frayed at the edge

Haggis!

Don't worry, I'm not about to show you our national delicacy, but rather my lovely mug, which I was drinking tea from today, when my friend Lorraine came to spend the day in the studio with me

not two ......

 

not four ......

 

not six ........

 

but eight varieties of the little beasties!

 

and watch out in case this wee one on the inside of the mug bites your nose as you drink your tea!

 

even the handle is beautifully decorated

 

and best of all ...... the mug was made in Scotland!

 

I have been beavering away on the blocks for Leanne's House, and have now completed five of them.  I was talking to Anne on the phone this afternoon, telling her that I have embroidered so many flowers I could do them in my sleep.  Well, she said, why aren't you doing them in your sleep, you're obviously not working hard enough.  To which I replied that when I see her next week, I shall box her ears for her cheek ....... but I shall have to stand on a chair to do that, as she is eight inches taller than me!!

 

having made a start to the textured applique wallhanging .......

 

....... but I decided that I wanted to have bigger flowers on the edges, so I would have to add borders.  I thought I would use a fabric from my stash of small prints.  Do you remember some time ago I bought a bundle of Lynette Anderson fabrics, only to find, when I unfolded the fabrics, that one of them had  ....... cats on it (yeugh!)

 

as this is a sample, I was quite happy to use the fabric to add borders

 

I pinned on the flowers that I have made so far 

 

I also cut out the templates for the bird garland, which I have decided to call Lovebirds

 

when I went out to close the storm doors on the back doors of the studio ......... sheep!  I hope they are there to have their lambs

 

then when I went into the kitchen, I heard rather a lot of noise coming from outside.  A quick look out of the window, and I rushed out of the front door with the camera.  I was so busy taking a photo of the tractor, I didn't notice the girl on the pony on the left!

 

the tractor was cutting the neighbours' rather overgrown hedge

 

sewing, sheep and a tractor ..... what a wonderful day!!

Goodbye Mr Badger!

On Saturday, we were up bright and early to drive up to Larbert to stay with Stuart and Alison for the weekend.  After a welcome cuppa, we popped round to visit Fraser and Linsey, to deliver Mr Badger.  Fraser was delighted with him, and he was soon settled in on a very large cushion

 

then it was back to Stuart and Alison's to get on with making the Roman blinds.  While I was busy sewing, Malcolm and Stuart screwed battens to the walls above the windows, and cut the battens and the dowels for the blinds.  The sewing didn't take as long as I thought it would, and soon the blinds were ready

 

I was pleased with the way the pattern on the kitchen blind fitted in with the folds

 

I have to admit that I miscalculated guessed wrongly how much cord I needed for the blinds, so the one in the hall is temporarily held up with string!*

 

on our way home yesterday, we popped into the Mayshade garden centre for a cuppa.  We shared a taster plate of cakes, cutting them in half to have a taste of each one...... except for the one with white chocolate, which Malcolm got all to himself, as I really don't like the stuff!

 

the weather on the first part of the journey was awful, with driving wet snow making for poor visibility

 

however, as soon as we reached the Borders, the sky cleared and the sun came out!  The only snow was left over from last week

 

there was more sunshine today, so I went out for a walk after lunch.  The donkeys were as cute as ever

 

the sun was shining on the Mintos

 

this blackbird was enjoying a thorough bath

 

do you remember a few weeks ago I showed you photos of the new hat shop in Hawick?  This article was in The Scotsman on Saturday (click on the photo to enalrge it)

 

there may be peope in Hawick who are willing to pay £600 for a hat ...... but I'm not one of them!!

 

* while I was in the middle of writing this, Stuart phoned.  He bought more cord yesterday, so the hall blind is now finished!

 

Friends, fun and ...... food

There were a few flurries of snow when I left home this morning, but fortunately they didn't come to anything, and I had a good journey up to Edinburgh.  As always on arrival at the show, the first stop was the Ladies, then the second stop was breakfast ..... a bacon roll and a mug of tea

 

On the way round the show, I had to keep stopping, as I met friends ..... some of them I now only see at the shows, so there is always a bit of news to catch up on.  Then there was one lady who said hello, and started chatting, while I was thinking "help, who are you?"  Fortunately I remembered who she was - I taught her to quilt years ago!   There is always the worry about posting photos of quilts,taken at shows, but I am sure Bonnie and Jan won't mind if I show you their small wall hangings.  The three of us were Quilters' Guild reps some years ago, and used to have lots of fun. 

 

 

I saw this one and went wow (perhaps a little higgledy piggledy fence might find its way on to Lillyanny?)

 

then I read the little story to go with the quilt - what a wonderful use of the picture

 

 

There was a large display of quilts by Sandie Lush .  Her handquilting is exquisite

 

one day I will make a quilt like this!!

 

by then it was lunchtime.  I don't even look at the menu - it has to be macaroni and chips (well, I only have it twice a year, at the spring and autumn quilt shows!)

 

I had another potter round the quilts - there was a large display of quilts by Sheena Norquay, but they all had "no photography" signs on them, and then I indulged in a little bit of shopping (remembering all the time that I am supposed to be using my stash, not adding to it!).  So, what did I buy?

 

the quilting hoop and the cotton perle thread came from here

 

the tiny bells ......

 

..... came from here

 

the magazine came from here and the fusible wadding (which isn't in the main photo, but is under the bells!) came from here.

 

Mr Badger will be going to his new home tomorrow - hopefully there will be photos on Monday!  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

 

ps, I have just read over the post, and realised that I didn't mention the brochure for the quilting retreats.  I shall have to have a chat with some of my friends about a retreat .... although it it a long way to go from down here in the Borders!

New look!

I decided it was time for a change, but being technically challenged, I simply picked another Typepad design.  But I did change the subtitle - I hope you like it!

We went to Jedburgh this morning, and stopped to look at the work going on where an unsafe building is being demolished.  The building had been propped up and boarded up for as long as we have lived here.  There were all sorts of battles waged about preserving/demolishing the building ..... and I think things were further held up because of bats!

 

on the way home, we spotted a bird of prey.  I just managed to snatch this shot before it flew off

 

on our way out along the back road, as we drove down the hill past Marian-the-Jacob-sheep-owner's field, I saw a large machine.  Just as I was wondering what it was doing in the field, we both said "Oh my goodness (or something similar), they have demolished the Wicked Witch's house! This was a funny, tall, skinny house which had lain empty for some time.  It just always made me think that there should be an old crone lurking, ready to pounce on unsuspecting children.   Malcolm stopped on the way back, so that I could take photos

 

we drove past the house a week past on Sunday, so it hasn't taken long to demolish it.  All that remains are these windows!

 

when we were almost home, Malcolm had to stop again, although this time he drove on home and left me to take photos of  ........ donkeys

 

and now, another cute creature ....... Mr Badger is finished!

 

with a lovely textured, silky fabric on the back (one of my 25p curtain samples!)

 

I recently had an exchange of emails with Meredithe about Liberty fabrics.  I confessed to having had some in my stash for quite some time - Malcolm gave it to me for my birthday (that was the year that my presents came from an airport duty free shop, as he was constantly travelling!)  I also confessed to having some beautiful Japanese silk thread, which I bought the first time I went to the Houston Quilt Show (in 2001!)  So perhaps, I suggested to Meredithe, I could combine the two

 

all I have to do is think of a project - any suggestions?

Sunshine!

Hooray, it was a lovely day yesterday, so we decided to head for Selkirk, to go for walk in the grounds of  The Haining.  The sun was shining brightly enough to cast shadows

 

I can never resist an arty photo of a dried plant

 

It's some time since we were last there, so we were surprised to find building work of some sort going on in the old stable block, which had been turned into housing

 

sadly, no work seems to have been done on the main house, which is looking decidedly delapidated

 

Malcolm provided the scale for this huge tree .....

 

...... after having a seat while he waited for me to catch up with him - as usual I was lagging behind taking photos!

 

a few random photos from our walk

 

we spotted this stump of a tree which had just been cut down. It looks as if two smaller trees had somehow been enclosed by a bigger tree

 

on the way back to the car, I spotted this post box.  It is an Edwardian one - Edward VII was Queen Victoria's son, so it is about 100 years old

 

all that walking in the sunshine gave us an appetite, so we headed to The Waterwheel Cafe for some sconnage!   A very tasty cheese scone

 

and a very, very delicious apple and cinammon one

 

I'll be back tomorrow with not only the sewing update, but also with the sewing table update.  To finish - the sun might have been shining yesterday, but not all the mud had dried out!

Love is in the air!

We may have been together for 30 years, but we are still romantic ....... just look at these lovely presents we gave each other for Valentine's Day.   Malcolm gave me

 

and I gave him

 

yesterday it snowed all day, then in the evening it turned to rain, so that when we got up this morning almost all the snow had gone.  As it was also a bit milder, I decided to go out for a short walk at lunchtime.  The sun was shining on the hills

 

there were shadows from the clouds on the fields

 

these herdies were several fields away, so even with the big lens and the digital zoom, this was the best photo that I could get

 

I braved the muddy track again, but there was only one lamb at the top end of the field

 

back home, I spotted these tiny daffodils in the back garden

 

Malcolm was busy painting his log store

 

by the end of the afternoon, he just had the roof left to do

 

and now, a bit later in the week than usual, the sewing update!  At the weekend, I made the two quilt tops with the fabric that I got at Anne's

the first border on

 

the finished top

 

the first border on

 

the finished top

 

progress on Mr Badger

 

looking back through the photos looking for the sewing ones, I realised that I hadn't shown you these super buttons, which Katy got for me

 

I am the star turn at the Abbey Quilters' April meeting, and as I need to give out the requirements list at the March meeting, I thought I should make a start to designing the project and making the samples ...... here is a little sneak peek of what I will be showing you tomorrow!

 

to finish, this is the warning on the back of the magnets that I gave Malcolm ....... would you give them to a small child?

Powerless!

If I show you what we had for lunch yesterday, a lot of you will know where we were!

 

yes, we were at Ikea!  (sorry, I had started to eat before I remembered to take a photo).  We had gone out for the day because we had had a letter last week, letting us know that we would have no electricity between 9am and 4.30pm.  As there was something I wanted to buy from Ikea (more of that later), we thought we might as well have a trip  up to Edinburgh.  There was still a lot of snow on the hills

 

on the way home, we had a stop in Peebles, where we visited Moy Mackay's new gallery.  Her felt pictures are fabulous (if a bit expensive), but you can buy prints of her work. The photo of the gallery was taken at an odd angle ......

 

........because this rather large vehicle prevented my taking a photo from across the road!

 

so what did I buy at Ikea?  I wanted  a table top, as Malcolm is going to make a new sewing table for me, based on a similar one that I saw some time ago on Anne's blog  The plan is for Malcolm to cut a hole in the table top, into which I can fit the sewing machine, giving me a very large level sewing table, which should make it much easier to work with large quilts.  We found this bright red table top in the "scratch and dent" corner.  It is ideal, as the highly polished surface will make it easier to manouevre quilts

 

of course that's not all I bought!  I got new mattress covers, some scented candles (but I resisted the tealights!)  funnels and bottles for the flavoured gin and vodka that I made in the autumn ....... and this  fabulous set of tins (could you have resisted them?!)

 

we got back home at 4.15 to a cold house, and waited for the power to come back on ...... and waited and waited.  Malcolm eventually phoned to see what the delay was, and was told there was "a problem"!  Hooray, the power came back on just after five, and I had a rush to get the dinner made, as I was heading out to Abbey Quilters.  We were making Japanese folded patchwork brooches.  Mine looks a bit lumpy because of the pins!

 

we have started making a group quilt, which we will raffle at next year's exhibition.  I picked these fabrics for my block

 

I'll be back tomorrow with the sewing update, but to finish ....... Malcolm was very upset that I wouldn't let him hijack this timber lorry!

V.I.P.

No, I didn't meet someone famous at the weekend ....... the VIP is for Very Important Post.  Why is today's post important - well you will have to wait until further down the post to find out!!

The weather wasn't great yesterday morning, so when we got to Jedburgh we decided not to go for a walk.  Instead we bought the Sunday papers and headed for a cuppa.  Shock, horror, the scones weren't ready, so we had to make do with a toasted teacake (which was delicious!)

 

so, why is this a special post?  Well ....... recently we haven't been using the back road when we have been heading to Jedburgh or Kelso, partly because there are a lot of potholes, and partly because it is inches deep in mud in places.  But Malcolm decided to go that way yesterday, and when we went past Marian-the-neighbour's field ........ oh joy, oh bliss, the first lambs of the year!  Malcolm was going to stop and reverse to the gate so that I could get some photos, but I had the small lens on the camera, so I told him not to bother, that I would walk up to the field when we got back.  Of course when we got home it was snowing!  I changed into my windproof trousers, my windand waterproof Helly Hansen jacket, put on my warm hat and got my old boots from the garage.  The donkeys weren't out in the field next to us, but these hardy ponies didn't seem bothered by the snow  (the photo looks grainy, but that's the snow in the air)

 

on my way up the hill, I thought I would have a look in the other field where there are Jacob's sheep, to see if there were any lambs, which meant negotiating this muddy track

 

I could see that there were lambs, but they were too far away to take photos.  So I walked on, and found a (very small) gap in the hedge to squeeze through, then stepped over the rusty wire fence

 and crept through the trees, to be rewarded with these exceedingly cute lambs

 

I walked on round to Marian's field, sneaking up to the gate so that I wouldn't frighten the lambs.  They didn't seem at all bothered by the snow

 

you can't really see the snow in the photos of the lambs, but you can see it in this photo of the goose (or is it the gander?) .........

 

...... and the blackbird sitting on the hedge

 

there were lots of snowdrops in the verges

 

as I trudged back down the hill, the snow went off, and the hills appeared

 

this is my favourite view on the way home

 

I won't be here tomorrow - I'll tell you why on Wednesday!

 

Leftovers!

I only took two photos today!  So I have had a quick look through the photos that were left over from this week's posts.  I looked out my Baltimore blocks and put them on the design wall.  I have run out of enthusiasm for them, so I have two ideas for what to do with them.  The first idea is to join them in a row to make a runner which could go across the bottom of the bed, the second idea is to make them up into a quilt with plain blocks, which would be handquilted, perhaps with a feathered wreath or heart

 

when Lucie suggested using up scraps in January, I thought I would make several small projects, and had looked out these books ..... but then got sidetracked with the scrappy strippy blocks

 

when I went to put another log on the fire the other day,  I was a bit puzzled by this one.  It looks as if a branch had grown, then another branch had formed round it

 

while I have been busy sewing, Malcolm has demolished the log store (except for the base) and has started building another one

 

now for today's photos.  First, the Friday cake.  Today's delight was Annette's delicious light-as-air chocolate sponge

 

my lovely friend Katy said that she had a special present for me ....... something which she had seen, and immediately thought of me.  What could it be ...... diamonds, a little sports car, a ticket to an exotic destination

 

I hope she meant that she remembered that I like Cadbury's chocolate, and not that she thought I look like the monstrous spider!  As usual, we hope to go for a walk on Sunday, but the forecast isn't good.  No doubt a scone will feature at some point over the weekend!  Whether or not you are eating scones, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

A grand day out!

Hooray, woohoo and other such exclamations!  The roads here were clear this morning, and Lucie emailed first thing to say that the roads were clear down her way, so we were able to meet up as arranged at Anne's.  Malcolm dropped me off, and went on down the road to Morpeth, to visit his sister Jennifer.  Lucie and I compared our versions of Lilly Pilly

 

This is Lucie, standing in front of the Notes of Love which I made for Anne, and which she longarm quilted

 

only two of the Wednesday regulars were there today.  Ros was working on an applique block

 

and Frances was hand-piecing star blocks

 

I came home with lots of fabric, which I will show you tomorrow.  So, back to yesterday and the two projects which I unearthed.  First, the one that was almost finished.  As you can see from the stamp on the bag, I bought this little kit in New Plymouth, in New Zealand.  This was when I went to the Quilt Symposium in 2001 (I said to Malcolm can I go to New Zealand and he famously replied "you can go if you want to"!!)

 

 

I don't know why I didn't finish it, as there wasn't much left to do

 

I stitched on the buttons, which were included in the kit, then looked out more buttons to add to the little wooden reels to make the hanging loop.  I'll put some double-sided tape on the reels and wind some thread round them

 

the other kit I found is for a pincushion

 

when I looked at the instructions, I realised that I had a circle template which is the right size for marking out the sashiko pattern

 

over the last few sessions in the studio, I have been watching my box set of season 1 of Game of Thrones

 

blood and guts, treachery, betrayal, handsome men (quite often nearly naked!), fabulous costumes ...... what more could you ask for!