frayed at the edge

Gloomy!

It has been one of those miserable days - grey and dreary, with drizzle in the air.  Some of our rooms have small windows and can be a bit gloomy, so I have been looking online at CSN Stores for lights  - you may remember that is where I got the tagine and the slow cooker from.  I was very impressed with the service, so will have fun later browsing through their extensive selection of lights.

However, I had no trouble with light on Saturday, when I was taking photos to show you the different weights of thread.  So - why is thread categorized by weight?  Thanks to Dawn Cameron-Dick, I can tell you!  When a new thread is created, it is fed through a machine which measures the yardage.  The thread ends up on a scale, and once the scale shows one pound, the yardage is checked.  A thick thread will have fewer yards to the pound, so if the length is something in excess of 40,000 yards, it is a 40 weight thread .... more than 50,000 yards, it is a 50 weight and so on.  This information is shown on the spool

 

50 weight - probably the most commonly used thread

 

 
 

35 weight - a much thicker thread 

 

I decided to be brave, and fit the scary foot to my new machine

 

the free motion foot, with three  options

 

 

calico layered up for some practice  

 

 

first attempt - could be better

 

 

oops , the stencil moved so the lines are slightly squint 

 

 

but not as squint as my sewing - it's terrible!!

 

 

slightly better, but I am so out of practice at machine quilting

 

 

it should look like this, with even stitches and smooth curves   

 

Never mind, at least while I was stitching I was nice and cosy, with the stove lit for the first time .......

 

 

...... which helped the lavender to dry out more quickly

 

 

On Saturday I also put food on the bird tables - I don't feed the birds over the summer, as there is plenty of food available in the fields and woods for them.  We knew that the sparrows had raised two broods this year, but I didn't expect to see quite so many .......

 

on the ground .......

 

 

on a large shrub .......

 

 

and silhouetted against the sky on the hawthorn tree!

The changing seasons

Walking round the back garden, some of the plants think it is still summer, while others definitely think autumn has arrived, like this creeper .......

 

 

...... and this heather

 

 

However these clematis were basking in the sun ..... despite Malcolm's best efforts to prune them and train them to grow separately on the trellis, the purple one is just too vigorous, with only a few flowers of the pink one showing through! 

 

 

This climber (I don't know what it is) is lovely.........

 

 

....... but it too is being swamped by the fast growing clematis

 

 

There was some ground frost here this morning, so Malcolm is talking about lighting the stove tomorrow .......

 

 

....... he has filled the log basket in readiness!

 

 

As usual for a Friday, once the housework was done I headed off to Borderland Fabrics for an afternoon of patch'n'chat.  I laid out the rows of my quilt to see how they look together - the flower blocks will have corners, the same as the 'cuties'.  Malcolm is going to draw an owl for me for my last row, then I will have to decide what borders to add

 

 

However, I won't be doing any sewing tomorrow, as I will be working on the new and improved version of the felt coaster for Stuart.  I am going up to Falkirk to visit him next week, as it is his birthday next Saturday (mine is the Saturday after that - it is an expensive time of year, with all our birthdays within a month!!)  I will be out all day on Sunday having all sorts of crafty fun - of course I will tell you all about that on Monday.  And don't forget to come back tomorrow for Shadow Shot Sunday .... I must remember that I have another of Stuart's wonderful photos to use!

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

  

Jam, jelly and coleslaw......

...... and some butterflies!  I had to stay at home this morning waiting for a parcel to be delivered, so I decided to make some jam and jelly.  I bought this book some time ago in a charity shops - it has plenty of good, basic recipes

 

 

For the jam, I first stoned and chopped up some plums, which I had been given by Annette, the owner of Borderland Fabrics.  As I was only making a small amount, I decided to make the jam in the  microwave.  I added a little water, then popped the bowl in the microwave for about three minutes

 

 

I added these wonderful brambles (I have to admit I bought them in the supermarket, as the hedgerow ones aren't ready) and cooked the fruit for another two minutes. 

 

 

The next stage was to add the sugar and further cook the jam until it reached setting point

 

 

To finish, I put the jam into jars, covered and labelled it

 

 

Next came the jelly - but this is a savoury jelly, made with apples and rosemary.  Over the last few mornings, I have been picking apples in the hedgerow, so the first job was to wash them

 

 

Our new rosemary plant in the garden isn't yet big enough to pick a large amount from, so this is from the supermarket (the smell was wonderful as I stripped the leaves from the stalks!)

 

 

The chopped-up apples and rosemary went in a saucepan with some water and were left to simmer until the apples were soft

 

 

The next stage was to put the apple/rosemary mixture into a jelly bag, to let all the liquid drip through

 

 

That process is still happening - tomorrow I'll heat the liquid, add sugar and some finely chopped rosemary, and boil it until it reaches setting point, when it will go into jars.  

 

I bought this food processor when we lived in Indonesia, so it must be twelve years old!

 

 

It's great for making coleslaw, with a grater attachment for doing the onion and carrot

 

 

Then a slicing attachment for the cabbage

 

 

I added some sultanas

 

 

And last - my secret ingredient

 

 

Delicious - and it will keep for two or three days in the fridge!

 

 

And finally, the butterflies .... don't worry, I didn't cook them!  The buddleiia was covered in butterflies this afternoon - I managed to capture these ones as they fluttered by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oops - nearly forgot something very important!  If I have counted properly, Saturday the 11th should be my 500th post (no, I can't believe it either!!).  Of course that means a giveaway.  I think I will do the same as last time, and have a UK giveaway and a 'rest of the world' one, because of the cost of postage.  So all you have to do is leave a comment  (or comments, the more you leave, the more chances you will have in the draw) between now and the 11th (and I will have to have a rake in the studio to find things to give away!)

 

Just the two of us!

After a bit of persuasion, Malcolm came with me on my walk this morning.  There is just one problem - he walks faster than me, so my legs are a bit sore this evening!  However, it was nice to have company - apart from the usual cast of animals!

 

 

I managed to snatch this photo of the Jacobs' sheep before they did their usual disappearing act to the other side of the field!

 

I've never seen a donkey with markings like this one - and he looks pretty good for being 30 years old!

 

The horse on the right looks as if he is in the huff with the other one!

 

When I was having my Wednesday morning leisurely soak in the bath, I heard a great deal of commotion outside.  All was soon explained - the load of logs which Malcolm had ordered had been delivered

 

He had hoped that they would be able to unload them at the back garden gate, but the lorry was too big to go up the lane past the back of the studio, so poor Malcolm had to shift them by wheelbarrow, to stack them in the log store (and quite a lot were left over and had to go in the garage!)

 

I like to be fairly well organised, but even I think it's too early to buy my Christmas cards ..... but the Red Cross don't think so - this has just arrived in the post!!

 

Thanks for all your good wishes and advice for my scan - I have been listening to my hypnotherapy cd and practising my deep breathing, so hopefully I can relax.  I will be able to take some music to listen too - I will have to have a look through my CDs for something suitable!!
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Vandals!

When I said yesterday that I was going to show you photos of the old sinks, I didn't think I would start with this photo, which I took today, showing a vandalised sink ...... but the culprit wasn't a badly behaved persom, but a four-footed one (we could tell by the sheep poo on the drive!)

 

 

Fortunately it wasn't serious damage!  Here are the sinks looking good .....

 

 

 

 

While I was at the front of the house taking photos of the sinks, I also took this one of our neighbour's mock orange - I just wish you could smell it too - it has a lovely scent

 

 

In the back garden, this fuchsia has flowered in one of our hanging baskets

 

 

This petunia is a lovely colour

 

 

Do you remember the plant that we think is a wisteria?  Moving it and pruning it back hard seems to have done the trick - it has grown a lot and is starting to twine round the wrought iron

 

 

The Bees' Balm is beautiful - although it isn't as tall as last year - I don't know if that's because of the severe winter, or the relatively dry summer!

 

 

I have been getting on with Maia - I have now worked two repeats of the main pattern, and I love the delicate shading in the yarn

 

 

Kylie has posted photos of her parcel - do pop over and visit her lovely blog to see her cushions and the other little things that I sent her.

 
 

 

Safe arrival!

I was delighted to receive an e-mail from Kylie to say that her parcel had arrived, so now I can show you the little extras that I used to finish the cushions

 

I stitched the labels on the sewing machine

 

 

I couldn't resist this spotty purple ribbon for the fastenings!

I also sent her the Japanese folded patchwork box that I made for a Tuesday Tutorial, and a brooch that was made from purple i-cord with a purple pansy button in the centre (you may have realised that purple is Kylie's favourite colour!)  And I also popped a little scarf in for her gorgeous little boy ( not that he will really need it in Queensland!)  Yes, I forgot to take a photo of the extras before I posted the parcel!

 

Now to catch up on the rest of the news.  On Friday, after Stuart went off with his friends, we went into Falkirk for some shopping.  At the top of my list was a pair of trainers, and Stuart had recommended a sports shop to go to.  I had my gait carefully studied to see if I under or over pronate (I'm an overpronator) and was fitted with a suitable pair - although as you can see I didn't take a photo until we were back home

 

 

I also bought some new undies in Marks and Spencers - but I'm not showing them to you!!We stopped off at Ikea on the way home on Saturday (yes, we had meatballs for lunch!) .... we bought a rug and a table for the summerhouse (but I'll wait until the painting is all finished before I show you those).  Then as we continued home, when we saw signs for the village of Roslin, Malcolm suggested a detour, so that we could take photos of Rosslyn Chapel ..... those of you who have read the Da Vinci Code will know the significance of the Chapel (I have to admit that I gave up reading it - I found it to be extremely boring ...... and I fell asleep when we watched the film on tv!!)

There was just a slight problem - there are major renovation works in progress and the Chapel is covered in scaffolding ....

 

 

 

I think it will be some time before I can show you more ..... we were going to have a look round the grounds and inside the chapel - but when we found out how much it cost, we decided we didn't want to see it that much!! (and you can't take photos inside the chapel)  We came home via Peebles, which meant I could take photos of some different hills to share with you

 

After the recent rainy spell, the countryside is green and lush

 

The Bees' Balm is now in full flower, so yesterday I thought I would take a photo of a bee on it - despite lots of attempts to to capture one of the several little buzzers on the flowers, this was the best I could do!!

 

There has been so much to tell you recently, that I still have some lovely photos of garden flowers (and the old sinks) that I took last week ..... so unless something else crops up to bump them down the order, I'll post them tomorrow!!
 

 
 
 
 
 

  

All wrapped up

On Saturday I thought I had better do a bit more work on the chickens, as I have been neglecting them recently!  I decided to start quilting one of the wallhangings, as I have finished the embroidery on it.  I chose this fabric from my stash for the back

 

It is a very old piece of Laura Ashley fabric that I have had for years - that may seem a bit extravagant for the back of the wallhanging, but it was a remnant that I bought in a sale for a quarter of the original price! 

 

I couldn't resist these wonderful coloured pins - but they are not just pretty, they are finer and sharper than my plain ones!

 

All pinned, ready to go

 

With the walking foot on, I am quilting 'in the ditch' between all the strips.  When that's done, I'll do some free-motion quilting round the chickens.

 

I finished Kylie's cushions - but I'm not going to show you the little finishing touches until she has received them.  I added one or two little things to the parcel - here it is, all wrapped up in tissue paper, ready to be popped in an envelope and posted tomorrow.

 

For the last couple of weeks, the swallows had stopped trying to get into the garage every time the door was opened, but they have started again (we think they want to raise another brood) ....... but this time it's not just the garage - Malcolm has been having little visitors when he has been painting the inside of the summer house (although of course they had all scarpered when I took the photo!!)

 

ps - you may have noticed that Typepad is having one of its periodic off days and has decided to stop putting the photos in the centre!!
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 

One down, one to go

Yesterday, Malcolm moved my fuchsia for me, putting it in the niche in the back wall of the garden

 

 

You can see the new flowers are pale, but as they open out, they become much darker, as you can see from this flower which fell off when Malcolm moved the pot

 

 

It was wet and windy again for my walk - but there was one bright spot ...... the raspberries in the hedgerow are starting to ripen

 

 

Of course, Friday means cake, and Annette certainly didn't disappoint us today with this beautiful light sponge, sandwiched with tasty raspberry jam

 

 

I have finished the first of Kylie's cushions and hope to finish the other one over the weekend, so I will be able to post them off to Australia at the start of the week

 

 

After such a wet start to the day, the sun is now shining ......right in my eyes as I'm typing this!!  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

 

 

Definitely daft!

Another early morning walk and another soaking!!  But, try as I might, I just can't burn off enough calories when I'm sewing (and I love my food too much!!), so I have to get out there and walk my three miles.  Today is St Swithin's Day and folklore says that if it rains today, it will rain for the next forty days ........ and yes, it has rained here today!  So this morning, I bought a lightweight, waterproof, breathable jacket to wear on my walks

 

 

When I was walking this morning, I saw lots of snails.  At first glance, they all look the same, but on closer inspection, you can see that the patterns on their shells are all different.  Thinking about the snails, reminded me of something in my pile of UFOs.  Some years ago, I went to a workshop to make the 'snail trail' block. 

 

 

Although the block isn't too complicated, it does require very precise piecing

 

 

While looking for that piece, I also found these projects waiting patiently in the queue to be finished

 

This was made at a workshop exploring the possibilities from using dark and light fabrics in half-square triangles.  It was good fun to try out all the different patterns that can be achived, before settling on this final version, which shows several different combinations

 

This is the background for a piece that got abandoned (I can't remember why) - it is made up of 144 three inch squares of fabric .... all different!  Eventually it will have large flowers appliqued on to it.

 

This lovely Hawaiian block was done as a challenge.  It is needle-turn applique, which was my challenge to myself, as it is my least favourite method of applique!  It will probably end up as an ABC (Another Bl**dy Cushion!!!)

 

These two blocks were never intended to be finished - they are samples from a class I used to teach on applique.  They show how different the same blocks can look with different fabrics - in this case showing the four seasons.  I later developed this into this wallhanging ...

 

Bonnie Baskets

 

I like to add quirky little details to my work, as you can see here

 

I also included a spider's web on this wallhanging

Autumn

 

as you can see in this detail

 

And to end, something completely different!!  When we got home yesterday, these three little balls of fluff were sitting on the gutter above the front door.  Malcolm stood very still, while I quietly got the camera out - I took this photo, then took a step forward to take another one .... but that was a step too far and off they flew

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Dedicated or daft?

When I woke up this morning, I could hear it was raining.  I was very tempted to turn over and snuggle into Malcolm and forgo my walk ....... but the trouble with quilting and knitting is that they are not exactly calorie burning pursuits, so I dragged myself out of bed and off I set in the rain.  Just as I got to the turning point, the rain went off and the wind dropped, so I was pleased at the prospect a better second half ....... silly me, I had only gone a few hundred yards when the heavens opened again!!  I was soaked by the time I got home, so it was straight through the kitchen into the utility room to take off my wet things.  Malcolm was somewhat surprised when I appeared in my underwear (on my way to put my dressing gown on, so I could have my breakfast!)

So it was just as well as I had already taken the photos for today's post when the sun was shining yesterday morning .......

 

This is bees' balm - it isn't quite in full flower, but it is just so pretty, and already attracting lots of bees.

 

I don't know what this is called, but the colour is stunning

 

This is a miniature rose that I have had for years - the flower is about the size of a cherry

 

This is one of several geraniums that we have in pots

 

Not the prettiest of rosebuds .......

 

....... looking a bit better

 

........ beatiful markings on the fully-opened rose

 

When we were at the garden centre on Sunday buying the slate chips for the new path, I spotted this trailing fuschia - it is so pretty, of course it had to come home with me!  Malcolm has put it in a pot, but it needs to be hung up or put somewhere higher to show off the marvellous flowers - I think they look like little ballerinas!

 

It's raining again this evening - perhaps tomorrow I might give in to temptation (or laziness?) and stay in bed if it is raining.  It's going to be a horrible day anyway, as I have an appointment at the dentist's in the afternoon, when she will be torturing me with all sorts of nasty implements!