frayed at the edge

All done!!

It took somewhat longer than I thought it would, but finally at 8o'clock last night, I put the final stitch into Tree.  I had spent the weekend hunched over the sewing machine, even missing my day out yesterday

 

 

 

Malcolm spent the weekend providing meals and cuppas (thank you dear) while I stitched away (one broken machine needle, several pricked fingers).  But the end result was definitely worth all the work (my apprentice took the photo in the front garden this morning)

 

he also took this photo of The Night before Christmas

 

earlier, of course, I had been out for my morning walk.  It had rained throught the night, and it was a bit grey and humid.  There wasn't much happening as most of the sheep have been moved to far flung fields, so I had to content myself with a couple of ancient tractors ........

 

 

lumps of mud left on the road by said tractors .......

 

.......and trying to make it look as if this bale of haylage was sitting on top of the gate!

 

as well as lots of wrapped haylage bales, there are also fields full of hay bales

 

and straw bales

 

we went down to Longframlington this morning to drop off the sewing to Anne, ready for her trip to The Festival of Quilts.  Anne and Mick will travel down to Birmingham on Wednesday and set up their stand ready for the show opening on Thursday morning.  If you are going to the show, do stop at their stand (Stitchin' Heaven on the 697) and say hello (and buy lots!)  After having a cuppa and a blether with Anne and Mick, we went on down to Morpeth, to go out for lunch with Malcolm's sister Jennifer.  We were going to go to Meldon Park, only to discover that it is closed on Mondays.  So instead we went to The Blacksmiths Coffee Shop, which was so busy, we had to sit at an outside table!  We all chose the same - cheese savoury sandwiches, which were delicious

 

ps - I was so busy sewing yesterday that I didn't take any photos, or open the laptop ....... which is unheard of!  I shall have to try  harder tomorrow to find interesting subjects for photos!!

On Wednesday it was Stephen King ......

...... this morning it was Alfred Hitchcock!  When I went out this morning, there were rather a lot of swallows on the phone wires.  Usually they fly off when I go past, but this morning, not only did they stay on the wires, but as I walked past, they stopped chattering and an ominous silence fell, just like a scene from "The Birds"!

 

 

further up the road, I met one of the neighbours, Graeme the Decorator (he is out and about much earlier than me, as when I meet him he is on the way home from walking his dogs).  He told me that I had just missed an excellent photo opportunity ........ three deer in the field just beyond the church.  Of course when I got there, they had vanished!  However, when I got down to the bottom field, the horses posed prettily in the early morning sunshine

 

 

 

on round the bend, and there was Marion's old donkey, leaning on a telegraph pole in the middle of the field ....... there was just one thing wrong, he was showing me his rear end!!

 

fortunately I had taken this photo earlier in the week

 

the sky was deep blue again, which prompted me to take a photo of these old chimneys

 

I had a busy afternoon at patch'n'chat, stitching the binding on the back of the Night before Christmas - but I'll show you photos on Monday when hopefully Tree will be finished as well.  So all that's left for today's post is ......... the Friday cake!  This week we had delicious cupcakes with sparkly pink sprinkles - delicious!

 

I will be sewing away furiously over the weekend, finishing Tree - although I will be taking a little bit of time out on Sunday, to meet up with other crafty friends at one of Lindsay's  Woolgatherings.

 

I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

So, back to yesterday .......

........ and the photos that got left out

handsome horses in the field across the road

 

I snapped this honeysuckle on Monday ....

 

...... and again yesterday

 

the finch hopped behind the leaf just as I snapped - you can just see her beak and tail!

 

I love this tiny shed on an allotment

 

I was startled by this horse when we drove past, until I realised it was a model one!

 

Christmas in August?

 

no, just the Red Cross raising funds

 

quilting Twas the Night before Christmas*

 

the edges trimmed .......

 

...... and the binding added

 

and so on to today.  When we were in Hawick this morning, I called in at the Reiver's Moon Gallery

 

and there it was ....... a browser filled with my photos!!

 

back home, there was great excitement in the garden - our first beans (ok they are only half an inch long, but they are the first we have ever grown!)

 

this is the back of Tree, showing some of the stitching round the branches

 

 

it is very hard to get photos of squirrels, as they move so quickly.  I hardly dared to breathe when I saw this one this morning, tucking into a monkey nut - as soon as I took a careful step nearer, it ran off

 

 

*if you wondered why there is a piece of card stuck over the touch screen of the sewing machine, the answer is simple!  I know that it tells me somewhere in the instruction book how to disable the screen, so that you don't accidently change the stitch if the quilt touches it - but it's much quicker to put the bit of card over it, than find the book and the relevant  section! 

It was like something .......

........ from a Stephen King novel when I went for my walk this morning!  There was a band of low cloud/mist wrapped round the far side of the valley

 

 

 

then, on the way home, the mist suddenly swept across the valley and enveloped me, and had me nervously looking round for ghosties and ghoulies

 

 

 

fortunately, when we went for a walk in Hawick later in the morning, the mist had cleared.  The last time we took this route, we saw an excellent machine (you know I have a machine fetish), which was demolishing an old building.  Today the building has gone and the site has been levelled by this big boy

 

Malcolm often acts as my spotter for photos ...... here are the three that he spotted today.

first, a mushroom

 

then, a little pony looking out of its stable

 

and best of all, this fence post with a dandelion groing out of the top - it looks a bit like a little monster!

 

we went to the Damascus Drum for lunch, where as usual I has the ploughman's bagel (I ended up giving some to Malcolm, as I couldn't finish it)

 

and Malcolm had the cheese and pastrami toastie

 

we always have fish for dinner on Wednesdays, as the fishman calls at the house.   Malcolm usually goes out to the van to buy the fish, as I'm in the bath!  Today he bought salmon, and I decided to make a recipe from the latest edition of Landscape magazine

 

 

I prepared the veggies (you may notice there is no parsley, because a) we don't really like it, and b) the parsley in the herb pot in the garden has gone to seed!) and choose a packet of couscous (we prefer these flavoured couscous to the plain stuff)

 

there is quite a lot of butter in the recipe,  but I don't think we really need this lecture from the back of the couscous packet!

 

it was quick and easy to make, and was delicious!

 

I still have lots of photos left, but I will save them for tomorrow, as I need to get on with some knitting - I can't tell you what it is, as it is one of my entries for the Southdean Show.

Spots before the eyes!

The birds, which, thanks to several of you have been identified as young starlings, were sitting on the roof of the neighbours' shed when I went out this morning.  However, they now seem to have moved on

 

I know that thistles present problems for farmers, but they are prolific in the verges this years, providing lots of colour

 

 

foxgloves start flowering at the bottom of the stem, and now this late on in the summer, there are just a few flowers left at the top

 

did you see this stunning photo of the moon seen through the Olympic rings?

(copyright Reuters)

 

I can't quite compete with it, but I did have a go this morning when I saw the moon through the electrical gubbins.  Unfortunately, I couldn't persuade the camera to have both in focus, so either the moon, in the first photo, or the gubbins, in the second one, is slightly blurred

 

 

I have had a very busy day working on Tree.  I had numbered the spots on the pattern ......

 

...... to help with placing them - but then I looked at the pattern and saw that they weren't laid out the same on both sides

 

the next stage was to back the top with wadding.  Tacking it all together can take quite a while, and as time is somewhat tight, I resorted to spray basting.  I don't use the spray much, mostly because, no matter how well ventilated the room is, it gives me a headache (you'll see that I opened the back door)

 

I took a short break to have lunch (Malcolm was out).  I sat in the summerhouse to enjoy my sandwich, coleslaw and nectarine ...... and read another chapter or two of my book

 

I had made a small sample piece

 

to have a trial run, to make sure that the thread looked ok and the machine was stitching smoothly

 

the stitching went well, and by the end of the afternoon I had stitched all the branches on the left side, and the top two on the right side

 

 

to finish, I just want to say congratulations to Sir Chris Hoy, who has just won his 6th gold medal, an amazing achievement, which makes him the most successful British Olympian

(photo: Getty Images)

Just in time!

I was getting worried, as I only had one orchid left in flower in the kitchen ..... and it had shed all but one of its flowers!

 

this one is about to flower, but probably not before that last flower drops

 

but then on Saturday morninng we were in Homebase, where they not only had orchids on special offer, but they were also having one of their periodic 15% off everything days ...... so this beauty came home with me for less than £7!!

 

 

on Saturday afternoon I traced all the pattern pieces for Oh Christmas Tree (which from now on to save time I will simply call Tree) on to Bondaweb

 

and laid them out on the fabric

 

but I kept getting diverted by Serena powering her way to a gold medal (it was difficult to get a photo of her after she won, as she kept leaping about!!)

 

we had planned to go to Berwick yesterday, for the last day of the Arts and Crafts Fair, but we got up to thunderstorms and torrential rain - you might have seen the flash flood in Jedburgh on news bulletins.  So instead we went to Melrose, and consoled ourselves with this rather large scone!

 

back home, it was on with work on Tree.  I ironed on the Bondaweb, then came the very long job of cutting out the intricate shapes, including cutouts on some of the branches

 

but eventually they were all done and laid out on the backing fabric, except for the circles .... I'll place them once the branches have been ironed on

 

of course I was distracted as I watched Andy Murray beat Roger Federer.  When he won, I ran, screaming and yelling, from the studio, to meet Malcolm, who had come running from the house, in the middle of the garden, where we jumped up and down celebrating!!  I was so excited, I forgot to take a photo ...... and then forgot again when we celebrated his winning a silver in the doubles with young Laura Robson.  I'm not particularly interested in sport, but I have been cheering on all our Olympic competitors ...... and have become an instant expert in all sorts of events!

 

Regular readers know that I don't like cats (sorry, they just give me shivers!), but even I couldn't resist one of the next door neighbour's seven cats (!) sitting on another neighbour's wall

 

nor could I resist taking yet another sheepie photo ......  did it think I couldn't see it hiding behind the tree stump?

 

I was going to put my new shoes on this morning, but realised that my navy trousers, with which I was going to wear them, were in the ironing basket, so this afternoon I found yet another rerun of Murder She Wrote on tv, and .......what, you want to know about the new shoes instead of Jessica's clever solving of the dastardly murder!  Well, on Saturday morning we were passing the shoe shop in Hawick, which is owned by our new neighbours David and Jackie.  We saw Jackie in the shop, so popped in for a blether.  While we were chatting, I, of course, had to have a look at all the lovely shoes in the sale - and this pair just jumped on to my feet!!

 

Late this afternoon, Malcolm noticed these birds sitting on the phone wire in front of the house.  I took this photo through the lounge window.....

 

....... then rushed through to the kitchen to put the long lens on.  I then took the other photos through the front door

 

 

 

I have been through both of my bird books, but I can't find anything resembling them.  They were quite big, probably about the size of a blackbird, with markings on their fronts like starlings, and patterns on their wings like sparrows.  I hope you can identify them for me!

It might only be the third of August ......

....... but it is getting a little bit chilly in the mornings, when I head out at 6.45 for my walk!  There are more swallows congregating on the wires, getting to know each other before they set off on their long flight down to Africa, where they will spend the winter, returning next spring to nest

 

 

at the top of the hill, I came upon these three rabbits, sitting in the middle of the road, looking as if they were having a chat!!

 

the rabbit on the right was the first to spot me - you can see that it has raised its rear, ready to run off.  But then it settled back down

 

however it then changed its mind and ran off, closely followed by one of the other two, leaving this one wondering what was wrong

 

it finally realised that there was something amiss (a human creeping ever closer, taking photos), but still had a good look round before it too headed off into the field

 

it was wonderful to have blue sky again this morning, after so many grey dreary mornings over the summer.  It made a good background for these photos

old chimney pots

 

another electrical gubbins

 

this plane was so high, I'm surprised it is reasonably clear in the photo!

 

we don't see finches in the garden in the summer, but I saw this pair high in a tree (although the female was fidgetting so much, she is slightly blurred

 

 

I had walked further down the road than usual, as I knew there were two horses in one of the fields, with their full fly coats and fly hoods.  I didn't see them, but when I was on my way out to patch'n'chat I saw them through a field gate, so I stopped the car and nipped out and took a photo (I was on a long straight stretch of road, so I knew it was safe to do so)

 

I have been working on the last bit of handstitching on Twas the Night Before Christmas

 

the pattern says to make the stitching uneven ........ it's actually quite hard to make the stitches different sizes, when I am used to stitching neatly!

 

I have made a start to Oh Christmas Tree, tracing the pattern on to Bondaweb.  I have another week to get all the sewing finished and delivered to Anne, for her to take to The Festival of Quilts .........so you can guess what I'll be doing over the weekend!

 

And now, the best bit of the Friday post - the cake!  I wish I could share this with you ..... Annette's fabulous, light-as-air chocolate sponge, topped with fresh cream and strawberries

 

I shall also be squeezing in some Olympics watching over the weekend (we have just seen Great Britain win another gold in the men's cycling!) ...... whether or not you are glued to the tv, cheering on your team, I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

 

<

Move over sheep ....

....... there are other interesting locals posing for photos!!  I had hardly stepped out on to the road this morning, before the first photo opportunities presented themselves.  These two horses were indulging in a bit of pushing annd shoving (and teeth baring!)

 

 

I had just remarked to Malcolm the other day that there hadn't been any horses in the bottom field .... so of course, there are now several horses in the field!

 

 

 

as I walked on round the bend towards Marion-the-distant-neighbour's field, I heard a great deal of honking, bleating and braying, as the various creatures were let out of their night time accommodation...... here are the culprits!

the goose and gander

 

the geese with one of the Jacob's ewes

 

the gander with the very old donkey

 

the donkey with another ewe

 

the donkey finally gets away from the mayhem for a bit of peace and quiet!

 

looking down on all the chaos was a little sparrow, perched on the electrical gubbins

 

 

I had to pop into Hawick late this morning (I'll tell you why in a minute), but I was delayed by this ......

 

 

she did have some adults and a sheep dog helping, but she was definitely in charge as she drove the sheep down the road.  I thought she just looked so cute in her John Deere overalls and pink wellies!

 

So why was I on my way to Hawick?  I was heading for the Reiver's Moon Gallery, which opened last month.  Malcolm and I had gone in for a browse, and started chatting to Sally, the owner.  Malcolm mentioned that I am a crafty person, so Sally asked if I had anything suitable for her to sell.  I suggested taking in some of my photos - so after a letting her see some samples, today I took in my first batch, which she is going to present in mounts.  Of course, as galleries do, she has taken them on a sale-or-return basis, so I will have to keep my fingers crossed that they sell.  I am very excited, as this is a big step up from selling things at small local craft fairs ....... but I promised Sally that I won't phone her every five minutes to see if she has sold any!!

 

It is getting to be a habit to finish with something a bit silly ....... this traffic cone has been sitting in the verge for some time (I have no idea why it is there).  This morning I noticed that there is grass growing out of the middle!

Roadblock!

I was a little bit late getting home this morning, as there was a roadblock just before the church.  A tractor, a combine harvester, a big lorry ....... no, three naughty lambs!

 

I was approaching them very slowly, as I didn't want them to keep running ahead of me, but then a car coming in the other direction made them to take refuge at the field gate, and I was able to sneak past!

 

it was glorious this morning, although there was a chill in the air.  The swallows have bred very successfully this year, and were enjoying the early morning sunshine

 

this isn't mist, it's steam rising off the neighbours' stable

 

William Leggat's statue in the churchyard was silhouetted against the sky

 

and of course we have to have a photo of a sheep!

 

when I was heading out to the studio this morning, I had to pause and take  photos of the contrails, which were giving a patriotic display of the Saltire

 

 

Now for the sewing update.  The paper piecing went well

 

I had to hold the square up to the light to make sure that the fabric was aligned with the sewing line

 

I used my wooden "iron" to flatten the seams

 

 

ready to start assembling the stars

 

all done

 

the next stage was to put it all up on the design wall

 

I got the top section stitched together before it was time to head in to the house to make dinner

 

to finish, you know that I like to take strange photos, and I rather liked the electrical gubbins gleaming against the blue sky

 

 

OK, let's just get the confession out of the way ....... cake two days running!  Yesterday we popped in to Border Meringues after our walk, and although Malcolm suggested that as usual we share a scone, I succumbed to a Malteser slice ....

 

....... to have with my excellent pot of tea (yes, I ate the meringue as well!)

 

while Malcolm had a wonderful cheese scone .....

 

....... with his usual americano with hot milk (yes, he ate his meringue too)

 

then after lunch today, Malcolm said that he was going to take a load of rubbish to the tip, which meant that he would pass the new mill shop.  Did I want to go with him and we could pop in for a cuppa?  At first I said no, as I had lots to do ..... but about two minutes later, I changed my mind - and look what I would have missed if I had stayed at home - today's special scone, filled with plump blueberries

 

now that we have got the greed out of the way, back to yesterday morning's walk in Jedburgh.  We hadn't seen the heron at its usual spot on the river for a few weeks, so we were delighted to see it yesterday

 

 

I usually take photos of this bridge from the other bank, but it looks good from this side too

 

I just had time to snap this tractor as it rumbled along the road

 

our log store is just across from my studio door, and I keep looking and thinking that this latest load of logs looks good - so I finally got round to taking a photo!

 

after we had our cuppa this afternoon, we had a stroll along the river.  We were entertained by this little dog surveying the world - the wider step he is on  is at just the right height for him to see over the fence

 

when I was getting out of the car when we got back home, I noticed this little bug

 

and when I went to take photos of the climbing rose round the lounge window, this fly promptly landed as I snapped

 

to finish, we saw this in an antiques shop in Jedburgh yesterday ..... I think it would give me nightmares!!

 

Over-indulging?

OK, let's just get the confession out of the way ....... cake two days running!  Yesterday we popped in to Border Meringues after our walk, and although Malcolm suggested that as usual we share a scone, I succumbed to a Malteser slice ....

 

....... to have with my excellent pot of tea (yes, I ate the meringue as well!)

 

while Malcolm had a wonderful cheese scone .....

 

....... with his usual americano with hot milk (yes, he ate his meringue too)

 

then after lunch today, Malcolm said that he was going to take a load of rubbish to the tip, which meant that he would pass the new mill shop.  Did I want to go with him and we could pop in for a cuppa?  At first I said no, as I had lots to do ..... but about two minutes later, I changed my mind - and look what I would have missed if I had stayed at home - today's special scone, filled with plump blueberries

 

now that we have got the greed out of the way, back to yesterday morning's walk in Jedburgh.  We hadn't seen the heron at its usual spot on the river for a few weeks, so we were delighted to see it yesterday

 

 

I usually take photos of this bridge from the other bank, but it looks good from this side too

 

I just had time to snap this tractor as it rumbled along the road

 

our log store is just across from my studio door, and I keep looking and thinking that this latest load of logs looks good - so I finally got round to taking a photo!

 

after we had our cuppa this afternoon, we had a stroll along the river.  We were entertained by this little dog surveying the world - the wider step he is on  is at just the right height for him to see over the fence

 

when I was getting out of the car when we got back home, I noticed this little bug

 

and when I went to take photos of the climbing rose round the lounge window, this fly promptly landed as I snapped

 

to finish, we saw this in an antiques shop in Jedburgh yesterday ..... I think it would give me nightmares!!