frayed at the edge

These are two of my favourite things ........

......... shopping and food!  First is a little hare that I bought on our recent trip to Bamburgh.  There were several to choose from, and I chose this little fellow as he was the only one with black markings on ears and feet

 

two things came back to the flat with us from our trip on Monday.  First, a rather smart perpetual calendar

 

and then a tea towel, which will be framed to go with our Australian one.  If you fancy one of these, they are available here

 

then there was more shopping yesterday with Maureen, on our fun day out in Berwick.  First is an addition to our owl collection, which Maureen bought for me as a flat-warming present.  He is now hanging in the hall ready to greet visitors

 

 

these two cards are so lovely they might end up being framed, rather than sent!

 

Maureen bought these lovely creatures - the reindeer will be off to America later in the year as Christmas presents, while the hare is for her

 

I bought a hare too, which escaped into the garden this morning for an adventure

inspecting the flower buds on the clematis

 

checking out a primrose

 

exploring the jungle

 

hoping to find a new friend in the birdhouse

 

when we were in Hawick this morning we popped into the Oxfam shop to see if we could get some old metal knitting needles for Malcolm to use for more of his dritwood creations (more of that tomorrow).  I also picked up two paperbacks

 

we had a look round a new shop, and were delighted to find this for the flat - an excellent bargain at only £3!!

 

and now for the food!  For lunch yesterday, Maureen had a tomato, cheese and chilli relish toasted ciabatta.  She asked how hot the relish was, as she doesn't like really spicy stuff, so was delighted when it came in a little cup for her to add as much as she wanted

 

I had a ham, mozzarella and pesto toasted ciabatta.  As you can see from the photos we swapped my tomato for Maureen's cucumber

 

we popped into the garden centre for a cuppa before we headed for home.   I haven't quite got Maureen trained - she had unwrapped her lemon muffin and taken a bite of it before I could take a photo - so it had to be turned round to hide the missing bit!

 

I chose a slice of gluten free chocolate cheesecake - which seemed to be a bit of a muddle of health/unhealthy eating!  It was delicious, with no hint of cheese, rather it was like a very light chocolate mousse on a thin crunchy chocolatey base

we are going to have a stall at a craft fair in Berwick in June (I'll give you all the details nearer the time).  We will be selling all sorts of driftwood/seaglass/shell creations and we thought we had better get a move on and get things made, so tomorrow I'll show you what we have been doing.

The early morning mist lingered .......

....... on Monday morning when we drove down to Seahouses, making for slightly arty photos of the dock

but the mist was quite swirly, and suddenly this coble was sitting in the sunshine

 

as we headed back up from the dock to have lunch, I paused to take a photo of this memorial

 

lunch, of course, came from the best chip shop, as recommended by The Hairy Bikers

 

haddock and chips, eaten in the fresh air by the seaside ....... it doesn't come any better than that!!  The batter was light and crispy, the fish delicious and the chips excellent - I never manage to eat a whole fish supper (as it is called no matter what time of day you eat it) but I only left a few chips!

 

then it was on to the next part of our day out - a visit to Howick Hall Gardens

 

sadly the house, home to Earl Grey, the creator of the tea of that name, is no longer lived in

 

there is a small visitor centre in the entrance to the house - but I was distracted by the knocker on the front door!

 

do you think the rabbits and hares can read this sign telling them to keep the gate shut!!

the gardens are tended by a small staff and a squad of dedicated volunteers

there is a very pretty church within the gardens

 

with a very imposing doorway

 

with intricate carvings

 

by this time we were in need of refreshment, and headed to the tearoom

 

 

where we ordered (of course) a pot of Earl Grey tea

 

and a scone with jam and clotted cream

 

on the way back to Berwick, even the little point and shoot camera shows of the magnificence of Bamburgh Castle

 

we may have acquired one or two little goodies when we were out and about, but I will show you them tomorrow, as well as telling you about the very enjoyable day out I had today with my lovely friend Maureen!!

Not too extravagant!

So ........ my purchases on Friday.  Although I bought quite a few things, none of them was particularly expensive, and I even came home with money left over!   As you can see, I had my money in a pretty little purse (which was given to me by my lovely bloggy friend Thimbleanna)

 

I have been watching a Sue Spargo class on Craftsy, and am itching to get started on one of her designs, so my first two purchases were related to that.  A scrapbag of all sorts of loveliness, including velvet, wool, lace ribbons and trims ..........

 

....... and some delicious shades of blue to work all the wondrous stitches that I have been watching Sue do, but have yet to attempt!

 

I now have rather a lot of these beads - but at three packets for £2.50, it was hard to resist buying more

 

I have known Pat for years, and almost managed to have a chat with her as she dashed from teaching a workshop to looking after her stall!

 

the fabrics for this Japanese bag are beautiful

 

these are samples of a fabric range - I liked the fresh colours

 

these are buttons, but they may end up as decorations on miniature driftwood Christmas trees

 

I don't have a plan for this fabric yet - perhaps a sewing bag?

 

and of course I bought another Parrs Reel ruler

 

I have already used some of my purchases - but you wil have to come back tomorrow to see what I have done!  Yesterday, as we were heading home, we saw a van advising us that there was an abnormal load ahead.  It turned out to be two loads, vast fan blades for wind turbines

 

we thought there would be problems when the loads reached a tricky double bend in the road.  The first one negotiated it succesfully

 

but the second one had problems

 

misjudging the turn and getting caught against the trees

 

it took a bit of careful inching forward before he made it round the turn

 

the next obstacle was the village of Denholm - we could hardly bear to watch as they squeezed between the buildings

 

fortunately, just after we left Denholm, we were able to turn off and take the back road home, as the journey had already taken twice as long as usual!

 

 

 

A feast for the eyes!

There were some stunning, beautiful quilts at Ingliston today, but of course I have to respect the makers' copyright, and can only show you some general photos

 

generally the stall holders don't allow photography, but when I was chatting to the man on the Parr's rulers stand (reminding him that he had given me a good deal at Harrogate last year when his credit card maching wouldn't work and I didn't have quite enough in cash), he was quite happy for me to take a photo (as long as I waited until he got out of the way!).  I bought another ruler, but you will have to wait until Monday to see it, along with my other purchases

 

I almost didn't have my usual macaroni cheese and chips for my lunch, as they also had lasagne on the menu.  I ate most of the macaroni, but I only ate about half of the chips.  I did say to Maureen to help herself to chips to go with her (healthy) sandwich, but she declined ........ I wish I had her willpower!  (but then I only have that for lunch twice a year at the quilt shows!)

 

I met lots of friends and had a lovely time catching up with them, then all too soon it was time to head off back down the road.  As I mentioned yesterday, we did indeed call in at the Mayshade Garden Centre, where Maureen treated us to a "plate to share" of delicious cakes - we have to have our Friday cake!

 

as the forecast isn't very good for the weekend, we are staying at home, so no doubt I will be out in the studio doing lots of sewing.  Whatever the weather, I hope you have a great weekend, love Anne

 

ps - do let me know what you think of the new look for the blog - I thought it was time to move on from the winter theme!!

Stash busting!

After all the hand sewing that I have been doing, on Sunday I decided to pull some fabrics from my stash to make a couple of quilts for Project Linus.  First up on the design wall was this panel, which I bought at a "bring-and-buy".  As you can see, it is a bit wonky

 

I also thought it was a bit out of proportion, so I cut some off and tried to square it up as best I could.  I was limited by the fact that there was only a small seam allowance on the sides.  I then added borders 

 

as you can see, the bottom still looked decidedly squint, so I added two fleece flowers to try to hide the worst bit

 

I put it aside to be quilted at a later date, and got out the leftovers from Hanna's baby quilt

 

I cut squares, and after a few different arrangements on the design wall, I decided on this arrangement.  As you can see, there is an odd square in the centre, as I was one square short!

 

another search through my stash turned up this pretty floral for borders

 

I thought it still needed something, and cut a trial flower, using the template that I used for the baby quilt

 

I added another three flowers, and I will make a smaller flower to go in the centre square

 

this morning I stitched the second pieced block that I have to make this month for the Aunts' Quilt.  The first job was to make the flying geese.  I marked a diagonal line on all the small squares

 

then chain pieced half of them  to one side of the rectangles

 

I trimmed the corners off

 

and pressed the seams

 

I stitched the remaining squares on the other side, to end up with flying geese - but you will have to wait until my next report to see the finished block!

 

on Sunday I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, this morning I watched The Girl who played with Fire, and this afternoon, when I was stitching the fourth applique Aunts' block, I watched The Girl who Kicked the Hornets' Nest.  These are the original Swedish films, and I had the option of watching them in Swedish with English subtitles, or dubbed into English.  I chose the dubbed versions!

 

I almost forgot to include the stitching I did on Saturday when we were over at the flat.  I finished block five

 

and started block six

 

to finish ........ I had my special cup of tea, made with my special infuser, in another of my special mugs

Art?

I set off for Kelso this afternoon, as I had an appointment at the hairdresser.  From the salon window - the one above "Dorothy"

 

I had a good view of the new piece of street art ....... I think perhaps these men were as puzzled as me as to what part of a great lump of stone, which looks as if it has been scribbled on, is art?

 

it looks completely out of place in front of the town hall

 

and this beautifully presented hotel

 

I was tempted to flag down this JCB and ask the driver to lend it to me so I could shift the lump somewhere else ........ I think it would look better in a park

 

oh dear - did that sound a bit grumpy?!  It's just not my idea of art.  If only I could show you some of the beautiful pieces in this shop

 

and some of the cakes in this shop window could just about qualify as works of art as well!!

 

we were entertained last night by the robin in the birdbath

 

then this morning I watched this little sparrow jumping into the water

 

then out again, not quite brave enough to have a bath

 

in again

 

out again

 

a blue tit arrived to give him some encouragement

 

come on, don't be scared, just jump in and get on with it

 

ah well, maybe next time!

 

you might wonder why I am including this photo of a Tesco delivery van?

 

because I thought it amusing that it was parked in the Sainsbury's carpark.  Did the driver not believe his employers' adverts that they are better/cheaper, and had popped in on his lunch break to do his shopping?!

Eating chocolate at 5am!

No, this is not a bizarre new diet.  We couldn't sleep, wondering what was happening as the votes were being counted in the Independence Referendum, so we got up at 3am to watch tv.  By 5am we were flagging somewhat, so a few squares of chocolate kept us going.  I haven't really mentioned the referendum before, as the blog is my little happy space, where the nasty outside world is not allowed to intrude ....... but you would probably have guessed that I was firmly in the NO camp when I referred to Alex Salmond as the Great Haggis, the Chief Turnip, the Head Numptie etc.  We are delighted that the NO vote prevailed, and our family of nations isn't being ripped apart.

 

OK, back to the happy world of sewing!  At patch'n'chat this afternoon we had just finished our cuppa when a lady approached and spoke to me.  She waited for me to realise who she was ........ but as I hadn't seen a photo of her on her blog, the only clue I had was her accent.  I was delighted to realise that it was Susan, who is over here with her husband visiting family and having a wonderful holiday.  Maureen was entrusted with the camera to take a photo of us

 

we had a lovely chat, then all too soon it was time for me to leave.  Susan had given me a parcel, which I didn't open until I got home.  I was delighted to find this apron with OWLS!!  Thank you very much Susan!

 

....... the gift tag is cute too!

 

now for the photos that I had planned to share with you today!  Out in the garden, we are still getting courgettes, albeit tiny ones

 

the tiny beans aren't maturing

 

the honeysuckle is flowering again

 

and after three years, the everlasting sweetpea has finally flowered!

 

and of course we can't have the Friday post, without the Friday cake!  I don't know what this is called, but it was delicious.  It is made with crushed digestive biscuits, cranberries, marshmallows and condensed milk.  It is made into a log, rolled in coconut, and then chilled in the fridge

 

the weather has been a bit grey and damp for the last couple of days, but hopefully it will improve over the weekend.  Whatever the weather, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne 

Access denied!

Did you miss me yesterday?  The naughty internet wouldn't let me online, no matter how many times I asked nicely.  So let's get on with the weekend report, starting with Friday evening, when I captured the moon

 

on Saturday morning, Malcolm picked Jennifer and Judith up from the train station, and after a reviving cuppa, we walked over to the town.  The locals kindly obliged with photo ops ..... first the seal

 

then the heron - who hogged the limelight by catchinng a fish (click on the photo to enlarge it to see the fish)

 

then later this enormous seagull posed happily

 

we had a walk round the old walls, then Jennifer treated us to lunch (sorry, too busy blethering to remember to take photos).  Next was a walk on the beach - here are the siblings gathering seaglass 

 

after a long walk on the beach, Malcolm treated us to ice creams ..... is there anything better on a sunny afternoon at the seaside than eating an ice cream ?!

 

back at the flat, we got excited when not one, but two, seals appeared in the dock 

 

after dinner, we walked J&J to the station, then on the walk back, Malcolm pointed out these heads

 

J&J, knowing that we have a bit of a seaside theme for the decor in the flat, gave us this wonderful glass plaque

 

to finish - the swallows are still preparing to leave, congregating on the neighbours' roof before swooping round the garden (the windows and our cars are splattered!)

 

back tomorrow with lots of sewing!

 

Time warp

There was a bit of deja vu this morning, when I had to phone the dentist for an emergency appointment as a filling had fallen out - the same one that I had an emergency appointment for in July!  I arrived a bit early for my appointment, so picked up a magazine to read.  A few pages in, I was puzzled by this advert

 

had I been caught up in some sort of time warp, fallen down a wormhole, had Doctor Who whisked me back some years in the Tardis, to a time before BP introduced their current logo, which I think looks as if it was designed by a five-year old with a Spirograph?

 

 

no - it was just a very old magazine!  But the funny thing was, if I hadn't noticed the advert, I might not have realised how old the magazine was, as the main topics were just the same as those of today, including a debate about badger culling (the latest cull started yesterday)

 

my tooth was quickly and efficiently repaired by the hygenist/technician, and there was no charge - I just hope this repair lasts longer than the previous one.  So, now we can get back to the weekend, and the cake I baked.  I had been given the recipe for a chocolate and beetroot cake by Maureen, and she also gave me beetroot from her garden, so I had to make it!  It didn't look very appetising before it went in the oven

 

but once it was baked and had a delicious chocolate topping added, it looked much tastier

 

I used some of the cake to make pudding for our visitors on Sunday - our lovely neighbours, the shoe shop owners.  I made a strawberry compote

 

a little compote in the bottom of the bowl, then a square of cake on top - yummy!

 

we saw a large ship waiting for high tide to come into the dock, so we hoped our visitors would arrive in time to see it, but they arrived just too late to see the pilot boat heading out ........

 

........ to guide the ship in, coming round past the lighthouse

 

this ship was narrrower than previous ones, so negotiated the opening without a problem

 

but it was much longer, taking up a long stretch of the dock.  As usual lots of people had stopped to watch the ship docking

 

and also as usual, the swans had gone off in a huff!!

 

the shadows in this photo look as if they are cast by the sun, but it is actually a light outside at nighttime.  The room was dark, but the camera decided to make it look somewhat orange!

 

we went out for a walk after lunch today - and look what we found ....... sloes!  Not very many, but enough to make sloe gin!

 

we also collected a bag of pine cones

 

and a big bunch of honesty, which will of course look much better when the outer layers come off, revealing the silvery paper innards

 

the swallows have taken to congregating on the lovely neighbours' roof

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some very cute little birds - and some sewing!

 

Birthday boy!

Happy birthday to Malcolm, who despite having been "retired" for nine years, still thinks he is 29 (same as me!).  It's very difficult to get a good photo of him - he always manages to pull a face or blink at the wrong moment ....... I took this one this morning when we were out for a walk, and he looks as if he is half-asleep

 

I gave him a gift voucher for a two day stained glass course, which I got from here.  I hope he enjoys it as much as he enjoyed his dry stone walling course.  I am also taking him out for dinner tonight to the tapas restaurant in Berwick, which we are looking forward to.  We will be able to walk to and from the restaurant, which is a pleasant change from going out in Hawick, when either one of us can't have wine with dinner, or we have to get a taxi.  We have walked off the calories in advance, going for a walk along the other side of the river.  First, we had to stop and admire some ducks

 

and a robin, who was a bit shy

 

then the walk began in earnest, with yet another view of the new and old road bridges

 

and the railway bridge

 

we had a good view across the river to Berwick Castle

 

and a rather grand house, half hidden in the trees

 

I let Malcolm hold this dead crab for the photo!

 

this little boat is often tied up in the dock - I think it takes people on sightseeing trips up the river

 

there were several herons on the river

 

as we walked up a path to take us back to the road, we passed an old weathered fence post with rusty wire.  But does it look better from this side

 

or this one?

 

I have been getting on with as much sewing as possible, to keep up with Meredithe and her stitching contest ....... I'll tell you more tomorrow, as right now I am off to titivate for our night out!!