frayed at the edge

All the fun of the fair!

On Saturday morning, Malcolm headed off into Hawick as usual and I packed all my goodies in the car and headed down the road the Southdean Village Hall.  There was a moment or two of panic when I saw the size of my table - how would I ever fit everything on it!  I wasn't the only one with that concern, but the idea of the organisers was to have lots of small tables to provide a wide variety, rather than just a few large tables.  Eventually most things were squeezed on

 

with the bargain basket on a chair in front of the table

 

Then I realised that the bunches of dried lavender were still in a poly bag - oops ...... so that meant another photo!

 

My friend Lorraine had the table next to me  - and she sensibly had brought an extra little table to add to the front to give her more display space for her wonderful, cakes, jam, chutneys, liqueuers ...

 

..... and her fabulous marzipan fruits

 

So how did it go?  Quite well ...... of course I would have liked to have sold more, but I did sell a reasonable amount (and then spent a large part of what I had made buying something for Malcolm's Christmas!)  There is still rather a lot in the bargain basket, but the rest of the stuff is now packed into one box (except for the painted pine cones - I only sold one packet of them!)

 

And I may just have bought something for myself ....... well, could you have resisted this!  It's only about two inches tall - I think I will put it in a little box frame

 

Yesterday we went to Melrose, as we had a voucher for free entry to Melrose Abbey.  You can read about the Abbey here and here.  Although there was a chilly wind, the sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue.  Most of the photos will be appearing in future Shadow Shot Sundays, but here is a little taste

 

 

Back home, by the time I had tidied away the leftovers from the fair, I just had time to do a little bit of sewing.  You might have noticed that I didn't do my Farmer's Wife blocks last week, so I thought I had better get one done!

 

Then a quick fmq ....... a little bit of background filler

 

...... and back to basics with a little bit of stippling - I love this variegated thread

 

Now to the knitting update.  I have finished one sock .....

 

..... but haven't done the heel on the other one, as I knitted (yet) another pair of Cranford mitts.  I finished them on Friday morning, just in time to take them to patch'n'chat to give to my friend Jane - sorry, i forgot to take a photo!  I have also finally made a start to the Glimpse scarf.  Although it looks complicated, it is fairly simple to knit.  The blue edge at the top is the provisional cast-on.  This will be the centre of the scarf.  After knitting the first half, I'll pick up the stitches from the cast-on edge and knit the second half

 

To finish, two photos which I took on the way home yesterday.  The first one isn't too clear, as I was pointing the camera towards the sun .......

 

....... but in this second one you can see that it is a shepherdess, complete with crook and two sheepdogs!

 

I have so much to tell you ......

....... that I don't know where to start!  So I guess it makes sense just to work through the weekend in chronological order.

On Saturday, Malcolm discovered that he had been given a 'foreign' coin, although at first glance it looks like one of ours - if you read the wording round the edge of the right-hand coin, you will see it is from New Zealand ........ perhaps we could go there on holiday to spend it!

 

 

Having finally received my slider, I lost no time in fitting it to my sewing machine.  It really does make a difference - the quilt sandwich moves much more easily under the needle

 

I also unearthed a different embroidery hoop to use.  As the hoop is used upside down, the screw for tightening the outer ring was on the bottom under the quilt sandwich, and would occasionally catch on the edge of the extension table.  Although the slider now covers the edge, I thought using this smooth plastic hoop would help too.

 

When browsing through the fmq patterns, this one caught my eye - mussels - which I thought went well with my sea anenome

 

I looked out the things I had made for previous fairs, and marked them down to half price - well, we all like a bargain, and I really don't want to have to bring it all home again!

 

The collection of new stuff is growing

 

Yesterday morning, we went to a craft and design fair in Kelso.  There were lots and lots of wonderful stalls, but as it was a much more formal sort of event than next week's fair, I didn't like to take photos.  However, when I was talking to one of the stallholders whom I know, she mentioned that she had forgotten to bring her camera to take photos of her stall.  I offered to take photos for her, and she was happy for me to share one with you (you can see more of Linda's work here)

 

We had a pleasant walk along the river - but the rest of the photos have been filed for a future Shadow Shot Sunday!

 

Back home, I stitched some more mussels, and tried a little filling of pebbles

 

Looking round the studio, I thought that perhaps it was time for a tidy-up!

 

I was threading string through holes with a large needle when this happened - oops!

 

After the delay in receiving the slider, I was pleased today when this parcel arrived within the one hour time-slot given on the delivery firm's tracking page

 

a little clue to the contents .......

 

...... no, not jam jars, but super bottles to put the sloe gin in (but I will be buying jars and labels and more bottles - there are all sorts of goodies on the website!)

 

The knitting update ...... another pair of Cranford mitts -I only started these on Friday night, and finished the second one at 10pm last night!  This pair is for my friend Cath

 

another pair of afterthought heel socks ...... just the heels to do.  You can see where I have picked up the stitches on one side, and started picking them up on the other

 

To finish, another silly photo!  Malcolm spotted this yesterday ....... but was the car really on top of the fishermen's hut?!

 

Too many cooks may spoil the broth .......

....... but two cooks make a good dinner!  Usually one or other of us cooks dinner, but today's was a joint effort.  I started my dish by finely slicing a large apple and onion, arranging them in an ovenproof dish, and adding orange juice and thyme

I seasoned it with this wonderful salt that we brought back from Majorca

 

then I put pork chops on top, spooned some of the orange juice over them, and added some black pepper

 

Malcolm's contribution was cauliflower and broccoli cheese - here are the two dishes just out of the oven

 

Delicious!!

 

To backtrack to this morning, when we were in town, we saw this bird on the River Teviot - neither of us knows what it is - but I'm sure one of you will be able to tell me (my book only has garden birds!)

 

Over on the River Slitrig, this duck was quite well camouflaged

 

unlike the drake, resplendent with his beautiful plumage

 

This was a tiny little rose

 

a fraction of the size of this gorgeous full one

 

After lunch I went out for a walk ...... I had hardly gone any distance when I had to step on to the verge to let this waggon go past

 

This photo is for Thimbleanna, who loves sheep ..... especially Scottish ones!!  But the little rascals will turn their bottoms to the camera!!

 

When I saw this horse, I thpught it was in the garden, but then I realised that there was a fence between it and the house!

 

I'm not the only one who has to avoid large things on the road ...... the truck just managed to squeeze pat the JCB  (I think I might have to put that JCB on my list for Father Christmas!!)

 

Back from my walk, I headed out to the studio.  Today's fmq was fun!  I think this pattern was called sea anenome

 

I really enjoyed doing this one, and would use it as an all over pattern on a quilt.  The little bit of green quilting that you can see is from the practice session I had on the other side

 

Malcolm, meantime, was up in the loft putting down the last of the insulation - he moved just as I snapped, so you can't see him, but he is there at the far end ...... the tiny glimpse of orange in the middle of the photo is his boiler suit!!

 

ps - I wasn't paying proper attention when I was slicing the apple with the mandolin ........

A walk in the park

On Sunday morning, we decided to go for a walk round the big park in Hawick, as it was sunny and very mild for this time of year.  The autumn colours were stunning

 

 

 

 

The holly trees were laden with berries

 

As we got to the far end of the park, the weather changed, and there was just a little spot of rain in the air - but that didn't bother the heron

 

As we walked back through the park, Malcolm spotted shoots amongst the leaf litter - on looking more closely, we could see that they were daffodils!

 

This morning we headed over to the Woodside Garden Centre, to go for a walk in the woods before lunch.  There wasn't as much colour here, as a lot of the trees have already lost their leaves

 

Again, it was Malcolm's sharp eyes that spotted something unusual ...... the taller structure was only about five feet high - so not big enough to camp out in!

 

Lunch in the garden centre was soup ...... carrot, ginger and honey for me

 

and leek and thyme for Malcolm

 

This afternoon I went over to Kelso for knit'n'natter.  As I walked through the old graveyard next to the Abbey, I was entertained by three squirrels dashing about ...... fortunately they did pause just long enough for me to snap these pictures

 

 

 

When we came back to the carpark after lunch, I tried to convince Malcolm that he should buy me one of these fabulous trucks .......

 

........ but fortunately he didn't rush off and buy one, because I changed my mind when I saw this fantastic Mini in Kelso (I would have taken a closer photo, but the driver was sitting in the car!!)

 

In a tangle!

Unlike Rachel, who showed off gleaming locks in this post, my hair was looking less than happy this morning!

 

The problem?  My hairdryer had been a bit poorly recently, refusing to blow at its usual rate.  I asked Malcolm to have a look at it - he took it apart, couldn't find what the problem was ...... then simply couldn't get it to fit back together!  So until I can buy a new one, I'll have to make do with my travel one ...... which is just a little bit small and underpowered

 

However, some time later my hair was finally dry and straight again (it only curls when it gets longer!)

 

As the sun was shining, we popped over to Jedburgh, and had a walk round the town before lunch.  This acer was a blaze of colour against the blue sky

 

Can you just picure the two of us rattling around our country roads on these two fabulous machines - perhaps we could hire ourselves out to move sheep to other filelds, or bring the cows in for milking

 

I had to drag Malcolm away from this pile of logs, before he tried to stuff them in his pockets to take home!

 

Malcolm spotted this carving above the library door

 

The restoration work on the fountain has finally finished

 

Back home, Malcolm was pottering about the garden while I was in the studio.  He stuck his head in the door and shouted for me to come quickly and bring the camera.  There was a wonderful rainbow .... this is it as seen from the back garden

 

and this from the front

 

I am going to a workshop on Saturday, so I thought I ought to organise the rather long list of requirements

 

I looked out my workshop bag .......

 

it has a pocket at the back for the cutting mat and ruler

 

and two zipped plastic pockets which are held in place with velcro

 

I also cleaned the sewing machine and stowed it away in its case, so everything is ready for Saturday morning ....... I'll be out on Friday evening, which is why I'm getting organised early (I'll tell you all about the evening out and the workshop is tomorrow). 

 

I have started the prep for the next Baltimore block - ok, I have to admit that I have put the Hawaiian block aside, as it will have to be needleturned, which is my least favourite method of applique!

 

ps - I have done my Farmer's Wife blocks for this week, I'll show them to you tomorrow!

I'm not saying it was cold .......

....... but there was ice on the birdbath this morning!!

 

I went out, broke it up and took it off - and some time later it was still lying there, unmelted!!

 

This little sparrow looked thoroughly miserable!

 

But as soon as I filled the feeders, things looked a lot livelier

 

When we went into Hawick for our usual Thursday morning cuppa, we were a little bit early, so we walked round to where we sometimes see a heron on the River Slitrig.  I was disappointed not to see him (I know, I always think that herons are male!) ....... but then Malcolm spotted him sitting on a garden wall above the river - maybe the water was just too cold!!

 

Although it was starting to cloud over a bit, we went out for a walk after lunch.  We decided to walk the route that we have only walked once, but this time we would do it the other way round, so that we didn't have to walk up the very steep hill!  Usually when I show you photos of the Minto Hills, you only see one - but here are both of them!

 

We have had quite a lot of rain recently, which meant there were some tricky stretches to negotiate

 

We were distracted for a while ...... but I'll tell you why later!  This calf was keeping a careful eye on us, although it was a good distance away

 

This horse obviously believes that the grass is greener on the other side

 

When we got back home, I lurked just outside the garden gate, hoping to take some photos of the birds on the feeders - but the sparrows just sat in the hedge and laughed at me!

 

So what caused the hold-up in our walk?

picking lots of rosehips  ........

 

...... and even more sloes!

 

As we hadn't picked sloes before, we brought a little bit of a branch home to check that they were indeed sloes - a quick google search confirmed we were right (thank you Wikipedia!)

 

Now we will make sloe gin and rosehip syrup!  To finish, two photos of the birdbath ....

a brave sparrow takes the plunge in the cold water .......

 

..... while the other birds stay firmly on the rim!

Sunshine!

Yesterday was bright and sunny, so we headed over to Harestanes for one of our favourite walks.  I was able to take lots of photos for next weekend's Shadow Shot Sunday. and still have lots left to share with you today

the bees were enjoying the sunshine too, both on this plant .......

 

....... and this one

 

the mild weather has confused this rhododendron into flowering at the wrong time

 

this mushroom has been well and truly nibbled .......

 

but I think it would be wise to  avoid this one!

 

I was going to show you more photos from our walk, then some photos of the garden, but they just kept vanishing ...... and now this block of text won't budge from the right!  So on with the knitting update - I've made a start to the shawl, but it needs a lot of concentration, so I have also started a pair of socks

 

 

I love the colours in the shawl, like autumn berries ........

 

..... which brings me to the last photo I am going to attempt to include.  We picked some brambles yesterday, and Malcolm made a very tasty apple and bramble crumble, which we had with some custard ...... we very rarely eat puddings, so this was a real treat!!

 

A pleasant stroll

Now that it is dark in the mornings, I no longer go out for a walk ........ I torture myself on the cross trainer and rowing machine instead.  But I miss walking, so today I went for a walk after lunch (I strongly deny that I was trying to avoid doing the ironing!)  Usually I head up the hill towards the church, but for a change I went downhill.

Although it is still reasonably mild, most of the horses now have their blankets on

 

The sheep, of course, have their own woolly coats to keep them warm

 

And sometimes all you need is Mum

 

Along the way I was able to indulge my liking for gates ......

 

...... and falling down bits of old fences

 

It wouldn't be a walk in the country without one of these thundering past ........

 

....... and there are a lot of tractors about at the moment with these attachments on the back for cutting hedges - although as you can see our road has yet to be done

 

This sparrow was perched in the hedge across the road from us - he obviously didn't know that all the other sparrows in the neighbourhood were in our front garden, waiting for the feeders to be filled

 

I hope he arrived in time to share in the feasting on the fat balls!!

 

I have finished making/extracting from my stash a little pile of goodies to send off to my partner in Mousy Brown's swap.  All that is needed is an address label on the envelope, then it will be off to the post office on Saturday to send it. 

 

For lunch today we had homemade soup (I had apple and parsnip, Malcolm had pea and ham) and some of the sourdough bread we got yesterday - it was delicious!!

Emergency over!

Being a punctual person, I arrived at the dental centre 15 minutes early ...... and was taken after waiting for only five minutes.  Fifteen minutes later, my tooth was fixed, the bill was paid and I was heading for home.  Sadly Douglas, my dentist that I was so in love with, has now retired, so I was treated by my new dentist, Mr Prusek.  I think he is Eastern European ..... he sounds like a villain in a James Bond film 'you need a new fillink'.  He was very quick and efficient, and apart from the first prick of the needle, I didn't feel a thing - that's my kind of dentist!!

Back home, I made some apple and sultana chutney.  As so often happens, there was a little drop left over when I filled the jars ....... so what better way to try it than with a piece of crumbly extra mature cheddar and some slices of pear

 

 

We have had extremes of weather today - very bright sunny spells, mixed up with black skies and heavy rain.  So the birds were either sheltering .......

 

 

..... this little sparrow even had its head tucked under its wing

 

 

...... or tucking in before the next shower

 

 

For once the robin sat for long enough on the stone owl for me to take a photo

 

 

but he was determined to keep his back to me when he perched on the wooden owl

 

 

There haven't been any finches in the garden recently, so I was glad to see this one this morning

 

 

 

This afternoon I was out in the studio, continuing with my sporadic attempts to sort out my various stashes.  I have a lot of sample curtains, which I buy (very cheaply) from a shop in Hawick.  They take up a lot of room, so I have been gradually taking them apart, keeping the fabric, throwing out the little bits of header tape, and giving the lining fabric to Malcolm, who plans to use it as extra insulation in the loft.  So I reduced this pile ......

 

 

to this much smaller one

 

 

Now I have to resist the temptation to fill the empty spaces !!

 

 

To finish, some photos of last night's stunning sky

 

 

 

 

Sticky fingers

This morning, I measured the liquid from the apple/bramble pulp .........

 

 

....... poured it into a large glass bowl, and put it in the microwave on high to come to the boil.  Then I added the sugar - the ratio is a pound of sugar per pint of liquid.  Once the sugar had been thoroughly stirred in, I put the bowl back in the microwave for about five minutes.  By that time a scum had formed on the top, which I simply skimmed off

 

After boiling the jelly some more, setting point was reached, then I filled the jars and covered them

 

 

There was apause in the jelly making at that point, as we popped into Hawick for lunch.  We decided to go to the Damascus Drum

 

 

There is a small outside seating area, but since the smoking ban, these tables are generally used by smokers!

 

 

My lunch was delicious - a 'ploughman's bagel'.  Malcolm had a bagel spread with cream cheese, and the same tasty salad

 

 

Back home, I made the apple/rosehip jelly, but all did not go to plan!  It just didn't want to set.  First I added lime juice and boiled it again - still runny.  Then I got out the big guns - pectin!

 

 

I finally achieved a rather wobbly set - and I had decidedly sticky fingers from all the pokingof my samples to see if they were setting!  However, I ended up with another four jars of jelly.  The fruit was free, the electricity for the microwave was free, so all I had to pay for was the sugar.  I have eight jars of jelly for about £3!!

 

 

Years ago, I used to make curries from scratch, using Madhur Jaffrey's book (you can see I still have some recipes marked with bits of paper!)

 

 

I used to dry fry the spices, then grind them, and make a paste with onion, garlic and ginger.  These days, curry making is much simpler, with a ready made paste for my rogan josh

 

 

Soon it was simmering - enough for two meals.  We'll have one for dinner tomorrow and the other one will go in the freezer

 

 

When we got back from lunch, before I started on the second round of jelly making, I indulged in a bit of fun, inspired by Rachel.  It was very simple .... walk 132 steps from the front door, then take a photo.  I cheated slightly, as by the time I walked along the path, through the gate and down the drive, I would have used up quite a few of my steps, so I started counting when I stepped out on to the road.  The 132 steps didn't take me as far as I thought they would, and when I stopped to take my photo, it was a bit boring

 

 

So I went back to the house and walked 132 steps in the other direction - oh dear, it was even more boring

 

 

But then, back home ..... this was the view from the front door step

 

 

There was one last job to do after the jelly making - giving the 'jeely bag' a thorough wash and hanging it out to drip dry!