frayed at the edge

Gremlins!

Well, those pesky little gremlins have been rounded up and removed!!  So after a slight delay, here it is, my 200th post (I just hope you think it was worth waiting for!!!)  I have been so busy since we got back, that I haven't yet taken photos of the things included in the giveaway, but there are things from Australia and Singapore ... and maybe even something from the studio.  All you have to do is leave a comment (or e-mail me) ........ I'll make the draw on Wednesday evening, so be sure to visit on Thursday to see if you are a winner.  I really enjoy writing my blog - I had withdrawal symptoms on holiday!!  But of course there would be no point in writing it, if I didn't have all you lovely people out there reading it - so .... thank you!!

Yesterday, it was off down the road to Chesters, for another of Lindsay's Woolgathering.  There was a good turn out, and as it was a slightly chilly (but sunny) day, we had a log fire to keep us cozy while we worked.  As always, there was a great variety of work - my favourite was Janet's beautiful embroidered cushion

Her stitching is exquisite, as you can see in this detail

 

Alison is just starting a new venture, making wonderful kitchen accessories

I immediately bought a chef's pad, and I may have to buy a matching towel - they are designed to fit over the handle of your oven - a great thing if you have husbands/children who take the kitchen towel to dry their hands and don't put it back!!  There are also aprons and oven gloves available.  If you are interested in buying any of these lovely things for your kitchen, let my know and I will pass your enquiry on to Alison.

 

Fiona received lots of compliments on this wonderful fabric picture - I'm sorry the photo doesn't do it justice - it was hard to take a photo without getting reflections on the glass.

 

I was working on my chickens - I think I will have to make an early New Year's Resolution - get those chickens finished!!

 

 

Of course, no Woolgathering would be complete without one of Lindsay's wonderful cakes ......

 

 

 

Back to reality!

After all the wonderful weather we had on holiday, we awoke this morning to grey skies and drizzle!!  Never mind, the damp weather couldn't spoil my birthday!  Malcolm brought me a cup of tea in bed (and presents!)  - and I had cards from friends, including a very special one sent from Australia by my very special blogging friend Lee.  Thank you, too, to all the people who left comments with birthday wishes!!  We went to a local garden centre for brunch (more sausage, bacon and egg!)  Then it was home to continue with the unpacking.  Among the goodies from Australia are these three magazines ...

This is the first issue of this magazine.  There are some interesting articles and some good projects.

This is the second issue of this knitting magazine - it was the only Australian knitting magazine that I found - although there were several British and American magazines available.

Just one of the quilting/sewing/craft magazines that I bought - some of them were in 'bundles', where they give you two out-of-date magazines free with a new magazine - brilliant idea!!

 

I was relieved to find that this little gift tag had survived the journey home - it is ceramic, and although it was in bubble wrap and cushioned by clothes, I was worried that it would snap.  I think I will frame it to hang in the studio - the quote just appeals so much to me .....

 

It wouldn't be a birthday without cake ..... this is just a tiny little cake (it's on a teaplate) but it is lovely and chocolatey, with Smarties on the top - yum, yum!

  Malcolm is busy cooking dinner ..... salmon, new potatoes, broccoli and hollandaise sauce, and we are having a nice glass of fizz, as we have an extra reason to celebrate - the sale of Malcolm's Dad's house was finally completed today, after some hitches along the way.

I'm hoping to do some sewing tomorrow, but if not, I will defintely do some on Sunday, as Lindsay has orgaised another Woolgathering - it will be good to catch up on everyone's news and see what they are working on.

 

The cutting room floor

Since I started my blog, I have taken hundreds of photos, and of course I have used quite a lot of them.  But there are some photos which are still languishing unseen in my folders ... perhaps they are a bit blurred, or the moment for that story passed, or something better cropped up later in the day to change the plans for that day's post .... and there are also all the photos from before blogging! However,  unlike bit-part actors, whose moment of glory ended up on the cutting room floor, some of these photos are finally getting their moment in the spotlight!

We'll start with cute animals .....

 

 

 

 

 

 

then a bit of falling down fence

 

 

my latest pillar box

 

 

a bit of sewing

 

 

a bit of knitting

 

 

there has to be Scotland's (other) national drink

 

 

a little bit of (a previous) garden

 

 

a (holiday) sunset

 

 

swallows getting ready to fly off to sunnier climes

 

I hope you have enjoyed my trawl through the archives ... and now I have a present for you ..... a little bouquet of flowers and grasses which I picked from the hedgerow this morning, when I went out for my last three mile walk - I certainly have got my legs fit for the holidays!!

 

No doubt while we're away we will have the occasional glass of wine .... and as always I'll raise my glass and think of family and friends and say

 

cheers!!

Teeny tiny socks

I've made a start to the little baby socks - it's funny knitting such tiny things when I'm used to knitting adult ones!

The six rounds of the rib.  To give you an idea of how small the socks are, the needles are only five inches long!  They are lovely bamboo needles, which I bought here

  

the fourteen rounds of the cuff

 

the fourteen rows of the heel flap

 

On an entirely different subject, I wish I could paint, because if I could, I would paint a still life of this plate of fruit and berries, picked this morning from the hedgerow and garden

 

And another change of subject ...

 

don't worry, you haven't fallen asleep and woken up in December - this Christmas card was included in a fund-raising pack I received from the British Red Cross (although Malcolm said he saw Christmas cards for sale in a local garden centre last week!!)

And one more thing totally unconnected to today's title .... no matter how hungry I was, and no matter how keen I was to forage for free food, this little fellow is safe!!

  

 

Tomorrow is 'weekword' - do come back and see what I have to say on the subject of camping!

Beatiful baby knits

I know there has been a shortage of knitting content recently, as I am working on a special project that I can't yet share with you, so I thought that I would look out something to take with me to knit'n'natter that you could see!  One of Stuart's colleagues, Emma, is expecting her first baby, so what better knitting than cute little baby things.  A quick look through some patterns and my stash produced this

  

Oh dear, I don't know why Typepad sometimes does this, but I think if you click on the red cross, you should be able to see the photo ... so, to continue ....

A special project needs to be put in a special bag to go to knit'n'natter, so what better than this knitted bag

 

it is knitted with strips of fabric

 

it was a kit which included the trim, cord and button

 

this is the same fabric used to line the bag

 

So did I finish the hat this afternoon..... well, almost ... I just have to darn in the ends.  I did do it slightly different to the pattern - I knitted it on four needles (so there is no seam to sew!) and I finished it with an i-cord tied in a knot.  Next on the list is a tiny pair of socks ...

The nice things that people say .....

...... can really make your day!  First it was Sarah on Thursday - when I said that I couldn't believe that Stuart is 31 next month, she said I must have been very young when I had him!  Then on Friday at chat'n'patch, Anne said that I had made her ears sore, I had talked so much.  Why did that make me happy?  Because finally the latest medication is helping with my sore face, and it no longer hurts to talk!!

I was also happy when the post arrived this morning - first there was this invitation to Lindsay's Woolgathering on Sunday

 

Lindsay makes wonderful envelopes from magazine pages - an excellent idea for recycling!

 

Isn't this a wonderful fabric picture!  It is actually part of a booklet that was sent to Malcolm, trying to persuade him to buy a new Golf Plus!! .....

 

..... the booklet is stitched together - I think they are targetting women to buy the new Golf (I should add here that it's my car, in case you think Malcolm drives a girly car!!)

We went into Hawick this morning for some shopping and of course went for a cuppa

 

It's a quirky cafe tucked up a side street in Hawick - but worth the effort to find, especially if you like second-hand books!

That was all a lot more pleasant than it had been first thing this morning when I went out for my walk

 

The photo looks out of focus - but it was just very wet, with a lot of low cloud over the hills.  However my feet were warm and dry, as I had on my trusty walking shoes and a pair of my handknitted socks

 

although as it was so miserable, perhaps I should have had my 'Happy' socks on!!

 

Why 'Happy' socks - simply because that is what the bamboo yarn is called (although I have been less than happy about the way the socks have washed - my wool ones wash much better!)

So now that the new medication is helping, I am just about back to my normal happy self (although when I said to Malcom I was back to normal, he groaned and said 'oh no'!!!!)

 

Great excitement!

We have been very busy making sure the house and garden are spick and span, because we have very special visitors coming on Thursday (we don't usually tidy up that far in advance, but Malcolm will be away all day tomorrow visiting his Dad, and I'm going up to Falkirk to see Stuart - I'm staying the night, so I won't be home until Wednesday afternoon) - anyway, to return to our visitors - Sarah and Andy.  Sarah and I have become blogging friends, first leaving comments on each others' blogs, then chatting via e-mails.  So when I read that they were coming up to Northumberland on holiday (not that far from us) I immediately invited them to visit!  So, the big tidy up of the studio commenced

  

welcome to my studio

 

a neat and tidy table

 

the woodburning stove in summer-mode

 

quilting and knitting books

 

pretty threads and pretty things

 

quilts and pictures all hanging straight

 

stash tidied up

 

very cute things on display!

 

and now for the garden

 

front garden looking neat and tidy

 

beautiful alpine (complete with hoverfly in the middle!)

 

a lovely clematis

 

pretty in pink on the pergola

 

vibrant crocosmia (I'm holding it as it was blowing about in the breeze!)

 

I'm sorry you can't all come to visit, so I hope you have enjoyed your virtual visit - and fingers crossed for good weather on Thursday, so we can show off the glorious Borders to Sarah and Andy!

 

Running very fast .......

....... just to stand still!!  The last few days have been very busy, and I still have photos from Friday and  Saturday that I want to show you, as well as all the wonderful stuff from yesterday's Woolgathering.  So, let's get started!!

 

The table mats and runner which I was sewing in Friday

The brown areas are chenille = the texture is lovely

This is the swallow tail shawl, soaking in tepid water, with 'Ecover Delicate', for about twenty minutes.  I then rinsed it thoroughly and squeezed out the excess water (NEVER wring your knitting!)

 

I rolled the shawl in a towel, to soak up as much water as possible (I left it rolled up while I had lunch!)

 

Ready to block the shawl - a clean sheet, my new blocking wires, pins and tape measure 

 

It took a little while to carefully thread the wires through the top edge and then through the points of the swallowtails - but then it was so easy to stretch the shawl out to the correct size and shape and push pins into the carpet to hold the wires in place. (if you have never blocked a shawl like this - it is a long job if you are pinning each point and trying to get them even!)

 

lovely even points!

 

I knitted the shawl to wear with my good winter coat (which I've had since 1996) - I think it looks fabulous!

 

Many thanks to Helen for the beautiful yarn (it's alpaca, silk and cashmere) - and the shawl only took 32 grams - so I could do another two!! 

 

So yesterday, it was off down to Chesters for another Woolgathering, organised as ever by Lindsay. who was experimenting with some needle felting (do you remember Lindsay's lovely holiday cottage?  She still has some vacancies, so if you want to come and see the glorious Borders, do check out her blog)

  

Fiona was doing some more work on her amazing felted ram

 

Janet was spinning using her wonderful new spinning wheel

 

Lizzi was busy with her needlepoint

 

Tricia is getting to the end of her latest knitting project

 

Lorraine was working on her sampler quilt - it is entirely handstitched!  (and she has another one the same well on the way to completion!!)  (LtoR Tricia, Lorraine and Janet)

 

What was I doing?  Well after a bit of needle felting, I was working on my knitting that I can't tell you about, but Janet took this photo of me eating cake!!

 

Some of those there yesterday said I showed too many cakes on the blog - girls, girls, there is no such thing as too many cakes!!  So you know that I am going to finish with cake related photos!!  I got up at 5am to bake these scones - they looked so good I thought they deserved Granny's traycloth and pretty china for afternoon tea

 

Would you like a closer look - oh yum yum

 

Oh dear, I've just told you a great big fib - of course I didn't bake the scones - I bought them this morning in Morrisons! Complete with raspberry jam and fresh cream!)

That was a bit of a marathon post, but now I've caught up with all the things I wanted to share with you - I hope you have enjoyed it!

 

Making an exhibition of themselves!

This morning Malcolm and I went to Kelso, to see the Embroiderers' Guild Exhibition.  There was some stunning work on display, and they very kindly let me take some photos.

 

Maasai Muse by Pat Lewis

 

Gone fishing by Anne Stevenson

 

Goldwork flower by Colina Harris-Burland

 

Dragonfly by Anne Stevenson

 

Dragonfly box by Mary Lock

 

My calico garden by Tricia Marshall

 

detail of the door

Although it is a small group there were a lot of varied exhibits - a good way to spend a Saturday morning (and there might have been cuppas and cakes as well!)

 

After lunch, I headed out to the studio, determined to make up for my lack of things to show you recently.

This length of chunky i-cord

 

has been lying in my knitting basket for so long, I've forgotten what the yarn is called

 

it's funny flat sort-of felted stuff!   However, I now have a rather smart pot stand!

 

I also made a start to something from the to-do list, using these fabrics

 

Hmmm - I wonder what it's going to be?

 

To finish, remember the lovely plant with the red flowers?  Now, thanks to Jen, I know that it is called bee balm.  Amazingly it has survived the rain and I took these two photos this afternoon

 

 

Do come back tomorrow to see  my latest shadow shots!

Swallowtails

This week, I decided to have a change from working out to my dvd, and instead go out for early morning walks.  This morning, several swallows were sitting on the phone wire in front of the house, but as soon as I focused the camera on them, they flew off!

On Tuesday, I forgot to take the camera, so when I came across this poor little dead newt, I carefully lifted him with a tissue and brought him back home.  Here he is beside a 2p and two tiny conkers, knocked off the tree by torrential rain

 

I've never seen a newt up close, and I was delighted to find he had an orange tummy

 

You have seen a photo of the postbox at the bottom of our road, but there is also one in the other direction, although this one doesn't have royal initials

 

However later on in the morning, we passed this pillar box in Hawick - oh the excitement, my first ER one

 

Then even more excitement, when Malcolm spotted the manufacturer's name at the bottom

 

McDowall Steven & Co Ltd, London and Falkirk - so why the excitement - we used to live in Falkirk, indeed Stuart still lives there, so it was just one of little coincidences! ( Malcolm pretended he wasn't with me, when I knelt down to take the photo!)

 

And now to return to not just swallows, but swallowtails!  Yes - it's finished, although I didn't cast it off last night, as it was a fancy cast off, and again I was immersed in Torchwood (what do you mean I was just hoping John Barrowman would get his kit off again!!)  However, I sat after lunch today and cast off.  It is quite a small shawl (more of a scarf) although it will grow a bit when I block it

 

and why swallowtails - here is a detail of the edge that I pinned out

 

As well as the swallowtail shape, you can also see some of the nupps ( the little clusters of stitches).  I didn't always enjoy knitting this (nupps are a pain!), but I'm delighted how it has turned out, and it will look lovely with my good navy winter coat!