frayed at the edge

Something for (almost) nothing

As Malcolm was going to be out for lunch today, I had to decide what I would have.  This is one of my two fast/5:2 diet days, so it had to be something very low in calories (the diet recommends no lunch, but I need a little something at midday!)  I had a look in the fridge and produced a leek, a very small potato and two small carrots, all of which were almost at the point of heading for the compost bin.  A quick bit of peeling, slicing and dicing soon produced this

 

normally I would sweat the veggies in a little oil (or even butter), but today they just had to be simmered until they were tender.  Then a quick whizz with the stick bender

 

and I had a delicious, low calorie bowl of soup for lunch, made from nothing much at all!

 

when I headed out to the studio, I took my special tea in another special mug (I didn't realise quite how many "special" mugs we have, as opposed to the everyday ones that go in the dishwasher)

 

I started my day's sewing by finishing off the challenge block for Abbey Quilters (or it will be completely finished when I find the piece of paper that tells me what size to trim it to!)

 

next I did some more prep on the last applique block for the Aunts' Quilt

 

I have finished my tenth stitchery, so it got pressed and put up on the design wall  (only twenty two more to go!)

 

I was on a roll now, and had a quick session of machine quilting on the bed runner

 

I was looking for some more woolly bits for my Sue Spargo project, when I came across this little pattern, and decided to make it as a further practice before I embark on the big project

 

I'm doing the Needle Keeper, and needed to pink the edges of the inner woolly bits, which gave me a chance to use my rotary cutter with the pinking blade

 

this is fun!!

 

at this point, Meredithe might be planning to send me an another owl, this one bearing a Howler (if you haven't read/seen Harry Potter, you can find out here what a Howler is), which will berate me for not working on Mrs Billings!  But I was saving the best for last, and spent the rest of the afternoon working on Mrs B.  But what, I hear you ask, is that little wooden gadget?

 

it's an "iron", for pressing seams

 

by the end of the afternoon I had two corner blocks done for the next border

 

to finish, I have someone else's sewing! Fran, who is one of my lovely readers (thank you all very much for reading me!) emailed me a photo of a quilt that she made for her son.  I immediately emailed her to ask if I could include the photo in a post, as I think it is fabulous!  Fran has only been quilting for eighteen months, so this was a major project for her to tackle, and she has made an excellent job of it.  The quilt is for her son, and he helped to choose the fabrics - needless to say he is delighted with it!

ps - it is snowing as I type this!!

 

 

Recycling

Earlier this week, I broke a wine glass ........ I was most annoyed as it was a very nice wine glass!  However as I wrapped up the pieces of broken glass to dispose of them, I put aside this piece, as I am sure I can recycle/upcycle it ....... I just have no idea at the moment what I'll do with it!!  (any suggestions will be very welcome, there may even be a little prize for the best one!)

 

I took the Linus quilts with me to patch'n'chat, to give them to Sandra, our lovely Linus Lady

 

this afternoon Betty (who was one of my students at the College) demonstrated an all-singing, all-dancing cooking machine.  She made dough for rolls (which were then baked in the oven), soup, sorbet, bechamel sauce and other things which I can't remember.  Yes, it's a wonderful machine, but as it costs over £900 I won't be buying one!!  (even if it does have a self-cleaning mode!)

 

in the midst of all the cooking, we paused to have our usual Friday afternoon cuppa.  I forgot to ask Annette what this concoction is called, but I can tell you that it is sweet and delicious!

 

apart from the photo which I have for the end of the post, that's all the photos I have taken today, so I thought I would share some more from last weekend

fortunately I didn't have to climb these steps up from the beach

 

I think this boat needs some tlc

 

we rather liked this house!!

 

I had to buy this tin of biscuits!!

 

the swans headed off when these canoeists appeared!

 

is this the Loch Ness monster on holiday in Berwick?

 

and so to the last photo for today ...... why can't my chocolate bunnies breed like rabbits?  Every morning I get up and hope that they will have multiplied in the night!!

 

a bit of a mixed weather forecast for the weekend, so maybe we will be able to dodge the wind and the rain for a walk!  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

Painted sheep and little lambs

After we had fun playing with the paint sticks and stencils at Abbey Quilters, Maureen asked if I would like to borrow a stencil of a sheep.  Of course I would!!  So yesterday I got organised ......

 

I used a polythene bag as a pallette

 

and soon had three colourful sheep

 

I don't know what I'll do with them - for the moment they are on the design wall

 

when we were coming home this morning, Malcolm spotted these lambs in the field at the bottom of the road.  So, as soon as we reached the house, I grabbed the camera and trotted back down the hill.  As usually happens, the lambs had moved and were at the limits of my zoomage capacity (I just made that expression up!).  The first two are very young

 

but these two are a little bit older

 

I had to consult my bird book about this bird, which visited the garden this morning.  My first thought was that it is a female blackbird, but then when I got a better look I thought that it might be a thrush, because of its speckled breast.  My book says it is indeed a female blackbird, and not to confuse it with a thrush, because of ....... the speckled breast!

 

this afternoon I got out my next three blocks for the Aunts' Quilt

 

it didn't take long to do the two pieced blocks, then I started the prep for the applique block ...... but you will have to wait until next month to see the finished blocks!

Several miles of thread later ......

........ I have finished the basic background quilting on the Baltimore bed runner.  Because it is too big for the design wall, I had to take it into the house and put it on the bed for photos!

 

the little pin is to remind me that there is a raw edge that needs to be fixed

 

now that I have quilted the backgrounds, the next job will be to embellish the leaves and flowers with quilting

I have finished another stitchery - this is the ninth one!  It took a bit longer, as there was a lot of satin stitch

 

over in Melbourne, my lovely friend Meredithe gets together with Miss GJ and Miss H on Tuesdays to stitch.  They decided to call themselves the Eliott stitchers, as they watch  The House of Eliott while they are sewing.  I had suggested in a recent email to Meredithe that I should get the box set and watch on Tuesdays too, as that is my man sewing day.  A couple of clicks later and the box set of the three seasons was winging its way to me.  I remember watching this on tv years ago, and I am looking forward to enjoying all the beautiful clothes again

 

it should have been Malcolm making dinner today, but I had to take over his duties as he was otherwise engaged, stacking his delivery of logs!

 

 

A frosty start .......

........ but once the sun came out the day warmed up, and I got sidetracked on my way to the studio, to take photos of the garden.  There is lovely strong growth on this clematis

 

and this one is now in leaf

 

as is the honeysuckle

 

this is the climbing rose on the pergola

 

one of the grape vines

 

the forsythia is about to bloom

 

I love alchemilla mollis, but it self-seeds all over the place!

 

little pockets of sunshine from the miniature daffs

 

you know there is always a plant I don't know/can't remember the name of!

 

those were all in the back garden ...... I had to wait until later when the sun moved round to take photos in the front garden.  The ornamental quince is almost flowering

 

and the honeysuckle already has a bud on it!

 

the flowering currant looks as if it has been dipped in icing sugar!

 

Malcolm has tidied up the area round the bird table

 

this wonderful piece of driftwood was a recent find 

 

in between taking the two sets of photos, I was busy in the studio finishing the fourth space quilt.  It was most annoying when the bobbin thread ran out with only this small area of the centre left to quilt

 

I had been looking forward to taking a photo of the quilt in the sunshine, but by the time I finished it some clouds had appeared and the sun had vanished

 

I am delighted with the four space quilts, and am looking forward to handing them over to Sandra, our lovely Linus Lady

 

and of course there are the two girly quilts as well

 

you may have thought that I was a bit extravagant on Sunday when I made eighteen yards of binding ......... but this is all that is left!

to finish ....... while I was busy sewing, Malcolm was fitting the garden door, aided by our neighbour, who is delighted with it

 

Very cute knitting, but first ..........

......... let's get the food out of the way!   We went to Melrose this morning and popped into the deli for lunch.  Malcolm had a cheese and pickle toastie

 

and I had cheese savoury sandwiches (usually I am good and have brown bread, but today I just fancied white bread for a change!)

 

so, the cute knitting.  I was delighted last week to learn that my bloggy friend Rachel is to be a Granny later in the year (I'm not giving away secrets, she has posted about it!!)  When I told Malcolm (some of you may remember his valiant attempts to repair her dishwasher?!) he suggested that I knitted the booties in the tiny kit that he had given me some time ago

 

so I did!

 

then I started a teeny cardigan as well

 

I finished knitting my hot water bottle cover, designed by the wonderful Kate, some time ago

 

but needed to use these

 

 

for the finishing touches

 

I have finished my first sock (and have started the second one)

 

I decided that I couldn't put up with these disorderly scrap baskets any more

 

so while Malcolm was perusing a hundred and one kinds of screws this morning, I bought this extra large pink bucket

 

that's better!

 

I had planned to work on the remaining space quilt this afternoon, but got sidetracked into having a good tidy, but I did remember to take photos of the three that I have finished

 

and to finish - why was Malcolm looking at all those screws this morning ....... to finish the garden door for the lovely neighbours

Take my photo ........

........ I'm the handsome one!  After our cuppa on Sunday morning, we continued our walk.  Malcolm and Alison looked on bemused as Stuart and I crept up to take photos of two seagulls on a wall

 

we laughed when the one on the right walked in front of the other one, as if to say "never mind him, I'm the handsome chap you want in your photos"

 

we walked back over the new bridge, so that Stuart could take some shots of the old bridge ........ but of course I had to take more photos too!  This is looking down on the area that is to be refurbished, where Malcolm went for his walk last Saturday

 

hopefully the old wooden jetty is going to be restored

 

I liked the reflection of the bridge in the slightly muddy water

 

but I doubt this statue likes what the seagulls do on her head!!

 

you may have to click on the photo to enlarge it, to see the seal swimming beside the pilot boat

 

whn we got back home, there was time for me to do some sewing before dinner.  I started by choosing these six fat quarters

 

and cut as many two and a half inch strips as I could from them

 

there was a slight pause as I had to eat a donut (Stuart and Alison had brought us a box, so we had to eat them!)

 

on a sugar high, I stitched all the strips together

 

trimmed off the corners

 

pressed open the seams

 

and folded and pressed the binding

 

ending up with eighteen yards for the space quilts

 

this morning the first job of the day in the studio was to take a photo of my special tea in another of my special mugs

 

I have been doing well NOT buying books, but this one somehow was bought and arrived in the post this morning!

I made a start to using all that binding

 

but you will have to wait until tomorrow to see the finished quilts.  While I was busy sewing this afternoon, Malcolm was busy in the garage, making a rather large garden door for our lovely neighbours, the shoe shop owners

 

I thought I made a lot of mess .........

I'll be back tomorrow with some knitting.

Randomitis!!

Oh my, a large dose of randomitis has hit today's post!  The first photos are from last night's final of the Sewing Bee - stand by to swoon, it's the delectable Patrick!

when we got home yesterday, there were two interesting packages in the post.  The first one contained this panel to make fun seaside bunting, which I bought here

 

I recognised the writing in the second package as being that of either of Malcolm's sisters, as their writing is similar.  It turned out to be from his younger sister Judith.  First, there was a picture from her last years's calendar

 

then a postcard of a David Hockney painting

 

the package was wrapped in what appeared to be plain brown wrapping paper - but look what was on the other side - OWLS!!  This will be upcycled on to cards and gift tags!

 

the butterfly is still in the bathroom.  I put some flowers in a little vase on the windowsill for it, but it preferred the cacti - which is a bit stupid of it as they are candles.  When I went to take a photo this morning, it was sitting on the wall, in the bottom right hand corner of the photo (I was going to write about calling it Shanks, and if another one appeared it would be called McEwan, but I couldn't find a suitable link to put in, that Shanks and McEwan used to make sanitary ware ........ leading to the word shunkie, meaning toilet!!)

 

when I was getting ready to go to patch'n'chat, I saw a tiny long tailed tit in the garden, but despite my best efforts all I managed to capture were sparrows!

 

but don't worry, the attack of randomitis hasn't affected the Friday cake photo.  Annette is on holiday, so her right-hand-woman Cathy baked a cake for us - chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream topping - what more could a girl need on a Friday afternoon!!

 

hopefully the randomitis will have been cured by Monday, when I will have my next report on the Aunts' Quilt.  Stuart and Alison are coming down to spend the weekend at Berwick with us, as it is Mothers' Day on Sunday.  No doubt we will eat too much and perhaps indulge in a glass or two of wine!  Whatever you are doing, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne xx

A little visitor!

I was relaxing in the bath this morning when there was movement and noise behind me!  I was somewhat relieved to see that it was a butterfly.  I have no idea how it got into the bathroom - perhaps it had been hibernating in a corner?  By the time I got out of the bath, got dressed and fetched the camera, it has settled on the blind

 

then it settled on the edge of the window

 

this afternoon I put the binding on the blue and white quilt.  I started by cutting strips from leftover backing fabric

 

which I joined together, then folded in half and pressed

 

I decided to use the back-to-front method of putting on the binding, as that meant I wouldn't have to do any handstitching.  I started by sewing the binding to the back of the quilt

 

then folded it over to the front and held it in place with clips

 

it didn't take long to stitch the binding to the front

 

all I have to do is stitch in the ends and sew the corners and it can go on the guest bed in the flat when we go over tomorrow.  So, I mentioned woolly bits yesterday.  Ever since I saw the wonderful woolly bits that Meredithe has stitched, I have been collecting suitable fabrics.  Then I watched Sue Spargo's Craftsy class, and eventually, on Sunday, I was ready to stitch a sample piece.  As Sue stitches her samples on circles appliqued to a background fabric, I thought I would do that too

 

I started with a simple line of running stitches

 

then got a little bit more creative

 

this is fun!

 

this was my first ever attempt at bullion knots!

 

but in no time at all I had done this variation

 

I played with some buttons

 

I'm delighted with my sample, and I'm looking forward to starting a proper project

 

I have finished another stitchery

 

that's eight done now, which is a quarter of them - suddenly I feel I am making progress!

The next chapter!

Well that's it , I am no longer middle-aged, I am now officially old!  As of today the government has decreed that I am a pensioner ...... although how I can be one when I am only twenty nine I do not know!  Never mind, Malcolm has cheered me up with a bottle of fizz and a box of posh chocolates!

When I was watering the orchids this morning, I realised that there were two which have flowered since the last report.  The first one is quite small

 

while the second one is quite a bit bigger

 

it has very striking markings

 

this is the one which I bought recently, which is still flowering

 

this one has been flowering for months

 

and it too has striking markings

 

I had neglected my knitting recently, but have now made some more progress on my sock.  I have turned the heel and am now knitting the foot

 

so what was the project I started quilting yesterday?  It's my Baltimore bed runner

 

I quilted most of the first block ........

 

........ with my favourite tiny meander

 

at patch'n'chat today, Kay brought in the beautiful batik quilt which I won in Margaret's auction.  Kay has quilted it beautifully on her longarm machine

 

then of course there was the Friday cake ....... bliss, it was our favourite apple and sultana

 

we haven't made any plans for the weekend , but no doubt scones will appear at some point!  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne