frayed at the edge

All by myself

I was home alone at the weekend, as Malcolm had gone off to Berwick, leaving me to enjoy a sewing day with Abbey Quilters on Saturday.  I don't have any photos of the sewing, as we were working on our entries for the exhibition, so all highly secret stuff!  On Sunday, I decided to pop over to Jedburgh, to have a wander with the camera.  First stop, as always, was at the Abbey

 

I never tire of taking photos of this magnificent structure

 

and of course it looks better with blue skies!

 

the workmanship is superb

 

and there are just so many interesting angles to capture

 

one last photo before moving on

 

I walked down the hill, pausing on the bridge to look out over the river, which is very low

 

this church isn't quite as old as the Abbey

 

the final stop on my walk was at Mary Queen of Scots House

 

where the gardens were looking good in the sunshine

 

beautiful blossom

 

the flower beds frame the old stone Cross Base

 

tomorrow I will show you how our garden is looking

Rush, rush, rush

A very quick post, as I have to head off to pick up Maureen, as we have an Abbey Quilters' committee meeting this evening - it's all very serious stuff, as we are now counting down the weeks to our exhibition in July.  But I promised you sewing, so here it is!  I started with an easy task, after my holiday break from sewing.  I trimmed the bright baby quilt

 

made the binding

 

and in no time at all, it was ready for hand-stitching the binding on the back of the quilt

 

the finished quilt

 

with its colourful backing fabric 

 

the next task was the pastel version of the quilt.  I choose a pretty fabric for the backing, and the same cotton wadding as I used in the bright version

 

all pinned ready to quilt

 

the centre panel quilted

 

with a little loopy three-petal flower

 

and one of the side panels quilted with a meandering loopy pattern

 

I know you have been worried that I had to make do with cakes for three weeks on holiday, but my normal diet was restored today when I tucked into this delicious cheese scone!!

A last round up of the holidays

 We start with some night time photos of the pool and the villa

 

then we have sunrise (I hope nobody saw me out in the garden in my nightie taking these photos!!)

 

and a stunning sunset

 

wonderful fruit and veg at the Sunday market

 

and of course we have to have some arty photos - lovely rusty wire on a fence, and an electrical gubbins

 

some little collections of bits and bobs I picked up from round the villa.  There were dozens of snail shells, all slightly different

 

would you like some more delicious food to finish?  We go to il giardino every year, and I always have the same starter, carpaccio of beef with rocket and Parmesan.  Malcolm decided he would have that as well

 

then I always have the rack of lamb

 

Malcolm had pork

 

Malcolm had a coffee to finish ....... and some of my delicious dessert (the waiter asked if he should bring two spoons!) ...... raspberry mousse, which had a lemon mouse in the middle, topped with raspberry sauce

 

all washed down with an excellent bottle of wine

 

I hope you have enjoyed our holiday photos!  I'll be back on Monday with some sewing ....... so have a good weekend, and I'll see you then.  Love Anne

Boats big and small

Every year on holiday, Malcolm dreams of setting sail (just keep dreaming dear!), perhaps in a boat like this

 

or like this

 

when we had a stroll round the marina he was smitten with this one

 

but I suggested this fixer-upper might be more in his price range

 

or maybe even this one!

 

I took a photo of this boat two years ago, hoping that it was an omen for the upcoming independence referendum ........ and of course it was, as a majority of us decided that we were indeed better together

 

ok, I admit it, these two men were so casual as they zipped in to the quayside that I wanted them to fall out of the boat!

  

 

I wouldn't mind if we had a boat and just kept it moored in this lovely setting

 

one of these beauties would do - especially if it came complete with handsome young crewmen, in smart white uniforms, to pour me a glass of perfectly chilled wine, and cook me delightful meals

 

but Malcolm would probably sail off, and leave me with this one (which has been sitting in a corner of the marina for years!)

 

Out and about

One of our favourite places for a stroll is the Pine Walk in Puerto Pollensa.  Over the years I have taken several photos of this leaning tree, always complaining about the litter bin which spoiled the composition ......... but this year, there was also an ugly concrete support under the tree, a couple sitting on the bench,and a woman just visible in front of them!

 

this daft dog was trying to carry off this little buoy - but it was tethered to the seabed!

 

this one was keeping an eye on diners in a coffee shop, hoping for a titbit 

 

and this one was just looking for love!

 

I don't think this stump of an olive tree will ever rot away - it hasn't changed in the last ten years!

 

I think we have only once seen water flowing through the Roman Bridge

 

I think the sign looks like a cross between a fish and a duck ........ but this new shop sells salt and vinegar!!

 

these yellow post boxes don't have the same appeal as our red ones

 

even if they look out to sea

 

or look good beside a collection of bikes

 

this is a very expensive car, but that hasn't stopped the owner having a cute sheep added to it!

 

even on holiday I can find a tractor .......

 

....... or two

 

and a big machine!

 

these weirdly attired people seemed to be shooting a film, which appeared to be set in Jamaica.  They probably thought we were watching because we were captivated by their youthful goods looks, but we were just laughing at how ridiculous they looked - the chap on the left had a wardrobe malfunction when his dungarees fell down, exposing his pants!!  (sorry girls, I didn't capture that!)

 

the name of this coffee shop, Manzanas y Peras, translates as Apples and Pears ....... but you have to be British to know that is rhyming slang for stairs - the tables are set out on a series of steps (credit to Malcolm for spotting that!)

 

I can't really think of anything to say about this photo - it just appealed to my quirky sense of humour

 

are you exhausted by all that sightseeing - then join us for a delicious ice cream to recover (Malcolm had already made inroads into his before I managed to take the photo, claiming that it was melting!).  Mine was mango on the bottom and jaffa cake on the top, and Malcolm's was coconut on the bottom and caramel on the top

 

 

Multi-cultural cuisine!

We found this new tapas restaurant in Puerto Pollensa

 

it is very stylish

 

and if I had a big enough space on the wall, I would make a clock like this

 

there is a bright covered courtyard

 

given how much I like to eat, I must be the very best person in the world!

 

eat, drink, sleep, repeat ........ good advice

 

but can you guess from the menu what we ate on our first visit?

 

yes, we had the full Scottish breakfast, which was very stylishly presented

 

when I lifted the lid on my mug of tea, I found a strainer filled with tea leaves, which lifted out - the lid turned over then to become a dish to put the strainer on 

 

we did go back to have a Spanish meal 

 

a delicious selection of tapas, with empenadas, chicken skewers and calamari in panko breadcrumbs

 

spicy patatas bravas

 

and superb albondigas 

 

of course we also ate Italian, visiting our favourite pizza restaurant.  Malcolm had ham and mushroom, topped with an egg

 

and I had ham and pineapple

 

and just looked at the view!!

 

and a little taste of Chinese - beef chop suey and chicken with almonds

 

and another good view from the restaurant

 

and now for something completely different (yes, I stole that from Monty Python) ....... the Great British Sewing Bee started again last night.  There is a new judge called Esme ....... she may be tiny, but she has a big personality and was very entertaining

 

and the delicious, delectable Patrick is as gorgeous as ever ....... you could just drown in his big brown eyes!!  (oh, the sewing was good too).

Home again!

We got home at 7pm yesterday, and after dinner we slumped in front of the tv until bedtime!  Today has been busy ....... I have done an enormous food shop (the fridge was empty) and lots of laundry, while Malcolm has been out in the garden, cutting the grass and generally tidying up.  I took over 400 photos, which will take me a while to sort through, but for today, here is just a quick selection

the villa, on the afternoon of our arrival

 

the (slightly chilly) pool

 

this is early in the morning

 

one of the views over to the mountains

 

Malcolm's first cake, a delicious fruit tart

 

and mine, a yummy toffee sponge

 

just one of the many boats that I took photos of

 

An unusual topic!

Of all the things you might have guessed at for this last holiday post ....... I am sure you didn't think of old cars!!  When we came out of the Town Hall after our buffet lunch, we didn't expect to see this magnificent car (which we remember from our childhood)

 

this little sign on the front explained why it was there - the owners were having a jolly weekend away

 

then we walked on round the corner, and found this beauty.  I had to wait to take the photo until a man on the other side of the road had finished taking his photo!

 

I was rather taken with the mascot on the bonnet

 

a fine display of badges on the front of the car

 

then, the next day when I went to Kelso, as I turned into the car park I saw this magnificent specimen

 

I didn't need to see the USA badge on the back to know that it was American

 

they just don't make cars like this any more!!

 

I hope you have enjoyed these random posts ....... if we can tear ourselves away from the delights of Majorca, I'll be back on Monday with tales of our holiday!

Blue skies

I will try to bring the blue skies home with me!!

A little bit of sewing

When I was looking back through my photos for these holiday posts, I realised that I hadn't shared these ones with you.  Once I had stitched all the blocks together

 

I assembled the leftover strips, some double stick fusible web and my circle templates

 

the first set of circles ready to cut out

 

peeling away the backing paper to show the fusible web on the wrong side of the fabric

 

the first six in place

 

and the next six added

 

the advantage of the double stick fusible is that you can peel it off and reposition it, before you iron it to permanently bond it

 

I like this so much I was jumping up and down and shouting woohoo!!

 

to finish - a little tip.  Cutting out the double stick fusible can gum up your scissors ...... to clean them, just use some nail polish remover.