frayed at the edge

I hope the neighbours didn't see me .....

...... when I was out in the garden before eight o'clock this morning, taking photos of the moon!

 

Do you remember my sparkly, scented twiggy things I got before Christmas?  Today they went to a new home, when I took them out to the studio and put them on the windowsill, decorated with little hearts and butterflies, and with my big felt flower in the middle

 

Did you notice the card on the left of the windowsill - a very cheeky Mothers' Day card from Stuart!  I  would like to think that I look just like the woman on the card (except for the cigarette)

 

I was busy today making the next two Farmer's Wife blocks - helped by another of my Christmas presents from Malcolm ........

 

........ a small revolving cutting mat, which makes it much easier to cut out small pieces using the templates

 

This may look like an old radio

 

but it is a biscuit tin, in which I now keep all the templates for the Farmer's Wife blocks

 

The pieces for the first block

 

and the finished block

 

The pieces of the second block

 

and the finished block (by the time I finished it, I had turned the light on, so the colours look different!)

 

I had an email from Linda asking for clarification on the swap.  She first of all wanted to confirm that the postcards should be sent by the end of January ...... yes.  She also wanted to know if she was to write on the postcards, or leave them blank so that the recipient could use them if they wanted to.  Having thought about it, I would suggest that you write on the postcard of your home town, and leave the handmade one blank ...... however it is up to you - you might want to leave both of them blank and write a little note to send with them.

 

To finish, another photo from our Sunday walk - a dried seedhead ....... I can't convince Malcolm that the background is supposed to be out of focus!!

 

Stretching our legs

We haven't been for as many walks as usual. because of the weather, so we were glad yesterday to get out and have a good walk at the Leaderfoot viaduct .......

 

....... crossing the river by the old bridge - you can see the ugly modern replacement behind it

 

As we started to cross the bridge, we could here someone using a chainsaw.  Looking across the river, we saw a man cutting up the smaller branches of an enormous tree, which probably blew down in last week's storms - compare the size of the man with the size of the tree trunk!!

 

When we last saw this bridge, there was major repair work being done.  The workmen have made an excellent job of the stone walls - they just need to weather for a year or two to blend in with the old stonework

 

As we walked back through the woods, we wondered what this black blob was

 

but then we saw this, and realised that it was some sort of fungi.  I poked it with the toe of my boot, and it felt quite hard and woody

 

On Saturday, I added the borders to the Hawiian block.  I was going to make it up as a small quilt for Project Linus, but I like it so much, it is going to be a wallhanging for me!!

 

However, I will give this one to Linus.  The photo doesn't really show it at its best - the dark fabric stands out in the photo, but doesn't when you see the quilt

 

Yesterday afternoon I finally sorted out my scrap basket.  I am much too embarassed to show you a photo of what it looked like, spilling bits of fabric out on to the floor, but here are the scraps all sorted out and put into labelled bags

 

Later this evening I will start knitting my first fairy - I am looking forward to having something on the needles after my short break

 

And now to the swap ...... I put the names in my best velvet hat (I had to turn the pieces of paper over, as they also had the addresses on them!)

 

So here is the list of swapees

http://cathyholtomdustylane.blogspot.com/     and me

http://mytategallery.blogspot.com/   and Caroline

http://www.lovethosecupcakes.typepad.com/   and Lisa

Yvonne (sorry Yvonne, I've lost the link to your blog!)   and Linda

http://sweetmarynz.blogspot.com/   and Karen

http://www.mousybrownshouse.typepad.com/   and http://www.bunmountain.blogspot.com/

http://www.lloydsgirl.blogspot.com/   and http://www.cheviots.blogspot.com/

Dee and Carol

http://www.leemills.typepad.com/   and http://circles-of-rain.blogspot.com/

http://www.fraiing.blogspot.com/   and http://www.rattlingon.typepad.com/

Emma and Judi

 

If you asked to join in and I've left you out, please let me know ....... and it's not too late to join in ..... just email me (link above right) before the end of the week and I'll do another draw.  I've sent out emails with your swap partners, so if you haven't received your email, again, please let me know.I didn't include email adresses in the email, as they aren't really needed, and I would still be there typing if I had!  However, you will have seen that I have shown the blog addresses for those who have one  in the above list.  One last thing - instead of setting up a flickr group, I thought it would be easier if you could just email  me a photo of the postcards you send, then once they have all arrived at their destinations, I will do collages to share them with you.

 

To finish, I haven't shown you one of my quirky photos of a falling down fence for a while ......

We laughed till we cried!!

We had a wonderful afternoon at patch'n'chat ...... I think we were all glad to get back into our normal routine after the Christmas and New Year break.  Katy and Cath as ever had a fund of jokes to tell, and we ended up with tears of laughter running down our cheeks ...... but sadly, I can't share the jokes as they were all a bit rude!!  However, I can share the fabrics I bought.  First, for the Hawaiian block, I chose two very bright fabrics for inner and outer borders

 

then for the other top I got a dark fabric for the inner border and a lovely patterned fabric for the outer border

I forgot to include this photo yesterday ..... when I was heading back down the hill from my walk, I heard a horse approaching.  I just had time to take this photo before stepping onto the verge well out of the way, as it went past at a fast trot

 

Then this morning I was distracted from doing the housework by this woman working her beautiful horse on a long rein, in the field across the road

 

It was quite chilly this morning, and the robin had his feathers fluffed up to keep warm

 

We didn't just have fun and laughter this afternoon - we also had cake!!  The first of the year was one of Annette's lighter than air chocolate sponges - delicious

 

I did manage to fit in a little bit of sewing - I have stitched the first fourteen hexagons together

 

Remember you have until the start of the week to sign up for the swap, and I'll be back tomorrow with Shadow Shot Sunday - I really missed it during my break!  have a good weekend, love Anne

Bright and breezy

It was very windy again through the night, but it had quitened down by lunchtime, so I wrapped up warmly, grabbed the camera and went out for a walk.  Malcolm didn't come with me, as he was watching the highlights of last night's football ........ his team, Newcastle, thrashed Manchester United 3-0, so he couldn't miss it!!  This is what he did miss, by not coming with me!

I love the way the sheep gave me a ferocious look as I passed!

 

I don't know if these are natural holes, or something has been nibbling

 

this Jacob's sheep was hiding !

 

but this one gave me another of those looks

 

there seemed to be something tasty to eat in the mud on the road

 

the sun was shining on Ruberslaw

 

I love snowdrops!

 

There has been an amazing response to the swap - we have participants in Scotland, England, Wales, Germany, Italy, America, Canada, Australia and South Africa!  Allyou have to do to join in is : - email me (link top right) with your name and address, then when I send you your swap partner's details next week, send them two postcards ...... one which you have made, and the other a bought one of your hometown, by the end of the month (you can pop them into an envelope for ease of posting).  Do you live somewhere exotic?  Then why not join in and add to the list of far flung places!

 

 

 

 

Drip, drip, drip

Hooray, the snow has almost gone, with the promise of much milder weather for the rest of the week.  All day there has been a constant drip, drip as the snow melts, with the occasional rumble as another lot slides off the roof.  But it did look pretty when we went out for a walk yesterday morning at Harestanes

 

 

 

We were about to leave the car park when a van arrived, a couple got out and unloaded four beautiful dogs - according to the writing on the van they are a sled dog team

 

 

We popped into the Old Melrose Tearoom for a cuppa ........

 

...... and to check out the newly opened farm shop.  It didn't look much from the ouside, with a pile of old doors sitting in front of the window

 

But what a delight when we went in!!  The shop is in the old dairy, and they have retained the old white tiles, giving the shop a lovely light, airy look

 

Considering that it has only been open for a week, the shop was well stocked with all sorts of goodies - a lot of it local.  They have plans to stock locally grown vegetables and meat from local farms.  Of course we bought something ........ a wedge of local cheese

 

....... and some fabulous rocky road marshmallows (which was made in Edinburgh, so hadn't travelled too far!)

 

I was able to capture some wonderful views on the way to the Tearoom

 

 

 

and more on the way home

 

 

 

On Saturday afternoon, when I opened the back doors of the studio, I could here noises from the neighbour's stable next door

 

The horse was having a good huff and puff and snort - I guess it didn't like being shut in

 

Another animal photo to finish with - this is one of the neighbour's cats, perched on a fencepost

 

Not so co-operative!

It's just as well that Lorraine and I had our day out yesterday, as this was the scene that greeted me this morning

 

The sky was so leaden and full of snow that the view looked black and white

 

Despite the heavy snow ......

 

...... the birds were still busy feeding - you can see snow on the tit's tail

 

The poor robin was not his usual chirpy self

 

But these two sparrows looked content to sit in the snow covered bush

 

 

The sheep just kept on eating!

 

 

Now for some colour!  One of the tiny orchids had just started to flower - you can see the much smaller flower on the left, compared to the large flowers of the other one

 

Because of the weather, I missed this afternoon's patch'n'chat, so, sorry, but there is no Friday cake to drool over!  I also didn't manage to take a better photo of the fabric I bought yesterday, as the light was so poor all day. 

 This is the  last of the wallhangings - I know you have seen the tree several times, but this is to show that it is finished!

 

I spent quite a lot of time this afternoon sorting through a large batch of my many, many photos, putting them into folders and transferring them to my external hard drive for safe keeping.  While I was busy, Malcolm pointed out the colour in the sky - I was so lazy I simply lifted the camera and pointed it out of the window!

 

 

 

There are changes afoot for Shadow Shot Sunday - I should be able to tell you in tomorrow's post what is happening, when I will also show you the last of the photos from Melrose Abbey.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

Thank you to the person .......

....... who invented elasticated waists, because after our wonderful lunch yesterday, I had another excellent one today!  Fortunately when I got up this morning, I discovered that most of the snow had gone, so I was able to meet up with Lorraine to head to Kelso for our knit'n'natter Christmas lunch.  The main part of my lunch was actually very healthy - chilli bean stew with a baked sweet potato and salad

 

However dessert was somewhat more indulgent - a slice of lemon tart (sprinkled with edible glitter to make it festive!)

 

On the way home, we called in at Borderland Fabrics, as Lorraine needed some fabric.  Of course I wasn't going to buy anything ....... until I saw these small prints in the 'last chance to buy' basket.  I do have a project in mind for them, honest!!

 

Just as it got dark, we were treated to a fantastic display of hundreds of crows flocking past the house - the photos are slightly blurred because of the long exposure time

 

I promise there will be no photos of food tomorrow!!

Snow!

Yes, the white stuff has arrived!  Yesterday there was just a little bit on the hills ......

 

 

........ but when we got up this morning, a couple of inches had fallen in the night

 

 

I decided that there was nothing urgent on the shopping list, and instead of heading into Hawick for the weekly shop, I baked the Christmas cake, turning this ......

 

...... into this

 

I've been busy working on the snippets wreath - but had a mishap on Saturday

 

That's the first needle I have broken in quite a while - in fact it is the first one i have broken on my new machine.  This is the back of the wallhanging, showing the first stage of the quilting

 

Having stitched the ivy leaves in green, I added some more in red, and quilted the centre

 

I added some baubles

 

then made a start to quilting silver spirals round the outside

 

I also stitched another Farmer's Wife block - I am going to have a break from this project until after Christmas, as I have rather a lot to do at the moment

 

I cut out the pieces according to the book, and you can see that the block is stitched properly ....... so why do I have two pieces left over?!

 

I have been getting on well with the scarf - I have finished the first side and have picked up the stitches from the provisional cast-on and started to knit the second half

 

To finish, some snowy scenes and several cute birds!

I think we might lead a sheltered life .......

 as we got all excited today about going to ........ a different supermarket!!  Not only a different shop, but one in a another country (ok, England is only thirteen miles away!!).  As we approached the border (on the side road, before we joined the main road), there weren't any cars behind us, so Malcolm stopped the car, I opened the window, and took some quick photos of the hazy hills

 

 

Further down the road, the sky grew more dramatic

 

You are not supposed to shop on an empty stomach, so we thought it advisable to stop and have an early lunch .......simple, but delicious, poached eggs on toast

 

I love this blue and white china

 

So why the excitement over the supermarket trip ....... because it was to Waitrose, which are few and far between here.  It is a very posh supermarket, and we oohed and aahed over the wonderful choice (well, you know how much we love our food!)  We bought something special for tomorrow's dinner - I will have to remember to take photos before we eat it all!  Of course we didn't just go all that way to do a bit of supermarket shopping.  We also had a wander round the nearby garden centre, then called in at Kirkharle, to browse round the wonderful craft shops.  We bought a Christmas present that I can't tell you about, and after I remarked that I really liked some necklaces, Malcolm bought one for my Christmas - but I will have to wait to see which one he got!

 

Back home, I popped out to the studio to start on a new project.  I decided that instead of continuing with fmq samples, I would find something among my UFOs to quilt.  I found this ....

 

...... and this

 

I have to admit that these are ten years old!  I did them at a workshop with Cindy Walter.  It was the first workshop that I ever did at Houston - but I nearly didn't get to do it ........ first, the friend I was going with pulled out of our trip at the last minute, my flight to Paris was delayed by fog and I missed my connecting flight to Houston.  Having managed to get another flight - I got to Houston, but my luggage stayed in Paris for two days.  So of course, I didn't have my stuff for the workshop.  However when I explained to Cindy what had happened, she organised everyone to give me bits of fabric, gave me some of her steam-a-seam  and let me use her scissors.  The pieces were made by putting steam-a-seam on a selction of fabrics, then cutting them up in to little bits (remembering to take the backing paper off first!)  Then we arranged the little bits into the wreath and the tree and pressed them into place.  Simple but fun.

I have layered the tree ready to quilt, using lots of pins round the tree, as it was too much of a struggle to pin through it

 

The final thing I did was decide which thread to use.  Much as I love veariegated thread, I knew that it would be lost among all the busy fabrics, so I got out this set of threads with strong clear colours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bliss and blisser

It was exceedingly miserable this morning when I went to Kelso, to pick up my latest picture, which I bought from Gretel, from the framers.  I also did a little bit of Christmas shopping, then stopped in Jedburgh on the way home for a bit more shoppping ...... the rain had got steadily heavier, and this was the view through the windscreen when I parked

 

This isn't the best photo of the picture - I'll take a better one once it has been hung

 

Now for the bliss - I had seen recipes for limoncello on a couple of blogs recently, then I saw a recipe in a magazine, so yesterday I bought the ingredients .......

 

...... vodka, unwaxed lemons and caster sugar (it might seem extravagant buying Smirnoff vodka, but it was on special offer and was the same price as the supermarket own-brand).  The last ingredient needed was water.  Having dissolved the sugar in the water, I added the lemon peel and simmered it for 15 minutes

 

The next stage was to add the lemon juice (it's not a good time to discover that you have a papercut on your finger, when you are squeezing lemons) and simmer it for another five minutes.  Finally, I divided the syrup between two jars and topped them up with vodka.  All that remains to be done is to gently shake them every couple of days for the next two weeks, before straining and bottling the limoncello (if you are reading this Stuart, yes, there will be a bottle with your name on it under the Christmas tree!)

 

Now for the blisser - when I was looking through a food magazine last night I found a recipe for Turkish Delight vodka .   I thought I had reached vodka heaven when I had chocolate vodka years ago ........ but Turkish Delight vodka sounds even more delicious!!  Very simple ingredients for this ........

....... vodka, Turkish Delight and rosewater, which I bought this morning.  The recipe  also has caster sugar, saying that the sugar on the Turkish Delight should be rinsed off ....... but that seemed a bit daft, so I just shook the excess off before adding it to the vodka (you pour some out to make room) and popping in the rosewater through a little funnel

 

Now it just needs a little shake every day over the next two weeks, then it can be bottled.  The recipe says it will keep for a year ....... I doubt I will put that to the test!!

 

Oh dear - I've just read over what I had typed so far ........ I don't really drink that much vodka (I prefer wine), and I have certainlly never bought two bottles in two days before!!

 

It may have been miserable for most of the day, but finally the rain went off, and we even had a little bit of pink in the sky as the sun set!