frayed at the edge

Here's one (or two) ........

......that I made earlier!  As promised, collages of some of the many holiday photos ......

Oops - I got a bit carried away playing with the coloured borders!  I love the little red toadstool in amongst the plain mushrooms.

 

 

More of those coloured borders - maybe I won't use them next time!

 

On one of our walks, we were walking on a hillside ......

 

 

...... with the sound of water below us

 

 

It made me think of a poem I learned at school, but I could only remember the first two lines.  But with the wonders of Google, I found it.  It was written by William Allingham . This is the first verse - it's quite a long poem!  You can read the rest here. 

The Fairies

Up the airy mountain
Down the rushing glen
We daren’t go a-hunting
For fear of little men;
Wee folk, good folk
Trooping all together
Green jacket, red cap
And white owl’s feather.

 

After a busy week, I am looking forward to the weekend - I hope you all have a good one!  Love, Anne

Some of the best bits!

I've sorted through some of the holiday photos, to bring you some of the highlights!  Of course we had lots of cuppas when we were away, but the quirkiest coffee shop had to be this one in Keswick

 

The shop is full of all sorts of gorgeous things .......

 

 

I couldn't resist buying this card for Malcolm

 

 

Did you notice the little rabbit hiding under the plant?

 

 

We also visited Ambleside, where we found the smallest house in England

 

 

And in Grasmere, we visited William Wordworth's grave

 

 

Which brings me to this, which we spotted in an underpass in Keswick ....... is it art, or is it graffiti?

 

 

 

If it was graffitti, then at least the vandal is educated!!

 

I also added to my collection of pillar boxes, with an Edwardian one (Edward VII)

 

 

And a Georgian one (George VI)

 

 

We were in so many places, we might have got lost ...... but this wonderful old signpost showed us where to go!!

 

I might not eat here .....

...... just in case the ingredients came from the shop next door!!

 

 

Oh dear, I just had to start with that one!!  We are back home, after having had a wonderful holiday!  The weather was a little bit mixed, but not bad for this time of year.  We have walked for miles (I think we did 10 miles on Tuesday!), eaten far too much, had the odd glass of wine ...... and taken lots and lots of photos!

When we have been on holiday, we always ask each other what was the best bit .... and this time I think just about the whole holiday qualified as a best bit!  I showed you my super kit that Malcolm bought for me at the Quaker Tapestry exhibition, but I forgot to show you the pencils I got for him at the Pencil Museum

 

water colour pencils

 

 

pastels (and a helpful booklet, which was a free gift!!)

 

Other little bits and bobs were also bought (some may involve chocolate!) - I will have to organise them into collages to show you next week.  On the way home, first we stopped here (with blue sky and sunshine) - I got a beautiful skein of angora yarn in the upstairs craft gallery

 

 

Then we stopped here for lunch, at the highest cafe in England.  As you can see, the weather had changed just a little bit!  We had a really good lunch - Malcolm ordered a roll with turkey and stuffing and a roll with roast beef and gravy for me - they were so good, we cut them in half and swapped bits.  I would have taken a photo, but the place was full of macho male cyclists in very tight lycra shorts .... if I had accidently included them in a photo they would have made the 'braw laddies' look like choir boys!!

 

 

Our last stop wasn't far from home - despite having lived here for four years, we still hadn't visited here

 

 

And I still haven't visited, as it was closed for the winter!  Malcolm may have climbed over the gate to take some photos (!), while I stayed on the road (on the other side of a stream) ....

 

 

Malcolm's tiny figure in the bottom right hand corner gives you an idea of the size of the castle.  He particularly liked this photo - attackers creeping up would get a surprise when they got to the top of the slope and found just how big the castle was!!

 

 

Malcolm also had to screech to a halt (as always, he did of course check for other cars) when we spotted these cuties

 

 

Do make sure to come back for Shadow Shot Sunday ...... you will see concrete as you have never seen it before!!

Have a good weekend - Jennifer is coming to stay, so we will be out and about .... fingers crossed we get the wonderful weather that has been forecast!!  Love Anne

How much is ......

....... that doggie in the window?

 

Sorry - couldn't resist starting with that one!  This morning we went to Kendal to see the Quaker Tapestry (sorry, no link, as it has been a long day and I forgot!!)  I couldn't take photos in the exhibition, but I bought a book, and have taken a couple of photos to let you see what a wonderful work it is - if you are ever in the Lake District from April to October, make sure you go to see it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stitching is amazing (click on the photos and they should enlarge).  I just hope I can make a good job of this kit which Malcolm bought for me

 

 

On the way back, we stopped at Townend

 

 

 

 

 

 

This evening, we bought fish and chips, and went down to the lake to eat them ..... and watch the sun go down


 

 

I still have about 200 hundred photos that I have taken over that last four days - I will have to sort them all out over the weekend and share more of our adventures with you next week.  We'll be heading home tomorrow - no doubt with a stop or two on the way!!

 

Shall I pencil you in for later .......

.......or will I get right to the point?  Yes, you've guessed, we went to the Pencil Museum this morning

 

The first photo op was before we even got in the door!

 

 

When you go into the museum, you go through a mock-up of a graphite mine - this poor chap didn't look too happy at his work

 

 

The museum is well laid out, with lots of information boards telling the history of pencils

 

 

But there was more to this new industry than you might imagine

 

 

There were displays of pencils ......

 

 

...... and this one of pen nibs

 

 

When we went for a cuppa, we discovered paper and pencils on the table, and instructions on how to draw a mouse

 

 

This is Malcolm's mouse

 

 

And this is mine

 

 

We then did some shopping, before going for lunch ..... delicious tomato and tarragon soup and a crusty roll - I had ham and chutney, Malcolm had beef and horseradish

 

 

We needed a hearty lunch to build us up for our afternnon walk ...... up a very long hill to see the Standing Stones. 

 

 

The walk up to the stones was in lovely sunshine, so we were a bit peeved that it started to rain as soon as we got there.  However, I didn't mind so much when I captured this shot of the rainbow

 

 

Unlike Stonehenge, you can walk round these stones

 

 

We liked this stone contraption on the gate ...... it makes sure that the gate shuts!

 

 

On the way back down, we had some wonderful views of the hills ......

 

 

....... and saw lots of sheep!

 

 

ps - I bought some pencils for Malcolm at the museum, but I forgot to take a photo!!

 

 

 

 

A lot of walking ........

...... and a little bit of knitting!  I wouldn't want you to think that I am being lazy on my holiday.  On the way over yesterday, I started knitting a sock in the car (I've discovered that I can manage plain knitting .... maybe I'm finally growing out of car-sickness!

 

Did you notice that there are only three needles ....... I had a slight accident when I went to start a new row - the needle pinged out of my hand and vanished down the side of my seat, never to be seen again!  We know it must be in there somewhere, but we just can't find it (for some reason Malcolm refuses to dismantle the seat!!).  Fortunately is was one of my very cheap bamboo needles, so I wasn't too upset - and there is a little wool shop here in Keswick, so I was able to buy another set!

I have also started knitting 'Ishbel' .... a lovely shawl by the very talented young designer Ysolda Teague.  If you haven't seen Ysolda's work, do have a look at her website - and you can buy her patterns (as I did) as a download.  For Ishbel, I am using beautiful yarn that is 70% merino and 30% silk, which was given to me by Meg.  It is knitting up very quickly

 

We have walked for miles (and miles) today ..... and I have taken lots and lots of photos.  Once we are back home I will do a collage or two, but for now, here is a small selection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I still have so much to tell you ..... and we haven't even been to the Pencil Museum yet (we will probably go tomorrow, as rain is forecast).  I'm off to rest my poor legs, have a glass of wine and do a little bit of knitting!

Bursting at the seams!

I have so much to tell you today, I hope I can fit it all in!   Yesterday, I was away from home from 9am till 9.30pm (I wrote yesterday's post on Tuesday and scheduled it to appear yesterday!)  So what was I doing all that time?  I was at Borderland Fabrics, doing a workshop during the day, and attending a talk in the evening.  I'm going to save the details and photos until tomorrow, as I will have more sewing related things to tell you about tomorrow!

This morning I drove up to Falkirk, and I am now sitting in Stuart's lounge typing this.  We are going out for dinner tonight to celebrate his birthday - we are going to a Noodle Bar, where we may just indulge in lots of sushi!  This afternoon, I went along to the Falkirk Wheel - do you remember that the last time I went, there was a technical problem and I didn't get to see it turn?  Well there were no problems today (apart from the weather being a bit grey)  I took lots of photos so that you can see how it works - it is the only rotating boat lift in the world, and replace a whole serious of locks which connected the two canals.  (Maybe next time I'll be brave enough to go on the boat trip - but you know I don't like heights!)  The sequence of photos show the boat sailing into the 'gondola', the wheel gradually turning, then ending with the boat which had been on the top canal, sailing out into the bottom one.  I tried to keep the camera in the same place, so that you can see how the boat rises away from the level of the dock in photos 2-5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a wonderful feat of engineering - especially when you read this in the visitor centre

 

 

I was intrigued by these two sculptures on the dockside and went over for a better look

 

 

 

This sign gives some general information (click on the photo to enlarge it)

 

 

and this tells you about the Kelpies

 

 

You can read more about Kelpies here.  Many years ago, when I was in the Brownies, I was Sixer of the Kelpies.  (if you've never been a Brownie you will have no idea what that means!)

 

To finish this marathon post, I thought you would like to See Stuart's new coaster

 

 

This detail shows how the felted circles echo the metal knot

 

 

ps - I mentioned there will more sewing related things tomorrow ..... on the way home, I'll be popping in to the Autumn Quilt Show at Ingliston!  Of course I will only be looking at the quilts and not buying any fabric or books or thread or buttons or .......... 

 

  

   
  
 
  
 
   

 

Gardening on a grand scale!

First of all - oops ....... I forgot to include the photo of the wonderful Jelly and Icecream shop yesterday!

 

We had a wonderful walk yesterday at Dawyck Botanic Garden.  It is a little bit bigger than our garden - just this one tree gives you an idea of the scale!!

 

 

Malcolm had just pointed out this little baby monkey puzzle tree .....

 

 

..... when he noticed the big mummy (or daddy!) one behind it!

 

 

This next photo is a little bit blurred - perhaps because I was so excited to see a RED squirrel - I've only seen grey ones before!!

 

 

As well as the grand scale of the gardens, Dawyck House is also a little bit larger than the average house!

 

 

The plaque on this bench caught my eye, as amongst all the names is my Dad's name - Angus MacKenzie!

 

 

 

The one thing that was on a smaller scale was this church, tucked away among the trees

 

I meant to google this inscription above the door to see if I could find a translation - but I forgot!!

 

I'm off to Falkirk in the morning to visit Stuart, staying overnight, then on Friday a quick visit to the autumn Quilt Show at Ingliston on the way home ....... so lots more to share with you before the weekend!
 

  

  

 

In stitches!

Today was a 'Kist' day - when my house group come for the day to knit, sew, drink tea and generally have fun!  I have been working on Malcolm's socks - I have already turned the heel of the first one

 

 

One of the group, Seonaid, loves to play with sewing machines .... so she was delighted to have a play with my new one.  Whereas I have started at the beginning of the stitches (ie, the plain boring ones!) Seonaid plunged in to try out the fancy stitches

 

 

 

 

I forgot to show you these two photos yesterday ..... we went for a walk in the park in Hawick on Sunday.  One side of the park ends at the river - on the other side there are some houses with gardens which run down to the river, which gave me a good view of these two garden features

 

a rather smart bird table

 

 

a fun topiary

 

The weather has taken a turn for the worse - we have just had a very heavy shower and the forecast for tonight is for very strong winds ..... so I thought I would pretend that it is still the height of summer, with a look back at our glorious bees' balm in full flower ......

 

...... and one of the lovely fuchsias which added glorious colour to the garden

 

  

Will the tooth fairy come ......

....... if I don't have my tooth to put under my pillow?  I thought the dentist might think I was a bit strange if I asked for my tooth, so I guess I won't get sixpence from the tooth fairy!  It all went as planned - he gave me so many injections that I'm still a bit numb three hours later!  He did all the nasty cleaning stuff, then before I realised what was happening, he had taken the tooth out.  I feel as if someone has punched me, but I'm sure that will have worn off by the morning.

Of course, no crafty stuff was done today - I couldn't have concentrated on anything before the dentist, and I've just been taking it easy since I got back.  Fortunately, I have some photos which I took on Sunday to share with you!  We went for a walk round the village of Denholm, which is only a few miles from us.  We have had a stroll round the main part of the village before, but this time we started off walking along the river bank.

The first thing we came across was this stone structure, which we think was part of an old footbridge over the river .......

 

 

...... but now both foot and vehicle traffic use this magnificent structure

 

 

This may look like something out of a museum, but it is still a working petrol station........

 

 

....... and this telephone exchange seems still to be in use too   

 

 

Just as I took this photo, a cloud of sparrows rose out of the hedge beside me!

 

 

This house is on the main street - it has various sayings painted on the front

 

 

After all that walking, there was only one thing for it - we had to go for a cuppa and a scone!