frayed at the edge

Clean and tidy

This morning, as always on Fridays, we did the housework.  We both like the house to be clean and tidy, and doing it on Fridays means that the house looks nice for the weekend.  But if you were to look in the studio at the moment, it is quite a different story ....... what, you would like to see what it's like - well, when I've been busy working on several projects, things just seem to accumulate on the tables ......

 

 

...... there is even clutter on the ironing board

 

 

.... the scrap basket is overflowing, the table piled up and there is stuff on all the chairs

 

 

Did you notice the little cuties - they are now all attached to the background fabrics with bondaweb

 

 

I have made a start to blanket-stitching round the raw edges

 

 

Over the weekend I will have to tidy the studio, ready for the next Kist meeting on Tuesday!  Whatever you are doing over the weekend, I hope you have a good time, love, Anne

 

 

 

Yet another change of plan!

We had intended to go for a walk yesterday morning - but not long after we got up it started to rain ...... and rain and rain.  The rain did go off later, but then it got windy .... and windier.  After one of my flower pots blew over, I moved them to the shelter of the log store

 

 

This morning when I went for my walk, I spent quite a lot of time lifting branches off the road - it must have been even wilder during the night!!  I also picked up some little bits and pieces and had fun making this 'still life' when I got home

 

 

I mentioned last week that I had won Rattling on's giveaway.  My prize was a voucher to spend online on something for the kitchen.  Unfortunately the voucher wasn't quite enough to buy an Aga!!  After a bit of thought, I decided to buy something I wanted, rather than something basic.  So what did I get ..... a gorgeous tagine, which arrived at lunchtime

 

 

I spent the afternoon both yesterday and today in the studio, working on the houses for my 'row' quilt.  Here they are waiting to be trimmed .......

 

 

....... then stitched together

 

 

I've had another play with the embellisher ..... and again I  wet the felt, then molded it - this time round a glass which had held a scented candle.  However, as last time, it is just a bit too soft - I think I will have to use proper wet felting to produce a felt with more body.  Never mind, it is very pretty!

 

 

I have almost finished the quilting on the first of Kylie's cushions ......

 

 

..... so this afternoon I marked out the second one.  This is a detail of the centre

 

 

So ...... how did the visit go?  Very well!!  Alison is lovely and we got on fine.  Malcolm cooked a new recipe - boneless pork loin coated with a mixture of maple syrup and cajun seasoning - it was delicious!  We went out for breakfast on Saturday, before they headed back to Falkirk via Ikea ..... amazingly they didn't buy anything (not even a bargain bag of tealights!) but of course they did have meatballs for lunch (we always have them too!!)

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Minor and major changes

The plan for today was to go into Hawick this morning, then I would spend the afternoon in the studio, while Malcolm finished a cracket he has made for Stuart.  However, there was a minor change to that plan when we met Lorraine as we left The Pickled Orange, where we had just enjoyed a cuppa and an excellent date and walnut scone.  So the minor change to the day was that I went to visit Lorraine this afternoon, to help her with laptop/printer issues.  Lorraine won't be at all offended if I tell you that she is a complete technophobe (actually, I could say what I like about her, as she doesn't read this!!)  She was recently given a laptop by her brother, and her son had set up internet access on it, but she was struggling to cope with it.  Then her brother gave her a printer, which was just a piece of technology too far for her!!  So I spent the afternoon taking her through the steps for her to access her e-mails and to use the printer .... she was delighted to discover it is also a copier!  And as an extra, I installed the software for her camera, so she is all set (maybe!)

Meanwhile, at home, the major change was happening ..... we had a summerhouse in our last garden, which we used a lot, and since we moved here we have talked about getting another one.  Several weeks ago, we finally took the plunge, bought a summerhouse and arranged to have it installed, along with some associated hard landscaping.  So this is what I came home to ....

 

The paved area outside the studio door had sunk in places, and we got puddles when it rained, so we chose to have the blocks lifted and paving slabs laid instead  This gives a nice defined area outside the studio, where I can have my flower pots.

 

the slabs have a nice texture

 

The paved area has been extended to take the summerhouse, and the slabs will come along the front to provide a path.  The work should be finished tomorrow!

 

I've been working on Kylie's cushions ....

 

 

cutting the fabric

 

 

 

 

the fabric and pattern on the lightbox, ready to mark

 

 

 

 

the layers basted together and ready to quilt

 

 

 

 

the quilting is going well

 

It is probably just as well that I shall be at patch'n'chat tomorrow afternoon when Andy Murray plays Rafael Nadal in the semi finals at Wimbledon - I think I would have to watch it from behind the sofa!!

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

A bonus day out!

On the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month, I go to knit'n'natter ........ but this month there is an extra Wednesday, so today we decided to have a fun day out!  We headed over the border to the town of Wooler - Malcolm had been there recently and had come back with tales of lovely shops and good food ...... and today we had the bonus of good weather!!

This shop looked so pretty, I immediately had to stop and take a photo ......

 

 

....... when we crossed the road and went in to the shop, the interior more than matched the exterior, with all sorts of goodies.  We bought each other a present

 

I think you know us well enough to suppose that the chicken was for Malcolm and the notebook for me ........ wrong!!  Malcolm bought the chicken to add to my collection of quirky plates and I bought the notebook for him to write down and draw plans for future projects.

The next shop to catch my eye was this one

We managed to resist going in - or I might have bought lots and lots of chocolate (I just keep saying 'a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips'!!) ........ but what I wanted most was this

 

Next was the antique shop - where not just the stock, but the dust covering a lot of it was extremely old!  Never mind, we had a good rake .......

 

......... and as always I ended up at the bookshelves

 

I've been neglecting my collection of pillar boxes recently, so I was pleased to see this lovely old one

 

By now it was lunchtime, and Malcolm recommended this place, as he had enjoyed an excellent scone and coffee on his previous visit

The food was wonderful!!  I had a coronation chicken baguette, which was beautifully presented with salad, coleslaw and root vegetable crisps

 

Malcolm had a ham and mustard baguette, similarly presented ....... the mustard was in a little dish, so he could decide how much he wanted to have.

After lunch, I noticed this shop - do you think the signwriter needs his eyes tested?

 

There is no football today, but Malcolm is rapidly developing a blister, as (typical man in charge of the remote) he has to keep changing channels between tennis (Andy Murray is playing) and cricket (England v Australia in the 4th ODI)!!
  

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

A good cause!

One of my stops on the way round all the wonderful stalls on Saturday was at one which was just a little bit different ... there was nothing for sale!!  Instead they had a wonderful collection of patterns, which had been donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres.  The idea is that you take a pattern, then make a donation to p/hop .... which stands for pennies per hour of pleasure  (ie, the hours of pleasure you have using the pattern).  There were some gorgeous patterns and I eventually decided on these

 

 

I wasn't sure about how much to donate, but the lady in charge of the donations bucket obviously thought that I gave enough, as she gave me this bag to put my acquisitions in!

 

 

There were so many wonderful stalls, selling so much gorgeousness, that we had to have a second look round before I finally decided what to buy ....

 

a selection of woolly fabrics to needlefelt/embellish

 

 

larger pieces for felting projects

 

 

Australian magazines with some wonderful ideas!

 

Jennifer did some shopping too - but as her purchases are supposed to be Christmas presents, I have been sworn to secrecy (although I wouldn't be surprised if they end up in her stash!!)

One idea I have tried out already is to make a small bowl.  I've never quite got to grips with wet felting, as it just always looks like hard work (although I guess it's good for toning the upper arms!!)  So I cheated ..... I took the flower that I made on the embellisher, wet it and molded it round a glass tealight holder.  It is a little bit fragile - next time I will make the felt much thicker, but I am pleased with this first attempt!

 

 

To finish - some wonderful news ....... I have won Rattling on's giveaway!!  If you click on the link you can read about what I've won!

 

 

 

A woolly good day!!

We had good weather on Saturday for our journey over to Cumbria for Woolfest.  The first thing we did when we got there was have breakfast, then suitably fortified, we started in one corner and worked our way up and down the aisles.  There was just so much to see, it was hard to take it all in, and Malcolm was surprised at how long it took me to make my first purchase!!  However, when I spotted this, I got my purse out!

 

It looks a bit strange in the photo, but it is a big offcut of double-sided felt - there is more than enough to make a bag.  I got it from this fabulous stall Heartfelt by Liz

 

 

 

A lot of the stalls don't allow photography, but I soon found something much better to take photos of - the stars of the show and providers of the raw materials for all the woolly goodies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The black lamb was tiny, but quite happy to be petted by its many admirers.

 

Of course, I did buy one or two other things, but I'll tell you about them tomorrow, as now we have something much more important to look at - the wonderful dinner we had sitting in the sun on Saturday evening.  We started with Malcolm's delicious lasagne - here he is dishing up the first portion

 

 

 

We had garlic bread to go with it - a very tasty stone-baked one

 

 

 

Then of course we had pudding!  This was the last of the treats that I bought at M&S.  Some time ago, M&S had a serious of tv adverts that were described as food pornography!!  This is the description of our pudding ...... little pots of heaven - ginger crumb layered with tangy lime cream and lime flavoured flood.

 

 

Yes, the lime flavoured flood was really just jelly!!  Never mind, it was absolutely delicious.
 

 

This afternoon, I picked the two patterns for Kylie's cushions (or maybe I should call them Kylie's Kushions?!)

 

 

 

This is the fabric, which has a small pattern printed on it, and I chose this thread (which looks darker in the photo) - as I know that Kylie likes purple!!

 

 

 

 

And to finish, one more photo from Woolfest, guaranteed to make you go aaah ........ I tried to smuggle out one of these alpacas in my handbag, but Malcolm made me put it back!!!

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 

A special visitor for a special weekend

So who is our special visitor?  Is it the Queen, fresh from her visit to Wimbledon yesterday?  We know it's not David Cameron, as he is in Canada, saving the world's economy!  No, it is someone really special ..... Malcolm's sister Jennifer!!  She has come to spend the weekend with us, as tomorrow we are going to .......Woolfest, where we will indulge in all things woolly!!

This afternoon Jennifer and I headed to patch'n'chat (after a very nice lunch) to indulge in an afternoon of sewing.  I was showing Jennifer how to make a folded Japanese patchwork box.  I was fussy cutting the fabric for her centre pieces .... I made this easier by cutting the centre out of the template

 

 

Seonaid was yet again working on a tiny project - this time a little log cabin fob for her key ring

 

 

Fortunately the weather has co-operated, and we were able to have dinner outside .... Malcolm lit the BBQ to do the steaks, while I dished up the goodies that I bought in M&S on Wednesday

 

 

Charlotte baby potato salad, edamame soya bean salad, couscous and roasted vegetable sald .... and in the smallest bowl, chilli and coriander dressing.  Perfect side dishes for our steak and chips!!

 

 

And now for the big reveal - I mentioned that I have a very special project to work on ..... I recently saw some paintings that I coveted ...... and to cut a long story short - I am doing a swap with Kylie, the artist.  I am going to send her two handquilted cushion covers.... all the way to Australia ...... in return for two paintings.  There is just one problem - she has done two sets of paintings, and I can't decide which set I prefer (well, I am a Libran!!)  So .... please visit Kylie and leave a comment saying which set you prefer!!

Please remember too, to pop over to see my tree, as drawn by the very talented Cathy.  We are relaxing now with a very nice glass of white wine, watching the tennis (but Malcolm will shortly change channel to watch that funny game with men kicking a ball).

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I will tell you about our woolly one on Monday, as of course tomorrow will be Shadow Shot Sunday (yes, I know it's Saturday here when I do my post, but it's already Sunday in Brisbane, home of the wonderful Tracy, who works so hard to host the meme!)  Love, Anne

 

Experimenting!

I had some fun yesterday, in the middle of all my domestic duties.  It started with these flowers that I picked on yesterday's walk - I arranged the flowers on a piece of fabric to take photos

 

 

 

 

Then I took a sheet of this .........

 

 

........ and printed the photos on to the fabric.  The printing is a little bit hazy - I was using Malcolm's printer and I think I will have to have a look to see if I can alter the settings to get a sharper image

 

 

After printing, I then ironed the fabric on the wrong side to set the colour

 

 

then swished it about for a minute in cold water

 

 

then put it on a towel to dry

 

 

then a final iron

 

 

So, what am I going to do with the pictures?  I plan to embroider them - both by hand and machine ........ but I won't be doing it anytime soon, as I have something very special to work on over the next few weeks.  Of course, I'm not going to tell you today what it is!!

To finish ...... you know I have shown you several photos of my favourite tree.  The last time I posted a photo, Cathy e-mailed me to ask if she could use the photo as a reference for a drawing.  Of course I said yes!  She e-mailed me yesterday to say that she had posted the drawing ........ please click on the link and have a look - it is FABULOUS!!!  Who would have thought that my little old tree would end up being drawn by someone in Sicily and seen all round the world - this is one of the reasons why I love the wonderful world of blogs!!

 

 

 

 

The new domestic goddess .....

..... I think I have claimed Nigella's title today, after a very domestic day!  Malcolm had to take his car back to the showroom in Newcastle for a minor modification, so after my Wednesday morning soak in the bath, I went to Galashiels.  The main purpose of my trip was to buy some delicious food in Marks and Spencers - we have a very special visitor this weekend (but I'm not going to tell you who it is until Friday) and I wanted to get some special treats.  The food all looks so delicious that it was difficult to stick to my shopping list ..... I only came home with one or two extras!!  I had a quick lunch in a garden centre, where I tried to take a photo of these beauties ..... but they kept running round, so this is the best I managed

 

 

Fortunately this clematis only moved slightly in the breeze - isn't it the most gorgeous colour!

 

 

When I got home, the ironing fairy still hadn't visited, so I had to knuckle down and tackle a very large basket of ironing (she didn't visit last week either!)  When Malcolm got back, he plonked himself in front of the tv to watch something that seemed to involve men running about with a ball.  Whatever it was, he was unable to leave the room, and needed waitress service (me!) to supply him with beer!!

 

 

We have a small tv in the kitchen, so while I was ironing I was able to watch Wimbledon.  There was a rather long match going on

 

 

Having finished the ironing, I then made dinner - wonderful rainbow trout (after taking the photo, I cut off the heads and tails - much as I love fish, I don't like seeing a whole one on my plate!!)

 

 

The tennis was still going on

 

 

To go with the fish, I finely sliced these veggies, arranged them in the bottom of our Portuguese dish that we have had for years .........

 

 

...... put the fish on top, added some extra lime juice, put the fish on top and seasoned it with salt and lemon pepper

 

 

To serve with the fish, I poached some asparagus in a little water with some butter

 

 

Did you notice the dent in the rim on my omelette pan?  Years ago, when I returned to Indonesia after a visit home, our maid, Betty, told me that 'Mister' had dented it, that 'Mister' had dropped it!!  Of course, every time I use it, I remind 'Mister' that he did it!

 

In the middle of all this domesticity, I did find time for a little bit of crafting ...... but I'll tell you about it tomorrow!

 

 

 

Hooray - it's the weekend!!

It had been another busy week, and although we are 'retired' .... it's still good when the weekend arrives!

I came home with a little handful of something this morning - but unfortunately today it was something sad - feathers from a woodpecker

 

 

In amongst the black feathers with white spots, there was this rebellious one, with the colours reversed!

 

 

This afternoon at patch'n'chat, there was such a lot to admire ......... Seonaid has made a lovely lap quilt for a friend who is a reflexologist, so using her embroidery machine, she added this wonderful detail

 

 

Cathy has been making a fantastic quilt for her daughter's wedding.  We have been following its progress since she started the blocks .... it is almost finished now

 

 

Anne was working hard at putting the final borders on her Thimbleberries quilt

 

 

This is Cathy's 'row' quilt - as you can see I have a few more rows to do!!

 

 

Of course we can't have a Friday post without cake - another of Annette's light-as-air sponges, topped with cream and strawberries!!

 

 

After two glorious days, it was a bit grey and chilly this morning, but it is a lovely evening - if only we could have several weeks of unbroken sunshine!  Whatever the weather, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I will be spoiling Malcolm on Sunday for Fathers' Day!!  Love, Anne