frayed at the edge

Jumping up and down and squealing .......

....... when I saw my friend Alison's quilt this morning, and found not one, not two - but three rosettes on it ...... one of which declared that she is this year's champion!!  (and she got a 'judges choice' too!)

 

 

The lighting wasn't very good, so the photo doesn't do the quilt justice.  At first glance, it looks like a painting, and the more you look, the more detail you see.  If you click on the photo, it should enlarge).

 

Alison wasn't the only Borders quilter to do well this year.  Kay (you can read her blog here and see her brand new website here) won rosettes for two of her quilts

 

 

I had a rather funny moment this afternoon, when someone called my name and said hello ....... it was one of those awful moments because I just didn't recognise her.  But it was Kay - up until today, we only knew each other through our blogs and emails, but she recognised me from photos on my blog, whereas I hadn't seen a photo of her!  It was lovely to meet her, and maybe we'll get organised to meet for a cuppa soon.

 

Other winners from the Borders were

 

Ann

 

 

Catherine

 

 

Brenda

 

 

Barbara

 

 

Domenica

 

So ........ did I buy anything?  Well of course I did!!  My excuse for buying these wonderful Anni Downs fabrics is that I don't have many small prints in my stash - and I do have two of her excellent books!

 

 

I also bought these two packs of cheap fat quarters  from Crafts and Quilts to make bags with

 

 

 

 

As I do every year, I picked up an entry form for next year's show ........ maybe this time I'll make a quilt!!

 

I hope you all have a wonderful 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!

W'otter lot of fun!

When we were going out on Saturday morning, I realised that I didn't have a camera in  my bag, so I picked up my small one, which was next to the door, rather than go back for the big one.  Of course, this guaranteed that there would be a fabulous photo opportunity, which I really needed the big one for!   You have probably guessed from today's title ...... yes, there were two otters playing in the River Teviot.  I had never seen otters before, other than on tv, so it was wonderful to be able to watch them .  Unfortunately, they were so quick to dive again each time they surfaced, that the photos aren't very good .....

 

 

 

 

 

It turned a bit chilly on Saturday afternoon, so Malcolm lit the stove - the first time this autumn

 

 

Yesterday morning we headed over to the village of Eckford for a craft fair.  There were lots of stalls, but as it was so busy I wasn't able to take photos ...... except for this one of the wonderful plate of home baking that we enjoyed with our cuppa (we didn't have any lunch after feasting on the cakes - Malcolm manfully ate both pieces of scone, in support of my efforts to eat less!!)

 

 

I didn't buy any of the crafts on offer (as I make most of them myself) ....... but I did buy this wonderful yarn, from a lady who was selling off some of her stash.  It is pure silk

 

 

 

It is very windy today (the tail end of Hurrican Katia) - you can see that the grass on the verge has been flattened

 

 

The poor horses in the field across the road were thoroughly miserable, standing with their backs to the wind

 

 

The view over to the Mintos was hazy with all the rain in the air

 

 

It was difficult to take photos of the birds today, as the feeders were blowing about - in the end only two photos were usable

 

 

 

On the ground this little sparrow was making his feelings clear, shouting at anyone who would listen!

 

 

Fortunately these roses are sheltered, and have survived the wind

 

 

Monday means the knitting update ...... I have finished the first sock and made a good start on the second

 

 

To finish ....... this is my 800th post!!  So of course that means a little giveaway.  Leave a comment anytime between now and Friday (you can comment every day if you want!) and the random number picker (aka Malcolm) will choose not one, but two winners ..... one in the UK and one abroad.  I have no idea yet what the giveaway will be - I shall have to delve into my various stashes!

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'

 

 

Then and now

It's hard to believe that it is 25 years since we got married - the years have just flown by!  We were living in Hampshire at the time, and instead of weather like today's, which is a bit chilly, we had a beautiful sunny day.  Stuart was seven (it was second time around for both of us), and I am sure he would have preferred for us to wait a few weeks, so that he could then have had a day off school!  Looking back at the photos, I was amazed to say how blond Stuart was, and how dark Malcolm and I were (although mine had a little help!).  Now I'm blond, Malcolm is silver and Stuart is very dark!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think Malcolm would attempt this now!!

 

On Saturday, we went up to Falkirk to go out for dinner with Stuart and Alison.  Just before we went to get changed to go out, Stuart opened a bottle of fizz

 

 

 

and cheers from me too!

 

I just remembered at the last minute before we went out that I had to have my photo taken with my new dress on, so Stuart took this hasty photo

 

 

 

We went to Casa Espanola (I would have put in a link to their website, but it is somewhat out of date).  Sorry there is no photo of the outside of the restaurant, but it was absolutely pouring down, and we had a mad dash from the taxi to the door!  We were a little bit early, so had a drink in the bar, which of course has a Spanish theme

 

 

The food was fabulous, but it would take so long to show you all of it, I will just share my meal ...... calamares, venison and lemon meringue pie!

 

 

 

 

 

I still had the bill for the meal we had after our wedding, so I got it out to compare with Saturday's bill ....

 

We then went for a drink in La Banca (the building used to house a bank!), where we shared a very nice bottle of the house red

 

 

 

Stuart and Alison gave us two lovely presents ...... a very striking glass hotplate and gorgeous unusual crystal glasses (which are full of fizz at the moment!!)

 

 

 

We have had a lovely day today, with our cards on the mantelpiece ......

 

 

........ and lunch out - sorry didn't take photos, but it was wonderful lentil and bacon soup, then when we were lazing about this afternoon, I realised that we hadn't had a photo taken together ...... so I quickly set up the camera on a pile of books on the coffee table, set the timer, and threw myself onto the sofa beside Malcolm (where did those double chins come from!!)

 

 

To end ...... please tell me how my gorgeous little blond boy of 25 years ago turned into this joker??!!

 
 

The missing link!

I was finishing stitching the binding on the baby quilt last night when - shock horror - I realised that I had missed a bit of quilting.  You can see it here on the back of the quilt

 

 

So I nipped out to the studio before we went out this morning, to fill in the gap

 

 

My sewing machine plugs into a socket under the table, so my knees were complaining when I crawled under the table twice in a few minutes!

 

 

As I went back to the house, the sun was shining on the garden seat, so I paused to take a photo of the now finished quilt

 

 

We usually go out for lunch on Wednesdays, going somewhere local on knit'n'natter days, but heading out and about on the other Wednesdays.  Yesterday we had planned to go to Robert Smail's Printing Works in Innerleithen, but fortunately Malcolm checked the opening times and found that it is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  So we decided to go today.  As the premises don't open until noon, we thought that we would head to Peebles for lunch.  It got off to a good start, with a very stylish cup for my tea

 

 

and Malcolm was pleased with his flat white

 

 

Then Malcolm's lunch was put on the table - poached eggs and bacon on a muffin, with hollandaise sauce - perfect!

 

 

Next, mine arrived - oh dear ...... this is supposed to be chicken soup with herb dumplings

 

 

You may think the three white blobs are generous pieces of chicken ..... no, that's the dumplings!  I could have bounced them off the floor, they were so dense.  There was a generous helping of shredded chicken, but other then that there was a very small amount of diced carrot (which was uncooked) and a bit  of spring onion.  I ate the chicken, but when it came to supping the liquid, it had so little taste, I gave up.  After complaining, the waitress did return to apologise and give the chef's excuses.  She asked if I wanted anything else - I said no, I would rather they just didn't charge for the soup, so that's what happened.  I was very disappointd, as I had pictured a steaming bowl of traditional chicken soup, with lots of carrot, onion and rice, topped by fluffy dumplings.  (the waitress did also say that they had taken it off the menu)

However, a spot of retail therapy soon cheered me up, especially when I got a jam funnel ...... no more messy jars when I make jam

 

 

Then it was on to the printworks

 

 

We spent well over an hour having an excellent guided tour - including some hands on fun, preparing a line of type to have our own bookmarks printed

 

 

We learned that upper and lower case are called that because they were in upper and lower cases!

 

 

After learning how to set the type - from left to right and upside down! - we saw the machines still used to print all manner of things including calendars, which are based on old designs (they have full records of everything the firm ever printed)

 

 

They used to print a weekly newspaper, with each page taking 13 hours to typeset.  Now they print one edition a year.  The adverts are printed on the front, so you can't read the news without buying the paper!   (I love the use of the word 'effective' in the header!)

 

 

Do look at the link, as it is fascinating reading about the firm, which was owned by three generations of the same family, before passing to the National Trust 25 years ago.

To end our day out, we went for a cuppa, and to make up for the disappointment of my lunch, we had the most delicious treacle scone

 

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!

A grand day out!

On Saturday morning, I headed off down the road to Chesters, for the Southdean Show.  I soon had my little table set up in the marquee

 

 

My friend Lorraine had a table laden with all sorts of delicious goodies

 

 

We had some entertainment watching the cask of beer being tapped

 

 

The beer is brewed here in the Borders - 'from plough to pint'.  You can read more here.  I didn't have any - not just because I was driving, but because I just don't like beer!!

 

 

However I couldn't resist the wonderful aromas coming from the barbecue, and had a naughty but nice roll, with a rasher of bacon, a sausage and onions (and brown sauce!!)

 

 

It wasn't just humans who were enjoying the afternoon ...... I could just have popped this little Westie into my backpack and brought him home

 

 

Outside, some brave volunteers were taking turns to hold this beautiful eagle owl.  He is a young one, and probably only half the size of the two that we see at the Waterwheel Cafe

 

 

I did very well with my sales table ....... and then the afternoon got even better when I went in to the hall after the judging of the industrial section.

 

1st and 2nd for the shawl and baby sandals

 

 

2nd and 3rd for the lavender bags

 

 

1st for my lap quilt

 

 

highly commended for the cushion

 

 

2nd for the bunting

 

 

1st for my melon, pear and strawberry jam

 

 

1st for 'best photograpic accident'

 

 

2nd for 'best photographic accident'

 

 

1st for portrait

 

 

3rd for portrait

 

 

1st for 'animal magic'

 

I won two other awards - but they didn't involve any skills!

 

1st for an old gadget - this was my Dad's

 

 

2nd for a photo of me as a baby with my Mum

 

At the end of the afternoon, when the awards were presented ........ I was delighted to receive two trophies!

 

 

 

the photography trophy

 

 

the Industrial trpohy

 

So, altogether, it was indeed a grand day out!!

 

A change of venue

This morning's post brought another exciting parcel from foreign lands .......

 

 

....... if you need another clue, this is the corner of the customs form

 

 

I was very excited to receive the parcel, as it contained the very first thing that I have ever bought on ebay!!  After wrestling with lots of sticky tape and bubble wrap, I finally reached the contents

 

 

Are you scratching your head, wonderfing what it is?  Here it is set up on the edge of the worktable

 

 

It is a ball winder, which winds the yarn from the swift

 

 

This is the start of the ball

 

 

And this is the end result

 

 

I stuck the label back on, so that I know what yarn it is when I use it

 

 

Now we come to the reason for the cake and the change of venue.  We couldn't have our usual Friday afternoon patch'n'chat at Borderland Fabrics, as there was a group visiting the shop, so I offered to host it in my studio.  Of course we can't have Friday afternoon without cake, so I got out my ancient, old M&S book 'Cooking for your Freezer', by Mary Berry.  The cake is so easy to make, even I can do it!!

 

 

You will need 150g of currants, 150g of sultanas, 150g of brown sugar, finely grated rind of 2 oranges, 300ml of hot tea, 275g self raising flower and 1 egg.

Put the fruit, sugar and orange rind in a bowl and pour over the hot tea.  Leave to soak overnight.  Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin with greased greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 150 degrees C, 300F gas mark 2.

Add the flour and egg to the fruit mixture.  Mix well, turn into the tin, then back for 90 minutes.  Leave to cool on a wire rack

 

Malcolm and I had a slice with our morning cuppa - purely to make sure that it had turned out ok!

 

 

The cake was declared to be very good by my three guests ...... Tricia, who was handquilting her gorgeous sampler quilt

 

 

Katy, busy with tiny foundation-pieced blocks

 

 

Anne S, with yet another of her tiny log cabin squares

 

 

I made a start to machine quilting a baby quilt (I'm supposed to have it finished for next Saturday!)

 

 

 

I've got all my things packed ready for tomorrow's show ....... including the photography cup, which has been on the mantlepiece for the last year.  Wouldn't it be good if it came back home with me!!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

Slightly damp!

When I looked out the window when I got up, it was a bit damp, but not raining, so I went out as usual.  I hadn't even got to the garden gate when it started to rain, but I thought it was only a little drizzle, it wouldn't last.  But it did last and got heavier and heavier, so I turned for home after a mile.  However, I did take some photos on the way (such dedication to you, dear readers, taking photos in the rain and then tucking the camera back under my jacket!)

This field is usually full of sheep, bu today it was full of seagulls ..... I have never seen so many in one place ....... then suddenly a cloud of them rose into the air

 

 

This toadstool has been nibbled on

 

 

as have these two smaller ones

 

 

The garden has been full of birds again - it is very entertaining to watch them ...... although sometimes they have to be told off for fighting, as there is plenty of food for all of them!  This adult robin has been coming to the garden for two or three days now - but it has been very difficult to get a photo, as he bobs about all over the place - just as you get him in focus, he has hopped off again.  However, I finally managed to snap him this morning

 

 

 

 

This collection of birds were well behaved, occasionally swapping perches as they tucked in

 

 

This little one decided to forego food, and shelter from the rain under the roof of the bird table

 

 

This morning, I went to visit my friend Ali, who was having an open day, selling lots of lovely fabrics and threads.  Also there with goodies was  Lindsay.  Did I buy anything - of course!  From Ali I got two lovely  bundles of fabrics and trims - new cushions for the lounge?

 

 

From Lindsay, some little charms

 

 

colourful bits for needle felting/embellishment

 

 

and some excellent, very sharp snips ..... with their own little hand quilted cover

 

 

When Malcolm was heading out this morning, I jokingly asked him to buy me a present ..... and he did!  He had his lunch here, and came home with two packets of gorgeous woollen fabrics

 

 

I finished the shawl last night (hooray) and blocked it this afternoon - I will leave it to dry for a couple of days

 

 

 

I sorted out all my stuff for my sales table - we have to take our own tables, as the village hall ones will be in use. As I can only fit a small table into my car, I thought I had better check that everything fitted on it

 

 

To finish ..... there was a bit of a power tool failure when Malcolm was drilling the holes for the string in this shopping list holder - the fabric caught in the bit and got somewhat mangled!