frayed at the edge

Home from home!

Today's post comes from Falkirk, as we are visiting Stuart!  It was a lovely bright sunny morning for our drive up - this photo was taken (from the car) on the outskirts of Edinburgh - as you can see there is still some snow about

 

 

This is one of the 'Five Sisters', which you can read about here - it is very interesting - did you know that Scotland was once the major oil producing country in the world?

 

 

I couldn't resist taking this next photo - if only this was MY Malcolm's business

 

 

You may remember some time ago I posted a photo of Stuart's fish, Charlie.  Sadly, he has gone to that great fish bowl in the sky!  However, there are two new fish to enjoy the antics of ..... corydoras catfish

 

 

And just to add to tonight's cute quotient, I have two photos of my friend Lorraine and her seven-month old bearded collie, Sophie.  She is a rescue dog, who has already had several homes, but as you can see, she loves her new home.....

 

 

Lorrraine may only live about ten miles from us, but she has had quite a bit more snow .....

 

 

We'll be heading back home tomorrow - no doubt I'll spend the journey looking for photo opportunities - but as I've said before, why didn't the road builders look at the scenery and put in lay-bys for us to stop in!!

 

Normal service resumed

Yes, it was back into the routine this morning, and the house is now clean and tidy again!  Then it was off to Borderland Fabrics for an afternoon of patch'n'chat .... and of course cake!!  A choice of two again this week - lemon drizzle and gingerbread (yes, I had a piece of both)

 

 

But between chatting and cake-eating, I did manage to do some sewing ..... I have been working on my Angel Stitcheries, and have now completed three of them

 

 

 

 

I have also been working on another wallhanging, but I can only show you a little bit .... you will have to wait until next Tuesday's tutorial to see the whole thing!

 

I hope you all have a great weekend, love Anne

 
 

  

Out to lunch (again)!

We continued our discombobulation today, when we went to Morpeth to see Jennifer.  Of course, this meant going out for lunch ........  fortunately one our favourite places has just reopened after their winter hibernation  - Meldon Park .... you can read more about it here.  We were made very welcome in the beatiful coffee shop, and it was hard to choose what we wanted for lunch, as we were so busy admiring our surroundings

 

 

and the lovely goodies for sale

 

 

After much deliberation, Jennifer decided to have quiche, Malcolm a steak and onion sandwich and I chose the corned beef pie.  It was all absolutely delicious .... and we were so busy chatting I forgot to take a photo of the food (which of course means we will have to go back and do it all again!).

After lunch we had a walk in the gardens.  On the left of this photo is the coffee shop, and on the right the greenhouse ......

 

 

...... where this lovely tulip was one of the colourful spring plants for sale

 

 

Do you think this wonderful assortment were planning to have a picnic?

 

 

I had a lovely surprise in the post this week - a cd from the amazing Helen McCookerybook

 

As Helen often talks on her blog of her early days as a punk, I think I was expecting something raunchy and raucous ....... but I would describe the music as a mix of folk and country.  I am listening to the cd in the car and really enjoying it.  Thank you very much Helen, for your lovely gift.

I was also delighted with the card that accompanied the cd

it's an illustration by Dan Andreasan, called 'Felicity relaxing with her favourite books'.  Do visit Helen - her blog is an eclectic mix of subjects and she also has a link to her fabulous illustrations.  

It will have to be back to our routine tomorrow, as the house has been sadly neglected and is in need of some tlc- but of course being back in that routine also means that in the afternoon I will be at patch'n'chat .... which could mean a photo of cake tomorrow!
 
 

 

 

 

  

These are a few of my favourite things!

I've been tagged by Shannon of Free Spirit Knits to tell you ten simple things that make me happy .........

1. Of course I have to start with Malcolm and Stuart .... my family always comes first.  This is us on our wedding day in 1986.

 

2. My home .... I get to see this every morning when I open the curtains!

3. Books - I love to read and need to have a book within easy reach at all times!

4. Orchids - I have a collection on the kitchen windowsill - this one has just started flowering

5.  Friends - this are a wonderful group of friends I had in Indonesia .... as you can see, I had been teaching them patchwork!  I have to admit that's me with the grey hair - now, thanks to my marvellous hairdresser, I am a stunning blond .....

6. My studio - I took this photo yesterday ........ it was snowing and miserable out, but I was happy working on my latest projects

7. Travel - I enjoy holidays so much it's hard to pick a photo ...... this is Pollensa in Majorca

8. Food - I am definitely a 'live to eat' person, and while looking for a holiday photo, I also found a wonderful food picture, also taken in Pollensa

9. Of course any list of things that make me happy has to include wine ... I don't have any great knowledge about it, so if all else fails, I pick a bottle with an interesting label!

10. To end, the most simple pleasure known to woman ..... chocolate!!

 

Now I'm supposed to tag ten wonderful women .... but I find it so hard to choose (I can't help it, I'm a Libran!) ....... so, what I've decided is ........ if I regularly comment on your blog, and you would like to tell us of your ten things, then consider yourself tagged!!
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
  

A grand day out!

After some debate because of - yes, you've guessed - the weather, my friend Lorraine and I decided to head to Edinburgh today for the Spring Quilt Show.  I would love to show you photos of the stunning quilts, but that's not allowed, so here are some general views of the show

 

yes, men are allowed!

 

 

it's hard work shopping - a rest is sometimes required!

 

I was very good and didn't buy any fabric!  Of course that doesn't mean I didn't buy anything at all ....... I couldn't resist this

 

 

And this is a wonderful book, with so many projects that have promptly gone on the to-do list

 

I think I know what I'll be doing in the studio tomorrow afternoon!

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ....... love, Anne

 

Not just one cake .......

....... but two!  Yes, we had two wonderful cakes this afternoon, although this week Annette didn't bake them, but bought them from a wonderful bakery in Jedburgh.  First we had lemon drizzle cake

 

followed by a wonderful traybake with chocolate on the bottom and coffee icing on the top (this was a 'healthy eating' cake, as the bottom layer was made with porridge oats!!)

 

I was working on the chickens again (yes, that's a very long term project), but I was also giving some advice to the lovely JoJo, who had come for the afternoon with her Aunt Morag.  She is just starting to sew, and it was lovely to see a teenager with enthusiasm for learning a craft!

 

There has been progress this week on reducing clutter.  On Monday I went through all my jumpers and cardigans, and sorted out a large pile (with some belts and a scarf as well) to go to a charity shop

As Malcolm was going into Hawick on Tuesday, he said he would hand the stuff in for me.  When he went into the shop, there didn't seem to be a member of staff about, but a customer came over to say that the lady had just popped out to bring a donation in from someone's car and he was minding the shop, and that on behalf of the staff he would say 'thank you very much'!!

You may remember in an earlier post I said that part of the decluttering plan was to finish things, and that I had looked out two cross stitch kits that I had started many years ago.  Having done some work on the map of Hampshire, I put that aside to do some of the English Garden Sampler.  I have finished the lettering in the centre, which took a long time, as it is worked over a single thread, and each letter has five shades of green!

So having finished the lettering, last night I sorted out the threads I need for the next section - there were only a few to choose from .......

and just a little bit of chart to follow ........

The little bit in the centre is the part I am now working on (the black strips that you can see are magnets, which hold the pattern on a metal board)  As you can see from the diagram on the left, as well as cross stitch, there is also drawn thread work.  The list on the right shows the threads that have to be 'blended' ...... where instead of the usual two strands of thread, you have to use one strand of each of two threads.  When I was sorting out the threads last night, there was one symbol that I just couldn't find - I went over and over the list (there was much muttering of rude words!!) .... then I found another section that listed the symbols for 'beads' .... yes, once I have worked all the cross stitch, then I have to sew on beads as well (I'm starting to remember why this kit was consigned to the cupboard all those years ago!!!!)

Finally, thanks to Sal for telling me that the little yellow flowers in yesterday's post are winter aconites.  If you love fabrics, and especially vintage fabrics, then do visit Sal's blog.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love, Anne 
 
 
 
  
 
 

More chat than patch!

As usual, I went to Borderland Fabrics this afternoon for patch'n'chat, but there was decidedly more of the latter!  I was working on the last stage of the Linus quilt - handstitching the binding on the back of the quilt

 

 

I quilted it with sunflowers - which you can see more clearly on the back of the quilt

 

 

Of course, Fridays at patch'n'chat means cake - this week it was one of Annette's wonderful sponges - they are so light they almost float off the plate!!

 

 

I thought I would give you an update on my efforts to ....

 

I keep my shoes on a shelf in the bottom of the wardrobe, but for some reason several pairs were still in their boxes, which obviously took up a lot of space, so ......

The shoes are now on the shelf, with space left over and the boxes and paper have gone in the recycle.

This is the bed in our guest bedroom.  The log cabin quilt is one of the first quilts I made, and the pink and grey one you can just see at the bottom of the photo is one I made for my Mum many years ago.  Do you like my Winnie the Pooh?  It is actually a hot water bottle - Malcolm gave him to me for Christmas years ago!  He is sitting on a quillow that I made for Malcom's Mum - also many years ago - if you look closely you can see it is made with the same fabrics as my Mum's!!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Love, Anne

 

  

A busy day!

Friday morning is always busy, as I rush about getting the housework done, before I head off to Borderland Fabrics for a busy afternoon sewing (and chatting and drinking tea and eating cake .... more about the cake later).   However, I did find the time to take photos of this lovely primula, which is flowering on a windowsill

 

the flowers are a beautiful colour

 

 

the delicate markings on the petals are lovely

 

In contrast, my yucca is getting bigger and bigger!  It sits there, ready to stab anyone foolish enough to get too close .....

 

 

This afternoon I was doing a bit more work on the quilt I started last year, which I am going to give to Project Linus.  I forgot to take a photo (sorry!), so here is one I took earlier!

 

 

Fortunately I didn't forget to take photos of the cake - we had a choice of two today

 

a border tart - very sweet, but delicious

 

 

a lovely, rich, moist fruit cake

 

Oh dear .... I succumbed and had a piece of each!!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love, Anne

 

Oh no - I think I'm boring!!

 

 

 

I had a lovely surprise yesterday ..... Mattenylou of On Larch Lane has given me an award!!  I am delighted to accept.  I have mentioned before that we have a connection - Mattenylou's Granny was born in Hawick!  There are three conditions attached to the award:-

1st  I have to say who gave me the award and put in a link to her blog (done)

2nd  Pass the award on to seven other bloggers, putting in links to them.  (Will do so in a minute)

3rd  Tell you seven interesting things about myself - oh dear, I am struggling to think of seven things!!  Oh well here goes ....

 

1.  I was born and brought up in Scotland - indeed I have spent most of my life here, and if you ask me my nationality I will say Scottish ..... but my Mum was English, my Great Granny was Welsh, and if you go a bit further back in the family tree, there's a bit of Irish as well, so really I'm British!!

2. When I was at primary school, there were another three Annes in my class.  At secondary school, there were yet another three Annes, and when I started work - yes, you've guessed, there were another three Annes.  And now I have two friends called Anne, so I need to find another one!

3. I love to read.  As a child I worked my way through the childrens' section of the library, then started borrowing my Mum's card to take out adult books ... and no one ever stopped me!

4. I like dogs, but I don't like cats (they give me shivers).

5. Brad Pitt just doesn't do anything for me (but as for George Clooney .....).

6. Oh dear - now I'm struggling to think of another two things, does this mean I'm boring!  OK, it's embarrassing to admit this, but I like country music - anything from Hank Williams to Sugarland via Dolly Parton.

7. Last one - I can do this!!  When I was at school, I fractured the knuckle on my ring finger when I was playing badminton!  This was back in the days of wooden rackets.  I was running backwards to play a backhand shot and had my left hand out to keep my balance.  I managed to hit myself!!  My poor knuckle has never been the same - there is a very slight bump on it! 

Now for passing on the award.  First I will repeat what Mattenylou wrote to me - if you want to accept the award, but don't want to do the seven things list and pass it on to seven other bloggers, then that's fine with me - I appreciate that people don't always have time to take part in these things.  It was hard to decide whom to pass it on to, so here, in no particular order, are seven blogs which I have found inspiration from

Sarah of Circles of Rain.  Sarah's many interests always make me want to try new things, and of course we met in the summer and spent a wonderful day together.  It was through her blog that I found the next two recipients

Anairam of fra(a)iing .  When I saw the name of this blog on Sarah's sidebar, of course I had to click on it because of the similarity of blog names, and I'm really glad that I did, as Anairam's journal pages and drawings have encouraged me to draw more

Tracy of Hey Harriet.  Tracy of course is the tireless organiser of Shadow Shot Sunday.  I have had so much fun looking for shadow shots, and I look around me much more when I'm out and about, as shadows appear in the most unlikely places

Helen of  Busy bee Studio.  Helen has a cornucopia of gorgeousness on her blog, and I try to emulate her style - though not her cushion addiction!

Tracy of Pink Purl.  Tracy is an American transplanted to Norway.  She now has three blogs, with gorgeous goodies, beautiful photos and her latest venture - delicious food!

Sally of Sal's Snippets.  I've only recently discovered Sally blog, but I'm hooked!  She makes all sorts of wonderful things - it's amazing what she can produce in twenty minutes!

 Shannon of Free Spirit Knits.  Again, I've only recently discovered Shannon's blog, but her 'reduce clutter, create space' has really inspired me to sort out the clutter in my studio (and in my head!)

 

Of course, now that I have done the list, I've started thinking, oh I should have included ......... maybe I'll create my own award to give to my favourits bloggers!!

 

After all that typing, I think we need a photo!  I took this one when we were on our way home from visiting Jennifer today ...

 

Sadly, we didn't see any elves!

 

ps, is there anyone out there who is also on Typepad, who can tell me how to add my award to my sidebar ...... I've been trying to add things to the sidebars, but it all ends in failure!!

 

  

 

 

Spring is in the air!!

It has been wonderful this week to get back into our normal routine, after the disruption of the last few weeks.  So we headed into Hawick this morning for our usual Thursday cuppa and a scone, which is my treat!    I had a pot of tea, and Malcolm had this magnificent cappucino

 

 

When we got home, Malcolm spotted these snowdrops peeking through the gravel in an old half-barrel which sits next to the front door .....

 

 

and this little alpine in one of our  wooden planters bravely putting out some new leaves ....

 

 

If that's not enough evidence that spring is (or might be) in the air, then surely this lovely card from Lindsay, inviting me to her next Woolgathering, should convince you ...

 

 

Not quite persuaded?  Then my other post surely means that it's nearly spring ...

 

.... no, I'm not entirely convinced either!!

 

I spent the afternoon in the studio, working on next week's Tuesday Tutorial - all I am going to say is that it involves chocolate!!

Then it was time to make dinner, which meant that I could try out this fabulous new knife that Malcolm bought for me on Tuesday

 

So what did I make ..... aubergines stuffed with spicy lamb and feta - this is it ready to go in the oven

 

We also had a side salad (mine is the one without tomato - while I like cooked tomato, I just don't like raw tomato in a salad!) 

As you can see, the salad is garnished with  strawberries - I don't usually buy foreign strawberries in winter, but Jennifer and her husband are coming to visit on Sunday, and I need strawberries for the starter ....... I'll tell you all about the meal on Monday!!!