frayed at the edge

South of the border ......

....... but not down Mexico way!  We set off south this morning for Longframlington, to go to Anne's shop.  We had to stop at the border

 

as there was major work on the bridge over the River Tweed

 

I had hoped to take some scenic photos, but it was very misty.  However you can just about see this pocket of snow on the hills through the gloom

 

At the shop, Lucie showed off her Lilly Pilly, which looks fantastic with its colourful leaves

 

Frances was working on an amazing applique seahorse

 

as always the shop was full of delicious fabrics

 

Lucie chose these fabrics for her next project

 

I came home with one of Anne's special carrier bags - I'll show you what's in it tomorrow!

 

to finish - making my tassel for the Lovebirds

everything you need to make the tassel

 

threading the beads

 

winding the thread round the card, with a bead at the bottom of each turn

 

the tassel all wound round the card

 

the top of the tassel tied with heavy gold thread

 

the scary bit - sliding the tassel off the card!

 

binding the top of the tassel, with the ends ready to be cut off

 

the finished Lovebirds

 

well, that was to be the finish, but then I realised that  I hadn't shared these two photos of the children's quilts with you

the girlie quilt

 

the owl quilt (I hadn't quite finished stitching the binding on the left)

 

and finally ...... you still have a chance to win a prize.  Simply tell me what the worst thing is that you have ever eaten.  I will pick the best (or should that be the worst!) answer on Friday.

Love is in the air

I am sure I have teased you enough, so without further ado ........

Notes of Love

 

in the centre, Kay quilted a beautiful feathered heart, using two different threads

 

the quilting is stunning - with lots of my favourite feathers

 

I have been busy with the Lovebirds

marked out and stitched round

 

 

cut out and the top curve snipped

 

turned right side out

 

scraps of wadding shredded for stuffing

 

the hearts cut from felt

 

the wings also cut from felt

 

a stuffed bird

 

the wings attached with little buttons

 

ready to be threaded together

 

tomorrow I'll show you how I made the tassel and threaded it all together.

I love it!

We early arrivers at patch'n'chat had hardly finshed our lunch, when Kay arrived with the latest batch of quilts which she had longarm quilted. I was jumping up and down with excitement while the first one out of the bag was ooohed and aaahed over, knowing that next was my Notes of Love.  Kay had already sent me this photo of the quilt on her longarm machine

 

she has made the most fantastic job of the quilting, but by the time I got home, the light wasn't good enough to take photos of the full quilt, so I shall just tease you with two details.  The quilt is beautiful - I love it!  I shall have to clear some wall space to hang it (as soon as I put the binding on!) 

 

during the week I prepared the binding for the girlie quilt

 

and squared up the edges

 

I knew that the four strips that I had cut to make the binding would only just be enough - but I did think I would have slightly more than this left!

 

after stitching the binding on, I sat last night and did the handstitching of the binding on to the back of the quilt. I had intended to take a photo of the quilt on the spare bed this morning, when the sun was shining in the window - but I forgot.  So when I got home at teatime, I had to make do with a couple of quick photos of the quilt on the rug in the front lounge.  I shall take a better photo at the weekend

 

as ever there was Friday cake.  This week it was an Australian recipe for a spicy fruit cake.  It had crushed pineapple in it, which made it very moist

 

as always, weather permitting we will go for a walk on Sunday, and I have lots to keep me busy in the studio.  I hope you have a good weekend, love Anne

 

ps - remember for a chance to win a little prize, leave a comment or email me, answering this question

what is the worst thing you have eaten?

Haggis!

Don't worry, I'm not about to show you our national delicacy, but rather my lovely mug, which I was drinking tea from today, when my friend Lorraine came to spend the day in the studio with me

not two ......

 

not four ......

 

not six ........

 

but eight varieties of the little beasties!

 

and watch out in case this wee one on the inside of the mug bites your nose as you drink your tea!

 

even the handle is beautifully decorated

 

and best of all ...... the mug was made in Scotland!

 

I have been beavering away on the blocks for Leanne's House, and have now completed five of them.  I was talking to Anne on the phone this afternoon, telling her that I have embroidered so many flowers I could do them in my sleep.  Well, she said, why aren't you doing them in your sleep, you're obviously not working hard enough.  To which I replied that when I see her next week, I shall box her ears for her cheek ....... but I shall have to stand on a chair to do that, as she is eight inches taller than me!!

 

having made a start to the textured applique wallhanging .......

 

....... but I decided that I wanted to have bigger flowers on the edges, so I would have to add borders.  I thought I would use a fabric from my stash of small prints.  Do you remember some time ago I bought a bundle of Lynette Anderson fabrics, only to find, when I unfolded the fabrics, that one of them had  ....... cats on it (yeugh!)

 

as this is a sample, I was quite happy to use the fabric to add borders

 

I pinned on the flowers that I have made so far 

 

I also cut out the templates for the bird garland, which I have decided to call Lovebirds

 

when I went out to close the storm doors on the back doors of the studio ......... sheep!  I hope they are there to have their lambs

 

then when I went into the kitchen, I heard rather a lot of noise coming from outside.  A quick look out of the window, and I rushed out of the front door with the camera.  I was so busy taking a photo of the tractor, I didn't notice the girl on the pony on the left!

 

the tractor was cutting the neighbours' rather overgrown hedge

 

sewing, sheep and a tractor ..... what a wonderful day!!

Goodbye Mr Badger!

On Saturday, we were up bright and early to drive up to Larbert to stay with Stuart and Alison for the weekend.  After a welcome cuppa, we popped round to visit Fraser and Linsey, to deliver Mr Badger.  Fraser was delighted with him, and he was soon settled in on a very large cushion

 

then it was back to Stuart and Alison's to get on with making the Roman blinds.  While I was busy sewing, Malcolm and Stuart screwed battens to the walls above the windows, and cut the battens and the dowels for the blinds.  The sewing didn't take as long as I thought it would, and soon the blinds were ready

 

I was pleased with the way the pattern on the kitchen blind fitted in with the folds

 

I have to admit that I miscalculated guessed wrongly how much cord I needed for the blinds, so the one in the hall is temporarily held up with string!*

 

on our way home yesterday, we popped into the Mayshade garden centre for a cuppa.  We shared a taster plate of cakes, cutting them in half to have a taste of each one...... except for the one with white chocolate, which Malcolm got all to himself, as I really don't like the stuff!

 

the weather on the first part of the journey was awful, with driving wet snow making for poor visibility

 

however, as soon as we reached the Borders, the sky cleared and the sun came out!  The only snow was left over from last week

 

there was more sunshine today, so I went out for a walk after lunch.  The donkeys were as cute as ever

 

the sun was shining on the Mintos

 

this blackbird was enjoying a thorough bath

 

do you remember a few weeks ago I showed you photos of the new hat shop in Hawick?  This article was in The Scotsman on Saturday (click on the photo to enalrge it)

 

there may be peope in Hawick who are willing to pay £600 for a hat ...... but I'm not one of them!!

 

* while I was in the middle of writing this, Stuart phoned.  He bought more cord yesterday, so the hall blind is now finished!

 

Friends, fun and ...... food

There were a few flurries of snow when I left home this morning, but fortunately they didn't come to anything, and I had a good journey up to Edinburgh.  As always on arrival at the show, the first stop was the Ladies, then the second stop was breakfast ..... a bacon roll and a mug of tea

 

On the way round the show, I had to keep stopping, as I met friends ..... some of them I now only see at the shows, so there is always a bit of news to catch up on.  Then there was one lady who said hello, and started chatting, while I was thinking "help, who are you?"  Fortunately I remembered who she was - I taught her to quilt years ago!   There is always the worry about posting photos of quilts,taken at shows, but I am sure Bonnie and Jan won't mind if I show you their small wall hangings.  The three of us were Quilters' Guild reps some years ago, and used to have lots of fun. 

 

 

I saw this one and went wow (perhaps a little higgledy piggledy fence might find its way on to Lillyanny?)

 

then I read the little story to go with the quilt - what a wonderful use of the picture

 

 

There was a large display of quilts by Sandie Lush .  Her handquilting is exquisite

 

one day I will make a quilt like this!!

 

by then it was lunchtime.  I don't even look at the menu - it has to be macaroni and chips (well, I only have it twice a year, at the spring and autumn quilt shows!)

 

I had another potter round the quilts - there was a large display of quilts by Sheena Norquay, but they all had "no photography" signs on them, and then I indulged in a little bit of shopping (remembering all the time that I am supposed to be using my stash, not adding to it!).  So, what did I buy?

 

the quilting hoop and the cotton perle thread came from here

 

the tiny bells ......

 

..... came from here

 

the magazine came from here and the fusible wadding (which isn't in the main photo, but is under the bells!) came from here.

 

Mr Badger will be going to his new home tomorrow - hopefully there will be photos on Monday!  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne

 

ps, I have just read over the post, and realised that I didn't mention the brochure for the quilting retreats.  I shall have to have a chat with some of my friends about a retreat .... although it it a long way to go from down here in the Borders!

The first cut ......

....... by a different hairdresser!  My usual hairdresser is off work, so today I had my hair cut by one of the junior stylists, who usually does my colour for me.  Melissa has been cutting my hair for the last five years, so it was a bit strange to have it done by Kerry, who was a bit nervous about getting it right, as Melissa is the boss of the salon!  She needn't have worried, as she has made a very good job of it (sorry, no photo!!)

Along with Lucie, I am supposed to be spending February finishing things, but yesterday I started something new (oops!).  Abbey Quilters celebrates its 25th birthday in March, so we are having a day of little projects, and of course lunch, on the 16th.  I somehow managed to volunteer to demonstrate a small project ...... oh dear, what to do?  Then I remembered a little project that I had made at a similar day some years ago.  It hangs in the studio, and is a little bit shabby (which is just as well, considering what happened to it yesterday)

 

I no longer have the pattern, so I deconstructed disassembled took it to bits to make templates

 

I picked out a fabric from my stash (hooray, another contribution to the year of using it up!) and decided to make the hearts with felt.  I added the tiny red buttons, which I will use to attach the wings

 

the tassel is rather tatty, but you can just make out the little beads along the bottom

 

I got out my bead box (more hoorays, for more using it up)

 

I chose these little gold beads to pick up the gold in the fabric, and found a suitable thread for the tassel, and a heavier gold thread for stringing it all together

 

I have to admit that I came home with some new beads today ....... let me explain.  I arrived in Kelso with time to spare before my hairdressing appontment, as I wanted to pop into the curtain fabric shop to get cord and little plastic rings for Stuart and Aliison's blinds.  And look what I passed on the way

 

I had been told that this shop had opened, but I hadn't got round to visiting it.  The owner is delightful (but, oops, I forgot to ask for her name), very welcoming and enthusiastic.  I can't show show you what I bought, because by the time I got home and made dinner, I forgot!  But there were lots and lots of lovely beads to choose from

 

I am off to Edinburgh tomorrow for the Spring Quilt Show, so I'll have lots to share with you in tomorrow's post! 

New look!

I decided it was time for a change, but being technically challenged, I simply picked another Typepad design.  But I did change the subtitle - I hope you like it!

We went to Jedburgh this morning, and stopped to look at the work going on where an unsafe building is being demolished.  The building had been propped up and boarded up for as long as we have lived here.  There were all sorts of battles waged about preserving/demolishing the building ..... and I think things were further held up because of bats!

 

on the way home, we spotted a bird of prey.  I just managed to snatch this shot before it flew off

 

on our way out along the back road, as we drove down the hill past Marian-the-Jacob-sheep-owner's field, I saw a large machine.  Just as I was wondering what it was doing in the field, we both said "Oh my goodness (or something similar), they have demolished the Wicked Witch's house! This was a funny, tall, skinny house which had lain empty for some time.  It just always made me think that there should be an old crone lurking, ready to pounce on unsuspecting children.   Malcolm stopped on the way back, so that I could take photos

 

we drove past the house a week past on Sunday, so it hasn't taken long to demolish it.  All that remains are these windows!

 

when we were almost home, Malcolm had to stop again, although this time he drove on home and left me to take photos of  ........ donkeys

 

and now, another cute creature ....... Mr Badger is finished!

 

with a lovely textured, silky fabric on the back (one of my 25p curtain samples!)

 

I recently had an exchange of emails with Meredithe about Liberty fabrics.  I confessed to having had some in my stash for quite some time - Malcolm gave it to me for my birthday (that was the year that my presents came from an airport duty free shop, as he was constantly travelling!)  I also confessed to having some beautiful Japanese silk thread, which I bought the first time I went to the Houston Quilt Show (in 2001!)  So perhaps, I suggested to Meredithe, I could combine the two

 

all I have to do is think of a project - any suggestions?

Unhappy bunnies!

Our morning started ok - we exercised, had breakfast, read while enjoying a big cup of tea, showered, dressed ....... then phut!  The electricity went off.  We knew that some workman had just arrived at the farmhouse just along from us, so we thought perhaps they had severed a cable.  However Malcolm phoned the power company to ask why the power was off, and was told that it was planned work, and that we should have had notification.  Well, we were just a little bit cross (ok, we were hopping mad) given that we had no power all day last Tuesday.  But we couldn't go out for the day as we did last week, as we were having a load of logs delivered.  OK, we had heat and we could cook, but we have a rather serious drawback when the power is off ...... our little sewage plant stops working, so we can't flush the loo!!  The other great annoyance was that after so many grey days when the solar panels produced next to nothing, it was a lovely bright morning, so they would have been churning out lots of lovely power.

I retreated to the studio, and the warmth of the stove, to finish the hand stitching on the badger

 

we were just finishing lunch when Malcolm got a phone call from the driver of the delivery lorry to get directions to the house (I have a completely basic phone in the studio, which unlike the phones in the house, doesn't need electricity to work!)

 

as the lorry drove away, it had to stop at the traffic lights, which were there in case a driver couldn't see beyond the few yards that the workmen were occupying for oncoming traffic

 

hooray, the power came back on at 2.30 (Malcolm had been told it would be 4.30) and I was able to get on with making up the badger cushion.  I found a lovely fabric in my stash for the back and the binding ...... and I forgot to take photos of how far I progressed, because I kept nipping out to take photos of Malcolm and his logs

 

anyway, enough whingeing, on with the updates!  First, my fabulous new sewing table

 

it fits in under the edge of the extension table

 

and provides a large level area for machine quilting

 

which leads us on to the sewing update. On Saturday I layered the girlie quilt and chose this thread

 

the thread looks dark against the fabric, but the trick is to unspool a length and puddle it on the fabric, which gives a better idea of how the stitching will look

 

I decided to use an allover pattern, rather than try to quilt round the various elements of the design

 

on Sunday I made a start on the owl quilt, and finished it on Monday.  Again I used an allover pattern

 

when we came out of Ikea last Tuesday, I stood with the trolley in the loading bay, while Malcolm fetched the car.  I saw a member of staff putting assorted bits of wood into a container, and being nosy went over to have a look at the notice on the container.  It said that the bits of wood were free, if you could use them.  Of course some bits came home with us.  One bit was sawn up to make the supports for the sewing table

 

and another bit was used to making something which I had asked for some time ago - a stand for my various quilting rulers

Sunshine!

Hooray, it was a lovely day yesterday, so we decided to head for Selkirk, to go for walk in the grounds of  The Haining.  The sun was shining brightly enough to cast shadows

 

I can never resist an arty photo of a dried plant

 

It's some time since we were last there, so we were surprised to find building work of some sort going on in the old stable block, which had been turned into housing

 

sadly, no work seems to have been done on the main house, which is looking decidedly delapidated

 

Malcolm provided the scale for this huge tree .....

 

...... after having a seat while he waited for me to catch up with him - as usual I was lagging behind taking photos!

 

a few random photos from our walk

 

we spotted this stump of a tree which had just been cut down. It looks as if two smaller trees had somehow been enclosed by a bigger tree

 

on the way back to the car, I spotted this post box.  It is an Edwardian one - Edward VII was Queen Victoria's son, so it is about 100 years old

 

all that walking in the sunshine gave us an appetite, so we headed to The Waterwheel Cafe for some sconnage!   A very tasty cheese scone

 

and a very, very delicious apple and cinammon one

 

I'll be back tomorrow with not only the sewing update, but also with the sewing table update.  To finish - the sun might have been shining yesterday, but not all the mud had dried out!