frayed at the edge

Cute cups!

Just a very short post, as it is Abbey Quilters' monthly meeting tonight, and I have to leave shortly after dinner to pick up Maureen.  We are making name badges tonight, in preparation for our exhibition in the summer.

I was delighted when Stuart and Alison gave me these cups for Christmas.  I can sense you thinking, why is she so pleased with a motley collection of china cups?

 

perhaps the next photo will explain why, when you see them with a normal sized cup

 

yes, the tiny cups are measuring cups, and are much more stylish than my red spoons, which I have had for more years than I can remember!

 

very cute cups indeed!!

 

back tomorrow with lots of sewing, including the camera bag.

Before the before!

It occurred to me that you might like to see what the studio was like before it was the studio!  I took these first photos when we viewed the house before buying it, so the junk stuff isn't ours!

the top room was the milking parlour

 

the bottom room was a new room built between the milking parlour and the garage

 

if I had known that I would be writing this blog some years later, I would have taken more photos before the work was started!  Also, I couldn't get in during the early stages, when floors were being dug up and relaid

this is where the stove now sits

 

the velux windows are remote-controlled, as they are so high

 

the original window, looking into the neighbours' back yard

 

the replacement window with patterned glass

 

the original back door

 

working on the door frame

 

the new doors

 

the opening for the front doors

 

the new doors

 

working on the roof

 

the finished front doors

 

the finished back doors

 

I hope you enjoyed that little bit of studio history!  This morning we went to Lauder, to have lunch in The Flat Cat

 

we both chose baguettes.  Malcolm had cheese, with tomato chutney on the side

 

and I had tuna mayo (Malcolm ate the olives, as I don't like them)

 

we had a stroll round the shops, but resisted buying anything

 

the post box is no longer there, just the sign on the wall of the post office

 

back home, Malcolm made these little beauties for tomorrow's breakfast ......

 

....... using this recipe

 

while I started the first stage in making more jelly, using a big bag of crab apples which Maureen had given me.  I cut up half of them and put them in a large saucepan with a lemon and three plums which were languishing in the fruit bowl.  I added a litre of water and brought it up to a simmer

 

the liquid is now dripping through the jelly bag.  The plums have given it a lovely red colour.  I'm plannning to add chillies tomorrow to make a savoury jelly, which I think will be good with pork and ham.

and to finish - as we came home through Galashiels, we had to pull in to the side of the road and breathe in, as this extra wide load squeezed past

Isn't technology wonderful .......

....... when you learn how to use it!  After I mentioned yesterday about not putting a post-it on the Kindle, Rachel left a comment about making a note on the Kindle.  So I made the effort this morning to find out how to do that .......

 

...... so when I tap on the highlighted word, up pops the note to tell me to use less egg

 

a sad day ....... my favourite skirt is now too tatty for me to wear.  I have had this skirt for years - I had it before we moved here seven years ago.  It was great for travelling in, as it doesn't crease and the bright colours hide any dirty marks.  But I have a plan to recycle/upcycle/repurpose it!

 

today didn't quite work out as planned, as we had a visitor this morning who stayed much longer than expected.  Once he finally left, we poppped into Hawick for a spot of lunch and some shopping.  I had to call in at the pharmacy in the Medical Centre to pick up a prescription, only to find that it was closed for lunch!  So we had to potter about the shops until it re-opened.  This meant that I didn't have as much time in the studio as I had planned.  I made a start to putting the binding on the red, white and blue wallhangings.  This is the hanging sleeve pinned in place

 

and the binding stitched on the front, ready to be folded over to the back and hand-stitched in place

 

this shows the binding n the second wallhanging folded over and clipped in place, ready to be stitched

 

since Saturday, Malcolm has transformed the garage into an outpost of Santa's workshop!  He has been making his driftwood trees, which he sold lots of last year.  He has made five so far

 

he has plans for the contents of these boxes

 

for those of you who are to young to recognise yesterday's tv programme ...... it was Cagney and acey.

Sunday morning stroll

When we got up yesterday, it was a lovely bright morning, but by the time we had breakfast (kippers on toast) it had clouded over.  However, when we got to St Boswells, it had brightened up again.  We parked in a lay-by, and set off to do another one of the walks round the village.  Fortunately the gate wasn't locked, so I didn't need to climb over it, as has happened on previous walks!

 

the elder trees were laden with berries, providing a feast for the birds - any cars in the vicinity will be well and truly splattered!

 

the path follows the old railway line, but as you can see, it has been reclaimed by nature

 

there were lots of mushrooms

 

there were still some plump brambles (I picked them, along with some rosehips, and made  jelly)

 

we left the path and headed up a farm track

 

you can imagine my delight when I saw this ........ a beautiful rusty building, with large bits of farm machinery

 

the scenery, as always, was stunning

 

Malcolm kindly held these acorns for me

 

of course you know what comes next ....... sconnage!  We went to the garden centre, and were delighted to find that the special offer for October was a fruit scone with jam and clotted cream - yum, yum!!

 

a large parcel arrived in the post for me this morning

 

it contained a belated birthday present, from the other Scottish Anne blogger.  The most wonderful soap - if only you could smell it!  And it is even more special, as it is made by Anne's daughter Debbie.  If you fancy some, check out The Wee Soap Shop.  Thank you Anne, for such a lovely present!

 

in Sainsbury's this morning, the man who served me at the checkout was somewhat bemused when he scanned four different packets of sugar ...... I had to explain that after lots of jam, jelly and chutney making, I had used almost all the sugar in the house (I had some caster and demerara left)

 

I mentioned before the holiday that Stuart had borrowed my big lens.  It was because Alison had arranged for him to have a photography lesson for his birthday.  I was going to put in a link in to Will Robb Photography, but there was a problem and I can't get the website to open. Stuart has known Will since they were at school together, and is delighted that his photography venture is doing well.  This is a photo of The Grassmarket in Edinburgh, with the castle on the skyline.  I am looking forward to seeing the rest of his photos

 

On Saturday I decided what I would knit, and looked out this wool from my stash

 

come back tomorrow and I'll show you how the knitting is progressing, and give you a sewing update.

Happy birthday to me!!

I know you are much too polite to ask, so I will tell you that I am 29 today (what do you mean, you don't believe me!!??)  Malcolm's cards were still on the mantlepiece .......

 

........so had to be taken down to make way for mine

 

I had lots of super presents, including three books - the top two from Malcolm, the bottom one from Stuart and Alison.  As I am about to redecorate/reorganise the studio, I will be studying the Studio book for ideas

 

I have been known to enjoy a glass (or two) of wine - the cocktail napkins are from Malcolm, the wine bottle stopper from Stuart and Alison

 

Malcolm took me out for lunch.  I had a coronation chicken baguette

 

and Malcolm had egg mayo

 

we then shared a treacle scone.  It was all delicious

 

I was too busy enjoying my birthday dinner to take photos - Scottish mussels in a cider, bacon and leek broth, and gnocchi with gorgonzolla and pancetta (courtesy of Waitrose!!).

So, back to the holiday.  As always, I bought some magazines.  But these ones aren't just Portuguese.  The top ones are Spanish, the middle ones are Brazilian, the bottom left one is also Brazilian and the right hand one is Portuguese

 

this one is also Brazilian, with some super recycling projects

 

I also bought two sewing machines ........ or should I say, two miniature model sewing machines!  They are similar to the machine I learned to sew on at school when I was thirteen, and the machine which was given to me by a friend of my Mum's when I was seventeen

 

I always buy a present for Malcolm when we are on holiday ...... but this time it was really a present for both of us - some poppy-embellished dishes for the kitchen table (sorry, there are nasty shadows in the photos .... it was such a dull day I had to put the light on!)

 

little bowls for salt and pepper

 

a big bowl for a candle and pot pourri

 

and a split dish - just because we liked it!

 

all I have to do now is make a runner to match!  To finish, a couple of photos to show what I go through to get brilliant photos for you  ...... I don't like heights, I don't like stairs (I have spent most of my life living in one-level houses/flats/apartments).  Come back tomorrow to see what was at the bottom of this assault course!!

Arches

We employed a wonderful plasterer to do a lot of work for us in the Victorian house.  One of the major jobs was to turn some odd shaped doorways/openings into arches.  It was a joy to watch him work, as he made the frameworks himself, rather than using preformed ones

 

this is through the arch into the dining room - the previous owner had raised the level of most of the room, forming a hall on the lower level.  We replaced the heavy dark spindles with thinner light colored ones.  In the photo on the bottom right, the new carpet had just been fitted, and Honey the spaniel was enjoying the view from the window

 

 

Rush, rush, rush

I emailed Anne last night to check if it was ok to go down to see her next Wednesday, as I usually go on the first Wednesday of the month.  She replied that next week didn't suit, and could I go this Wednesday instead.  So today I have been running about finishing Country Cottages and printing the patterns.  I wanted to add some beads, so looked out these three tubs

 

there are all sorts of beads

 

they added nice finishing touches as flowers and doorknobs

 

and here it is, the finished quilt!

 

while I was sewing on the beads, I had the printer chugging away, printing the patterns

 

but then there was a slight hiccup - when I started printing the photos to go on the front of the patterns, the colour cartridge ran out

 

fortunately I had a new one, and by the end of the afternoon, the patterns were in their bags, ready to go south tomorrow

 

Susan asked me where in the garden my studio is, so I took these photos this morning.  For the first photo I am standing just inside the gate from the front of the house into the back garden, with the studio at the back of the garden beyond the summerhouse

 

I'm now standing where Stuart was lounging in the hammock (sorry about the washing line in the photo!)

 

the back part of the studio is one of the original farm buildings - it was the milking parlour

 

this is the view out the back

 

a funny story ...... a while ago a friend had asked me about the outer wooden storm doors.  I went out to take photos, closing them as they looked better that way.  Oops - you can't open the storm doors from the outside ..... and you can't undo the bolts on the gate from this side - so I had to climb over the gate.  I am very glad that no-one saw me!

Coming clean!

We arrived home from our shopping trip to Hawick with all of this ......

 

...... have I been bitten by the cleaning bug?  NO!!  When I did the weekly food shop on Monday, I was given a coupon which said that I would get another coupon for 7p a litre off fuel if I spent £30 on cleaning products (did you follow that?).  As I needed to fill the car, we popped into Sainsbury's on the way home and stocked up - I then saved £1.75 on my fuel bill!

 

Once I had tucked everything away in the utility room, I headed out into the sunshine to take photos of the bits'n'bobs that I picked up on the beach while Malcolm was collecting driftwood.  I popped the shells and bits of seaglass in a little glass jar

 

I think this is a bit of a Coke bottle

 

they have joned my little seaside vignette on the bathroom windowsill

 

when I went for my walk on Tuesday morning, the donkeys were in the faraway paddock, but when we went past yesterday, they were in the paddock next to the road. So I had a walk along the road after lunch in the hope that they would be there again today.  The haymaking is in full swing - this is the field across the road from the donkeys

 

oh dear ..... the poor donkeys were being tormented by flies!  The little spotty one had on a fly coat and hood

 

the other little one and the medium one had hoods

 

the big one was coping by constantly flicking its tail and ears

 

I spent the afternoon in the studio, but you'll have to wait until tommorrow to see what I was doing!  While I was sewing, Malcolm was making progress painting the summer house

 

to finish, I can now show you what I sent Sarah as her prize for the giveaway.  As well as the stitch markers, I sent her a mounted photo of a heron, as I know that she shares my love of them

 

you will have to wait to see what I sent Meredithe, as her parcel hasn't yet reached Melbourne!

Shorn!

As Thursday is one of my two "fast" days, I haven't been able to enjoy a wonderful, delicious, yummy scone when we have our regular cuppa at The Pickled Orange in Hawick.  But as the diet is still going well (if a little bit slowly), I have decided that on the first Thursday of the month, we can as usual share a scone.  Well, could you resist this cheese scone - especially as it was just out of the oven?

 

back home, I headed out to the studio to take photos of the fabric I bought yesterday.  I was quite restrained, buying a total of two metres

 

for those of you who like to know these things, the details

 

I should have shown you my new glasses on Monday, but as I was desperately in need of a haircut, I decided to wait until today.  Having spent the afternoon having my colour done and then having my hair cut quite a bit shorter - my new look!

 

the next time I get highlights in my hair, I shall have to get purple to match my glasses!

 

I have done reasonably well resisting the temptation to buy magazines ........ but sometimes when it is a new one, I give in

 

the main carpark in Kelso was full when I went to the hairdressers this afternoon, so I parked at the Garden Centre.  I popped in for a browse after getting my hair done ........ and saw the most wonderful array of orchids.  Of course one came home with me

 

I've never seen one like this, with beautiful dark markings

 

could this be the inspiration for some applique?

 

to finish, some photos of a very cute, very young robin having a bath

 

Trees and boats

One of our favourite places on holiday is the Pine Walk in Puerto Pollensa.  I am sure if I look back through my photos from the last few holidays I will find photos of the same trees!

 

sadly, one of the trees was being cut down.  We watched fascinated as the tree surgeon simply sawed through sections and let them fall

 

this house on the Pine Walk, which we called the Elephant House, was for sale for several years, and was slowly growing more dilapidated, so we were delighted to see that it has been sold and is being restored

 

 there are all sorts of boats to take photos of

 

Malcolm had his eye on this one, which was for sale

 

given the price, I think it is more likely that we would end up with one like this!

 

Friday means cake, and this week it was Annette's beautiful chocolate sponge

 

before we went on holiday, Malcolm had ordered my new car, and it was delivered at lunchtime.  I LOVE it!!!!!!