frayed at the edge

Food, food .......

 

....... and more food!  Although the uploading of photos issue isn't fully resolved, I have managed to upload a batch of photos ....... all about food!  First we have the delicious lunch that we had on Wednesday.  We couldn't make up our minds if we wanted the scrambled eggs and goat's cheese, or the French toast with bacon and maple syrup ...... so of course we ordered one of each and shared

 

back home, I set about making a start to Thursday's dinner, using this new book.  Don't worry, I'm not embarking on any sort of weird exclusion diet, the book is full of delicious ordinary, family-friendly recipes which incorporate "smart carbs"

 

as soon as I read this recipe, I decided to make it

 

although I have never, ever used (or eaten) buttermilk before.  You can also see what I was listening too on my Kindle

 

all ready to go in the fridge overnight

 

skipping forward to Thursday, this was taken with flash, so looks a bit of a funny colour, but it was very good ...... which was just as well, as the recipe made a double quantity, and the other serving is now in the freezer

 

back to Wednesday, at the same time as preparing the chicken, I also made a big pot of stovies.  Lots of sliced potatoes and onions, and left over pot roasted brisket and gravy.  Purists will say these aren't proper stovies, but it is one of those "traditional" dishes that there are all sorts of versions of

 

just the thing for a cold winter's night, and we like ours with a squeeze of HP sauce (again, the photo was taken with flash, so the colours aren't true).  And don't worry, we didn't eat that enormous potful - there are two more portions in the freezer

 

we had more snow yesterday, so I didn't go to patch'n'chat today, as our road was covered in deeply rutted snow and ice this morning, and after last Friday's adventures, I thought it might be more sensible to stay home!  The forecast isn't very good, so we probably won't get to the flat this weekend, so I might have to spend the time in the studio sewing!  Whatever your weather, have a wonderful weekend, love Anne 

 

 

 

Oh bother and drat!!

This is very, very annoying!!  I still can't get photos to upload.  I shall chase up Typepad to see if the problem lies with them, and if not I shall chase up my broadband supplier.  Hopefully things will be sorted out by tomorrow .........

Oh dear ......

....... I don't know if the problem is with my broadband connection, or with Typepad, but I can't get my photos to upload to the blog, so do pop back tomorrow, when hopefully things will be working again!

Busy stitching!

I have been busy stitching away over the last few weeks,including making some samples for the next Abbey Quilters meeting, where committee members are going to give hints and tips, and demonstrate gadgets.  I started with making binding, then stitching it on, but I have shown you that several times, so we'll start with making bias stems.  The first version uses a bias bar.  This makes a heavy stem, but it wastes material

 

I started by cutting a 1" strip on the bias, which makes a stem a quarter of an inch wide using this method

 

folding the strip in half, wrong sides together, I stitched it just a fraction over a quarter of an inch from the fold

 

then comes the wasteful bit, as you have to trim away half the seam allowance.  I have tried cutting a narrower strip, but it is too fiddly to stitch such a small seam allowance

 

the bias bar is then pushed through the tube, and the seam centred

 

the last stage is to press the tube as you slide it off the bar

 

I used this method years ago when I made this small quilt

 

the second method is using bias tape makers, which are available in different sizes

 

again I cut a 1" strip on the bias, but the difference this time is that it made a stem half an inch wide.  You simply insert the strip into the maker, then draw the maker back along the strip as you press the folded edges

 

this is my preferred method of making binding, it's quick and economical with the fabric

 

I used this method when I made these two samples ...... it was only when I went to use the photo that I realised that I should have put the pieces the other way round, so that winter, spring, summer and autumn would have been in the right order!

 

the third method is for when you want your stem to come to a point.  Again, I cut a strip on the bias.  I folded it in half and pinned it in a curve on a piece of background fabric

 

I would normally hand stitch the seam, but to save time I did it on the machine.  I started with a wide seam, then gradually narrowed it to a point

 

like the first method, this one is also wasteful of fabric, as you have to trim the seam allowance

 

after trimming the seam allowance, you fold the stem over, and stitch it in place.  I have just pinned it, so that I can show what to do

 

you can see the finished stems on this piece, which I made some years ago

 

I then thought I ought to make a start to this wallhanging, which several of the group are making

 

it didn't take long to make the first two leaf blocks

 

and then the next two blocks

 

then there was a slight oops, as I realised that I should have made three leaf blocks!

 

after piecing the remaining blocks, I put them in their places on the design wall

 

and realised that there was a major oops!!  I had misread the pattern, and made the leaf blocks too big.  What to do - I could make another three, or I could pochle* the pieces of background fabric which link the pieced blocks together.  So I started by sewing the bottom row together, which gave me the width to work to

 

then fitted the other pieces in

 

I added the applique pieces, using fusible web.  They will be stitched with buttonhole stitch

 

I have also been working away on the stitcheries when we have been over at the flat, and have completed another three

 

*the lovely word pochle has various meanings, including to cheat (particularly at cards), but in this instance it means to fudge or fiddle the sizes to make it all fit together

 

and just to return briefly to the snow ....... I wasn't the only one stuck in the snow on Friday

 

this photo from one of Saturday's newspapers shows the village of Denholm, which I drove through on my way home.  I have never seen such big snowflakes!

 

although it was raining rather than snowing when we went out on Saturday (in Malcolm's car, which shrugs off bad weather!) it was still very cold

 

and to finish on a happier note - the first sconnage of the year!  An exceedingly delicious cheese scone

 

 

 

I was going to show you ........

....... lots of sewing in this post, but after a rather eventful afternoon, the plan was changed!  I had just finished lunch at patch'n'chat (our first of the New Year) when Malcolm phoned me to say it was snowing heavily.  Jedburgh is only about ten miles from home, but although it was snowing a bit there, it wasn't enough to worry about.  He then phoned back about ten minutes later to say that the snow was getting really heavy and was lying on the road, so perhaps I ought to come home.  So I packed up my sewing and headed off.  The nearer I got to Hawick, the worse it got, with probably an inch of snow lying on the road.  Then I turned off the main road, up the steep hill towards home ........ and the car refused to go any further!!  I phoned Malcolm, who immediately set off to walk down to rescue me.  I will cut a very long story short, and just say that we ended up with Malcolm driving, while I pushed the car.  When we crested the hill, Malcolm very sensibly kept on driving, while I trudged along in his wake.  But I caught up with him when he turned into our road, which is even steeper ...... this photo is from several years ago

 

with a great deal more pushing by me, we eventually made it up the hill, and Malcolm again kept going, as he didn't want to get stuck again.  When he got home, there was of course another obstacle - our drive is quite steep, so he kept going as far up it as he could, before making sure the car was safely parked and abandoning it.  Some of my friends mock me for getting out of bed at 6.20 to exercise on the implements of torture - but finally all those early mornings paid off, when I was fit enough to push the car uphill for probably half a mile and walk another half mile ........ not bad for a pensioner!!  In case you are wondering why Malcolm did the driving while I did the pushing, I just wasn't confident enough to drive in such deep snow.

Once I had dried off and warmed up, I went out into the garden for some photos.  This ruler shows that 10cm ( 4 inches) of snow had fallen on the garden table in just over two hours

 

this is what the back garden looked like

 

and this is the front garden

 

but there were some fun photos too

 

and the snow did look pretty on this branch

 

according to the forecast, it is going to freeze overnight, so I don't think we will be going far tomorrow!  Whatever your weather, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

 

Between the showers

The weather really has been dire, so as soon as the rain went off for more than five minutes, we headed out for a walk.  The first set of photos are from a walk round Hawick.  You can see how much water was still roaring over the rocks in the Slitrig, a tree almost uprooted ...... and how did that straw bale get in the river?

 

 

as we walked back to the car, I stopped to take photos of this old Rover, which I think has been lying abandoned in all the time we have lived in Hawick!

 

after all the grey skies, it was good to have some bright blue sky in these photos

 

the next set of photos come from a walk round Berwick - again with some blue skies.  But it was also very windy, so some of the shots are slightly shaky, as it is hard to keep the camera steady when the big lens is fully extended (Malcolm kindly let me use his shoulder as a tripod for some of the photos!)

 

I wasn't surprised to see the golfers ...... it takes much worse weather to stop them playing!!

 

at least the golfers were on dry land, unlike this chap.  This is definitely not my idea of fun - I would want an awful lot bigger boat before you would get me on the water!!

 

there aren't many swans about at the moment, so it was good to see this one.  It's only when you see them out of the water that you realise just how big they are

 

the last lot of photos come from a walk on the beach on New Year's Day.  It was the first time we had been on the beach since the storms and floods, and we were amazed at the huge piles of detritus

 

there were lots of turnips all along the beach.  We think they had probably been in a field to feed the sheep, and were washed away by flood water

 

sadly, the lump in the middle of this photo is a dead sheep - you can just make out its horns at the right hand side of the lump

 

the entire beach has been affected by the storms, with groynes being uncovered - some of which we hadn't seen before

 

Malcolm was just wondering if he could take this tree home with him!

 

we decided not to join the swans for a paddle!

 

as we walked back to the flat, of course I had to take a photo of the three bridges

 

the heron was oblivious to the seagull floating behind him

 

it had turned much colder, and we had to watch out for frozen puddles - I didn't want to slip and end up in an undignified heap!

 

and so to the last photo ...... when we went out for our walk, we popped into the supermarket to get the newspapers, and I had a quick look in the clothing section for a hat, as my ears were freezing, just in the short distance we had walked!  Not quite my usual style, but it was relatively cheap, and very warm!

Happy New Year!

What better way to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2016, than with some braw laddies in kilts!  From left to right, they are Fraser, Paul, Stuart and Brian.  Stuart has known Fraser and Paul for over twenty years (they were at school together) and he was at university with Brian

 

we had a lovely early Christmas celebration with Stuart and Alison, then we had our usual lazy Christmas Day, watching some good films on tv, eating chocolates and drinking a glass of two of wine, then tucking into a delicious dinner cooked by Malcolm.  

Stuart&Alison and Malcolm know what my favourite toiletries are ...... and bought me the same set!

 

Malcolm and I had a chuckle when we opened our presents ....... not only had we given each other the same car air fresheners, but we had both cut the price off the same way!

 

we also gave each other a map from the Berwick Tourist Information Centre

 

but for some reason I didn't give Malcolm a cute little owl .....

 

....... which opens to reveal a pot of lavender-scented hand cream

 

and now I can reveal the secret Christmas sewing!  First, a Christmas lap quilt for Alison

 

and a Star Wars lap quilt for Stuart ...... he has grown up with Star Wars, and has already seen the latest film

 

on the Wednesday before Christmas we were over in Berwick, and popped into the Garden Centre to see the donkeys ...... who looked rather bored!

 

and to finish ....... when Maureen gave me my Christmas present, she said there was a little extra present - something which she had seen in a shop window in Edinburgh, and had promptly thought of me.  She said she knew it would make me smile ......

 

...... a lovely little tin with shortbread in it - and one of those nasty beasties on the front!!  I didn't just smile, I laughed out loud ....... and I am now plotting my revenge!

 

 

It's definitely looking .......

...... like Christmas now!  The tree is up

 

and there is, of course, a driftwood tree too

 

and some other cute decorations

 

the mirror in the kitchen is looking festive

 

and the cake has been iced and decorated

 

Stuart and Alison are coming down for the weekend, and we will have a somewhat topsy turvy celebration ........ we will have Christmas dinner tomorrow, and Christmas breakfast and present opening on Sunday!

 

All that remains for this year of blogging is to wish you a Happy Christmas, and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Love Anne

 

It may be the middle of December ......

........ but after reading Jessica's latest post, I realised that we still have lots of interest in the garden

daffodils peeping through in a sheltered corner

 

a little bluebell

 

a rose bud on the climbing rose on the front of the house

 

buds on the ornamental quince

 

 buds on a little alpine in an old sink

 

I don't know what this is!

 

even some of the tattered flowers still look good!

this fuchsia flower was pink!

 

a shredded osteospermum

 

a faded hellebore

 

clematis #1

 

clematis #2

 

this strange thing is on the false castor oil plant

 

there is also new growth on two of the trees in the back garden

 

usually when we go for lunch on a Wednesday Malcolm pays the bill ...... but today was my treat!  We went to the Jammy Coo, where as usual I had the bacon, brie and cranberry panini (I know I should try something else, but when I find something I like, I tend to stick to it!)

 

Malcolm had Parma ham, mozarella and olive on his panini - of course I wouldn't choose that one as I don't like olives, but he said it was delicious!

 

Friday will be my last post of the year. so do come back for some festive fun!

Fairy Twinkle!

It was our Christmas lunch at patch'n'chat on Friday, and Margaret as always had decorated the tables

 

she had also brought along her latest Christmas quilt

 

and she made a raggy wreath with the leftover fabrics from the quilt

 

I din't manage to take a photo of the delicious buffet lunch, but I did manage a photo of our afternoon cuppa

 

Betty's mince pies, which were served hot, were delicious!

 

but the highlight of the day was a visit from Fairy Twinkle.  To protect her reputation, I won't tell you who dressed up as her* (but Margaret used to own a fancy dress business .......)

 

it rained rather a lot on Saturday in Berwick, but yesterday was dry (and rather chilly), so we went up the coast to St Abbs for a walk.  I think it is probably obligatory to take a photo of a seagull when you are walking round the harbour!

 

there were lots of lobster pots on the quayside

 

as always I found some interesting things to take photos of

 

I don't know what these small trolleys are for - moving lobster pots perhaps

 

several boats had been lifted out of the water for the winter

 

although there were still some in the dock

 

we went for a cuppa and a sandwich for lunch ....... as usual I had a plain white cup, saucer and jug for my tea, while Malcolm had lovely decorated ones

 

we had ordered a sandwich to share, and were delighted when it arrived on two plates, both with a little bit of salad, coleslaw and some crisps - excellent service!

 

to finish, a message for Santa.  If I can't have a yellow machine .......

 

...... can I please have a big red truck (I've been a very, very good girl!!)

 

*I should point out that there was a "fat suit" underneath the fairy dress!!