frayed at the edge

Clam shells .......

........ but not the kind you find on the beach!!  I watched an online tutorial at the weekend, on how to use a clam shell pattern to fill in a block.  So yesterday I thought I would have a go.  I got out my practice piece, which is rapidly filling up

 

and made a start by bringing the bobbin thread up.  As this is just a practice, I didn't bother changing the bobbin thread to match the top thread!

 

to start, I stitched a teardrop shape, and echoed round it several times ........ could be neater!

 

then I stitched the wavy edge of the clam shell, and echoed it

 

another teardrop, but this time a bigger gap between the two outer echoes .......

 

because I was going to add pearls.  I haven't done circles like this before, stitching half circles first

 

then coming back and adding the other half - this definitely needs some practice.  Usually I stitch whole circles, which means there is some backtracking to do, but I think gives a neater circle

 

the outer lines added, and a small teardrop worked to fill in the gap

 

a slightly better attempt at the pearls

 

I'm quite pleased with this first attempt!

 

and I like the wrong side too - because of the slight difference in tension, some of the blue thread shows through

 

the next job was to finish off the beading on the Autumn Breeze wallhanging, with clusters of beads at the base of the leaves round the vase

 

and some larger beads on the leaf blocks.  But you will have to wait until the exhibition to see the finished wallhanging!

 

when we are over at the flat, I have been working away on the quilting of the stitchery blocks, and I am now on block 31 ..... jut one to go!

 

I had already cut out the hexagons for the plain blocks

 

and made a good start to tacking the smaller hexies to thin wadding.  There are twice as many of these ones as the stitchery ones, so it may be some time before they are all quilted!

 

Andy Murray is playing tennis at the moment, and has already given us several heart-stopping moments ...... and that was just in the first set!  And then, later this evening, Wales are playing in the semi-final of the football .......

 

Crabby

On the beach on Sunday morning, there was a bit of cloud about, and a bit of a breeze, but after heavy rain on Saturday evening, the air was fresh and clear

 

there was a much clearer view of Lindisfarne, way in the distance - usually it is very hazy

 

there are lots of rock formations on this beach, providing nooks and crannies for stones and shells to collect in

 

and for new shells to cling to the remains of old shells

 

I had soon picked up a handful of small shells

 

but I set this large one adrift in a rock pool

 

whoever had walked along the beach before me has somewhat bigger feet than me!

 

a rather large crab claw

 

another large claw, and two smaller ones

 

suddenly there were the remains of crabs everywhere I looked

 

this empty shell still had its claws

 

twins!

 

I had just arranged an arty pile of crab shells when a puff of wind blew some of them away

 

ok, enough crabs, let's play with driftwood, shells and stones instead!

 

I wonder if someone put these stones in this shell, or if they were just left behind by the tide?

 

then Malcolm found these two tiny pale crab shells

 

turning round to walk back along the beach, we could just make out the lighthouse in the distance

 

and to finish, one last little crab ....... or is it an owl!

 

back tomorrow with some sewing!

 

 

 

At the end rainbow ........

Woohoo, Wales won on Friday night, and just as the final whistle blew, this rainbow appeared ........  perhaps instead of a pot of gold at the end of it, the Cup is waiting for them!

 

when we were over in Berwick on Saturday morning, Malcolm noticed these poppies growing on a derelict building site

 

a riot of colour

 

I've never seen poppies this colour

 

yet another view of the three bridges - you can just see the new bridge through the left hand arch, and the railway bridge through the right hand one

 

it's hard work keeping your feathers neat and tidy - the swans spend a lot of time preening, spreading oil along their feathers

 

but what has got these swans in a flap?

 

one of the little fishing boats coming back into the dock

 

we also had a visit from the seal

 

who was tucking into a fish

 

yesterday we went a short way down the coast to Cocklawburn beach for a walk - I'll share the photos with you tomorrow.  After our walk, of course we went for some sconnage, calling in here

 

Malcolm ordered a cheese scone

 

and I ordered a fruit scone, then of course we had half each!

 

that was going to be the end of the post, but when we got home this morning, as I was unpacking the bags, Malcolm went out into the back garden.  He came back in and said to come out and bring the camera.  Look at the tree, he said

 

some of the branches were bare.  Why? 

 

if you don't like caterpillars, don't look at the next two photos - the tree was covered in lots of these little beasties

 

which sadly are no more, but have been dispatched to caterpillar heaven!

An early walk

As we knew the forecast was for rain later in the day, we headed to the beach not long after breakfast.  I immediately got side tracked by this dainty plant, growing in the sand

 

the clouds were mostly high and wispy

 

I was taking a photo of the clouds, then realised that I had also captured two dogs playing in the water

 

but what was this ........ had Nessie popped down to Berwick for a holiday?  No, it was just a tyre left on the beach after the winter storms

 

there was nothing inside this crab shell - but its little eyes were still sticking out!

 

a swan feather, with my foot in my snazzy summer shoes

 

great minds thinking alike - I was about to take this photo when Malcolm said ...... that's a good shot with the wood and stones

 

every time we are on the beach, I see something else of interest in the remains of the wooden groynes which were uncovered when the sand shifted in the winter storms

 

in the few months that they have been uncovered, some of them have become covered in weeds

 

with the old bolts and metal plates getting rustier

 

I can see a monster's face in this one!

 

the weed on this bit has grown round the knot in the wood

 

I always find something to pick up on the beach, with a view to making something with it.  But after looking at this piece, I decided to leave it on the sand

 

but I kept these little bits and bobs

 

back at the flat, we were sitting reading the papers after lunch, when we saw there was a bit of a commotion just outside the dock, involving one of the fishing boats, and a yacht which had been moored in the dock overnight.  Eventually the fishing boat towed the yacht into the dock

 

using a length of rope which didn't really look up to the job!

 

safely back in the dock to sort out the problem

 

the rescue operation was supervised by the chap on the right - he usually is in charge of the pilot boat, so I guess he was on hand to help out

 

yesterday evening I was taking photos of some swans leaving the dock, when the ones at the front about turned ....... you can just see two men rowing up the river, which had disturbed them

 

all the swans then made for the far corner

 

then this afternoon, not only did a lot of swans come gliding in, but they were accompanied by a lot of geese

 

I wonder if they realise they are different?

 

and of course to finish, we have the Friday cake.  We went to Café Crema, where Malcolm had a strawberry and white chocolate muffin

 

while I had a Mars Bar crispy cake - delicious (I gave Malcolm the bit on the left that had white chocolate on it!)

 

at the moment we are watching the tennis at Wimbledon, then this evening there is football, with my other team, Wales, playing in the quarter finals (we won't mention England's ignominious exit on Monday!!)  Whether you are indoors watching sport, or out and about, enjoy your weekend, love Anne

 

Running late!

I spent a good part of the afternoon in the hairdresser's, having my colour restored (yes, I admit it, the blonde isn't natural!!) and my unruly locks trimmed.  When Malcolm picked me up, we headed over to the flat.  By the time we unpacked and ate a delicious takeaway pizza, it was way past the time I usually post at, so just a quickie.  In the evenings, I have been adding some embroidery to the Autumn Breeze wallhanging.  Thick gold stems and tendrils

 

finer gold veins on the leaves

 

French knots down the centre of a small leaf

 

a silver tendril and leaves

 

silver running stitch

 

silver stem stitch on the heart.  I didn't mark any of the shapes, so some of them look a bit wonky ........ I shall simply say they are organic, or whatever the latest buzzword is!

 

I am now adding beads to the fmq leaves.  I only have three weeks to finish it - I had better sew the beads on a bit faster ......

Rain stopped play

We had thought we might go for a walk this morning before we went for lunch, but sadly rain stopped that plan.  At least we had the consolation of a tasty lunch ........ Malcolm's sandwich was pastrami with leek jam

 

while I had ham with apricot chutney

 

back home, I headed out to the studio, and turned on the tv - the diehard Wimbledon fans were braving the rain on "Henman Hill" to watch the Centre Court match, the only one being played,  on big screens

 

while the lucky ticket holders watched in comfort under the roof

 

so, I pressed Mrs B and popped her up on the design wall.  Since I added the large hexagon border, I have been unhappy with it, as the hexagons are too big

 

so I think I will make up some diamond stars like this, and add one to the centre of each hexagon

 

I am stitching the first of the small hexagon borders

 

I have the strip ready for the second side, and I counted out the hexagons that I need for the other two

 

I had already prepped quite  a few of these hexagon pyramids (yes, I like stitching hexies!)

 

they alternate between coloured ones, and calico ones

 

so I sorted out the rest of the ones that I had already prepped, and counted out the hexies I need to make the rest

 

but in sorting out all the bits and bobs that I had cut then not used, I found this pile of squares

 

so perhaps I will add a border of squares before the pyramid border

 

I folded the remaining bigger  pieces of fabrics and put them back in the project box

 

oops, a pile of scrappy bits left on the floor (note to self, please vacuum the carpet!!)  (in case you are wondering why a chose to have a plain brown carpet in the studio, when every little bit of thread shows on it ......... it was the end of a roll, and we got it for a bargain price!)

 

there is probably enough of this fabric for a last border, if I need to make the quilt a little bit bigger to sit on our bed, in top of our comforter

 

these scrappy bits have been put next to the sewing machine, to be used as thread catchers

 

I also tidied up my sewing tin, with my beautiful Japanese silk threads (with two YLI ones one the left)  The little tub of applique pins was given to me years ago by a friend ......

 

....... who also gave me this tin (which describes me perfectly!)

 

it contains this little tape measure - which is much too cute to unwrap and use!

 

having sorted out Mrs B (or maybe I should start calling her not-quite-mrs-B), I got out another project box - yes, it's the Aunts' Quilt

 

I didn't like the outer border on the pattern (dozens of scallops), but hadn't decided what to do instead.  But then recently I saw an idea when I was blog hopping (I can't now remember where I saw it, so if it was on your blog, please tell me so that I can put in a link).  So, a very simple idea, groups of three stems, each with a circle at the end.  After all the machine sewing that I have done recently, it will be nice to sit and do some hand sewing (or rather, lots of hand sewing!).

 

having just proof-read the post, I think I need to use less exclamation marks!!

 

Progress!

On Saturday, I got out my remaining quilt top for the exhibition, and this wonderful orange fleece for the back

 

all pinned, ready to quilt

 

I put the walking foot on the machine, and quilted in the ditch

 

the lengthways lines quilted

 

and the widthways ones added

 

the next stage was to trim the quilt and add the binding.  I found this shocking orange in my stash - I had bought it some time ago when I needed orange for .......

 

my "I found Nemo" wallhanging

 

the binding machine stitched on the front, and ready to handstitch to the back

 

the quilts have to have hanging sleeves for the exhibition.  Normally I use matching fabric for wallhangings

 

but these three quilts will be going to Linus after the exhibition, so I made temporary calico sleeves for them

 

the sleeve pinned in place, ready to be stitched

 

the finished quilt

 

I had another play using the plastic circles, starting with two big circles

 

then adding three smaller circles

 

and finally filled in some of the sections - good fun!

 

and this last photo is for Meredithe - woohoo, I have done some more work on Mrs Billings!!

A walk in the woods

Yesterday morning, we headed over to Harestanes, to go for a walk.  We parked beside this lovely old building

 

and for once resisted the lures of the beautifully crafted items in this shop

 

this is the visitor centre and cafe, where we ended our walk

 

we hadn't gone very far into the woods

 

when we saw this section of old tree trunk, with what at first glance looked like some sort of strange fungus on it

 

but it was a vast collection of coins, hammered into the wood ....... I have no idea why!

 

every so often, there would be a shaft of sunlight through the trees

 

I would be reluctant to sit on this bench, as I have watched far too many cheesy horror films, where nasty things creep out of the woods to attack  people!

 

I took this photo of the base of a tree trunk, then realised that you wouldn't appreciate the size of it

 

so took this one, with another bench, to give you the scale

 

Malcolm always pauses to admire the sturdy wooden bridges

 

this one has chicken wire on it, to stop you slipping on it when it is wet

 

even in the depths of the woods there was a flight of steps to be negotiated

 

and just in case we got lost, there was a compass to point the way

 

these plants also make me think of horror films

 

will some nasty tentacles appear and grab me?

 

no - they just produce pretty flowers

 

this weird and wonderful thing is a beech nut

 

the flies were basking in the sunshine

 

as we walked back to the visitor centre, a flash of red caught my eye - a post box!

 

every table in the cafe had a water glass with a few wild flowers and herbs - very pretty

 

we had some excellent sconnage - delicious cheese

 

and an unusual flavour - elderflower

 

I have mentioned in the past that when it comes to choosing a bottle of wine, I tend to go by the label, so I couldn't resist these two bottles when I was shopping this morning

 

you even get a little story about the pig on the back label!

 

but I wouldn't want you to think that my diet consists of scones and wine ....... I do eat some healthy stuff, like these juicy grapes

 

and the best strawberries in the world

 

and watermelon, which I have chopped up ready to eat with breakfast or pudding

 

and this is a selection from the fruit bowl ....... on the back right, an Asian pear, delicious grated into coleslaw.  Beside it, and ordinary pear, for a simple lunch, all you need is a pear, a little bit of cheese, some home made chutney and a hunk of crusty bread.  Front left is one of Malcolm's satsumas - I rarely eat them, and to finish, a flat peach, sweet and juicy

 

back tomorrow with some sewing!

Strange times

There is a scene in the film Local Hero with two elderly chaps watching the goings-on at a ceilidh, when one turns to the other and says "strange times, strange times" ......... and that is how we felt this morning when we put the tv on and found the country had voted to leave the EU!!  There are already all sorts of unintended consequences from that vote, but I am going to ignore them entirely, and instead treat you to some sunny photos of the garden, after last week's rainy ones.  I love big, blowsy poppies

 

with their intricate centres

 

this one had suffered a little in the rain

 

with splashes of colour from the centre on the petals

 

even the shady corner was enjoying a rare glimpse of sunshine

 

I do love hostas!

 

Malcolm has just given the summerhouse a good clean, but he was muttering about painting it - I'll just leave him to get on with it

 

we had to buy a new parasol this year, as the fabric on the old one had disintegrated!

 

we also replanted the big herb pot

 

and some small ones - we only have parsley as it came in a multipack of herbs, as we never use it in cooking!

 

the olive tree is looking healthy, but the vine next to it sadly would seem to be dead

 

unlike this one under the window, which is running riot

 

round in the front garden, the cherry tree has obviously paid attention to the threat to turn it into firewood, and has a good crop this year

 

the purple elder is just starting to flower - it looks very striking, but come the autumn, our cars will be covered in purple bird poo!!

 

I got these two little fuchsia in a supermarket for not much more than a pound each

 

I always think the flowers look like little ballerinas

 

just before I made our mid-morning cuppa, the postman arrived with a parcel containing these little beauties, so of course we had to have one - delicious!

 

this afternoon we headed over to Jedburgh, to make the great sacrifice of eating cakes, so that you can enjoy them vicariously

 

the premises had to be refurbished after being flooded in the winter, and Malcolm rather liked the bar, made from pallets

 

the tiny meringues that come with the cuppas are excellent - crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle

 

Malcolm chose cherry shortbread

 

while I had lemon meringue pie - it was the last piece, and was a rather large helping ....... so Malcolm had some of it (if Stuart had been there, we would have come to blows over which of us had it, as it is his favourite!!)

 

we are staying at home this weekend, so hopefully I will get on with my last quilt for the exhibition.  The forecast isn't very good, so we may not get out for a walk.  Whatever the weather, have a good weekend, love Anne 

Shaping up

So what did I do with the plastic shapes?  Well, first I will tell you what they are supposed to be used for.  There is a cutter which fits on the shape, then you use it to cut out card, but I haven't used it very much, as it is very hard to keep the shape in place as you run the cutter round it

 

but at the weekend, I was watching a class on Craftsy on using rulers for fmq, when I had a lightbulb moment ....... aha, I thought, maybe I could use those pink plastic shapes, instead of buying (very expensive) rulers.  So I set the machine up with the ruler foot, chose a circle and stitched round it

 

it was easier than I thought it would be - although I think it would be much harder doing it in the middle of a large quilt

 

perfect - my start and stop met up!

 

next I took this rounded square shape and positioned it (more or less) in the middle of the circle and stitched round it

 

a slight wobble at the end, but not too bad

 

a quick infill round the square - I can see lots of possibilities with the shapes

 

ok - I admit it, this one went somewhat awry!

 

when I was ironing the circus fabric prior to cutting out the cushion covers, I discovered that one edge had a flaw in the printing.  However I just trimmed it off before cutting the three strips, so these cushions are a little bit smaller than the farmyard ones

 

so who was going to be in the photos?  Choose us, shouted the Gnome Sisters!

 

no, no, choose us, yelled the Gnome Brothers

 

please choose us for the close-up, said JDtheTractor and Sock Monkey

 

after finding the strange moth yesterday, today Malcolm encountered a toad when he was doing some weeding (maybe I shouldn't let him out in the garden tomorrow!)