frayed at the edge

Big knitter!

I promised yesterday that I would tell you who the lady is with the big knitting.  She was just one of a cast of talented people at Woolfest.  Her name is Ingid Wagner, and you can read more about her here.  She produces amazing knitted items on enormous needles - great fun!

When we started shopping, of course our first stop was with Helen at  Ripples Crafts.  We hadn't seen Helen since she moved to Sutherland a year ago, so there was a great deal of squealing and hugging before we could think about shopping!

  

Jennifer was amazed at the range of colours that Helen dyes her wonderful yarn - and of course I had to buy some!

 

I also bought this wonderful little sheep - if you go over to Helen's website, you can read all about the sheep on her blog - it is a wonderful, heartwarming story

  

We had a short break from shopping to watch the sheep-shearing demonstration - it was such a warm day, I am sure the sheep were grateful to lose their wooly coats!

 

This little lamb didn't look to happy at what had been done to its mum!!

 

While browsing round the stalls - oh would you like an idea of how many there were?

 

this is just a fraction of the stalls - sorry it's not the best of photos - taken through a dirty reinforced window!

So, as I was saying, I was browsing, when I bumped into Kate, wearing one of her own creations

  

It is a lovely jumper - but will I let you into a little secret - I can't wear wool next to my skin (it makes me itch) and I don't think this would look the same worked in cotton - ah well .....

 

So - the important bit - what else did I buy?  Apart from Helen's lovely wool, everything else I bought is for needle felting  - lots of luscious colours - I am looking forward to working with it all.

 

And one last thing - this kit to make a funky frog!!

 

By mid-afternoon, we were hot and tired, with sore feet, so we decided to head for home.  But that wasn't quite the end of our wonderful day out - and you know what I'm going to say ...... yes, I'll tell you the rest tomorrow!

An honorary girl

Today it was Fiona's turn to arrive bright and early, as we were off to Woolfest for a girly day out.  This presented a slight problem, as Malcolm had offered to drive.  However it was easily solved - we simply declared him an honorary girl!!  When we got there, after the obligatory toilet stop, we had delicious rolls and sausage for breakfast - and then we were ready to shop!

However, as I am just a little bit tired, I will save the details for tomorrow, and just show you some photos of the creatures which supply the raw materials .....

 

 

 

 

So come back tomorrow, and I'll tell you who this lady is ....

 

.... and I''l show you the goodies that I bought!!

 

Knitting and sewing!

Yes, today's content is all about knitting and sewing, after the distractions of the last two days!

First, what do you do with a pile of squares?

 

Well - influenced by the way I assemble quilts, I have started sewing them into blocks of four.  Certainly as far as patchwork is concerned, sewing squares into blocks and then joining the blocks keeps things square.  If you sew them into long strips and then join them, there is more chance of the end result being distorted, so I'm applying that principle to my throw.

 

Tomorrow afternoon when I go to patch'n'chat, I will be getting on with Oliver's quilt.  I thought I had sewn in all the ends, but when I laid the quilt out to take a photo - oh no, of course I has missed one!  Don't worry, I sewed it in before I took the photo

 

Now, I know the last photo is of a book - but it is a book about knitting, so I think it's allowed!  I was jumping up and down with excitement when I saw this book in Tesco this morning (ok, not literally, but in my mind I was!)  I so enjoyed the first book, (even if I did weep buckets at the end) I think I might have to read this before I finish the book I am currently reading (which is a big thick one that I'm only half way through).  So what is this wonderful book .....

 

While I'm writing this, we are watching the first semi-final of the cricket Twenty20 World Cup - it's exciting stuff!  (Yes, I know most of you will think that exciting cricket is an oxymoron!)  The second semi is tomorrow and the final is on Sunday.  We will hardly have time to draw breath before Wimbledon starts, then of course England play Australia in the Ashes Tests - but in case you think I'm a sports fanatic, don't worry, I don't watch rugby, despite living in the Borders, where they are all rugby mad (when not out on their horses!) and I only watch football when Malcolm makes me watch Newcastle lose play!

The big reveal

It's Friday, so of course this afternoon was chat'n'patch.  Pam has been working hard on a quilt which contains a lot of Laura Ashley fabrics, which someone had given her.  She has completed the main part, and had brought it in so that she could select fabrics for her outer borders

 

Although all the blocks are the same, the different fabrics make some of them look quite dissimilar.  Pam was in a bit of a state this afternoon, as she had just got word this morning that she has finally got a date for her hip replacement - so hopefully the next time you see her, she will be doing a quick Strathspey round the room!  Just behind Pam, you can see Jane, who recently not only broke, but also dislocated her elbow (ouch), but she is such a dedicated quilter, she was still sewing while encased in plaster from her upper arm to her wrist!

I was busy working on Oliver's quilt.  The quilting doesn't really show on the right side, so here is a detail from the wrong side, showing where I have been quilting round one of the tractors

 

On the knitting front, I have now finished my thirty squares, although there was a slight hiccup last night.  Before I started the last square, I counted the finished ones... and there were only twenty seven, instead of twenty nine.  Oh no, had I counted wrongly, I only had enough yarn for one more square.  However, further investigation revealed two squares which had jumped out the back of the basket and were tunnelling under the armchair to freedom, to a land where they could be what they wanted to be ... heck, they could even be circles (oops, sorry, a little flight of fancy crept in there!)

 

So, now, to the main event, the big reveal .....

We brought the mirror back from Indonesia - can you see that the curved band at the top matches the wall!  Malcolm gave me the phone holder for my birthday ages ago - it matches too!  We got the 'Anne's kitchen' sign in Florida, when we took Stuart to Disneyworld (that was in 1990!!)

 

I bought the antique hooks for Malcolm in Majorca this year - they look great with our two copper pans

 

Do you think I like chickens?

 

The kitchen was painted in matt paint, but we much prefer silk finish as it reflects the light - especially as the kitchen faces north west, and doesn't get the sun until late in the day.

 

I know I keep saying it, but I love my dresser - and did you notice that cheeky little monkey has sneaked into the photo!

Have a lovely weekend, love, Anne

A busy weekend

I don't know where the weekend went - suddenly it was Monday morning!  However, progress was made with the squares for the throw - I have now done 19 from 12 balls of yarn, with 7 left, so I'm hoping to do 30

 

I didn't get as much work done on the baby quilt as I had hoped to, but I did get it ironed and then layered up with the fleece (sorry about the patch of light, but I have veluxes in the studio roof, and the sun wouldn't oblige by popping behind a cloud)

 

I put the walking foot on the machine

 

I did get a little of the quilting done, but I'll wait until I've done some more before I take another photo.

 

This afternoon I went for my last session of acupuncture.  I'm still amazed how having needles stuck in you makes you relax, but yet again I fell asleep!  While I enjoyed the sessions, I'm not sure if they were of any great therapeutic value......

 

When I came home, my eye was caught by this iris, which has just flowered in the front garden

 

I also couldn't resist taking a photo of these two poppies.  Although they are past their best, they remind me of blowsy old theatrical ladies, all too much rouge and black stockings wrinkled round their ankles - and a half bottle of gin hidden in the chamber pot!!

Proud to be square

This afternoon, it was off to Kelso for knit'n'natter.  I have been neglecting my knitting for the last few weeks, while I have been busy finishing 'Sunset', so I had no excuse to today - I had to get on with some knitting!  I didn't want to take my shawl, as I am about to start a new section of the pattern, and I didn't think I would be able to concentrate properly with all the chatting going on.  So I decided to start a throw, using the Patons Moonglow that I bought some weeks ago in a charity shop.  As there is so much texture in the yarn, I decided to knit simple stocking stitch squares, which I think I will sew together with the stocking stitch going in alternating directions  

 

There might have been a lot of nattering and a lot of tea drinking, but I completed two squares .... and started a third!

 

Sometimes it's nice to have some knitting to do that doesn't take a lot of thought - if we have chick-flicks and chick-lit, can we call it chick-knit?  (Oh dear, that really is poor!!)

Hunks galore

This morning, when we were in Selkirk, we had a little browse round the Barnado's charity shop.  I spotted a basket of old knitting patterns and couldn't resist buying some to share the hunky male models with you - now don't get too excited!!

 

My grandpa always told me that if I ate my crusts I would have curly hair.  It didn't work for me, but it worked for him!

 

oooh - mean and moody, but sensitive too

 

two for the price of one - I'm not too keen on the checked trousers

 

a change from the traditional lopi (or Icelandic) sweaters (I've knitted quite a lot of them over the years)

 

could he be auditioning for the part of Heathcliffe, with those smouldering dark looks?

 

I can't see this look catching on today - did he really wear a collar and tie (never mind the dodgy cardigan) to play golf?

 

And to finish - today's addition to the giveaway - I think the title of the pattern book says it all

 

and if the front cover isn't cute enough, check out the back

I do like to be .....

..... beside the seaside - but unfortunately, when we took Malcolm's Dad to Newbiggin this afternoon, the weather wasn't very good, so we weren't able to sit outside for a cuppa, as we did last time.  However, that didn't stop me from having ice cream with my cup of tea!

 

I love the red and white cup and saucer and the matching tablecloth.  After the cuppa, I had a quick visit to the local wool shop - a good old fashioned one with great piles of wool everywhere.  You won't be surprised when I tell you that I bought some balls from the bargain basket!

 

I was intrigued by these two plaques, which were side by side on the side wall of a house - I will have to find out more about them (and find the rest of them!)

 

 

When we took Malcolm's Dad back to the Home, the sun had come out, and with it, two of the doves in the Home's dovecote

 

Before we headed for home, we had one last stop, in the Sue Ryder charity shop in Ashington.  As soon as I saw this remnant, it was in my hand and I was heading to the counter to pay!!  There is about two yards (or do I have to say metres) of it, and it is just the right colours for the dining room - yet something else for the to-do list!!!!

Little pieces of history

I had a browse round our local Oxfam shop this morning, where the first thing I spotted was this hank of wool - when I saw the label on it, I realised that it was a good few years old, so of course I had to buy it!

 

Older knitters of course will remember Patons and Baldwins - and when did you last see ounces on a label.  I will have to find an old pattern to knit.

 

The second thing I bought was this old embroidery book

  

which the owner signed and dated - obviously a proud possession

 

I like the author's dedication

 

and the first pages - do modern books have frontispieces?

 

 

Although I have done some embroidery, it's not a subject I know a lot about.  Given the age of this book, I was amazed when I Googled 'Mary Thomas' at the great list that came up - mostly bookshops still selling her books - so maybe my Oxfam purchase is a little treasure!

A little coincidence

This week, we have had a change to our usual routine, doing the housework today instead of tomorrow, and going out for lunch today instead of yesterday (oooh - we are just such little devils!!)  So, it was off to St Boswells, to lunch at The Main Street Trading Company - a wonderful mix of coffee shop, books, gifts and antiques (and did I mention books?)  We arrived a little early for lunch (we are always early!), so first we relaxed with a cuppa and the papers

 

After including a photo of wild garlic in Tuesday's post, it was one of those funny little coincedences to find that one of the soups on today's menu was chickpea and wild garlic!  Of course I chose that, while Malcolm had the pea and ham ..... and we also shared a wonderful venison sausage  sandwich

After lunch, we had a browse round the shop

 

a good selection of antiques

 

lots and lots of books

more books and gifts

 

and a wonderful selection of children's books.

 

Did I buy I book?  Oops, I spent all of this month's pocket money and bought two!!

 

I read Mimi's column every Sunday in You magazine, so I'm looking forward to reading her book

 

I could have bought this book just for the beautiful baby on the cover!!  The patterns are gorgeous and the whole layout is delightful - a book to pick up and browse through, as well as use!

 

We had a bit of a detour on the way home, to take in some history and  some stunning scenery - come back tomorrow and I'll tell you the rest of the story!