... I hope this is the original pair, reunited!

 

before I went on holiday, I tidied the studio ...... it hasn't taken long for it to descend into the usual state of (organised) chaos!

 

 

Old wives' tale

Did you, like me, learn this saying when you were little

Red sky at night, shepherds' delight

Red sky at morning, shepherds' warning

 

So after this sky on Friday night .......

 

....... I didn't expect this on Saturday!

 

We went for a walk in Melrose yesterday morning.  After the heavy rain, the river was full - the noise was amazing as the water poured over the rocks

 

the blossom still isn't fully out

 

but there are plenty of signs that plants are catching up after the cold spring delayed growth

 

I took this photo not because I want the jacket, but because I was thinking about how it would look as an applique block!

 

Malcolm is having his annual battle to stop the swallows nesting in the garage ...... every time he opens the garage door they swoop in.  I went out this afternoon to sort through the contents of the chest freezer, to make sure there wasn't a fossilised, unrecognisable lump of something languishing at the bottom.  No sooner had I made a start to the sorting out, when the swallows appeared.  So, I came up with a cunning plan to deter them ......this is the fleece that Malcolm wraps tender plants in for the winter.  I think he will be using it in the days to come, as clipping it to the garage door is a lot less bother than having to constantly open and shut it when he is busy in the garden

 

this might look like a somewhat boring photo of ivy on our neighbours' wall...... but I think there are several sparrows nesting in it.  They are also nesting as usual under the roof at the front of the house - but we now have so many sparrows that I guess they have had to find more places to nest

 

some good news to finish - it was much warmer today and the bees were buzzing about the garden!

 

 

Murder most horrid!

Don't worry, I haven't set about Malcolm with the frying pan!  This is the sight that greeted us when we got up this morning.  Looking at the feathers, I think it was a pigeon ...... and of course next door's cats are the prime suspects.*

 

at least the swallows are safe on the phone wire

 

when we had a rainy day on holiday, dozens of swallows suddenly appeared and settled on the electricity wires just beyond the garden

 

I mentioned that growth is lagging way behind in the garden.  This little tree is usually smothered in blossom by now

 

but it is only just starting to flower

 

there is no blossom on the cherry tree, and although the quince is smothered with flowers, there are no bees or insects because of the cold, so we probably won't get any quince again this year

 

but there are a few splashes of colour

 

when we were out and about yesterday, Malcolm bought this little jug for me

 

then I spotted this large oval serving plate in a junk antique shop

 

this morning in Hawick we had a browse round the Shelter charity shop.  Malcolm spotted this rustic casserole dish.  It is very heavy ..... and it looks as if it has never been used

 

*you know that this is normally a cat-free blog, but even I had to take photos of these cats on holiday!

 

Jessica got in touch to say that she has been having problems leaving comments, as sometimes they simply disappear.  On investigating, I discovered that Typepad has been randomly putting comments into a spam folder.  I haven't yet discovered how to stop that happening, so until I do, I'll check the spam every day and retrieve any that shouldn't be there, so please do keep leaving comments, as I love to get them!

 

Freezing!

We got back home at teatime on Saturday ..... and we have been shivering since then!  Yesterday I was threatening to get the next plane to Majorca, to go back to this

 

and perhaps have some cake

 

and an icecream

 

I have over 6oo photos to sort through, so that is just a little taste of our holiday.  Back home, the garden is still lagging behind.  The snakehead fritillaries have finally flowered

 

This clematis is in a sheltered spot

 

you know that I have been very quite good keeping to my resolution to buy fewer magazines, but it is entirely Malcolm's fault that I came home with these, as he kept pointing them out to me when we were in the newsagents buying newspapers!

 

after indulging in cakes and icecreams (and the occasional glass of wine!), it was back on the straight and narrow for dinner tonight (this is Malcolm's salad, I don't like tomato)

 

I'll be back tomorrow with the sewing that I did on holiday, and some stunning photos of the Caves of Drach.

 

Spring!

It has been wet and windy here, but it has also been much milder ....... and suddenly the garden is bursting into life.  Some of the plants look a bit muddy, where they have been splashed by the heavy rain

 

but there is one thing that is showing no signs of growth.  This wisteria was planted by the previous owners, and has only ever put out a few leaves.  We eventually moved it to a sunnier spot, where it put out a few more leaves, but I think that it is now on a shoogly nail ........

 

........ I tried in vain to find a suitable link to explain shoogly nail (or shoogly peg).  I think the original saying was "his jacket's on a shoogly nail", meaning that his job was in jeopardy (shoogly meaning shaky), but generally now it means that something or someone is for the chop!

 

I shall be back tomorrow with some exciting news .......

No snow!

Hooray - it hasn't snowed today, but it has still been very cold.  So when I went out for a quick walk this morning, I had to wrap up well.  The donkeys were sensible and staying in their stable, but the ponies weren't bothered by the cold

 

although it didn't snow today, there is still snow on the Mintos

 

there was a little bit of colour in the big flower pot in front of the church

 

my favourite view on the way home

 

back home, I had a potter round the garden.  The flowering current is flourishing .....

 

...... but the ornamental quince still has tightly furlded buds.  It was in full flower this time last year, when we had unseasonably warm weather, but the consequence of that was that there were no bees or flies about to pollinate the flowers, resulting in very few quince in the autumn

 

this clematis is in a very sheltered spot in the back garden, so is much further on than the other clematis

 

the hellebore has flowered all through the winter!

 

the honeysuckle is also in a sheltered spot

 

now that I only have the last block to finish of the Leanne's House wallhanginng, I thought I would make a start to putting the blocks together  The first stage was to press them well, on the wrong side

 

then I trimmed them

 

the first three blocks stitched together

 

then the next three

 

then the two rows stitched together

 

I also did some work on the mystery project ...... shall I give you a sneak peak?

My life in clothes

Until recently, I hadn't heard of Yvette Jelfs, then I found her wonderful new hat shop in Hawick.  Shortly after that there was a big article about her in the paper, then she popped up again on Saturday (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

I thought it would be fun to give you my answers to the questions!

q: what's the last piece of clothing you bought

a: these two summer dresses which I bought on Monday - not from a fancy designer shop, but from Sainsbury's!  I am perhaps being somewhat optimistic that we will have a good summer!

 

q: best ever bargain

a: I bought this jacket some years ago when we were on holiday in Hampshire.  I can't remember what I paid for it, just that it had been very expensive, but I got it for about a quarter of the original price.  It is a silk/linen blend, with beautiful embroidery and beading

 

q: who has great style

a: the Queen!

 

q: name your favourite High Street shop

a: does M&S count as a High Street shop?

 

q: what are you addicted to buying

a: cute little cardigans

 

q: any fashion disasters that you'd care to tell us about?

a: that would have to be the electric blue platform boots from the mid 70s.  Sadly I don't have a photo of them .... I think they were abandoned to the back of the shoe cupboard as I couldn't walk properly in them!

 

q: what's your favourite item in your wardrobe?

a: I am embarrassed to admit that my favourite is my comfy everyday trousers from M&S.  To make it worse, I remember my Mum wearing them years ago!  I am probably wearing them in most of the photos you see of me - I have them in black, navy and brown.

 

It has been snowing again ...... this was the front garden this morning

 

the garden has been full of birds

blue tit

 

blackbird

 

sparrow

 

robin