frayed at the edge

Rain, rain go away ......

....... come back another day!  We used to chant that as children, when it rained during the school holidays - and I'm tempted to start chanting it now, as it is raining heavily (yet again).  The workmen came back this morning to point the new path, but because of the rain, most of it looks like this

 

 

However, the section that was done first thing is uncovered - this is the view looking through the front door.  They have made a really good job both of the slab laying and the pointing.  All that remains now is for Malcolm to fill in the gaps on either side of the path with gravel - and finish  the latest project he has been working on - but I'll tell you more about that next week!

 

 

Earlier in the week, I did some more work on my Baltimore block.  I wasn't happy with the rose in the centre - I thought it looked too small, so I cut out some extra petals from freezer paper

 

 

After a great deal of fiddling, to make sure all the raw edges were covered, I was finally happy with the enlarged rose

 

 

I finished stitching it this afternoon at patch'n'chat ......

 

 

........ and although I have still to add the buds, I made a start on the next block

 

 

This afternoon, we were treated to Annette's cupcakes - delicious

 

 

I chose one with pink sprinkles

 

 

OK - I put that last photo in just to make you wait a little longer before announcing the winners of the giveaway!!  Malcolm picked two numbers, and I counted through the comments ........ the first winner is Judi, who wins one of my handmade brooches and a lavender bag

 

 

and the second winner is Rattling On, who wins this notebook, covered in beautiful embroidered silk Colefax and Fowler fabric.

 

Thank you to everyone who left comments -  I appreciate  them very much (Malcolm reads them too!)

 

It's still raining, but despite the weather, I'm sure we will still be out and about at the weekend - whatever the weather I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

On the road again!

This morning we set off in bright (but chilly!) sunshine, to drive down to Morpeth to see Jennifer.  As it was so glorious, we stopped at the viewpoint at the Carter Bar ..... but as often is the case there, the views were hazy!

 

 

 

However, to make up for the hazy views, further down the road we were treated to some dramatic skies

 

 

 

We went out for lunch with Jennifer, a belated celebration for Malcolm's birthday.  Both Jennifer and Malcolm had scampi and chips ....

 

 

...... while I had a 'New York deli' burger

 

 

Much as I love chips,  I couldn't manage to eat the whole helping!  We are still full, and haven't yet had any dinner - I think we will just have a light snack later!

As we went back to the car after lunch, we saw this horse and shetland pony

 

 
 

 

 

On the way home, Malcolm had to stop the car to let me take this photo - the road is like a roller coaster and  I couldn't hold the camera steady!  (don't worry, there wasn't any other traffic on the road)

 

 

When we crossed the border, we pulled into a layby, so that I could take some more photos of the stunning scenery - we are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the country

 

 

 

 

While we were away for the day, there was lots of work going on in the front garden .... the path was finally being relaid after being lifted for the drainworks.  The workmen just have to come back tomorrow to do the pointing.  We are delighted with the new look path  ...... the previous one was laid with large gaps and odd spaces between the paving slabs.  While it looked good, it was very awkward to walk on - it was like crossing stepping stones.

 

 

 

Remember you have until tomorrow to leave a comment, if you would like to be included in the draw for the giveaway (Malcolm has been practising his random number generating ...... or maybe he was just counting something!!).

To finish - every time I see this sign at the Carter Bar viewpoint, I want to take a big black marker to it and correct the mistake on the second line

 

It should be fahren, not fahran - the sign on the other side of the road is correct!

I can't think of a title .....

....... for today's post!  I think my brain has already gone into weekend mode and won't stir itself to come up with a clever/witty/humerous opening.

So let's just get on!  Friday of course means cake, and this week we had a variation on our favourite ..... instead of apple and sultana, Annette had made apple and cranberry. 

 

 

Katy recently won a 'best in show' with Gerald the Turkey (unfortunately he has been handled so much, his neck is a bit wobbly!)

 

 

I got a lot of stitching done on my Baltimore block, finishing all the leaves and buds

 

 

It won't be long until the swallows set off for Africa ..... in the mornings they congregate on the phone wires, planning their departure .........

 

 

....... while the other birds eat the bird food as fast as I put it out.  Yesterday evening there was a nuthatch on the peanut feeder, the first time we have seen one in the garden.  Unfortunately I was charging the camera battery, so couldn't take a photo!

 

a bluetit

 

 

a coal tit

 

 

a great tit

 

Yesterday afternoon, it wasn't just Malcolm who was enjoying the sunshine in the back garden - the butterflies were making the most of it too

 

 

 

you can see the curled tongue of the top butterfly

 

 

 

The forecast isn't very good for the weekend, so I think the woodburning stove may be lit tomorrow afternoon!  Whatever the weather, I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne 

 

 

For the first time ever........

....... I didn't mind doing the ironing, as I had two very special DVDs to watch while doing it!  When we lived in Indonesia, we were able to watch an Australian country music channel on satellite tv, and that's when we discovered that we enjoyed country music!  After my successful purchase of the Martina McBride DVD, I had a hunt on ebay for my favourite country singer Reba McEntire.  Yesterday morning, the DVDs arrives

 

 

 

All my favourite tracks are on the DVDs, including duets with Brooks and Dunn (I am totally and completely in love with Ronnie Dunn, despite his having a beard!) and Vince Gill (his amazing voice gives me shivers).  There is also a video I hadn't seen before, with Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood and Linda Davis.  Over the years, Reba has gone from big hair

 

 

To short hair

 

 

And more recently to in between hair!

 

 

I'm including this photo of Ronnie Dunn just so that I can have a little swoon!!

 

 

Since Malcolm rearranged the owls in the front garden, I have been trying to take photos of birds perching on them ...... but I think they see the camera and refuse to co-operate, like these sparrows who preferred to bask in the afternoon sun

 

 

Later on, I took the battery out of the camera to recharge it ...... and within minutes, there were birds on all of the owls!! 

After a miserable start, the weather improved and Malcolm finally got both cars washed (we had forgotten what they looked like under all the mud!)  When he finished, he relaxed in the sun with a beer - something which hasn't happened much over the dreary summer!

 

 

As usual when we were in Hawick this morning, we went for a cuppa and a scone - today we had rum and raisin - delicious

 

 

To finish, a rather strange photo .......just as I took it, the scene in the video changed, so that you actually see a mixture of the two scenes - it looks decidedly ghostly!

 

Cheese glorious cheese!

Despite the wind and rain, I joined my friends to visit Standhill Cheesery, which you can read about here and here.  We were made very welcome by the owners, Annie and Jimmy.  As soon as we sat down, we were given a glass of wine ..... well, you can't taste cheese without wine, can you!  Annie and Jimmy were very entertaining as they told the story of how they came to start the cheesery, and of some of the disasters along the way (the word 'rancid' was used!)   We were able to look into the room where the cheese is made (we couldn't go in because of hygiene regulations).  These cheeses had been made earlier in the day, and were scheduled to go into the chiller after we left

 

 

The soft cheeses are ready in a few weeks, the hard cheeses can take up to two years to be ready.  All of them were delicious........

 

 

 

 

........ and multi award winning

 

 

 

Then, of course, we had the opportunity to buy some cheese ....... and quite a lot came home with me!  These ones are produced on the premises

 

 

while these two are made for them with sheep and goat milk

 

 

It was  a very enjoyable visit and then we finished the evening by going for a meal ...... I had a mixed grill (yes, I had one of my rare treats of chips with it), but I declined the peas and tomato, neither of which I like.  (as I wasn't driving, I also had a very nice glass of wine!)

 

 

This morning, while we were enjoying our post-breakfast cuppa and reading our books, Malcolm noticed a rainbow.  I dashed out with the camera to capture it

 

 

I had hardly sat down and resumed reading, when Malcolm said that there was now a double rainbow (he faces the window, I sit at right angles to it, which is why he saw it and I didn't).  I rushed out into the garden again - just as a very heavy shower started!  But it was worth getting wet, as not only was there a double rainbow (the outer one is quite faint) ........

 

 

....... but the entire rainbow was visible

 

 

 

When we were in Hawick this morning, we had our usual detour to see if the heron was on the River Slitrig ...... I just had time to take a couple of photos before there was yet another heavy shower!

 

 

 

Back home, the feeders were crowded with birds, with the robin making use of the owl's head to wait for a chance to tuck in!

 

 

Wet and windy

Summer came back briefly on Sunday, but it has been downhill since then.  Yesterday the weather was mixed, with some sunshine, but also heavy rain and hailstones.  Then I got up this morning to find that it had rained heavily in the night, and was very windy.  When the weather is like this, there is only one thing to do ....... spend lots of time in the studio sewing!

Yesterday I did a lot of prep on the Baltimore blocks.  Then today, as well as the Baltimore prep, I also did a bit more work on my hexagons.  The hideous lurid charming pink project box is starting to fill up with hexagons in the three stages . ...... paper, fabric, and fabric tacked on to the papers

 

 

Block 3 is progressing well, and I now have most of the pieces prepped and pinned in place, with just the buds to add

 

 

I made a start to block 4

 

 

and block 5

 

 

I have stopped using glue to prep the pieces - I wasn't happy with some of the tight curves, which I found difficult to do using the glue.  So I have gone back to my usual way, ironing the freezer paper on to the wrong side, then tacking the seam allowance in place.  When I stitch the pieces in place, I leave a small gap to pull the freezer paper through using one of these wonderful implements

 

 

They are really meant for clamping blood vessels during surgery, but the serrated edges mean that they grip the freezer paper well

 

 

I haven't decided on the final layout of the blocks, but they are looking good so far

 

 

The strong wind made it difficult to take photos of the birds on the feeders, but I managed to capture this little tit ....

 

 

...... and this poor chaffinch looked extremely miserable in the rain

 

 

I've been invited by my friend Lorraine to join her and the other ladies of Southdean Rural on a visit to a local cheesemaker this evening.  We are then going for a meal.  If I don't get blown away, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!

The long and winding road

 
On Saturday, I got up at 6.30, wished a sleepy Malcolm a happy birthday (I did offer to make him a cup of tea), got ready and headed off to meet up with 42 other ladies.  Our destination - the autumn quilt show at Harrogate.  Unfortunately, it is a rather long journey from the Borders to Harrogate ....... 3 hours by bus!!  However, it was worth every moment of the journey when we arrived to see the stunning 'best in show' quilt   - I'm always unsure about showing photos of quilts at shows, but this quilt will be featured in every p&q magazine over the next few months, so I don't think it matters if I show it to you here

 

 

There were some fabulous quilts (and one or two not quite so fabulous!) ........ here are a couple that particularly caught my eye

 

 

 

Of course a quilt show doesn't just mean quilts ...... it also means TRADERS!!  So did I buy anything? Yes, of course!!

 

delicious fabrics

 

 

co-ordinated linen

 

 

could this be a future project?

 

 

a replacement for Malcolm's flexible curve which I have lost mislaid

 

Of course you can't spend a whole day away from home without having something to eat!  The catering was excellent, and I really enjoyed my lunch

 

 

Later on I had a little icecream  - mandarin, with little chips of dark chocolate - superb!

 

 

Yesterday morning we went to a local garden centre for breakfast ...... and came home with another owl to add to the collection.  How could I resist this lovely rusty owl!

 

 

Having been worried about the lack of butterflies in the garden this summer ..... suddenly there are lots of them!

 

 

 

 

There have also been more bees about

 

 

 

Meanwhile, in the front garden, there were plenty of birds to watch ....... including the adult robin

 

 

and the young one, who is still just a little bit fluffy!

 

 

I spent most of the afternoon in the studio - I'll show you tomorrow what I have been busy with.  Malcolm was also busy being creative ........ he was going to keep this driftwood sculpture that he made this afternoon to give me for my birthday next month - but he was so pleased with it, he gave it to me before the glue was quite dry!!

 

 

I decided to put it through in the back lounge, beside a wooden and metal sculpture which he gave me for my birthday five years ago (when we had  lived here for a just few weeks)

 

 

The knitting update ....... I haven't had much time to work on the socks (and I had to take back several rows last night after dropping a stitch!)

 

 

To finish ..... it won't be long until I need to light the stove in the studio, so today Malcolm gave it a good clean and polish with 'black lead'

 

 

Unidentified flying objects .........

......... in this case birds!  I have been looking at so many pictures of ducks, I am starting to quack, but I still don't know what this is.  It was swimming in the River Teviot this morning

 

 

 

 

I also haven't been able to identify this bird, which was bobbing about at the water's edge.  It looked similar to a wagtail, but with stiking yellow  flashes

 

 

 

 

However, I didn't need any help to identify this next bird - the heron

 

 

 

 

 

I thought I should take a photo of this old mill, as it is scheduled for demoltion ...... although hopefully the clock tower will be saved.  The building is a victim of the economic downturn - it was going to be developed into apartments, but those plans fell through, and the building fell further and further into disrepair.  It will be sad to see another little bit of Hawick's rich history disappear

 

 

These two handsome dogs were patiently waiting for their owner outside the supermarket - I guess their owner didn't see the item on the news yesterday about dogs being stolen and large amounts of money being demanded for their safe return

 

 

Back home, the birds haven't been put off by the appearance of the owls round the bird table, and were tucking in when I took these photos after lunch

 

 

 

 

 

Summer is now officially over, and one of the horses in the field across the road already has its coat on!

 

 

To finish - why do these ripening elderberries not fill me with joy ....... because it means that soon my car will be covered in purple bird poo!!

 

 

Have you got Noah's phone number?

Yes, it has been raining again!  This was the view out of the back bedroom window this morning - the rain was bouncing off the ground, it was coming down so hard!

 

 

However, it did eventually go off, and by the time I came back from patch'nchat, the front garden was full of sparrows.  Don't worry about the lumps of concrete, they are just a temporary measure to hold the gravel in place until the path is relaid ..... but we need several dry days for that to happen!

 

I managed to get a lot of stitching done on my current Baltimore block this afternoon - I have finished one side of the wreath and made a start on the other side

 

 

Of course Friday afternoon means cake, and we were delighted to find that Annette had made our favourite apple and sultana cake

 

 

I thought I would do one of those roundups of photos that somehow didn't make it into this week's posts (yes, I may have forgotten to include some of them!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we are going out for dinner with Stuart and Alison to celebrate our Silver Wedding, which is on Monday.  No doubt there will be photos to share on Monday!  I hope you all have a good weekend, and that those of you who are threatened by Hurricane Irene stay safe and well.  Love Anne

Spellcheck!

After Rachel's recent troubles with spelling fuchsia, I have just consulted the dictionary to check the spelling of buddleia (I keep trying to spell it with a double i).  After remarking to Malcolm the other day that I hadn't seen any butterflies on the buddleia ........ I was delighted to see several this afternoon. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The butterflies are much more colourful than the many sparrows in the front garden - but not as entertaining.  The sparrows chatter and squabble, as they devour their food

 

 

 

In the post this morning, there was another parcel from foreign lands - this time Korea!

 

 

Flushed with my successful first purchase on ebay, I had ventured on again, to find a replacement copy of our Martina McBride dvd, which no longer plays properly.  It cost me a quarter of what Amazon were charging!!

 

 

When I read Thimleanna's blog this morning, I had to laugh out loud when I found that Anna was 'screaming' at me about socks - but then, I got quite excited too when I saw them (I hope you don't mind, Anna, that I 'borrowed' your photo!)

 

 

Socks with sheep on them - fabulous!!  The pattern, by Amy Rutter, is available as a free download here (I tried to find out more about Amy, but although the pattern is also available on Ravelry, there didn't seem to be any information about her).

I haven't yet sewn up the sheep tea cosy, but I have been doing a little fun knitting - fingerless mitts in cotton sock yarn. The pattern is by Jane Lithgow - you can find her blog here

 

 

 

And finally I have been given an award!  The lovely Fiona of Raindrops and Daisies very kindly gave me this award yesterday.  Do pop over and visit Fiona - she always has wonderful photos!

 

 

Of course that means that I have to comply with the conditions of the blog ........ first I have to tell you seven things about me

1. I have small feet (good when knitting socks!)

2. I started to learn Russian at school, but the teacher had to retire through ill health, and there wasn't anyone to take over from him

3. I like watching cricket (my Dad played when I was little)

4. I can't touch type, my fingers get in a muddle

5. I was Dux at primary school (I still have my gold medal)

6. I went to elocution lessons when I was litle (I hated it!)

7. I can't do sudoku!

Now I have to pass the award on to seven of my favourite bloggers.  This is always the difficult part, as I don't want to offend anyone by leaving them out!  As I have passed on awards in the past, today I am going to give this one to bloggers that I have recently discovered ...

1. http://bakingandmaking.com/welcome/ - Tracey has a mix of crafts and cooking

2. http://prettybyhand.com/ - Krystine is a wonderful quilter

3. http://pomegranateandchintz.wordpress.com/ - Meredithe is a prolific quilter

4. http://roo925.blogspot.com/ - Holly is very entertaining

5. http://www.lloydsgirl.blogspot.com/ - pat tels wonderful tales of her family

6. http://bragger-bragger.blogspot.com/ - this blog makes me laugh

7. http://prettyfarwest.blogspot.com/ - the delightful Mise has more cushions than me!

 

Do visit these blogs - they are all entertaining and/or informative!