frayed at the edge

Warning : major boasting ahead!

Last Saturday was the Southdean Show, which meant a chance to show off some of my craft work, and hopefully win some prizes!  When I had a look round after the judging, I was amazed to discover I had three firsts, two seconds, two thirds and two highly commended.

 

 

First prize for my 'Celtic Wedding Rings' wallhanging, felt flower and a photo of a stunning window (which I took last year on holiday in Sydney)

 

 

Second prize for my felt picture and swallowtail shawl

 

Third prize for a photo of our huge snowman  and one of Malcolm's shed in our last garden

 

Highly commended for the chicken wallhanging and the octopus scarf.

 

I wasn't the only prizewinner in the family ....... Malcolm got a third prize for his cracket!  The best bit, though, is that the entry fees came to more than twice the prize money!!

 

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the Needle Museum and show you more of those wonderful rhinos (and there may even be something about my new sewing machine!!)
  

The start of a new season!

Don't worry, I don't mean that autumn has come early, but that the new football season has started (yawn).  So now when I come in from the studio on Saturday afternoons, Malcolm will be watching a programme in which several retired footballers sit watching matches on monitors and getting over excited at missed chances and bad tackles.  Then on Sunday afternoons, there is usually a match on ...... it's all about as exciting as watching my fingernails grow!!  Having said it's not yet autumn, I could have been persuaded when out this morning that it is well on the way.  It was very misty - so misty that when I got to my turning point, the hills had disappeared!!

 

 

Last year when there were lots of berries in the hedgerows, I said to Malcolm that it was a sign of a hard winter to come ..... he pooh-poohed that as an old wives' tale ..... then we had the worst winter in 40 years!  Oh dear, there are lots of hawthorn berries

 

 

and far more rosehips than last year

 

 

The heavy mist meant that these spiderwebs were visible in the hawthorn hedge

 

 

You can see the droplets of moisture on this one (the photo should enlarge if you click on  it)

 

 

The swallows are starting to gather in the mornings and evenings - a sign that soon they will head off south

 

 

Yesterday morning we went for a walk, then headed to The Main Street Trading Company for a cuppa (and a cake!).  Of course I had to have a browse round the books ..... and yes, I bought one.  (Actually I bought two - the other is for Malcolm's birthday next month)

 

 

There are lots of fabulous projects .... including making your own knitting yarn!

 

 

Much as I am enjoying knitting Maia, it does need a lot of concentration, so I thought I would start a pair of socks to do as well.  I chose a pair from this book

 

 

unusually, the cuff is knitted first, then stitches are picked up along one edge and the socks then knitted traditionally on four needles

 

 

ps - I was at the dentist this afternoon.  There had been a hiatus in my treatment, as my lovely dentist a) fell off her bike and broke her arm and b) decided to go back home to Greece.  So this was my first appointment with my new dentist.  He was very thorough, poking and prodding and taking xrays.  The outcome is that I need to have a tooth out, a bit of reconstruction on a tooth which has broken and the usual thorough cleaning (followed of course by the pain of the bill).

 

 

 

Curtains!

When we were visiting Stuart, we had a visit to Remnant Kings, to get some fabric for me to make new curtains for his lounge.  Malcolm was surprised that Stuart was quite at home in the shop .... until Stuart pointed out that he was often there with me when he was little - and the shop has hardly changed!  He chose this fabric - it is a lovely medium weight silky one

 

 

I have used this book for many, many years for curtain making - but I didn't need it this time, as they are just plain curtains - no swags and tails!

 

 

However, I did need to get out the sewing machine manual, as I can never remember how to do a blind hem!

 

 

I did the hems on Saturday and the side seams and tape yesterday and finished them off today - I hung this one on a quilt pole to let you see how they turned out

 

 

I have also been getting on with Maia ....

 

 

Malcolm has finished painting the inside of the summerhouse (he will be painting the outside the same colour as the doors)

 

 

He has found some of the bits'n'bobs we had in the summerhouse in the last garden, including this fun sign which a friend gave us

 

 

 

 

Vandals!

When I said yesterday that I was going to show you photos of the old sinks, I didn't think I would start with this photo, which I took today, showing a vandalised sink ...... but the culprit wasn't a badly behaved persom, but a four-footed one (we could tell by the sheep poo on the drive!)

 

 

Fortunately it wasn't serious damage!  Here are the sinks looking good .....

 

 

 

 

While I was at the front of the house taking photos of the sinks, I also took this one of our neighbour's mock orange - I just wish you could smell it too - it has a lovely scent

 

 

In the back garden, this fuchsia has flowered in one of our hanging baskets

 

 

This petunia is a lovely colour

 

 

Do you remember the plant that we think is a wisteria?  Moving it and pruning it back hard seems to have done the trick - it has grown a lot and is starting to twine round the wrought iron

 

 

The Bees' Balm is beautiful - although it isn't as tall as last year - I don't know if that's because of the severe winter, or the relatively dry summer!

 

 

I have been getting on with Maia - I have now worked two repeats of the main pattern, and I love the delicate shading in the yarn

 

 

Kylie has posted photos of her parcel - do pop over and visit her lovely blog to see her cushions and the other little things that I sent her.

 
 

 

Construction and destruction

First, I will reveal all about my new project, then I will explain today's title!  Those who guessed it was a swift/woolwinder were correct ...... and well done to Jill, who also guessed that the project is my Maia kit, which I bought from my lovely friend Helen (I've just brought up her blog to put in the link .... and there is one of her friends modelling her Maia!!).  Yesterday evening, I used my woolwinder for the first time - it may be a basic one, but it does the job ....... it only cost me £5 from a car boot sale, and a fancy one that we saw at Woolfest was £75!!!

 

It expands to fit the hank of wool, then it turns as you wind the ball.  By the time I had wound the entire hank (1200 metres!!) I didn't have much time to knit, but I did manage a few rows - I always write down my rows as I do them - so of course I have a knitted cover for my knitting notebook!

 

I am sitting in Stuart's lounge writing this .... we came up to Falkirk this morning to spend a few days with him ..... he is off work on his 'summer' holidays - but the weather isn't co-operating!!  The plan was for Malcolm to design and possibly start making a timber deck in the back garden - but the rain has meant that project has been postponed.  So instead, Malcolm has been boxing in pipes

 

a successful construction

 

I was doing some prep work in the guest bedroom before I paint and paper it ....... but there has been a problem in this corner in the past, with water ingress from a leaking gutter, so I ended up with a spot of destruction, cutting back to sound plaster ..... I will now have to come back to do the plastering - it's quite a few years since I last did any plastering (in the 90s we had a Victorian house which we restored!) .... perhaps it's just as well this is only a small area!

 

It's worse than that - I hadn't quite finished my destruction when I took the photo!  Alison had just arrived and Malcolm is cooking rack of lamb for us, so I had better end now!!
 
 
 
 
 

Spare room

When I bought my new rainjacket, I got a bigger size ...... so that when the weather turns cooler, there will be room to wear a sweater or bodywarmer under it.  But this morning, I realised that the extra room was also handy for something  else - I could keep my camera dry on rainy mornings!  I had realised that I always take photos on bright mornings, so today here are some soggy views!

 

a grey sky over the ripening crops

 

 

you can barely see the Eildons

 

 

at least this mushroom likes the damp!

 

 

a faint glimmer of sun behind Ruberslaw

 

 

nature is slowly reclaiming this old fence

 

 

this horse usually sticks its head over the hedge when I go by, but today it was sulking under the trees!

 

Now that Kylie's cushions are on their way to Australia and I am on course with my knitting for the Christmas fair ...... (ok, the knitting is up to date, I just need to catch up with the making up!) ....... I brought this in from the studio this afternoon

 

What am I going to do next .... I'll tell you tomorrow!
 

 

 

 

Bits and Bobs

Today's post is a bit of a motley collection!  This morning, I was deadheading the vase of flowers which Jennifer gave me when she came to stay ...... I am delighted that the lilies have lasted so long

 

 

On the wall facing the flowers is this embroidery which I did years ago for my Mum and Dad - I think it must be about thirty years old!

 

When I left after lunch to meet Lorraine to go to knit'n'natter, Malcolm was busy doing the last bit of landscaping beside the summer house.  He was making a path which will be topped with slate chips, to match the path on the other side of the grass.  I would have included him in the photo, but he had on his most disreputable gardening clothes!

 

Having finished the wash cloths, I am now working on tea cosies for the Chritmas fair.  This is the first version (it will have a pompom on the top once it is sewn up)

 

 

and this is the second version

 

 

The yarn is stranded across the back, which makes the cosy extra thick to keep the teapot warm

 

 

Work continues on Kylie's second cushion ........

 

...... you might think hand quilting is a gentle way of working, but it is quite sore on my fingers!  I know that the needle has gone through the three layers to form the stitch when it pricks my left forefinger - after a few days, I develop a hard piece of skin for the needle to hit - but sometimes I miss it and have been known to utter naughty words!  But the most painful one happens to my right thumb - I pinch the fabric as the needle comes through to keep the gap between the stitches small - but sometimes the needle slips and stabs me under my nail - I have some real swear words for when that happens!

 

 

 

 

I want a new garden .......

........ and I want it now!!  Why?  Well, yesterday, we had a trip up to Edinburgh to visit Gardening Scotland  It wasn't quite on the same scale as the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show, but we saw some wonderful gardens

 

we liked this low maintenance garden

 

 

 a place to relax, surrounded by water

 

 

an eco-friendly garden

 

 

this little water feature looked as if it had been there for years, not days!

 

 

planting to attract bees

 

There were also tiny gardens, which were entries in a schools competition

 

I hope they dried the sewing machine afterwards!

 

 

time for tea?

 

There were other things to admire

 

this was a rather scary bird .......

 

 

..... unlike this fluffy chick!!

 

But the best bit of the day for me didn't involve gardens or cute baby birds ......... it was seeing my lovely friend Helen, who had a stall selling her beautiful yarns, as I hadn't seen her for almost a year!

 

 

If you look at two wraps hanging behind us, you may recognise the one on the right as the kit I bought recently ....... and yes, I succumbed to the kit for the other one, the gorgeous Alina, which can be knitted as a wrap or a triangular shawl (I think I'll do the wrap)

 

the kit comes in a lovely little bag

 

 

Helen's colours reflect her surroundings in beautiful Sutherland

 

I have been busy knitting, as I hope to have a stall at a Christmas fair

 

lots of baby gift sets

 

 

I could knit these washcloths in my sleep!!

 

This afternoon, I had a break from knitting and did some sewing ...... on the chickens!!

 

 

I still haven't finished embroidering the legs and beaks, but I thought I would be encouraged to get on if I started assembling the blocks!!

 

Crash, bang, wallop!

I had some time to sit down and knit this morning, while the washing machine was on and my bread dough was rising.  Normally I would sit in the lounge at the front of the house .......

 

I wonder if you would guess this is where I sit!!

 

........ but we had workman making a tremendous amount ofnoise, as they prepared the drive for tarmac to be laid later in the day.  So instead I went and sat in the lounge at the back of the house ........

 

 

......... where I had lots of company

 

the gnome brothers

and the gnome sisters

 

As you can see from the last photo, the sun was shining today, so I took my scarf/shawl into the garden to take photos

 

you can see how fine it is

 

I had some advice from Rattling on ..., who told me that in Russia, women wear long pointy shawls in winter - they roll the top edge to shorten the shawl and to form a collar, which you can see I have done.

 

 

a detail of the beads

 

I have a confession to make ....... Malcolm finished my cracket just before we went on holiday, and I didn't have time to post about it then ....... and I forgot when we came back home!!  So here is my cracket - Judith's and Jennifer's are oak, but I chose pine for mine

 

the softer pine meant that Malcolm could cut a scalloped edge

 

I love the detail on the legs
 

 

I made egg mayo sandwiches for lunch ...... while the eggs were cooking, I finely sliced a spring onion and grated some cheese.  The rough guide to portion size for cheese is a piece the size of a matchbox ......... but which matchbox?

 

 

The matchbox from Cafe Batavia is a souvenir from when we lived in Jakarta.  We went there several times for a meal with a group of Malcolm's colleagues and their wives.  There was always a lot of laughter when any of the men had to go to the Gents, as rumour had it that the large mirror behind the urinal was actually a two-way mirror, that allowed anyone in the Ladies to have a view of the Gents!!  Of course we would never say if the story was true .......

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too good to share!

This morning we had to go to Kelso, which meant we had to find somewhere to have our usual Thursday morning cuppa.  We decided to try a recently opened deli/coffee shop called Pharlanne, which turned out to be very nice indeed.  Usually we go to the Pickled Orange in Hawick, where we share one of their large scones, but Pharlanne didn't have scones ......... but they did have chocolate brownies.  I'm sorry, not even Malcolm gets to share my chocolate brownie - I ate it all myself!! (don't worry, he had a white chocolate and berry muffin - which he knew I wouldn't want to share as I don't like white chocolate!)

 

 

Since we moved here (almost four years ago) we have been regular customers of Almstrongs, a small department store in Hawick.  In that time the store has gradually declined, with departments and eventually whole floors closing.  Now, sadly, the shop is shutting for good and they are having a last sale, with 70% off everything.  While obviously wanting to take advantage of such good prices, I did feel a little bit guilty that I was hastening the end by buying some of the remaining stock!  Earlier in the week I had bought some lovely cotton thread for hand sewing, so I bought some more today, along with a packet of embroidery needles in a variety of sizes, and several packets of buttons which can be covered with fabric

 

 

I also got three balls of beautiful cotton yarn - I have a little project in mind - it might even be done in time for next Tuesday's tutorial.........

 

 

I finished knitting my scarf/shawl (should I call it a scawl or a sharf?).  I soaked it briefly in lukewarm water with a delicate handwash, then squeezed (remember, never wring) the excess water out and wrapped it in a towel and squeezed some more.  I  blocked it out on an old sheet, using my blocking wires - but you could just use pins.

 

 

I'm not altogether happy with the proportions - it has turned out a little bit longer than I had planned, so I will have to have a rethink on the increasing, but it only took 23gms of yarn, so I can have several more tries to get it right!!

 

 

It sits nicely at the front, but is just too long at the back

 

 

So ...... what's going to happen with all those ends?  I'll tell you tomorrow!!