frayed at the edge

Some progress on Mrs Billings!

Now that Meredithe is overseeing my progress on Mrs Billings, I have been very busy.  However, I haven't done any sewing ........ instead I have been doing an awful lot of cutting out!  This was the state of Mrs B at the last report.  The centre and the hexie flower border

 

 

and all of the hexie pyramids for the final border are either sewn or cut out ready to sew

 

I have still to cut out the background fabrics for these borders, but I have cut all the patterned fabrics

I shall have to knuckle down and get a lot of sewing done before next month's report, or Meredithe, who has won awards with her Mrs Billings, might be cross with me!  Of course I have been very busy with the Linus quilts, and have finished the sheepie one

 

on Saturday I made the two quilt tops using the leftover pictures. These are the two centre panels.  As you can see, one has dark blue fabric and the other lighter blue fabric

 

I added an outer border to bring them up to a reasonable size

 

on Sunday I layered the first one, putting a lovely thick spotty fleece on the back.  I also cut the piece needed for the second one, and have enough left over to do two smaller quilts

 

it didn't take long to quilt

 

with a nice big meander in the main section

 

and a line to suggest a spaceship looping round the planets in the borders!

 

the last job of the day was to layer the second quilt

 

this morning I quilted the second quilt

 

I used a big loopy design in the main part

 

and a small loopy design in the borders

 

next, the first of the larger quilt tops, which I layered with a lovely thick fleece with footballs on it.  I got most of the quilting done by the end of the afternoon

 

with a large meander (which Malcolm thought looked like clouds) in the main part

 

and a small loopy design in the border - but I have had to turn the quilt to the wrong side to show you that, as it doesn't show on the right side

 

I had a search today and unearthed photos (these are real photos, so I took photos of them, so they are not very good!) of the very first Linus quilt that I made.  The first one shows me holding up the unfinished quilt at a show-and-tell

 

then a rather fuzzy photo of the finished quilt

 

the note on the left is from Doreen, who was my first "Linus lady", with the thank you note on the right from Molly's parents.  I still get a lump in my throat when I read them (you can click on the photo to enlarge it if you can't read the notes)

 

to finish ........ my special tea in a special mug.  I have had this mug since the the 90s, when I won it at a Quilters' Guild Regional Day, when my lucky programme number was drawn by Lynne Edwards, who had been one of the speakers

 

along with a lot of other members, I was disappointed when the Guild changed its logo from the classic block to this strange design, which could be the corporate logo of any sort of company, and doesn't suggest quilting (although I am no longer a member of the Guild, I still have all my badges!)

Fly me to the moon!

So, what have I been doing with the two panels?  I bought them to make quilts for Project Linus, as they are always short of quilt for boys, as most quilters seem to prefer making cute quilts for little girls!  Some years ago I started collecting "sky" fabrics - in fact it is so long ago I can't remember what I was going to do with them!

 

as often is the case with panels, they are out of proportion, being much too long in relation to their width.  So I started out by cutting out the centre panels, and putting borders on.  When it came to the second one, I had to use two different fabrics, but I like the dark and light effect

 

that left the strips from the top and bottom - what could I do with them?  I decided to cut  the pictures out

 

my little revolving mat make it much quicker and easier to cut out the squares

 

I chose two fat quarters .........

 

and cut out more squares.  Did you notice there were lots of things peeping out from behind the panels on the design wall?  Rather than take them all down, I laid out the blocks for the next quilt on my table.  With the addition of sashing, it will be a reasonable sized quilt, and with the remaining pictures and squares, I will be able to make another one the same size

 

I have also been working on this month's applique block for the Aunt's Quilts - here's a sneak peek

 

I have some friends in Australia who  love Patrick from The Great British Sewing Bee and also men in kilts (I won't embarrass them by naming them!) ........ so I hope they don't swoon with pleasure when they see these photos of ......... Patrick in a kilt!!

 

today at patch'n'chat we had delicious fairy cakes with fresh cream - I was very good and didn't have a second one!

winter might still be lingering outside, but in the kitchen it is spring!

 

we are staying at home again this weekend, as the forecast isn't very good for Sunday, so I hope to get the "space" quilts finished.  Whether you are looking forward to the better weather of spring, or the cooler temperatures of autumn, I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

Springing into life!

The weather is trying to convince us that it is still winter, with snow flurries through the day, but out in the garden there are signs of spring.  Two of our clematis have leaf buds

the hellebore is flowering

 

I thinl this shrub is a skimmia (and if it isn't I know that you will let me know what it is!)

 

these miniature daffs are only 4" high

 

those were all in the back garden.  In the front garden, the ornamental quince has tiny buds.  When we first moved here, we had fruit from the quince, but we haven't had any for the last few years.  I wonder if it is because it has to be cut back several times a year, or it would block the way to the garden gate

 

there is a lot of growth on the flowering currant

 

a teeny tiny bud on the hawthorn hedge

 

these are full sized daffs

 

earlier, in the front garden, the sparrows were waiting for breakfast

with three starlings keeping an eye on them

 

while it's easy to take photos of the sparrows when they are sitting on the shrubs, it can be more difficult when they are swooping on to the fat ball feeder

 

I thought you might like a sneak peek of Malcolm's latest creation, as it takes shape in the garage

 

to finish ....... do you remember these panels, which I bought when we were in Australia?  Come back tomorrow and I will show you what I did with them today!

Stitching fun!

The first of my new purchases that I investigated was the new ruler

 

oh dear, this one is quite a bit trickier to stitch with than the first ones I bought

 

for my second attempt I drew a line to try to keep the sewing straighter - a slight improvement.  This ruler is going to take more practice!

 

I then did a little doodling with spirals

 

after changing thread, I stitched two peapods and did a little meander under them

 

I had just taken this photo of the contents of the elephant kit when Malcolm popped into the studio.  As I explained to him about the little sachet of glue granules, to be used to stick little flecks of foil to the fabric, I could see he was frowning.  I  assured him that I would cover the work with baking parchment before ironing it, and he said he had been worried about the mess it might otherwise make of the iron.  I found this quite funny, as the only thing I have ever seen Malcolm iron is an edging strip on to a kitchen worktop!

 

I decided to make the little Japanese bag, as all too often I buy these kits and then don't make them for months (if not years!).  I ironed the two pieces of fabric right sides together and popped them on the cutting mat, ready to trim them square and then pin them together

 

it was so quick to make the bag that I had almost finished it before I realised that I hadn't taken any more photos of the stages of construction!  So here is the ta-da!

 

I popped my sashiko pin cushion into the centre pocket

 

then moved it to the front pocket - there is a similar pocket on the back (and there are two little secret pockets inside too!)

 

after the huge loads on the road on Sunday, we arrived in Berwick this morning to find a very large ship in the dock

 

there was a constant stream of lorries coming into the dock all day - at times they had to queue to discharge their loads into the ship

 

we had hoped that the ship would leave at high tide this evening, but it is still there. Perhaps we will see it leave in the morning.  There were other arrivals today, which we were delighted to see ...... yes, the swans are back!

 

Not too extravagant!

So ........ my purchases on Friday.  Although I bought quite a few things, none of them was particularly expensive, and I even came home with money left over!   As you can see, I had my money in a pretty little purse (which was given to me by my lovely bloggy friend Thimbleanna)

 

I have been watching a Sue Spargo class on Craftsy, and am itching to get started on one of her designs, so my first two purchases were related to that.  A scrapbag of all sorts of loveliness, including velvet, wool, lace ribbons and trims ..........

 

....... and some delicious shades of blue to work all the wondrous stitches that I have been watching Sue do, but have yet to attempt!

 

I now have rather a lot of these beads - but at three packets for £2.50, it was hard to resist buying more

 

I have known Pat for years, and almost managed to have a chat with her as she dashed from teaching a workshop to looking after her stall!

 

the fabrics for this Japanese bag are beautiful

 

these are samples of a fabric range - I liked the fresh colours

 

these are buttons, but they may end up as decorations on miniature driftwood Christmas trees

 

I don't have a plan for this fabric yet - perhaps a sewing bag?

 

and of course I bought another Parrs Reel ruler

 

I have already used some of my purchases - but you wil have to come back tomorrow to see what I have done!  Yesterday, as we were heading home, we saw a van advising us that there was an abnormal load ahead.  It turned out to be two loads, vast fan blades for wind turbines

 

we thought there would be problems when the loads reached a tricky double bend in the road.  The first one negotiated it succesfully

 

but the second one had problems

 

misjudging the turn and getting caught against the trees

 

it took a bit of careful inching forward before he made it round the turn

 

the next obstacle was the village of Denholm - we could hardly bear to watch as they squeezed between the buildings

 

fortunately, just after we left Denholm, we were able to turn off and take the back road home, as the journey had already taken twice as long as usual!

 

 

 

A feast for the eyes!

There were some stunning, beautiful quilts at Ingliston today, but of course I have to respect the makers' copyright, and can only show you some general photos

 

generally the stall holders don't allow photography, but when I was chatting to the man on the Parr's rulers stand (reminding him that he had given me a good deal at Harrogate last year when his credit card maching wouldn't work and I didn't have quite enough in cash), he was quite happy for me to take a photo (as long as I waited until he got out of the way!).  I bought another ruler, but you will have to wait until Monday to see it, along with my other purchases

 

I almost didn't have my usual macaroni cheese and chips for my lunch, as they also had lasagne on the menu.  I ate most of the macaroni, but I only ate about half of the chips.  I did say to Maureen to help herself to chips to go with her (healthy) sandwich, but she declined ........ I wish I had her willpower!  (but then I only have that for lunch twice a year at the quilt shows!)

 

I met lots of friends and had a lovely time catching up with them, then all too soon it was time to head off back down the road.  As I mentioned yesterday, we did indeed call in at the Mayshade Garden Centre, where Maureen treated us to a "plate to share" of delicious cakes - we have to have our Friday cake!

 

as the forecast isn't very good for the weekend, we are staying at home, so no doubt I will be out in the studio doing lots of sewing.  Whatever the weather, I hope you have a great weekend, love Anne

 

ps - do let me know what you think of the new look for the blog - I thought it was time to move on from the winter theme!!

Creative difficulties!

Malcolm finished his wine box bookcase this afternoon, so I was all set to take photos when I finished in the studio.  As it was a lovely bright afternoon, I was looking forward to getting good photos in natural light.  Then, about five minutes before I finished my sewing, dark clouds came over and it started to rain!!  So I had to turn the lights on in the kitchen, where the bookcase was sitting.  This caused another problem, as the bookcase would have looked a bit strange with kitchen cupboards behind it.  I arranged the bits and bobs on the shelves, then got Malcolm to hold up the Birdie Border quilt, with the back facing me.  Perfect!

 

as the bookcase is made with wine boxes and has all the corks that Malcolm patiently cut in half decorating the middle section (he also cut his thumb!), I thought that it could also be used as a sort of wine rack/bar

 

there was a slight delay in putting some bottles of wine on the shelves, as I discovered that only bottles with proper corks fitted the wine boxes - those with screw tops are just a little bit too big.  I also wanted a bottle of New Zealand wine for the middle section, but after searching his various wine racks in vain, Malcolm could only come up with an empty bottle.  I wanted a NZ wine to sit with these very special glasses

 

they aren't special just because they (almost) have my name on them.  I bought them from a restaurant called Annie's in Christchurch (the one in NZ, not England!).  I bought the first one when Malcolm and I were there on holiday in 2000, then I bought the second one when I was in NZ the following year for a Quilt Symposium.  Amazingly they both survived the journey home in my hand luggage!

 

these little handpainted goblets are also well-travelled ....... we bought them on one of our wonderful Australian holidays!

 

when I was in the studio this afternoon, I did some more prep for Mrs Billings, then I free-motion quilted the other Linus quilt that I made recently

 

I had already made the binding, so it didn't take long to stitch on.  All I have to do now is handstitch the binding on the back of the quilt

 

Maureen and I are off the Edinburgh in the morning for the Spring Quilt Fair at Ingliston.  We have raided our piggy banks, just in case we are tempted to by a fat quarter or two.  And we might stop at the Mayshade Garden Centre on the way home for a cuppa and cake - you know we have to have cake on Friday afternoons!!

 

 

 

The wrong weather!

We had hoped to go for a little jaunt today, and perhaps find an old church to take photos of.  However the weather didn't co-operate, so we  went for lunch at the Waterwheel Cafe, just outside Selkirk.  I had the coronation chicken baguette

 

and Malcolm had the egg mayo

 

back home, I headed out to the studio ....... but not just to sew!  Yesterday - oh joy - I bought the box set of season 4 of Game of Thrones

with my most, best,  favourite character, the devious, manipulative and conniving Tyrion

 

as we had to change our plans, instead of photos of a charming old church, we will have a sewing update!  On Saturday, I thought I ought to make a start to this year's challenge for Abbey Quilters.  We were given two fabrics, the white one and the one on the left, to make a block with.  I added the one on the right

 

I marked out large large circles to fussy cut

 

then marked out small circles from the remaining fabric

 

I got out one of my bias tape makers

 

and after cutting strips on the diagonal

 

had several lengths of bias ready to use, along with the circles

 

I used the lid of a tin to mark a circle on my background fabric

 

and pinned the bias in place

 

I played with the layout

 

finally deciding on this one.  All I have to do now is stitch it all in place - and perhaps add some embellishment!

 

I also finished the Linus quilt, and inspired by the knitting book that I reviewed last week, I thought I would stage a photo.  But this led to the familiar dilemma - should the chair be on the left

 

or on the right?

 

when we were over at the flat, I was working on my stitcheries.  I am now on the 7th one

 

with the other six looking good on the design wall

 

I have also being doing a lot of work on Mrs Billings, but at the suggestion of Meredithe I am going to do a report at the end of each month on my progress, so you will have to wait to what I have been doing!

Missing book!

Last night I couldn't find a book ......... I started by looking in the bookcase in the lounge (sorry, I had to use flash to take the photos this morning, so some of them look a bit strange)

 

do you like our little blue and white houses?

 

we were given one each time we flew Business Class with KLM - as you can see, we flew with them quite often when we lived in Indonesia. We never drank any of the contents,but it has evaporated from most of them!

 

neither was the book in the piles guarded by JDtractor and SockMonkey on the coffee table

 

I knew the book wouldn't be in the kitchen bookcase, as it only has cookery books - it used to have gardening books as well, but for some reason they have been relegated to the hall cupboard!

in Malcolm's study, it wasn't on the Hedgehog bookcase, which we bought way back in the 80s at a craft fair in Winchester.  The man who made it said that he put the shelves at an angle, as he thought that women used bookcases to display ornaments, so they wouldn't be able to do that on the sloping shelves!

 

the other bookcase in the study didn't have the book either (the name plate on the bottom shelf was given to Malcolm in Indonesia - unfortunately they put his names the wrong way round!)

 

I knew it wouldn't be out in the studio, with my sewing, knitting and craft books, so that only left the somewhat overfull bookcase in the guest bedroom

 

and yes, that's where the book was

 

an update on Patrick's facial hair!  Last night he still sported his luxuriant moustache, but he also had noticeable stubble, which would suggest that he is growing his beard again!

 

today's cake was a chocolate and fresh cream sponge - yes, every bit as delicious as it looks!!

 

and to finish, a photo of the Birthday Boy, wearing his ball end sweater!  Stuart sent me this photo of Fraser's Dad in the sweater - I haven't heard yet if he liked it!!

 

we aren't going over to Berwick until Sunday, as we will be having a romantic Valentine's dinner at home tomorrow (yes, even after 28 years of marriage, we still have romantic moments!) I hope you have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

Retail therapy!

We don't have a lot of shops in Hawick, and since the turn of the year several more have closed, so I enjoyed a good bout of retail therapy on Tuesday.  First I bought some trousers, which you will probably see me wearing in future photos,then I bought some undergarments, but you definitely WON'T see me wearing them!  So here is a quick selection of my purchases.  First, from Poundland (yes, everything costs £1) this frame for my silly card

 

and a box of long matches for lighting the stove

 

from Wilkos, home of bargains, but not quite as cheap as Poundland, tiny pegs (I do have a vague idea for using them)

 

and little price tags which will be good for the next batch of driftwood trees

 

Stuart and Alison gave me this absolutely fabulous charm/bead for Christmas ........

 

....... so I popped into Next and found this pretty bracelet to put it on.  There were also some extra charms, one of them a cupcake - so this will be a perfect bracelet to wear to patch'n'chat

 

of course we had to have a look in Hobbycraft.  I wasn't going to buy any fabric, I wasn't, I wasn't ........ but then I saw this bundle of six spotty fat quarters for only £7!

 

when I saw this Duck Tape, it too had to come home with me!

 

my pile of goodies from Ikea

 

another four black picture frames, more pockets for my filing cabinet, and the metal curtain rods are for hanging up my remaining bigger quilts - you can see I have hung up the Country Cottages quilt

 

I used one of the frames and some of the Duck Tape

 

to frame this card, which states my preferred age!

 

having finished the ball end sweater, I had a look in my knitting basket last night, and unearthed this sock, which I started in November!  The pattern, by the fabulous Kate, is actually quite quick to knit, so hopefully I will get them finished soon

 

when I ordered the yarn for the ball end sweater, I thought I had better get a few extra balls, as I wasn't quite sure how much I would use of the various colours.  There were five balls left, so I looked out the Ripple Rug pattern, which I have already knitted two of, so I know that it is an easy knit if there is something on tv that needs a bit more attention ........

 

........ like later tonight when the new series of the Great British Sewing Bee is on.  I have to concentrate on swooning over Patrick, one of the judges.  However the main debate won't be about the sewing, but whether I preferred him before he shaved his beard of (what, me, shallow??!!)  I'll be back tomorrow with a progress report on Malcolm's wine box bookcase  - it's looking good!