frayed at the edge

At last!

I was in Kelso this afternoon, on my way to knit'n'natter, when I was delighted to see these ......

 

 

and these .........

 

 

and these .........

 

 

....... so I think finally spring has arrived.  I also saw lambs in the fields on the way home - but there was nowhere to stop to take photos!  I will have to start a campaign to have stopping points for photographers added to roads.

I know there hasn't been much knitting on the blog recently, and there still isn't much to show you.  I am knitting a short sleeveless top, which is supposed to be for the spring, but at the rate it's going, I think it might end up being for the autumn.  This shows a bit of the zigzag rib and stocking stitch body

 

 

Of course, instead of knitting in the evenings, I have been working on my cross stitch.  Progress is being made, although it is very slow

 

 

The tree on the right took a long time to do, there are so many colours in it

 

 

The spaces in the frame round the tree will have beads stitched in them, and of course there will be lots of backstitching to do as well.

Tomorrow, I plan to make a lemon drizzle cake, and something else extremely sweet and delicious ...........

 

 

I could have sewed all night!

Well, not quite, but on Saturday I went to 'quilt till you wilt' at Borderland Fabrics .  We started arriving at 4.30, shortly before the shop shut and then we sewed ... and we sewed ..... finally going home at 11.30!! 

Cheryl was working on her add-a-row quilt

 

 

as was Helen

 

 

but they have to complete a few more rows to catch up with Cathy

 

 

Anne S. was working on a bag - this is one of the panels

 

 

and Anne D. was making a start to a very large quilt that she is sewing entirely by hand!

 

 

But we didn't sew all night .... we had a pause to enjoy delicious Chinese takeaway food (and a glass of wine may also have been enjoyed!)

 

 

I had my favourite .... chicken chow mein

 

 

Then it was back to the sewing, with Annette making this bright quilt for her granddaughter

 

 

Margaret was making gorgeous placemats

 

 

Sandra was finishing this enchanting quilt

 

 

and Jane was working on her tile quilt

 

 

So what was I doing ....... oh dear, I was so busy taking photos of everyone's work, I forgot to take a photo of my own!  I was working on an applique runner for the chest of drawers in my bedroom - I will have to show it to you another time!!

 

 

 

Homeward bound

On our way home today, we stopped in Linlithgow for a walk.  This of course meant ..... photo opportunities!!  The High Street has some wonderful old buildings, such as these ones

 

 

But the star of the day was the Palace.  We didn't have time to go in and see round the ruins, but we were able to walk round the outside

 

 

and have a bit of fun with B&W

 

 

Oh dear, tonight's internet connection is so slow, it would be faster to visit each of you to show you the photos ..... so I'll save the rest for tomorrow!!

 

Home from home!

Today's post comes from Falkirk, as we are visiting Stuart!  It was a lovely bright sunny morning for our drive up - this photo was taken (from the car) on the outskirts of Edinburgh - as you can see there is still some snow about

 

 

This is one of the 'Five Sisters', which you can read about here - it is very interesting - did you know that Scotland was once the major oil producing country in the world?

 

 

I couldn't resist taking this next photo - if only this was MY Malcolm's business

 

 

You may remember some time ago I posted a photo of Stuart's fish, Charlie.  Sadly, he has gone to that great fish bowl in the sky!  However, there are two new fish to enjoy the antics of ..... corydoras catfish

 

 

And just to add to tonight's cute quotient, I have two photos of my friend Lorraine and her seven-month old bearded collie, Sophie.  She is a rescue dog, who has already had several homes, but as you can see, she loves her new home.....

 

 

Lorrraine may only live about ten miles from us, but she has had quite a bit more snow .....

 

 

We'll be heading back home tomorrow - no doubt I'll spend the journey looking for photo opportunities - but as I've said before, why didn't the road builders look at the scenery and put in lay-bys for us to stop in!!

 

Thoroughly discombobulated!

You know that I like order and routine in my life (fortunately Malcolm does too), but this week has been somewhat topsy turvy!  On Monday, I did the food shopping as usual in the morning, but as it was such a lovely day, I suggested to Malcolm that we went to Kelso after lunch, as I wanted to take photos of the Abbey.  I decided to try taking some black and white shots of the ruins, and I was delighted with the results

 

 

It must have been an awe-inspiring building!  However, not all of it is in ruins

 

This carving looked new

 

I changed back to colour to take a photo of this wonderful window

 

Yesterday was another beautiful, bright, sunny day, so we decided to have a day out (normally I would have spent the day in the studio).  We headed east to visit Berwick, which in times past has been fought over by the Scots and the English (it is now in England!).  We had a very enjoyable (if slightly cold) walk round the walls, which were built to protect the town

 

This looks like a small church, but it is the magazine, where the gunpowder was stored!

 

 

The cold weather didn't stop these golfers from playing a round

 

Of course, a day out means lunch, which we had in a delightful cafe/gift shop called Doolally.  We had delicious squash, fennel and ginger soup, served with a wonderful cheese scone

 

After lunch we continued our walk, pausing to admire the magnificent Victorian railway bridge

 

To try to give you an idea of the massive engineering feat the Victorians achieved, I put Malcolm in this photo to show you the scale of the stone blocks

 

I took a lot of photos over the two days, quite a few of which will be appearing in future Shadow Shot Sundays, but I'll finish today with another shot of Kelso Abbey - a photo
which could grace the cover of a Gothic thriller!!

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 

These are a few of my favourite things!

I've been tagged by Shannon of Free Spirit Knits to tell you ten simple things that make me happy .........

1. Of course I have to start with Malcolm and Stuart .... my family always comes first.  This is us on our wedding day in 1986.

 

2. My home .... I get to see this every morning when I open the curtains!

3. Books - I love to read and need to have a book within easy reach at all times!

4. Orchids - I have a collection on the kitchen windowsill - this one has just started flowering

5.  Friends - this are a wonderful group of friends I had in Indonesia .... as you can see, I had been teaching them patchwork!  I have to admit that's me with the grey hair - now, thanks to my marvellous hairdresser, I am a stunning blond .....

6. My studio - I took this photo yesterday ........ it was snowing and miserable out, but I was happy working on my latest projects

7. Travel - I enjoy holidays so much it's hard to pick a photo ...... this is Pollensa in Majorca

8. Food - I am definitely a 'live to eat' person, and while looking for a holiday photo, I also found a wonderful food picture, also taken in Pollensa

9. Of course any list of things that make me happy has to include wine ... I don't have any great knowledge about it, so if all else fails, I pick a bottle with an interesting label!

10. To end, the most simple pleasure known to woman ..... chocolate!!

 

Now I'm supposed to tag ten wonderful women .... but I find it so hard to choose (I can't help it, I'm a Libran!) ....... so, what I've decided is ........ if I regularly comment on your blog, and you would like to tell us of your ten things, then consider yourself tagged!!
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
  

Marooned!

Stuart phoned at eight o'clock this morning, which was unusual, as he should have been at work!  So where was he?  He was stuck in a major traffic jam on the A9 between Stirling and Perth (don't worry, he was 'hands-free') and just called to pass some time - I think he was phoning everyone he knows!  It was bad enough yesterday, when it took him two and three quarter hours to get to work - it usually takes him just under an hour.  Today he didn't even get there - he sent me a text at lunchtime to say that he had just got back home - the road was still closed, with two feet of snow!!

Fortunately, we didn't have anywhere near that much, so we headed out to Selkirk to have lunch, as we didn't go out yesterday.  We had the most wonderful soup ........

 

...... spicy carrot.  It had an underlying creamy flavour, which we thought was perhaps coconut milk - definitely one to try to recreate at home!

Do you remember some time ago I bought the silly cook book with the 'end of the world' recipes?  Well, today, I succumbed to a similar one!

 

 

I just love silly things like this

If you can't read the bit in the bottom left corner, click on the photo to enlarge it - it's quite entertaining!

On the way home I took this photo from the car - it was so grey and miserable, you can't see the hills on the horizon ......

 

Back home, I started work on the other three drawings for my stitcheries ...... they need some more work, especially on the faces.  The tea angel kept looking like a pig instead of an angel - I have almost rubbed the paper into a hole trying to get her face right!

 
  
 

 

Who stole all the colour!!

Yes, we woke up this morning to a world that had turned white overnight!  This was the sight that greeted me when I opened the back door to go out to the studio

 

 

Snow, snow and yet more snow - it's the worst winter for thirty years

 

 

Even this little pot of snowdrops looked miserable

 

 

It was definitely a day for playing in the studio.  I've been thinking about doing a wallhanging with four little stitcheries, so I made a start on the first one.  I drew a rectangle four inches by five inches, then divided it to help with the spacing .........

 

 

......... first for the lettering

 

 

....... and then for the drawing.  Malcolm drew the wings for me, as I just couldn't get them right!

 

 

Once I was happy with the pencil drawing, I traced over it with a black marker, to give me a clear outline when I then traced it onto the fabric (using the improvised lightbox that I made when I did the Valentine's cards).  I then made a start to the stitching, using red embroidery thread

 

 

My Valentine's roses are fading fast, so I took these two photos this afternoon, before they go to the compost bin!!

 

 

 

Fingers crossed the snow has gone when we get up tomorrow!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooking up a storm!

It's Monday, so as always, that meant domestic duties!  There was the usual weekly food shop, the laundry ...... then my favourite bit, an afternoon spent cooking!  I had bought some excellent braising steak on Saturday, and had decided to make chilli.  The kitchen bookshelves produced these two books

 

The book on the left is British, and although the one on the right is American, I bought it in Indonesia!  I decided on this recipe

 

My lovely meat ...

 

I put in twice as much onion as the recipe said, along with the stated amount of pepper and chilli .....

 

I didn't have any fresh garlic, so I used some of this ready-chopped frozen garlic

 

I browned the meat and set it aside, then while the onion, garlic, pepper and chilli were frying, I sorted out the other ingredients

You might notice an extra ingredient - the chipotle paste.  It adds a lovely smokey flavour (but don't lick the spoon after adding some - it is also very hot!!)

While the chilli was simmering .......

 

........ I peeled, sliced and diced a pile of vegetables to make soup

 

When the chilli was ready, I served it with these side dishes .......

 

and some grated cheese on the top

 

Once the soup was ready, I blitzed it (I don't like 'bits' in soup!)

...... and when it's cool, I'll put it in containers for the freezer - and of course there was plenty of chilli left to go in the freezer as well (and there may even have been enough for a portion for Stuart!)
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Not just one cake .......

....... but two!  Yes, we had two wonderful cakes this afternoon, although this week Annette didn't bake them, but bought them from a wonderful bakery in Jedburgh.  First we had lemon drizzle cake

 

followed by a wonderful traybake with chocolate on the bottom and coffee icing on the top (this was a 'healthy eating' cake, as the bottom layer was made with porridge oats!!)

 

I was working on the chickens again (yes, that's a very long term project), but I was also giving some advice to the lovely JoJo, who had come for the afternoon with her Aunt Morag.  She is just starting to sew, and it was lovely to see a teenager with enthusiasm for learning a craft!

 

There has been progress this week on reducing clutter.  On Monday I went through all my jumpers and cardigans, and sorted out a large pile (with some belts and a scarf as well) to go to a charity shop

As Malcolm was going into Hawick on Tuesday, he said he would hand the stuff in for me.  When he went into the shop, there didn't seem to be a member of staff about, but a customer came over to say that the lady had just popped out to bring a donation in from someone's car and he was minding the shop, and that on behalf of the staff he would say 'thank you very much'!!

You may remember in an earlier post I said that part of the decluttering plan was to finish things, and that I had looked out two cross stitch kits that I had started many years ago.  Having done some work on the map of Hampshire, I put that aside to do some of the English Garden Sampler.  I have finished the lettering in the centre, which took a long time, as it is worked over a single thread, and each letter has five shades of green!

So having finished the lettering, last night I sorted out the threads I need for the next section - there were only a few to choose from .......

and just a little bit of chart to follow ........

The little bit in the centre is the part I am now working on (the black strips that you can see are magnets, which hold the pattern on a metal board)  As you can see from the diagram on the left, as well as cross stitch, there is also drawn thread work.  The list on the right shows the threads that have to be 'blended' ...... where instead of the usual two strands of thread, you have to use one strand of each of two threads.  When I was sorting out the threads last night, there was one symbol that I just couldn't find - I went over and over the list (there was much muttering of rude words!!) .... then I found another section that listed the symbols for 'beads' .... yes, once I have worked all the cross stitch, then I have to sew on beads as well (I'm starting to remember why this kit was consigned to the cupboard all those years ago!!!!)

Finally, thanks to Sal for telling me that the little yellow flowers in yesterday's post are winter aconites.  If you love fabrics, and especially vintage fabrics, then do visit Sal's blog.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love, Anne