frayed at the edge

Non-stop fun!

Well ........ it was fun except for getting up at 6am on Saturday!  It was a long way to Harrogate - including a comfort stop, it took four hours to get there.  As always I have taken some general shots to share with you

 

those of you who watched the first series of The Great British Sewing Bee might recognise the chap in this photo (click on it to enlarge it).  I didn't get too close to take the photo in case he tried to flog me a signed copy of his book  (I overheard him telling someone that business was slow!)

 

our very own Kay Bell, who does such wonderful longarm quilting, has added to her collection of awards and trophies.  She got a First for quilting the stunning quilt which was also Best in Show.  Do pop over to Kay's blog to see a photo of the quilt.  

 

but what was this .........

 

another version of Mrs Billings!

 

of course I bought some things, but I didn't get the chance to take photos today, so you will have to wait until tomorrow to see my goodies!  We didn't have a comfort stop on the way home, so it only took us three and a half hours, then when we got back to Kelso, I only had a thirty minute drive over to Berwick.  Malcolm, Stuart and Alison had long since had dinner by the time I arrived - a delicious spread of tapas, but Malcolm had kindly kept some for me.  On Sunday morning we went out for breakfast- no photos were taken to avoid embarrassing those of us who ate large amounts of sausage, bacon and egg (Alison was somewhat more restrained with poached eggs and toast).  After the visitors left, we decided to go for a walk on the beach.  Woohoo, I've got the big lens back ...... and the next two photos show the difference it makes - the same boat snapped from the same place with first the small, and then the big lens

 

in this photo you can see Bamburgh Castle and Holy Island beyond the lighthouse

 

Malcolm was busy collecting driftwood, but I got distracted by these feathers

 

then there was an arty seedhead

 

and a little bird darting back and forward

 

after a long walk, we were of course in need of a cuppa.  It was such a lovely afternoon that we sat outside in the sunshine while we shared a toasted teacake

 

Malcolm as usual had coffee, while I had tea in a rather snazzy insulated cup

 

I was glad to have the big lens back when the swans came into the dock, going from this

 

to this

 

to this

 

these ones appeared in the evening, and soon settled down for a nap

 

 

ignoring the seal, which kept popping up among them

 

 

to finish, we didn't have a big ship come into the dock over the weekend, just this funny little boat

 

Bamburgh Castle

We had been meaning to visit the castle for some time, but we finally made the effort as we had a BOGOF entry voucher which was about to expire!  You can read about the castle here, here and here.  There is so much to see, it is somewhat overwhelming, and at times I simply forgot to take photos, as I looked round in awe!

the imposing entrance

 

a tribute to Lord Armstrong

 

looking up at the Keep

 

old defences

 

the  State Apartments

 

I liked this sign!

 

just one of the many exquisite treasures

 

the magnificent teak ceiling in the Great Hall

 

a detail of the ceiling

 

grand living

 

delicate furniture

 

not so delicate armour

 

an amazing wooden model

 

made on the other side of the country

 

this is a very special curtain ....

 

...... from many, many years ago

 

a detail of the curtain

 

so what is this contraption?

 

I think it would make the job harder, not easier!

 

we escaped before the portcullis came down!

 

as we went round the castle, we kept getting glimpses of the beach below

so of course we went for a long walk (along with lots and lots of other people, as it was the Bank Holiday weekend).  There are excellent views of the castle from the beach

 

we could also see the Farne Islands

 

and Holy Island

 

I was about to take an arty photo of this seaweed when a wave came much further up the beach than the proceeding ones - I got wet feet and my shot was spoiled!

 

I had better luck with the next one

 

just a few of the many people on the beach

 

I liked this row of old fence posts we passed, as we walked back up from the beach

 

to finish, another shot that went wrong - just as I took a photo of a surfer, he fell off and a little girl ran into the photo!

A fun day out

We picked Maureen up this morning, on our way to Anne's shop in Longframlington.  Malcolm dropped us of and then went to visit his sister Jennifer in Morpeth.  We were so busy blethering (and drinking tea) that I nearly forgot to take some photos!  First, this is Frances' (or should that be Frances's) Robin's Nest

 

this Mariner's Compass is about four inches in diameter

 

I would never have the patience to sew the tiny pieces for these minute  blocks

Ros was working on a large clamshell border ........

 

....... and has just finished this stunning applique and embroidery block

 

Margaret works on this piece off and on - it has grown quite a bit since I last saw it

 

in between all the chatting and tea drinking, I did manage to sew the next border on Mrs Billings

 

when we visited the shop last month, Ishowed you the lovely yarn that Anne now stocks.  Frances has bought several skeins, and wound it into balls today

 

it was nearly time to leave when I remembered that I hadn't taken any photos of the latest delicious fabrics

 

 

but fabrics don't have to be colourful to tempt you to buy them ...... I had to be very strongwilled not to come home with lots of these 

 

but I did buy something, this panel of labels

to finish - if you don't like spiders, don't scroll down to the last photo.  This beauty was in the utility room at bedtime last night - it's not the best of photos as the room isn't brightly lit (the wall is actually green, not the sickly yellow it looks in the photo)

Natural born stitcher*

So who was the mystery stitcher?  The story starts five years ago when Sarah and Andy came to visit.  Sarah was the first blogger that I met in real life, and we had a great day when she and Andy visited all those years ago.  So when Sarah got in touch to say that they would be in Northumberland again this summer for a holiday, of course we invited them for another visit.  They were a little bit late getting to us because of a major road diversion, so as soon as they arrived, we set of for lunch at Harestanes.  We were chatting so much I forgot to take a photo of lunch (delicious, freshly made sandwiches).  However, as we walked round the courtyard the camera came out

 

we then went to Mary Queen of Scots House in Jedburgh

 

the next stop was at Borderland Fabrics, but for some reason Malcolm and Andy chose not to go into the shop, and instead went to Border Meringues for a cuppa.  After Sarah did a little bit of fabric shopping, we joined the boys for a cuppa - but we resisted all the cakes and made do with the little meringues that came with our drinks

 

back home, we went out to the studio, as Sarah had asked if I would show her how to free motion quilt.  I had prepared a couple of sample pieces at the weekend, and looked out this book

 

I had a little go at the basic exercises on Sunday

 

so I was ready to show Sarah what to do

 

she took to it straightaway - Andy could only watch in wonder as she effortlessly doodled her designs

 

as she was doing so well, I rethreaded the machine with a luscious variegated thread, and she was off again

 

then, to finish, she stitched this owl on a branch, over her first efforts

 

unfortunately the weather wasn't good enough for us to have dinner outside, but the food tasted just as good eating at the kitchen table

asparagus soup (before the crumbled blue cheese was added)

 

roast chicken and gravy, with charlotte potatoes and Malcolm's green beans

 

meringue with 3-berry compote and cream

 

all too soon it was time for Sarah and Andy to head back to their holiday cottage.  We had a super day ...... and we hope it won't be another five years before we do it again!!

 

we zoomed off down to Stitchin' Heaven this morning, as Anne's major summer sale had just started.  The shop has been reorganised, and looks even better

 

Anne was cuddling a very special customer

 

Anne has started stocking some beautiful yarn, which comes from here.  So if you knit rather than sew, you can pop in to the shop and Anne will make you a cuppa while you decide which delicious colours to buy

 

after Malcolm dragged me out of the shop with rather a lot of fabric, we headed to Wooler.  We had lunch here, sharing a cheese and ham toastie and a cheese and onion toastie - yum!

 

but what was this?  Behind the coffee shop area, we discovered a small but perfectly formed patchwork shop.  It hasn't been open long, so if you are in the area, do pop in and support them

 

from Wooler, we came over to Berwick, so I am writing this post in the flat.  OK, I can here you all shouting "what did you buy"!  First, from Patchquirk, I got this super beach hut furnishing fabric, which will make more cushions for the flat

 

then from Anne's I got : the two white fabrics are for the Father Christmas wallhanging kits; the dark red variegated embroidery thread is for a Christmas project (I bought the fabric for it last year); the bright variegated threads are for stitcheries; the ruler is a handy size that I have been meaning to buy for some time; and the three coloured fabrics are for a Christmas throw for the couch in the flat

 

in case you don't think they are Christmas fabrics, here is a detail

 

of course if we are at the flat we have to have a swan photo (no close up of the seal, as Stuart has borrowed my big lens)

 

and to finish ...... I wonder if the person who parked this big machine on the dock left the keys in the ignition .......

 

*  apologies to Humble Pie for (almost) using their song title

A very good day ......

........ with very special visitors, but right now I am simply too tired to write about it (I may be sitting with my feet up sipping on a nicely chilled glass of wine).  I'll just leave you with this little teaser ....... whose first attempt at free motion quilting turned out like this?

A special weekend

Our visitors arrived after lunch on Saturday

Stuart and Alison

 

their best friends Fraser and Linsey

 

and us!

 

we spent the afternoon and early evening out in the garden, enjoying a glass of bubbles .........

 

........ before enjoying a very pleasant red wine with Malcolm's delicious lasagne (oops forgot to take a photo of the starter!)

 

I also forget to take a photo of pudding - the meringue, cream and compote was eaten, and there was just a little bit of LMP left!

 

Stuart brought us some of his first crop of potatoes.  We had them with dinner last night, and thoroughly enjoyed them

 

the visitors had brought us a box of delicious doughnuts ........ and we were all very, very naughty and had one each for "first breakfast" on Sunday morning!!

 

we went to Johnston's Mill for our second breakfast, just as I did recently.  Then the visitors headed off for home.

 

The butterflies have made a welcome appearance  in the garden, and are enjoying the lavender

 

to finish - the bottle brush was given a good talking-to, as it stubbornly refused to flower.  Unlike thhe wisteria, it did as it was told, and flowered at the weekend .......

 

 ......... but there is room for improvement!!

 

An object seldom seen ........

......... on my side of the room!

 

......... yes, for five whole evenings, I am in charge of the remote control - but only because Malcolm is over in Berwick.  No, we haven't fallen out, we are having some furniture delivered, and on Frriday the nice man is coming from Sky to instal the tv/phone/broadband, so we will be connected to the outside world!!

Malcolm left before 9 this morning, but my thoughts were already turning to lunch - I'll tell you later what I made with these

 

I have finished my cushion for the raffle at the exhibition

 

at our last class this Thursday, I will be teaching the students how to hand quilt, so today I made up small practice pieces for them.  I used a nice soft calico  and cotton wadding, which should be easy to stitch, and marked the pattern on using a stencil that I have had for years (and years!).  I used my Frixion pen to mark the pattern, when disappears with heat.  I know there has been a lot of discussion about these pens online and in quilting magazines, and while I wouldn't use it on an heirloom quilt, I am quite happy to use it on practice pieces

 

having basted thhe quilt sandwiches, I sorted out needles, thread and thimbles

 

I also looked out some hand quilted pieces to take with me to the class (you may have seen some of them before)

 

so what did I make with my veggies - a delicious bowl of soup, which I topped with some crumbled blue cheese

 

I'll be back tomorrow with the winner of the octopus-naming competition ....... but in the meanwhile I am off to change channels frequently and often, just because I can!!

What kind of doughnuts?!

I spotted these when we were shopping on Saturday ........ they turned out to be quite tasty!!

 

we had a couple with a cuppa as we started to get organised in the flat.  Of course, with all the sport that it on at the moment, some things take priority!

 

another priority ........

 

it didn't take long to go from a jumble in the kitchen

 

to neat and tidy ........

 

.......... despite frequent looking out the window to monitor swan movements

 

yesterday morninng we went over to the Waterwheel Cafe.  We parked and went for a walk along to the cauld to see the archimedes screw

 

 

We were amazed to see that there are major earthworks in progress

 

which of course meant major machinery

 

however as we walked on along the river, peace and calm was restored

 

we saw several trees like this, infested with strange looking webs

 

it won't be long until the thistles turn purple

 

the insects were busy

 

the river was very low ......

 

which meant there was no overspill to turn the old waterwheel

 

then, of course, it was time for a spot of sconnage for lunch

tasty cheese

delicious treacle

 

I'll be back tomorrow with a sewing update, but to finish ........ I wonder if this duck knows he isn't a swan!

 

 

The waiting is finally over!!

Woo hoo, we finally got our keys today - we had a longer than usual wait for the sale to go through as the sellers were having a new house built, and wanted to give themselves extra time to allow for the build being delayed.  So off we went to Berwick after lunch and collected the keys.  Slight trepidation as we unlocked the door - would we still like the flat?  There was no need to worry, as soon as we stepped into the lounge, which was flooded with light (despite it being a dull afternoon), we knew that we had made the right choice.  I took photos from the four corners of the open plan lounge/kitchen

 

it was hard to take a photo of the master bedroom - it is bigger than it looks here, and you can see that there is a good sized wardrobe on the right

 

yes, it's me again, popping up in a reflection ....... this time in the ensuite shower room mirror

 

this will be the guest bedroom - have you spotted that I will have lots of curtain-making to do?

 

I am looking forward to having a long soak in the luxurious bathroom

 

and, of course, there are the views to enjoy.  First, looking out to sea

 

then, over to the town

 

later in the afternoon, the swans put on a show for us, swimming into the harbour

 

we'll be heading back over tomorrow, but we won't be staying the night ......... as we have yet to buy a bed!!

I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

 

A special weekend

Saturday morning saw us on the road bright and early, heading for Larbert to spend some time with Stuart and Alison.  Of course a journey of any length needs a stop for fortification, so we called into the Mayshade Garden Centre for a cuppa.  We may also have shared one of their delicious taster plates

 

in the afternoon, we headed to The Helix, which lies between Falkirk and Grangemouth.  You can read about it here and here.  We had a very pleasant walk round the first part of the development, pausing to admire this swan

 

it was hard to take photos of this water feature without having children getting gloriously wet in the frame, as they ran back and forward through the jets of water

 

 

I was fascinated with the ever-changing coloured lights shining through the water ........

 

but had to drag myself away to continue our walk.  It's hard to believe that until recently this was post-industrial wasteland

 

having walked round the first part of the development, we made our way to see the main purpose of our visit, passing the swan again, who had found a friend

 

then, there they were, dominating the skyline ....... the Kelpies

 

for once I didn't need Malcolm in a photo to give the scale, as there were large crowds walking round the magnificent sculptures

 

I didn't realise until I looked at the photos later, that the little girl looked as if she was about to be eaten!

 

I took quite a lot of photos ....... here are just a few

 

For dinner on Saturday, Stuart had booked a table at The Tea House.  As it was a lovely evening, we walked there, which took about 50 minutes.  I liked the tiny carafes that our wine was served in

 

the food was delicious, but I only took photos of my dishes.  I started with salt and pepper ribs

 

followed by salt and chilli seabass - very, very delicious!

 

the portions were very generous, and none of us had room for dessert ........ not even lemon meringue pie could tempt us!  When the bill was brought, there were sweeties with it.  The others promptly ate theirs, but I brought mine home to take a photo of it!

 

Sunday morning was glorious and we had breakfast out on the deck - that's a year since Malcolm and Stuart built it.  Then we headed for home ....... with a detour to Ikea.  Yes, we had meatballs for lunch, and yes, we bought tealights!

In one of those strange little coincidences in life, I spotted this in the paper this morning .......

 

I did do some sewing last night, and hopefully will get more done tomorrow, so that I will have a sewing update for you!