frayed at the edge

A matter of scale

After lunch, Malcolm suggested that we went for a walk round the old walls, but instead of walking along the top of the walls as we usually do, he thought we should walk  round the bottom.  That meant that on the way to the walls, we passed the entrance to the icehouse.  Usually the gate is shut and locked, and all you can see is the entrance tunnel, but when we went past we saw it was open, and that there were people inside ........ so we went in too!  We were amazed at the sheer size of the place. There was a knowledgeable chap who explained that the icehouse dated back to the heyday of salmon fishing on the Tweed, and could hold 250 tons of ice, which was collected from the frozen river in the winter

 

the hatches at the tops of the walls allowed them to completely fill the space - and Malcolm and the informative chap give the scale

 

as we walked on round to the walls, we noticed this statue, and wondered who the woman was

 

well, we still don't know, but assume she had something to do with medicine, as the statue is dedicated to a doctor

 

so how high do you think the walls are - 6 feet, eight feet, perhaps 10 feet?

 

that little speck is a man standing on top of the walls ..........

 

and these are two people walking their dog - which you can just see on the left

 

you know that walks with Malcolm often involve steps - today it was a long flight down

 

on our way down we had one of those silly arguments ........ I liked this door

 

........ but Malcolm said this one was better!!

 

our walk ended here, at Lowry's coffee shop in The Chandlery

 

I had rocky road and a pot of tea

 

while Malcolm had lemon drizzle cake and an americano, with hot milk on the side

 

after two days of glorious weather, we are back to the default end-of-summer weather ....... rain!  We will be heading home in the morning, but the forecast isn't very good, so  I don't think we will be out and about.  However I think Malcolm has football and cricket to watch on tv, and no doubt I will be out in the studio playing.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

The continuing saga ........

........ of the war with the neighbours' many horrid nasty cats!  We have tried so many things to keep the cats from using the planters at the edge of the deck as a toilet.  We used to grow vegetables in the planters, but who would want to eat something that a cat might have messed beside.  Some things just don't work, some work for a little while.  The teasels which Maureen gave me last autumn kept them away for the winter, but then in the spring we realised that they had gone soft and were no longer a prickly deterrent.  So Malcolm came up with the plan to gather a bag of flat stones every time we were on the beach, and here is what we hope will be the ultimate cat deterrent

 

the garden is blooming, with yet another clematis flowering

 

there is still a flush of colour at the tips of the pieris

 

my Lace Lady tree seems to have doubled in size this summer!

 

this shrub, and the lambs' ears below it, are always buzzing with bees and hover flies

 

the climbing rose in the pergola is pretty in pink

 

this is to the right of the studio door - shame about the drain pipe!

 

a riot of colour in one of the many pots on the deck

 

and more colour at the edge of the little cobbled area under the pergola - Malcolm made the chair and beehive from pallets!

 

some of the many lavender plants - they too are always buzzing with bees

 

and to finish - two beautiful red roses

 

 

I recently teased you .........

 .......... with some details of a project I was working on.  I had looked out this half-completed wallhanging, as I thought it would make a lovely gift for Sue's shop

 

the first job was to trim away the excess wadding

 

then I got out my box of Tilda fabrics

 

and chose this spotty one for the border

 

I layered up the wallhanging, ready for some fmq

 

after quilting, I trimmed the wallhanging

 

and added the binding

 

and here is the finished wallhanging

 

Sue was delighted to be given the wallhanging this morning, and hung it up here temporarily - she will hang it on the door once she gets a sucker to attach it to the glass

 

there were some new faces at today's sewing session, and as you can see from the table, there were all sorts of projects being worked on

 

Lucie had a pile of appliqué blocks ........

 

in all sorts of colours - I am looking forward to seeing what she does next

 

I am always in awe of Margaret's exquisite piecing

 

Barbara was working on clamshell blocks, and she and Lucie put their heads together to work out how the blocks could be put together

 

Frances delights in making ever smaller units for her latest quilt - her work mat shows you just how small these ones are

 

when I took this photo of Ros's hexie flower, there was a debate as to whether the photo showed just how small it is - perhaps you wouldn't realise that those are small embroidery scissors

 

so Ros gave me another one to compare it to.  The smaller one has sides which are a quarter of an inch!!

 

there were some delicious new fabrics in the shop

 

and these are just some of the classes which are available - if you are going to be in Northumberland, do visit the shop (you can find the details in this post).  As soon as you go in the door you will be offered a cuppa, and if your husband is with you, he will be whisked away to relax in the Husbands' Creche, allowing you to shop in peace!

 

I'll be back tomorrow to tell you why we have been spending so much time on the beach recently!

Two new projects

I had to pop down into Hawick this morning for some shopping, then when I got back, the sun was shining and I decided to take a walk along the road to see if the donkeys were out in the field.  I heard a tractor approaching, and was glad when it turned off, as its load didn't look too safe!

 

the donkeys unobligingly were in a corner of the field, so bits of fence were in the way

 

this little one must have been very hot with its shaggy coat

 

I don't know if this was a display of affection or chastisement!

 

this horse is often in this pen on its own - I know some horses mustn't eat rich grass, so perhaps that is why

 

in the field across the road, this horse was looking magnificent

 

these sparrows are slightly blurred, as they flew over so fast

 

back home, there were dozens of swallows on the neighbours' roofs

 

it was hard to count them

 

as they constantly took off and landed

 

but I think there were over 40 of them - I think they have raised three broods this year

 

the first of the new projects mentioned in today's title is Malcolm's

 

he has set up a work station in the summer house to work on some stained glass angels

 

he found some glass beads in his stash to use for their heads

 

he sat at our rather tatty table on the deck to put the copper foil round the edges

 

a good afternoon's progress

 

now for my new project - I had pieced this square years ago for a contest, but never finished it (I can't even remember now what I was going to do with it!)

 

I put it on the design wall, and cut a piece of stitch and tear

 

on which I drew some vague pencil lines

 

I then summoned my artist in residence (aka Malcolm) to turn my lines into a tree

 

I got out my embellisher (I had to give it a bit of a clean, as I haven't used it for a while!)

 

and some roving, which is a warmer brown than it looks in this photo

 

a start made to needle felting the roving on to the stitch and tear

 

gradually building up the tree - and even getting arty and adding a knot in the wood

 

after finishing the tree ........

 

........ the last stage was the scary bit - cutting the tree out, even although I knew the edges wouldn't fray.  Next I will use fmq to stitch it to the background - but that will have to wait for another day!

 

All the fun of the fair!

Before we set off on our journey to the Seaside Festival, we have to go back to Friday night, when a perfect rainbow appeared over Berwick

 

I hope someone found a pot of gold in the town, at the end of the rainbow

 

so, now to Saturday.  We walked along to the Festival, browsing through the "car boot" stalls on the first stretch of the promenade, then decided to share a bowl of chips, sitting in the sunshine, for lunch

 

there were all sorts of fairground rides for the children

 

and for their weary parents, there was a coffee stall

 

a hog roast stall - yes, they had a whole roast pig!

 

it was hard to resist the delicious smell from the freshly cooked donuts

 

this trailer had been granted a special licence for the weekend, to sell alcohol on the promenade, and for the customers to walk along the promenade with their drinks (served in plastic tumblers)

 

I had to drag my sweet tooth away from the sweetie stall

 

and in case you were hungry again by the time you got to the end of the promenade you could stop for a burger (I only realised afterwards that I hadn't taken a photo of the ice cream van at the start of the prom!)

 

we missed the Punch and Judy show, and Malcolm declined my offer to pay for him to have his face painted!  I then declined to join the little girls who were singing their hearts out to "Let it go", the annoying song from Frozen

 

in the final marquee, there was a delightful Scottish lady who, as well as selling jewellery, had two owls.  For £5 you could have a photo taken with an owl on your arm, but I preferred to pop some money in the donation tin and take photos of the owls on their perches

 

as the owl turned its head away ........

 

then back again, the lady explained to some children that owls have an extra two bones in their necks, which enable them to turn their heads 340 degrees.  They need to be able to turn their heads so much because, unlike us, who can look to the side, they can only look forward

 

I have only seen owls like this one in books, so it was a delight to see it on its perch

 

and as you can see, this child was fascinated by it

 

on our way back along the prom, I offered to buy Malcom a beer, which he immediately said yes to, and as I don't like beer, I had wine.  Cheers!!

Some odd things .........

......... I encountered this morning while walking on the beach!  We walked along to the far end of the promenade, before going down on to the beach to walk back

 

and I had only walked a few yards before I saw this

 

the remains of an old sweeping brush

 

if the owner of this shoe is as big as it suggests, I was quite glad not to meet him

 

this is a rubber stopper, the kind you get on the end of walking sticks

 

a very large piece of bone, but as it has been cleanly cut, it's not from an animal that met its end on the beach

 

a deflated football - I am sure some little boy was upset to leave it behind

 

now this is a very strange thing to find on the beach - a gun cartridge.  I would hope that it had been washed down the river, and wasn't left by someone shooting on the beach

 

we occasionally chat to a man who regularly walks his dog along the beach - he is always interested in what we are picking up, and what we plan to do with it.  He had already stopped for a chat on the outward leg of his walk, then on his return leg stopped to give me this strange looking stone. I thought it might be a piece of worn concrete, but Malcolm thinks it's some kind of stone

 

a collection of bits of crabs against the wall - I would think an animal or bird ate them, as there would hardly be a taste of flesh on them for a human

 

this daft dog was determined to dig all the way through to Australia

 

while this one was determined to kill its stick

 

as I approached this tree stump, I thought someone had placed stones round it - perhaps to make a campfire

 

but when I poked one of the "stones" with my foot, it turned out to be sand.  I decided that someone had built square sandcastles round the stump

 

it was windy on the beach, and this square was already being sculpted by the wind

 

I thought Malcolm was being romantic when he handed me this heart-shaped stone ........ but he had picked it up because he thought it looked like a chicken!

 

and so to the best bit of Friday ........ the cakes!!  We went to Fantoosh, where Malcolm enjoyed a piece of Bakewell tart

 

while I had Lover's Lemon Drizzle cake (it was heart-shaped).  Malcolm assured me that his tart was delicious, but as I don't like Bakewell, I didn't have a taste, but he had a taste of my lemon drizzle, which he enjoyed

 

we have our fingers firmly crossed for tomorrow, for the Spittal Seaside Festival, where there will be fun and games for everyone (and all sorts of things to eat!).  I hope you have a great weekend, love Anne

Not much to report!

I spent the morning doing some housework (boring), then in afternoon at the hairdressers, having my blonde gorgeousness restored (I do enjoyed being pampered!), so I only have a handful of photos to share with you.  As I was moving the orchids off the kitchen windowsill this morning to a) clean the windowsill, and b) water the orchids, I realised that I hadn't done an orchid report for a while.  This little one has just started flowering

 

this very pale one has been flowering for some months now

 

this big one has been flowering for several weeks

 

it has beautiful strong markings on the petals

 

through in the guest bedroom, something strange has happened with this orchid.  At first I thought it was putting out a new flower shoot, but it produced a leaf.  It grew some more, then produced another leaf, and now it is finally producing some flower buds.  In all the time that I have kept orchids (I can't claim to grow them, all I do is water them and occasionally feed them) I have never had one produce a shoot like this

 

in the "fitness room" (aka the smallest bedroom), I have a plant in a basket that I have had for years.  I had it for several years before we moved to Hawick, and that will be ten years ago at the end of the month.  Every summer it puts out a flower spike.  You might think this is reasonably impressive ........ but when we have been on holiday in Portugal, we have seen this plant growing in roadside verges, and reaching heights of eight feet or more!

 

I occasionally mention the implements of torture, which I endure first thing in the morning, to counteract the sconnage and cake consumption.  There is a small television in the room, so that as I trundle along, I can watch the early morning news and weather forecast.  I know that if I didn't get up early to endure the torture, I simply wouldn't do it later in the day, as I would always have an excuse not to do it

Birds and a book

 I took some of these bird photos some weeks ago, but somehow they never made it into a post!  We start with a finch sitting on top of the bird table

 

then we have starlings sitting on a telegraph pole and phone wires

 

and flying off after being attacked by some swallows!

 

a wagtail on the birdbath

 

 helpfully turning its head the other way for a second photo

 

but wagtails are rarely still, both wagging their tails, and bobbing their heads up and down, so most photos turn out blurred like this one

 

a scruffy blue tit sitting on the bin store.  I think it was probably not long out of the nest, and still had some of its juvenile feathers

another day, another group of starlings

 

and yet another day, with some blue sky, and starlings!

 

a thrush, looking slightly misty

 

after blackbirds have been in the bird bath ........

 

........ they like to sit in the sun, spreading their wings and fluffing up their feathers

 

this little blue tit was pecking at the peanut feeder this afternoon

 

again it is a scruffy one, probably from the second or third brood of the summer - it has been a very good year for the garden birds

 

I was sitting inserting the photos into the post when this sparrow appeared, so I had to quickly snap him and load the photos on to the laptop, to be included

 

a good splash

 

a very thorough bath

 

aaaah - that's better

 

and now for the book in today's title.  Last week Kelly recommended this book, so I had a look to see if it was available for the Kindle.  Well it was, but it was a silly price.  But of course Amazon give you other choices, and I was able to buy a 2nd hand paperback for 1p, plus £2.80 p&p!

 

the book arrived this morning

 

and I was surprised to see that the return address was jut up the road in Galashiels (I admit that I hadn't read all the vendor details when I bought the book)

 

this may be a local company, but I have never heard of it.  So of course I googled it, and found that it is a very interesting concern, buying excess stock of books from charity shops, as well as accepting donations of books, and selling them to raise money for community projects.  They also employ people who struggle to find work.  The next time I have a clear out of books, I shall donate them to this worthy cause.

This and that

When we were in Eyemouth on Saturday, we had a browse round one of the charity shops, and as soon as I saw this bundle, I grabbed it, as it was only £1.50

 

two frames for hand quilting - an absolute bargain!

 

I also bought this storage box in Homebase in Berwick, as it was very reasonably priced.  Malcolm asked me what I would put in it ..... to which I answered "stuff"!!

 

it didn't take me long to fill it with lots of my beach finds

 

on Sunday afternoon I was going to do some fmq, so I had a quick practice, filling in this shape which I had previously sewn

 

I can't show you the whole thing as it is a present

 

but I'll tease you with a little flower .......

 

...... or two!

 

out in the garden, there are real flowers to enjoy.  Last year our passion flower sulked and produced one bud, which didn't flower, but this year it is covered in buds which are producing beautiful flowers

 

a textured appliqué, perhaps?

 

another clematis has flowered

 

and this one has flowered for a second time.  It looks as if the new flower is on the same stem as the old one, but the new shoot had twined round the old shoot

big buds on this clematis

 

and tiny buds on this one

 

hopefully these little buds will produce olives

 

and these grapes will grow a bit bigger

 

I tried and tried to capture bees on the lavender

 

but as soon as you get them in focus they buzz off to the next flower

 

so all you get is a blur!

 

when I was sorting out the flower photos, I realised that I have quite a lot of bird photos that I haven't shared with you, so pop back in tomorrow to see them!

 

Boats, gulls ....... and chips!

On Saturday, as it was a lovely day, we took a run up the coast, stopping first at St Abbs.  As always, there were all sorts of things round the harbour to see.  Lobster pots

 

a rusty ring

 

rusty metal - no idea what it's for

 

I love this rusty building

 

the person who left these lying obviously didn't think they would be stolen

 

Malcolm liked this collection of bits and bobs on a pallet

 

there were lots of gulls about - fortunately this one wasn't on our car

 

and lots of pigeons sunning themselves on the roof of their loft

 

we saw the lifeboat go whizzing by - hopefully it was on a training exercise

 

this tanker was going somewhat more slowly

 

and the two men who eventually paddled off in these canoes were going the slowest of all

 

this boat came in quickly through the channel between the rocks

 

but had to slow down to go into the harbour

 

Malcolm spotted this rosehip, which is already starting to ripen

 

we then went on up the coast to Eyemouth, where I was tempted to steal pinch acquire this little ice cream truck

 

when I see a door like this one, I always wonder what secrets may lie behind it!

 

fortunately the Eyemouth lifeboat was moored in the harbour, no emergencies for it

 

a fishing boat coming back into the harbour

 

you wait all day for a cargo ship ........

 

......... then two come along at once

 

we were entertained by a seal in the harbour

 

then we saw a pair of swans with their cygnets

the cygnets looked a bit scruffy

 

as they are losing their juvenile feathers

 

on several recent visits to Eyemouth, this little shop has been shut, so we were delighted to find it open

 

it mostly sells wool, with quite a few kits, as well as various other crafty bits

 

purchases were made by Malcolm - but they are for my birthday, so you will have to wait until October to see them

 

of course, as we were beside the sea, we had to share a portion of chips for lunch!

 

and yesterday morning we shared a delicious cheese scone ....... so this morning I was up at 6.20 and on the rowing machine and the cross trainer!

 

to finish - you know that I have a slightly weird sense of humour ...... so is it just me that sees an unintended meaning in this sign??!!