frayed at the edge

Dear Santa .......

........ I have been a very, very good girl, so please can I have one of these for Christmas?

 

 

The workmen had to bring in the digger today, as they needed to dig a hole big enough for this

 

 

Before they left for the day, they made good use of the hole as overnight storage for the spare digger buckets

 

 

While they were busy working, we went for a walk up the bridle path ...... we were delighted to come across this foal

 

 

The flies are very bad this year, and this poor horse was being tormented by them - if you click on the photo to enlarge it you will see them clustered round its eye and on its mane

 

 

Fortunately we weren't bothered with flies when we were out for a walk by the river yesterday morning

 

 

We were a bit surprised to see this lily growing on the river bank ..........

 

 

........ and even more suprised to see the remains of a motorbike in the river!

 

 

I spent quite a lot of time in the studio on both Saturday and Sunday..  I have a growing pile of things which are part done, so I thought I would make a determined effort to get them finished.  First off the pile was the third of the four chicken wallhangings (the first two are finished).  I layered it, ready to quilt

 

 

Next were the two knitted fronts for cushions, which I finished some time ago.  I got out one of my many sample curtains and took it apart.  I hemmed the two pieces for the back of the cushion and put them on the cutting board, overlapping them so that they formed a square

 

 

then put the knitted panel, backed with cutain lining, on top and pinned all the layers together

 

 

The last stage was to add binding.  One of the cushions is finished, and I just have a little bit of stitching to finish on the second one

 

 

I also finished to cushion which was last week's knitting project.  When I knitted the stripes on the back, I thought it looked a bit boring

 

 

so when I did the front, I knitted the stripes in garter stitch, rather than stocking stitch, to add some texture

 

 

I found some buttons in my stash

 

 

The finished cushion

 

 

I am taking a break from the project for a few weeks, as I want to concentrate on knitting the baby shawl to put into the Southdean show next month, and I also want to spend more time on my Baltimore blocks ........ I'll give you progress report tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

Come on Andy!

I can hardly concentrate on doing today's post, as I am watching Andy Murray playing Rafael Nadal in the semi-final at Wimbledon!!

You may have noticed that there hasn't been a lot of sewing happening recently ....... so yesterday afternoon saw me chained to the work table in the studio, doing more prep work for my Baltimore quilt.  Having cut out the vase and some flowers, I arranged them roughly with some stems on the background fabric

 

 

This is what the block should look like when it's finished

 

I also made another four petals to replace the ones that the freezer paper stuck to ...... and this time I made them in a contrasting fabric

 

 

When we were in Hawick yesterday, Malcolm pointed out this workman ........

 

 

........ and this is where he was working!!

 

 

To finish, I thought I would show you a last lot of photos from our Woolfest trip ........

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oops - nearly forgot the Friday cakes ...... Annette really spoiled us this week, with strawberry and cream cupcakes!

 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love Anne

Blurred at the edge

This tale of woe started back in March.  I went to have my routine eye test, and although I was surprised when the optician said that my right eye had changed a great deal (he actually said it had gone from being short sighted to long sighted), I assumed that he knew what he was doing.  The new glasses duly arrived, and after struggling with them for a few days, I decided they just weren't right and took them back.  To shorten a very long story, I got a refund and went to another optician, who completely disagreed with the first optician.  So today I went to collect the new glasses ..... and they have to be sent back, as they have not been given the proper coating ........ aaaargh!! 

On to happier things!  The other day, when I was reading Meredithe's blog, she mentioned the town of Tyabb.  I then had this conversation with Malcolm

me : we went to Tyabb when we had our Melbourne holiday, didn't we

him: yes

me : that's where Magic patch Quilting was

him : if you say so, I don't remember what all the quilting shops you visited were called

So I googled Magic Patch Quilting - up came its entry in Yellow Pages - and yes, it is in Tyabb.  So I left a comment for Meredithe saying I had been in the shop and had bought a kit.  Meredithe replied, asking if I had made the kit ........ well, almost!!

 

I liked the box so much, I kept it!

 

 

I have done all the stitching, but haven't made anything yet!

 

 

a closer look at the friends shopping

 

 

I used French knots for two of the flowers  ........

 

 

and tiny beads for the eyes

 

 

I wonder how much fabric she has in her shoppping bag!

 

I hadn't done any work on my Baltimore block since last Friday, so this afternoon, I stitched and stitched until I finished the petals on the big flower

 

 

Of course I had to have a short break for my cuppa and cake ....

 

 

....... I chose this one with little sugar hearts

 

 

As you enjoyed last week's round-up of sundry photos, I thought I would do the same again this week

 

honeysuckle in the front garden

 

 

an interesting piece of bark and lichen I found the other morning

 

 

this lovely grass escaped the verge mowing

 

 

this is the first foxglove that I've seen in the verge!

 

I hope you all have a great weekend - it's Fathers' Day on Sunday, so I will be taking Malcolm out for a full Scottish breakfast!  Love, Anne

The rest of being very busy!

When I pottered through to the kitchen on Sunday morning to make breakfast, I immediately reached for the camera!  The angle of the photo makes it look as if the blackbird is feeding the pigeon, although they weren't actually that close ........ and check out that wonderful blue sky (it didn't last long!)

 

 

After breakfast, we headed off to Selkirk, where we were going to see Souter Quilters' exhibition.  But first we went for a walk, and I was rewarded with another postbox to add to my collection

 

 

I was tempted to clean this neglected sign, but I would probably have been arrested for vandalism!

 

 

We still had some time to fill before the exhibition opened, so we went for a look round Sir Walter Scott's courthouse - now a small museum.  After looking round the exhibits, I paused to take photos of the magnificent stained glass window - although unfortunately I had to take the photos through a glass door!  This little notice on the door describes the window and the clock tower where it is situated

 

 

The Battle of Flodden was the worst defeat inflicted on the Scots by the English - you can read more here.  There is a place near us which is called Sorrowless Fields, as the owners were the only local family not to lose someone in the battle

 

 

 

Then it was on to the exhibition - where photography was allowed!

 

a beautiful table centre

 

 

this was Malcolm's favourite

 

 

this was under glass, so not the best of photos

 

 

a vibrant wallhanging .....

 

 

..... a detail of the stitching

 

 

I liked this label!

 

There were lots more quilts, but I would be here for the rest of the evening including them!  Back home, I continued quilting the little Linus quilt.  Unlike the last one, which I quilted with straight lines, I have been 'scribble quilting' this one (I'll show you more in a moment)

 

 

I recently showed you the bud on a flower, which should have flowered some time ago.  Well ....... it finally flowered - just in time to be battered by the wind and rain!

 

 

A lovely yellow iris, which has now been joined by a purple one

 

I had a little bit of quilting to finish this morning, then I trimmed the quilt to size ......

 

 

...... and cut the strips for binding

 

 

I didn't quite finish hand-stitching the binding on the back this afternoon, but I'm sure you won't mind!

 

 

The fleece on the back looks paler in the bright sunshine

 

 

To finish, a last photo from the weekend.  I just had time to snap this vintage car when we passed it on our way home!

 

A very VERY busy weekend - part one

Saturday morning found us standing in Hawick High Street, waiting to see part of the spectacle of the Common Riding, which you can read about here.  We knew the proceedings were about to start, when the band formed up on the road

 

 

The band moved off, as the Cornet, with his right-hand and left-hand men, came into view

 

 

Following them were horses of all sizes and colours, with riders of all ages

 

 

The bearded chap on the left is our neighbour, Billy the Farmer

 

 

After all the horses had passed, we followed them up the High Street

 

 

There was an entertaining moment, when this horse was determined to head back down the High Street

 

 

And of course, the the most essential part of the parade wasn't far behind!

 

 

After all the excitement, we walked round to where we sometimes see a heron, on the River Slitrig ....... and there he was (for some reason, we have just assumed that it's a male!)

 

 

He was sitting minding his own business, when a crow swooped past him, causing him to raise his head at glare at the offending bird!

 

 

Back home, I headed out to the studio, and turned the tv on ...... to find there was an even grander spectacle to watch - the annual Trooping the Colour, to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday - you can read about it here

 

 

 

 

 

I then spent the rest of the afternoon quilting the other Linus quilt that I made recently - but I'll save the photos for tomorrow, along with what we did yesterday.

 

Of course, Monday means the knitting update.  Last week's project was a string bag.  Straightforward to knit ..... but the pattern said it took 150g of double knitting cotton ...... and I only used 50g!  The pattern said to put fabric binding round the handles, but as I'm just going to hang the bag up in the utility room cupboard to put carrier bags in, I didn't bother

 

 

 

I wouldn't put anything heavy in it - this is how much it stretched with just a tin of tomatoes in it!

 

 

I am getting a bit fed up with the poorly written patterns and the vague making up instructions.  I have eight more projects bagged up ready to do, but I think after that I will just do the ones that appeal, rather than working my way through the rest of the book

 

 

This week's project is a pencil case, knitted in two colours

 

 

I was at the dentist this morning ....... and there was some very bad news!!  No, no, nothing wrong with my teeth, they are doing well ......... but shock, horror, my dentist is retiring!  I said to him 'you can't retire, I'm in love with you (in purely a dentistry way)'.  He said he may come back and work part time, so maybe I'll get to see him again - he has been such a help with all my dental trials and tribulations, that it is quite upsetting to lose him!!

So do remember to come back tomorrow for part two - including a visit to a quilt show .......

 

 

Mind the gap!

Yes - the flower should have been on the stem, not an inch above it!  I was so busy arranging the petals that I forgot about where it was supposed to go.  So I arranged all the petals again, took another photo ......

 

 

........ then noticed that two petals were lying to the right of the flower.  I put them in place  ........

 

 

........ but I hadn't noticed the petal to the left!  (I just won't mention that I then found another petal on the floor!)  Hower, eventually the petals were all pinned in place, and this afternoon I got half of them stitched

 

 

Once all the flowers are in place, I will do centres for them.  Some will just have circles, but I think for this big flower I will either make a small ruched flower similar to this one

 

 

or a Suffolk puff (yoyo) like this

 

 

I also have to confess a problem with the flower on the left of the block - you will see that at the moment it only has four petals, instead of eight.  That's because I had a problem with the freezer paper - it simply refused to peel off the fabric (maybe I had the iron too hot), so I will have to prep another four petals.

Friday of course means cake - today we had a choice between Selkirk Bannock

 

 

and Annette's delicious tray bake

 

 

To finish, I thought I would show you some photos from through the week, that didn't make it into a post!

 

it was very hazy on Monday morning

 

 

Tuesday's sunset

 

 

on Wednesday I spotted these tiny apples

 

 

and on Thursday, raspberries

 

 

rose buds in the hedgerow this morning

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, Love Anne

Flowers of Scotland

It was a much better morning when I headed out for my walk, so the camera came too!  The verges are now full of plants of all shapes, sizes and colours .........

 

dark pink clover

 

 

white clover

 

 

a fern unfurling

 

 

purple vetch

 

 

cow parsley

 

 

an aqualegia seed head

 

On a larger scale, the countryside is green and lush

 

 

 

Back home, I finished the little Linus quilt

 

 

Later, I organised the ingredients to make dinner - pork chops, onion, sage (freshly picked from the garden) and seasoning

 

 

A closer look at the seasoning - the inspiration for today's heading came from!  You can find it and other delicious seasonings here

 

 

I sliced the onion finely

 

 

and chopped the sage

 

 

I put the chops in an oven dish and put the sage on top

 

 

I spread the onion over the sage, then seasoned it well - doesn't it look lovely!

 

 

Then it was into the oven for about 30 minutes.  I served it with carrots and broccoli - delicious!

 

 

To finish, I thought I would show you the difference it makes to zoom in on the subject of the photo.  First, the field gate framed by hawthorn trees

 

 

But if I hadn't zoomed in, this would have been the photo - not quite so pleasing with Hawick in the background!

 
 

 

 

 

A very busy weekend!

I have lots to tell you and show you ...... so here goes!

On Saturday morning we went to Jedburgh for breakfast (just a roll and sausage, not the full works!).  We then had a potter round the charity shops - I didn't buy anything.  But, when we went into a recently opened antique shop ....... I saw a wonderful little pincushion made with Victorian coins.  I immediately wanted it, but having looked at the price tag, I couldn't really justify buying it.  As I stood gazing at it, Malcolm came over to see what I was looking at.  I showed it to him and said I really, really wanted it ..... and he said, well buy it (normally he drags me from the shop!)  So the little pin cushion came home with me!

 

the front

 

 

the back

 

 

the side with some pins

 

On our way home, we called in at a small craft fair in the village of Denholm.  I recently met one of the stallholders, and said I would pop in to see her.  Everything Jakki makes uses recycled materials.  You can see her two Etsy shops here and here.

 

 

In the afternoon, I went out to the studio, to finish making this week's knitting project, the peg beg.  I choose one of my (many) curtain samples for the lining

 

 

I pinned the two together .........

 

 

I stitched round the edge, leaving a gap to turn the bag through to the right side

 

 

I then stitched the sides

 

 

I should have put a coathanger in the peg bag, but I didn't have a suitable one, so Malcolm cut a piece of dowel and added a large cup hook

 

 

 

I enjoyed knitting this much more than some of the other projects - but again, the instructions for making it up were minimal - a diagram showing how to do the lining would have been helpful.  This week's project is a cushion cover.....

 

 

........ which I started yesterday.  The back is just stocking stitch, which was quick to knit, and I have now started on the three-coloured pattern

 

 

Yesterday afternoon was spent in the studio sewing.   I quilted the little Linus quilt - it was relatively quick to do, as I quilted it with straight lines

 

 

 

All that remains to do is trim it and put on the binding.  I have also finished another knitted blanket for Linus (it still has to pressed) - Jemima was quite happy to model it!

 

 

I've started another blanket, using some variegated yarn that I bought in the hardware shop in Jedburgh on Saturday!

 

 

To finish .... we spotted these beauties in the car park in Jedburgh on Saturday morning ..... but I don't think I would give up the comfort of my car for a motorbike and sidecar!

 

 

 

 

Bouncing back!

Our oriental poppy in the front garden has been flattened by the wind and rain .......

 

 

..... but as you can see, one brave poppy has popped its head out

 

 

I have been doing a lot more work on my Baltimore block, but I've become increasingly more frustrated with the pattern.  In accordance with the instructions I cut out twelve flower petals,only to find that I actually need sixteen.  Then when I went to put more pieces in place, I found that the placement guide (which I assumed would be reasonably accurate) hasn't been drawn to scale, so the flowers didn't fit.  So I have abandoned the guide, and have arranged the pieces by eye.

 

 

I've added stems to the two big flowers, and moved the bud at the top - this is the next staged pinned in place and ready to stitch

 

 

Next, I got out the quilt top that I made recently for Project Linus.  Just before we went on holiday, I had bought three pretty pink fleeces which were in a sale in Sainsbury's - perfect to back small quilts with

 

 

I pinned the top and backing ......

 

 

...... and used masking tape to mark the first line to be quilted - I will just re-use the tape to mark the lines as I go

 

 

The weather still isn't very good - it is decidedly chilly for this time of year, so I think I will end with another holiday photo!

 

the magnificent roof of the Town Hall in Alcudia - and wonderful blue sky!
 

A leisurely weekend

I promised to tell you today where we are going on holiday - so I won't keep you waiting any longer!!  We are off tomorrow to Majorca, back to Pollensa, where we have now had several holidays.  Stuart and Alison are joining us, although we are travelling separately .... we fly from Newcastle, and they fly from Edinburgh.  We have a very early flight tomorrow, so we will get there well before them, giving us time to shop for essentials ....... beer and wine bread, milk, tea, coffee etc.

We pottered about on Saturday, getting things tidied up, sorting out what we want to pack.  Then on Sunday we headed first to Jedburgh, to get the Sunday papers.  On the way, the drivers of two cars which were coming towards us flashed their lights and gestured for us to slow down.  I just had time to get my camera out to take photos of the problem

 

 

 

It was another glorious morning, so we went for a walk round the town, calling in first at the gardens at Mary Queen of Scots' house.  This old apple tree was delightful, clothed in blossom

 

 

 

As we walked on round the town, I found another postbox to add to my collection.  This is a Victorian one.

 

 

We sat by the river and enjoyed an icecream - sorry no photo, as we had to eat quickly before it melted!  Then we had a short journey to the Oxnam Quilt Show.  Among the members of the group are Annette and Cathy from Borderland Fabrics - you will recognise this first quilt ...... it is Cathy's version of the 'row quilt', which inspired several of us to make similar ones

 

 

Annette made this quilt for her grandson Harry - he doesn't just like tractors ...... he likes John Deere tractors!

 

 

Another tractor quilt ....... the one that I made for Linus.  It was included in a display of quilts which have been donated (after the exhibition it will be given to a sick child)

 

 

On our way home from Oxnam, we were stuck behind a slow-moving car and horsebox.  But that gave me more time to take these photos

 

 

 

It's Monday, so of course that means the knitting update.  This week's project was a pair of baby sandals.  Not having a baby about the place to model them, I had to stuff them with some wadding to take the photos!

 

 

 

I've sorted out two small projects to take with me

 

 

 

I have done some posts to appear while we are away - including Shadow Shot Sunday.  They are just little posts, but I hope you will visit ...... the blog would be very lonely without you!  Please still leave comments (I love getting comments!), and I'll catch up with them when we get back.