frayed at the edge

Warning - a lot of cake!

We were out and about in Northumberland on Wednesday.  We popped into Otterburn Mill for our morning cuppa, and tucked into excellent mince pies - as you can see there was so much filling, it was oozing out!

 

we decided to have lunch at Wallington - as we are NT members we got in for free.  The sun was very low in the sky, creating an unusual effect in the photo

 

 

this is one of the two shops

 

these are just so cute

 

as are these

 

I think Santa's little helpers were visiting, judging by the washing line

 

although we saw his sleigh, we didn't see Santa

 

I did think about making a swag for our gate ........ but I didn't get beyond thinking!

 

lunch was a bowl of hearty vegetable soup

 

was Malcolm remembering when he too had a body like this?

 

on our way home, we called in at Kirkharle, and these little earrings had to come home with me (you can buy them online here)

 

Stuart and Alison are coming for the weekend, for an early Christmas celebration.  We thought this would be a tasty addition to the cheese board

 

can we have a loud fanfare please ........ the 16 pairs of socks are finished!

 

and here is my sock drawer ........

 

........ I won't need to knit any more socks for several years!

 

it's Friday, so that means cake!  We couldn't get a table in any of our favourite cafes in Hawick, as they were busy serving Christmas lunches, so we headed to the coffee shop in the supermarket, where we had the same as last time.  Malcolm had apple pie and cream

 

and I had the (rather sweet) meringue Christmas tree

 

and what better way to finish this year's blogging, than with a photo of the Christmas cake!  As you know, I don't like marzipan, but Malcom does ....... so I put marzipan fruit on the cake, and he gets one with each slice - a good compromise

 

so all that remains to do is wish you a very happy Christmas, and a prosperous New Year

with lots of love, Anne

 

I've never been one ........

...... to shirk a challenge, so when Little Miss Smartypants Meredithe mentioned knitting 16 pairs of socks in 2016, of course I said I would too.  The only problem was that she was on pair 12, and I had knitted one!  However, I bought some sock yarn to knit up when we went to Hampshire - I knew I would get a lot done in the car during the long drives there and back.  This is the first pair ........ I do like to start the second sock at the same point in the colour sequence as the first one

 

but I had just gone past the start point of the first sock when I got to the toe

 

and that part of the sequence didn't appear again until the heel, which was far too much to wind off, so they don't quite match

 

I bought this sock wool in the wool shop in Alton, as Malcolm said he would like a pair

 

I thought I had started in the same place, but as I was knitting in the evening with just the light of a small lamp ...... oops.  Fortunately Malcolm isn't bothered, as you won't see them when he wears them with his winter boots

 

hooray, this pair turned out matching!

 

this pair match down to the heel turn

 

but then the sequence has a slight hiccup

 

this is the latest pair - I should finish this first sock tonight

 

and now for a tale of woe!  When we got home, I popped into Fun2Do in Hawick to get a ball of wool to do another pair for Malcolm.  I started knitting .......

 

........ then there was a slight problem with a break in the yarn

 

but on closer inspection, it looked as if the yarn had been cut, and there were several more ends in the ball.  I took it back to the shop yesterday, and the member of staff who served me was as puzzled as I  was.  She too thought that it looked as if the yarn had been cut, rather than breaking when the ball was being wound.  She is going to send it back to the manufacturer ......

 

........ and I got a replacement ball.  But unfortunately there wasn't another ball of the manly colourway, so I just had to get another girly one!

 

on Saturday, Berwick was invaded by rather a lot of Goldwing motor bikes (they look like a cross between a motor bike and a large armchair!)

 

I promised you handsome young men, but I don't think these chaps qualify

 

nor do these ones

 

here they are ........

 

........ who can resist a well-turned out Minion (well, I can't!!).  The bike owner found it quite funny that I wanted to take photos of his Minions, not his bike!

 

there weren't any bananas on offer for the Minions, but if they were really peckish, they had the choice of burgers, donuts and ice cream ....... which I think are the three major food groups!!

A feast for the eyes!

Yesterday saw us heading south to Morpeth, so that I could spend the day with my lovely quilty chums at Sue's wonderful shop (if you missed my first visit to the shop, you can read about it here).  The shelves are filling up nicely

 

with wonderful lush fabrics

 

these ones are still wrapped, as they had just been delivered

 

the colours of these fabrics are deeper than they look in the photo.  Annie put the three together to make a bag with.  She was promptly asked to do a class in the shop, showing the others how to make the bag!

 

this new charm pack was very tempting!

 

if you are looking for a Christmas present for a quilty friend, then head to the shop to buy one of these colourful tins

 

or perhaps some fun buttons

 

there was so much going on (mainly talking and drinking cuppas!) that I forgot to take photos of what everyone was working on, but I did take this one of Barbara's clamshell project, which just keeps growing

 

in contrast, Lucie's elongated hexies are in lovely muted shades of pink

 

so did I buy anything?  Of course I did!  I do like a nice spotty fabric (or several)

 

and who could resist these cute buttons - not me

 

this tin isn't for a quilty friend ...... it's for me!  I may have to fill it with some emergency chocolate!!

 

we came over to Berwick at teatime ........ and it is so misty that we can't see the water in the dock, so we have no idea if the tide is in or out!

A busy night

As always for our first night back at Abbey Quilters, there was a great deal going on.  Lots of chatting, as we caught up with those members we hadn't seen over the summer break, the queue to pay our dues for the coming year, Sandra our chairman welcoming us back and outlining the syllabus (lots of good talks and workshops).  Then it was my turn, to give a quick introduction to the different methods of doing appliqué, as our challenge block this year is an appliqué one.  I had made up boards with little samples

 

and had taken in a pile of quilts to show the different methods in use

 

my neat and tidy display didn't last long, as after my little talk the members had a good look at the quilts

 

as it was just an ordinary meeting, there was no home baking, just biscuits

 

and then we had the star of the evening, the supremely talented Margaret, with a selection of her stunning quilt tops (they haven't yet been made into quilts)  Some of the angles of the photos are a bit wonky, as the tops were laid out on tables and draped over chairs.  I love everything about this one, the cute bunnies and the beautiful fabrics

 

this is my favourite bunny

 

can you see that this cute little girl has a tiny doll in her pocket?

 

of course I love this wonky, cross-eyed owl!

 

Margaret thought the original pattern of penguins in the snow and ice was a bit boring, so she sent them on a sunshine holiday

 

I think this one stole Dame Edna's specs!

 

she has done several teddy quilts .........

 

....... I need another word to use instead of cute, to describe this one

 

this one is from when she was going the a "bling" phase, with lots of beads and crystals

 

you may recognise this little girl ........

 

....... and this one, as they are similar to the fabulous little girl she gave me for my birthday last year

 

I guess this frog is waiting for the princess to kiss him - he already has his crown for when he turns into a handsome prince!

 

and now for something completely different to finish ........ Maureen had emailed my to ask if I would like a courgette from her garden - and would I like a long one or a round one.  I replied that I would like a long one, as I would probably spiralise it.  However, I won't be spiralising the one she gave me - I have put my reading specs in the photo to give the scale

 

she also gave me a round one ....... I shall have to have a hunt through my cookery books for a recipe for this one - perhaps scooping it out, stuffing it and baking/roasting it

 

I have had a fabulous day out today - I shall tell you about it tomorrow!

The joys of non-planning

I bought this non-planner in the old bookshop in Alresford.  As someone who forgets to put things in her diary, and forgets to check if there actually is anything in the diary, this is the one for me!

 

I think that describes me!

 

I think I am still waiting for some of my good things to arrive ......

 

a girl can never have too many bags, and this one is an excellent addition to my collection.  Maybe I'll keep some knitting in it (I should write that in my non-planner to remind me)

 

when I spotted this little shop in Alton, Malcolm was resigned to fabric coming home with us.  It was a tiny place, selling more dressmaking fabric than quilting fabric 

 

there was the bonus of this beautiful tiled floor - I feel a quilt coming on

 

I was very restrained and only bought four scrap bags, with the money going in a charity collection tin.  I know I have lots of scraps, but these are all colour coordinated, ready to use, saving me the bother of tipping out my scraps and sorting through them

 

I also popped into a curtain shop, with the enticement of a large remnant basket.  I found four pieces of this beautiful heavy weight linen, which altogether measure about a metre.  If I had bought a metre off the roll, it would have cost me £48 ....... but my remnants cost £4, which has to be a bargain!

 

I also bought something in this wool shop, but you will have to wait until next week to see what I got

 

then, when we were in Petersfield, I saw this shop - oh bliss, a proper quilt shop

 

so much loveliness - we were in there for some time!

 

and don't you just love how my purchases were wrapped, in a sheet from an old dressmaking pattern

 

but again I was quite restrained, buying this patterns for fabric bowls

 

and this colourful panel to make an advent calendar with a little pocket for each day (which may have to contain chocolate!)

 

this is just a little bag, maybe about 6" tall.  Malcolm bought it for me at one of the National Trust properties that we visited ........

 

and look at what it contains - a lovely panel to embroider, with instructions at the top and bottom for working the different stitches

 

I just love the colours ....... this might have to sneak in near the top of the to-do list!

 

OK, must dash, as tonight is the first meeting of the new session at Abbey Quilters, and as always I will be picking Maureen up.  I am taking along lots of samples of how to use fusible web and freezer paper for applique, as our challenge block this year is an applique one.  I hope to have some photos for you tomorrow.

I recently teased you .........

 .......... with some details of a project I was working on.  I had looked out this half-completed wallhanging, as I thought it would make a lovely gift for Sue's shop

 

the first job was to trim away the excess wadding

 

then I got out my box of Tilda fabrics

 

and chose this spotty one for the border

 

I layered up the wallhanging, ready for some fmq

 

after quilting, I trimmed the wallhanging

 

and added the binding

 

and here is the finished wallhanging

 

Sue was delighted to be given the wallhanging this morning, and hung it up here temporarily - she will hang it on the door once she gets a sucker to attach it to the glass

 

there were some new faces at today's sewing session, and as you can see from the table, there were all sorts of projects being worked on

 

Lucie had a pile of appliqué blocks ........

 

in all sorts of colours - I am looking forward to seeing what she does next

 

I am always in awe of Margaret's exquisite piecing

 

Barbara was working on clamshell blocks, and she and Lucie put their heads together to work out how the blocks could be put together

 

Frances delights in making ever smaller units for her latest quilt - her work mat shows you just how small these ones are

 

when I took this photo of Ros's hexie flower, there was a debate as to whether the photo showed just how small it is - perhaps you wouldn't realise that those are small embroidery scissors

 

so Ros gave me another one to compare it to.  The smaller one has sides which are a quarter of an inch!!

 

there were some delicious new fabrics in the shop

 

and these are just some of the classes which are available - if you are going to be in Northumberland, do visit the shop (you can find the details in this post).  As soon as you go in the door you will be offered a cuppa, and if your husband is with you, he will be whisked away to relax in the Husbands' Creche, allowing you to shop in peace!

 

I'll be back tomorrow to tell you why we have been spending so much time on the beach recently!

The incident of the logs

Yesterday morning, I pottered about doing various domestic duties.  I hung out the washing (no, you are not going to see a photo of my smalls!) and chopped up some strawberries and cherries, adding some soft brown sugar and a splash of fresh orange juice

 

a quick zap in the microwave, and I had a lovely saucy, fruity base for puddings

 

Malcolm headed out for the morning, and I went for a much later than usual shower.  I had just got dressed and was drying my hair when the phone rang.  It was a delivery driver, asking for directions to the house, as he had a load of logs for Malcolm.  Having told him how to find us (we live in the middle of nowhere on a road that doesn't have a name!), I went out to the front garden to wait for him.  I took the camera with me, and took some photos while I waited. 

The birds haven't eaten all the cherries yet

 

these are little fuchsias that I bought last year for the old sink - I didn't expect them to survive the wimter

 

horses in the field across the road

 

I heard the lorry before I saw it, as it chugged up the hill

 

the pallet of logs, with the trolley jack ready to raise it so it can be wheeled .......

 

........ on to the platform to be lowered to the road

 

and that's where it all went a bit Pete Tong!  Having got the pallet off the lorry, the driver attempted to push it up the drive, but it was too heavy.  So he started to manoeuvre it to the side of the drive ........ and the pallet tipped over, spilling logs all over the road!  (I know you are wondering why the next photos shows a cyclist, I'll tell you shortly).  Being a helpful person, I rushed off to the garage to fetch the wheelbarrow, but Malcolm has it hanging from a chain, and it was too heavy for me to lift down.  When I went back to the lorry, the poor driver was on the phone to his boss explaining that there had been a bit of an accident!  We set about lifting all the spilled logs and stacking them on the drive.  Quite a few of the neighbours drove past - they had to slow down and drive partly on the verge to get past the lorry.  Some stopped to express their sympathy, others glared at me ........ and Marion, who breeds the Jacob's sheep, stopped for a blether, as she hadn't seen me for a while.  This really enraged one of the neighbours, who had already gone past with a sour look, and was then, on her way back, held up for about an extra 30 seconds as Marion reversed out of her way!  Eventually, the logs were shifted and the driver went on his way.  I retrieved the camera and went to step into the road to take a photo ........ and had to jump back as the cyclist whizzed past!

 

fortunately, the driver had managed to right the pallet before he left, and I swept all the debris off the road, in case the crabbit neighbours wanted to complain about that as well  (the one who had a face on her that would have soured milk has obviously forgotten that when they built their house last year, we were inconvenienced on countless occasions as huge lorries delivered their building supplies!)

 

the pile of logs which we had to shift off the road

 

of course Malcolm didn't arrive home until after all the commotion, and was able to spend a leisurely afternoon stacking the logs in the woodstore

Jumping up and down and squealing!

It was a very, very busy few days ........ but the highlight of the quilt show was meeting the delightful Jenny, of the Two Crafty Brownies (there may have been some jumping up and down, and some squealing, and lots of hugs!).  She was in Eyemouth on holiday with her family, and they came over to Kelso on Friday, to visit the show.  I had just popped outside to eat a bite of lunch when I saw them arrive, so after welcoming them, I finished my lunch while Jenny and her parents (her Mum is an avid quilter) went in to the show.  For some reason her husband and son decided that they would rather be elsewhere.  After they had been round the show (and the traders), I joined them in the coffee bar for a chat.  We were so engrossed that her husband had to phone her to say it was time to go!  We already have plans to meet up in Berwick next time she is up here on holiday ...........

 

Jenny brought me presents!  A lovely little pouch, a sample of the ones that she and the other Crafty Brownie, Lucy, hope to be selling soon in an online shop

 

it is so pretty I had to take a photo of both sides.  Of course I shall let you know when they open the shop!

 

I love the spotty lining, and their label is so cute  (and do you like my nail polish?)

 

I love these jumbo paper clips, with buttons covered in their hand-dyed fabrics - they will be very useful for keeping the pages of patterns in order

 

so, now on to the show!  Malcolm came with me on Thursday, and while he was busy running up and down ladders hanging quilts, I was busy getting the kitchen organised.  This is the view from the kitchen through to the coffee bar, after the tables were laid

 

our lovely member Edith brought in flower arrangements which she had done for every table

 

this was my favourite .......

 

........ so of course I chose it when Edith gave all the committee members an arrangement at the end of the show - here it is on the kitchen table

 

I mentioned earlier that we had traders.  This is Katie of Japan Crafts dressed in a traditional kimono

 

oh dear, I succumbed to some of her beautiful fabrics!

 

it has become a tradition that when Stuart and the gang come down to visit us, they bring a box of donuts

 

I may have eaten this one after lunch today!

 

they also brought me these beautiful flowers (Malcolm got beer!)

 

and best of all, Stuart brought us some of his home-grown potatoes, which we had with dinner last night (venison casserole and a medley of veggies)

 

I'll be back tomorrow with photos of some of the stunning quilts in the show!

Sand between my toes!

 I know that I promised you some sewing for today, but that has been bumped to tomorrow!  Instead, join us on the beach for some blue skies, sunshine and fun

 

this is the busiest we have seen the beach, in the two years that we have had the flat

 

Malcolm was wondering why this little dog was sitting so attentively beside him ......... then his owner called over that he was waiting for Malcolm to throw a stone for him, which he obligingly did

 

I didn't throw a stone, so I was ignored

 

gnarly wood, rusty metal and deep shadows - all you need in a photo (well, perhaps Tom Hiddleston might improve it!?)

 

I wasn't really looking for any, but you can't help but pick up sea glass when you see it

 

we walked up on to the promenade, and headed to the café

 

and enjoyed a cuppa sitting in the sun

 

oops ....... when we walked back along the beach the tide had come in, which meant that Malcolm had to scramble over the rocks

 

but I just took my shoes off!

 

do you think it's cold?

 

just slightly chilly?

 

yes it was ....... but it is the first time in many, many years that I have gone for a paddle!

 

while Malcolm had the camera, he decided to take a couple of arty photos

 

he couldn't decide which he preferred, so I have included both of them

 

when I got the camera back, I had an arty moment as well

 

I prefer getting in close for my arty photos

 

as I did with ........

 

........ these two delicate dandelion clocks

 

perhaps if we had more grass I might have pinched this mower, left on a trailer at the side of the road!  (not that I cut the grass any more, since Malcolm retired he has taken over as head gardener)

 

back at the flat, there were dozens of swans in the dock - so many that I couldn't get them all in the photo

A very busy weekend!

It's all systems go, getting everything ready for this weekend's exhibition, but I took some time off yesterday morning, and we went for a walk along the river in Hawick.  We stopped to read this new sign .......

 

....... but during the winter floods they didn't need a gauge to know how deep the river was - it was halfway up the building!

 

the first stretch of the walk was on a broad swathe of grass

 

there is something appealing about thistles ....... as long as you don't grasp them!

 

the roots of these fallen trees are about eight feet tall

 

Malcolm looking out over at the river at the old cauld, which has fallen further into disrepair

 

the water that is diverted into the side channel runs much faster, and in the past would have operated mill machinery

 

I don't mind crossing bridges like this one ....... sturdy, well-built, and most of all ..... low!

 

this is detritus from the floods, trapped by trees on the river bank

 

if I had been standing in this spot when the river was high enough to leave this tangle of leaves and grass, the water would have been up to my chin!

 

now ducks are getting in on the act, showing me their bottoms!

 

we had noticed this car as we drove along past the rugby club, to park to go on our walk, so we stopped on the way back to take a photo.  Why is there a tyre on top of the car?  We have no idea ........ a drunken prank perhaps?

 

the next stop, of course, was for a cuppa and sconnage.  A tasty fruit scone

 

and a very delicious cheese one

 

we laughed when we saw the inside of the lid of the little jar of jam

 

we arrived just as the morning cuppa crowd was leaving, and before the lunch crowd was in, so I was able to take a photo.  I love all the old chairs painted in different colours and covered with different fabrics

 

back home I got the two tray bakes out of the fridge  that I made on Saturday for the exhibition - the entry fee includes refreshments

 

I cut them up and divided them between two containers for the two days ........ and there are plenty of trimmings left over for us!

 

when Malcolm made dinner last night, he was so pleased with it he asked me to take a photo for the blog!  He always makes delicious gravy, but this one was even tastier, as he added a dollop of Maureen's excellent red currant and port jelly

 

hooray, my new car arrived this morning!  Fortunately the transporter driver was able to turn into one of the neighbour's yard, to unload the new car, and load up the old one

 

and here it is, my lovely car (it's a Ford Ecosport, for those of you interested in such things).  I haven't driven it yet, as I didn't want to drive it to Kelso for Monday sewing - I would rather wait and have time to familiarise myself with the controls before I drive it.  But Malcolm had a little drive in it this afternoon, and he said it is very nice to drive

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing!