frayed at the edge

Hats

Yesterday morning we parked in front of the Mill, planning to go for a walk along the river, before having a cuppa in the Mill's wonderful coffee shop.  But first we walked over the footbridge to check out this amazing new shop

 

the man that Malcolm is chatting to is the builder who converted the milking parlour into my studio.  He was delighted to hear that I use it a lot, and that the log-burning stove has been a great success.  So what does the shop sell?  Hats ..... beautiful, gorgeous, fabulous (expensive) hats

 

this duck had better watch out, or it might lose some of its feathers to decorate a hat!

 

the weather had been better on Saturday, but yesterday there was ice on this puddle ........

 

....... grey sky behind the electrical gubbins

 

.....and later, a dramatic sky

 

the level of the river has gone down, but some of the houses still have their flood defences in place

 

amazingly this little clump of snowdrops has survived - you can see the grass and dried weed stalks on the bank have been flattened by the river, when it came close to flooding

 

by the time we went for our cuppa, we were decidedly windswept, and glad to get warmed up.  As we hadn't had a scone all week (!) we treated ourself to one of our two-scone lunches - a wonderful cheese scone

 

and a very tasty fruit scone

 

I'll be back tonorrow with the sewing update, but to finish, a silly photo.  In the course of our walk, we passed the civic amenity centre (aka the tip).  We were somewhat taken aback to see a horse ..... until we got closer and saw it wasn't a live one!

All can be revealed!

Remember I showed you the last scrappy bit of the wonderful Australian fabrics that Lee gave me for my birthday?  I can show you now what I made, as Lee has received the little parcel I sent her

 

you can see the quilting on the wrong side

 

I trimmed it to size, then sewed a piece of fabric on one of the long sides

 

I then folded it in half and stitched it to form a tube

 

the next bit is fiddly, as you have to fold what will be the inside over what will be the outside (did you follow that?), then stitch across the bottom

 

the last stage .... turn the little bag right side out.  I thought Lee might keep her sunglasses in it, so I popped my glasses in to let you see what it looks like

 

I added a pretty gift tag, and one of the cards that I had made with photos from our wonderful Autralian holiday

 

when Lee emailed me to say that the parcel had arrived, she said that the little bag was the perfect size to keep her camera in, and that every time she uses it, it will be a lovely reminder of the time we spent together, just as every time I walk through the hall and see the runners and cushion, I too think of our wonderful time in Sydney

 

today at patch'n'chat, a new customer came into the shop.  We quickly realised that she was a visitor (the American accent was a clue!), so we promptly set about cross-examining grilling asking her who she was,where she was from and what was she doing here.  The answer was Vicki, Chicago, and that she is here for a month's holiday.  She has been here, there and everywhere ...... you can read about her adventures here.  As a fellow blogger, she was happy to pose for a photo!

 

Kay was in this afternoon, delivering finished quilts nad collecting more quilts to longarm quilt.  I gave her Notes of Love, and other than saying I would like a heart quilted in the centre, I have left it up to her to decide how to quilt it.  She had brought in Jen's quilt, which is stunning

and if Jen wants a change, she can turn the quilt over to the other side, which shows off the quilting pattern

 

 

we had already invited Vicki to join us for lunch, then we mentioned that she might want to spend the rest of the afternoon with us, so that she could then join us for a cuppa and CAKE (oh yum, our favourite appe and sultana!)

 

you know I like something silly to end with ....... just before Christmas, a family of assorted owls took up residence in the yucca  (I don't think three is enough to qualify as a Parliament)

 

after Christmas, I suggested to the owls that they might like to go back home (the box in the loft) but they said they would be quite happy to stay in the back lounge, with their new BFFs, the Gnome Sisters .....

 

........ and the Gnome Brothers

 

did you notice a little bit of sunshine in that last photo?  There was even more in the kitchen this morning, shining in through Malcolm's study window.  Unfortunately, the sun showed up just how dirty the window is - it is by far the dirtiest window in the house ...... perhaps because it looks out into the neighbours' backyard, home to 3 dogs, 7 cats, 2 ferrets and a horse ........

 

hopefully the weather will be good on Sunday and we can get out for a proper long walk, instead of a quick stroll!!  Having finished the month of using up scraps, Lucie and I plan to spend February finishing UFOs, so I will be making a start to that over the weekend.  Whatever you have planned, I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

Almost gone!

We have had some very wet and windy weather, so the snow has almost gone.  There is still some on the higher ground, and pockets lingering in hollows.  When I set out for Kelso on Saturday to go to my workshop, our road was still only passable with care, and the main road was slushy.  However it wasn't that which stopped my getting to Kelso ...... unfortunately there had been a bad accident and the road was closed.  There were ambulances, fire engines and lots of police.  Malcolm had set out some time before me, so I was relieved to see him parked at the side of the road - he thought it was better to wait until I arrived, rather than passing me on his way back to Hawick.  After a quick chat, we decided to head into Hawick and have some breakfast, bbefore going home (ok, I admit it was a second breakfast for me, as I had a small bowl of cereal when I got up!)  Yesterday we went to Melrose for a walk along the river.  We have never seen the river so full, and the noise was quite frightening as the water roared over the rocks

 

these horses (or are they ponies?) looked a bit miserable

 

but this one was more sensible and only had its head poking out of the stable

 

remember the last time we were in Melrose I saw the tractor wine bottle holder?  Well, yesterday in its place in the shop window was this church - I think it would make a quirky wedding ppresent!

 

this tea towel is much too nice to dry the dishes with!

 

Malcolm wouldn't buy this set of musical instruments for me - I wonder why?!

 

Malcolm was very interested in this stretch of dry stone wall, which is being rebuilt.  For Christmas I bought him a gift voucher for a weekend course on dry stone walling, which he is looking forward to

on the drive home I was able to take some photos of the last of the snow (although it's amazing how often the car goes over a bump just as I take the photo, and I get yet another shot of the sky!)

 

a little bit of blue sky!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update, but to finish ....... do you remember the Daleks?  They gave me nightmares when I was little, but the 1965 film which was on tv on Saturday didn't scare me!!

A very special day!

I think you know by now that we will have a celebration for anything and everything ....... but yesterday was definitely a special event.  As well as celebrating our wedding anniversaries, we also celebrate the day we moved in together/became a couple ....... and yesterday was the 30th anniversary of that special day!  You also know that we don't need much of an excuse to have something tasty to eat, so the day got off to a good start with smoked salmon and toasted brioche for breakfast (sorry there is no lemon wedge, but as we were snowed in on Monday and couldn't get to the shops to buy a lemon, we had to do with a splash of lemon juice from the bottle in the fridge!)

 

lunch was comfort food - boiled eggs and toast soldiers (sorry, no photo of that) then for dinner, I chose a recipe from this book

 

we don't particularly like parsley, so I left that out, and I didn't have any gherkins to sprinkle on the top, but it was delicious - I'll definitely make this again

 

for pudding, I got the icecream out

 

and topped it with rhubarb which I had cooked in ginger and lemongrass syrup, and crushed up biscuits (the little ones that you get with a coffee)

 

and of course a celebration means something bubbly to drink (Stuart and Alison gave us the glasses for our Silver Wedding)

 

the snowy weather continues - I took these photos yesterday

a confusing ruler - there was 5" of snow on the garden table (better than the 20" of two years ago!)

 

the birdbox looks cute with its snowy hat!

 

the view over the back garden gate

 

icicles on the ivy

 

because of the weather, I have been doing much more sewing than usual.  Yesterday I finished piecing Notes of Love, although I still have a little bit of embroidery to finish. 

I'll be back tomorrow with lots more sewing, but to finish, photos I took of the scented candle on the kitchen table, which we light after dinner to dispel any cooking smells

That's enough, thank you!

The snow finally got serious on Friday night, and this was the view through the front door on Saturday morning

 

we went to St Boswells for a walk yesterday morning.  It was a bit on the chilly side, with flights of snow in the air, so in between photos I wrapped the camera in the ends of my woolly scarf!

I was tempted to dognap this little cutie!

 

this dovecote is on a modern garage roof

 

William's surname is pronounced Marshbanks!

 

an unusual window in an old house

 

a snazzy footprint

 

a very old postbox

 

sheep in the snow

 

our reward - Tunisian lemon cake ...... delicious!

 

it has been snowing all day - Malcolm has cleared the paths and drive three times, having learned that it is much easier to clear an inch or two several times, rather than six inches in one go!  The birds have been back and forward to the bird table - I think they have now eaten all the food!

 

by the end of the afternoon, the front garden looked like this

 

I won't be posting tomorrow, as it's a special occasion for us, but I'll be back on Wednesday to tell you all about it.  To finish today ...... when I was taking photos of the birds, I noticed this rider in the field across the road.  I'm surprised the horse wasn't galloping  to get back to the stable!!

A healthy diet*

When we set out for our walk yesterday, there were just a few flights of snow, but it got heavier as we went, so the camera stayed in the bag, only coming out when we went to the Mill for a cuppa.  We got there just as they opened, so I was able to take a photo of the coffee shop

 

you will be pleased to know that we didn't have a two-scone lunch!  We did share a delicious cheese scone

 

and then instead of a fruit scone, we shared a wonderful slice of banana cake

 

it was still snowing - a conveniently parked car provided a good background to show the snow

 

when we got back home, Malcolm as usual went through the Sunday papers, removing all the junk that comes with them

 

as planned I spent a lot of time sewing on Saturday, Sunday and this afternoon.  The scrappy strippy blocks are coming along nicely

 

and I have started making "crazy" blocks to use up the smaller offcuts

 

I have pieced another block for "Leanne's House", the project that I am working on for Anne

 

I thought I would get all the cutting done for the remaining blocks.  This is part of the next one

 

I was starting to worry as I got to the last two blocks - was I going to run out of fabric?  Not quite - I have a pile of small scraps left

 

I had tidied the studio before Christmas ...... but it is now back in its usual state!

 

although it snowed for most of yesterday, when I headed bback into the house at the end of the afternoon, there was only a dusting in the garden

 

I keep asking Malcolm to buy me one of these trucks - I don't know why he keeps refusing to (perhaps it's because most of the time there is only me in my car, and I get twice the mpg that I would get with a truck!)

 

We were on our way to bed on Friday, when Hayley from next door came round to say that one of her (many) cats was in our garage (the garage window looks out into their back yard).  When Macolm opened the garage door it bolted for a very small space between the wall and some old kitchen cupboards.  When Hayley came into the garage to get the cat, it had vanished, and we assumed that it had run off when Malcolm had gone to open the gate to let Hayley in.  However, come Saturday the cat was still missing, so Malcolm ended up taking the kickboards off the cupboards ...... and there was the cat (sorry didn't get the cat in the photo).  He has left the kickboards off, in case the stupid thing comes back ...... last year it spent a night on their roof, when it was just a tiny kitten!

 

*now for the details of a "healthy" diet, as compiled by my friend Jean and I some years ago.  We know that we have to eat lots of fruit and vegetables to stay healthy ........

breakfast - blueberry muffin

mid-morning snack - carrot cake

lunch - strawberry cheesecake

mid-afternoon snack - beetroot and chocolate cake

dinner - lemon meringue pie

and to wash it all down, lots of wine, as of course it is made with grapes

A new word

I mentioned the other day that I am back in the routine of using the rowing machine ......

 

........ and the cross trainer

 

doing my best to work off the extra Christmas calories.  And of course there is the small matter of the scones which we love ...... this led to me this morning thinking of a new word "sconnage" - composed of scones and tonnage (not that we eat that many scones!).  If I need cheering up as I exercise, I can look at my two little signs on the wall

 

I bought this tin because I liked it (and I know which project I am going to keep in it, more of that another time).    Unfortunately it has biscuits in it, so more calories to work off!

 

I know that Lucie will love this bottle which Malcolm gave me for Christmas, as she loves beach huts.  And the good news for Lucie is that he bought it in the Maritime Centre at Newbiggin, which isn't too far from where she lives, so she could pop over to get one for herself

 

it is now sitting on the bathroom windowsill, along with my other beach huts (Malcolm has a little blue one in his shower room) - I think I showed them to you recently, but I like them so much I'm going to show them to you again!  The roof of the larger one opens to reveal storage space - I keep some of my favourite toiletries in it

 

I enjoyed patch'n'chat this afternoon - it was good to catch up with what everyone has been busy with over the break ....... and of course to have cake (yes, I know, yet more calories!).  We had our favourite apple and sultana cake, but unfortunately Katy was unable to have a slice as she is having to adhere to a very low fat diet, so we assured her that it wasn't really that good and she wasn't missing anything by being virtuous and eating a banana (of course we had our fingers crossed behind our backs to ward off any evil for telling lies!!).  I have a great long to-do list of sewing for the weekend - I hope to achieve most if not all of it, ready to share with you on Monday.  It is forecast to be cold at the weekend, but hopefully we will miss the snow that has also been forecast for some parts of the country.  There have been shock horror headlines about temperatures "plummetting" ........ all the way down to normal temperatures for this time of year!!  Whatever the weather, I hope you all have a great weekend, love Anne

A cover-up

Like many towns, our High Street has several empty shops, most of which have dirty windows and tatty paintwork.  So when before Christmas we saw two of the shopfronts being boarded up, we were concerned that things were going even further downhill.  So when we were in town this morning, we were delighted to see the boarding had been transformed with these amazing pictures.  They are so realistic that we saw someone trying to go in the door of one of them!

 

when we were in Jedburgh yesterday I saw the most wonderful book.  I know that I am having a year of using it up, which means that I should be reading the books I have, not buying more ....... but I just had to have this one.  (remember you can click on the photos to enlarge them)

 

  As soon as I saw this first cartoon, I thought that this is how things will be if Our Dear Leader/The First Haggis/The Great Turnip/Wee Eck gets his way in next year's referendum.  I think you will guess that I am strongly against separation/independence, and if by some misfortune it goes ahead, then I will claim dual nationality (my Mum was English) so I can have both  Scottish and English passports for going through Border Control, depending on which direction I am travelling!

 

would we take advantage of gullible tourists looking for their tartan ......

 

and of course you already knew that we Scots are incredibly talented!

 

there is a great deal of embroidery in the project I am working on for Anne, much of it small and detailed.  These aren't the best of photos, as the blocks haven't been pressed, but you can see that I have done a bit of work on all three

 

to finish, a link to a fabulous blog for you to look at.  I was sent the link by Meredithe, who said that I had to check out Tim's blog ........ yes, it's a male quilter!  His hand quilting is exquisite, do pop over and have a look.

Happy blogiversary to me!

Cue fanfare, roll of drums, a few hip, hip hoorays and a woohoo or two!!  I can't quite believe it, but today is my 4th blogiversary!!  When I started the blog, I am sure that Malcolm thought it would last for a few weeks, then it would either be a disaster, or I would get fed up with it (I think that's why he said to refer to him by name, rather than Dear Husband, Mr Frayed or other such nicknames).  But it has gone from strength to strength, and after a bit of a shaky start, I love doing it.  I am amazed that I still have so much to say ... this is post number 1189!!  In the past, to celebrate I have had giveaways and swaps, but I decided to something different this time, and have Blog Awards.  I drew a rough sketch, and Malcolm turned it into this very stylish award!

 

unlike other blog awards, this one comes with no strings attached ...... you don't have to pass it on to 93 other people, you don't have to tell me 47 fascinating facts about yourself, and you only have to mention it on your blog if you want to!!

So, in no particular order, here are the recipients of my 2013 Blog Awards

The first blogger that I met in the real world was Sarah -  you can read about the wonderful day that we spent with Sarah and Andy here

 

When we were in Sydney last year, we were thoroughly spoiled by Lee, her husband John and their delightful daughters Taylor and Lilly.  You can read about the fun we had here and here

 

Then, when we were in Melbourne, Meredithe and her quilting friends made a great fuss of me, and special mentions must go to Helen and Mrs Mac, who along with Meredithe took me on one of their famous road trips, and an extra mention for Helen for giving me the fabulous birdie border quilt.  You can read more here and here

 

I couldn't give out awards without giving one to the amazing Kate ...... indeed, she is getting three awards!  One for being the most fabulously talented knitting designer, one for her courage in recovering from the devastating stroke which meant the loss of her beloved academic career.  But the most special award is for the best comment ever - you can read here what prompted her to say

Ye gods, I love Ollie. Lucky you

  

There are lots of people who deserve special mentions.  Of course first is Malcolm, who has encouraged me all along the way, who bought me my fabulous camera (and the extra lens) when my interest in photography grew along with the blog.  Next is Stuart, who has always encouraged and supported me, and sends me photos.  Then there is Katy, who is always happy to pose with her work at patch'n'chat, Caroline, who gave me a fabulous birthday present, Maureen, who took the lit-up tractor photo ........ oh dear, I'm starting to sound like onne of those actresses who names everyone she has ever known in her Oscar-winning acceptance speech.  Or I could be like a boy I heard once on the radio, who wanted to say hello to his Mammy, his Daddy, and his wee dug!!  (That's a Scottish dog, not a typo!)

 

I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who reads the blog - especially those of you who have read it from way back in the early days and amazingly are still reading it!  This is the first photo that I posted - amazingly I am still wearing these socks!

   

 

 

I'll be back tomorrow with not just a sewing update, but with a knitting update too!!

 

Happy New Year!

It's traditional in Scotland to be first footed by a tall, dark, handsome man ....... so here, a little bit late, is a first foot for you (he's 6-foot, dark, and as his Mum, of course I think he is handsome!!)

 

so what have I been getting up to during my blogging break?  Well, I turned this .......

 

....... into this

 

when I heated the apricot jam to brush the cake with, before applying the icing, I was left with lots of lovely bits of apricots ....... yum, yum

 

on Boxing Day we went to Melrose for a walk

the Abbey

 

the Youth Hostel

 

it's just as well the shop was shut, or I may have bought this tractor!!

 

oooh - I'm tempted by this fun book!

 

on New Year's Day we went to Jedburgh for a walk.  It's not unusual to see a heron on the river .....

 

...... but it is unusual to see one so high above the water!

 

the rivers have been very full, as we have had so much rain, so we weren't surprised to see this flood gate was shut

 

a large bit of a tree was wedged under the bridge

 

we have had lots of birds in the garden

 

we also had a walk past the donkey sanctuary (I think that was on Sunday!)

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update, including plans to join in with Lucie's using up scraps challenge, and a to-do list like Meredithe.  To finish, some photos taken in the garden this morning

a tiny rose

 

winter jasmine

 

daffodils