frayed at the edge

Miserable!!

No, no ...... not me, but the weather!  We have had some heavy showers this afternoon, and the forecast for the next two days isn't very good (snow was even mentioned for the Highlands!).  On Saturday, I popped out for a quick walk before lunch (I'm missing my morning walks, now that it is too dark).  It was sunny when I set out, but by the time I had walked up the hill to the church, some threatening clouds had gathered

 

 

However, it had cleared again when I took this next photo

 

 

But what was this I encountered along the way - have the Martians finally landed?

 

 

Nothing so exciting - it's just an electricity supply pole

 

 

Just about this time last year, I mentioned to Malcolm that there were a lot of berries on the trees and in the hedgerows - and according to folklore, that is the sign of a hard winter to come.  He laughed at me .... and we all know what sort of winter we had!  Well, I don't want to worry you, but the holly tree in front of the church is laden with berries .....

 

 

In the afternoon, I was busy in the studio - I thought it was time to make a serious effort to get things ready for next month's Christmas Fair.  Do you remember quite some time ago I knitted a great pile of cotton washcloths, and new baby sets?  I eventually found them in a drawer, and pressed them, ready to sew the ends in

 

 

I have bought some lovely soap, to make up sets with perhaps two washcloths and one or two other pamperings things (I've ordered some lovely packaging!)

 

 

I also made a batch of handbag tissue holders.  I have been making these for years - I have made dozens and dozens!  Every time I say I'm not making any more .... but I always do!

 

 

I recently bought a new die for my Cuttlebug, which it makes teeny tiny tags.  I thought I would use them for price tags and maybe make up some small bags with other bits and pieces to use for cardmaking and scrapbooking.

 

 

Yesterday morning, as usual, we went for a walk (and as usual we went for a cuppa and scone afterwards).  Malcolm spotted this cow, sitting in the shadows.  There weren't any others in the field , just this one looking lonely!

 

 

I took this photo because of the funny-looking dead tree - but now I just want to sit and look at the wonderful blue sky ....

 

 

To finish, something I haven't taken a photo of for a while - a lovely length of higgledy piggledy fence!

 

 

Doodling

Yesterday afternoon, I settled down to have another practice session on my new sewing machine.  The stove was lit and I had some good music playing (a birthday present from Malcolm)

 

I also had plenty of thread to play with, having found all this in a box in the Oxfam Shop yesterday morning!

 

I chose one of the green threads, so I could see at a glance what was my original effort, and what was my new work

 

 

I went back over the stencil design to see if I could make a better job of it - the short answer ...no!

 

 

So I thought it might be more sensible to just relax and have a bit of fun .....

 

 

Since I was at school, this had been my favourite doodle (I used to do it on exam question papers!)

 

 

And I often use leaves in my quilting designs - these ones were done freehand

 

 

With some small leaves trailing behind

 

 

At the start of the session, I filled in one of the sections of the stencilled design, but I couln't get a smooth curved line

 

 

But I tried again at the end of the afternoon - I hope you can see some improvement!

 

 

Practice over, I popped the new threads into a plastic box, and put them away on the top shelf of my new storage unit ....... the studio looks so much tidier now with things stored neatly on the shelves, instead of in piles on the floor!

 

 

I haven't forgotten about showing you more of the holiday photos - it has just been such a busy week, I haven't had a chance to organise some collages!

What's a girl supposed to do .....

...... when she is trying to lose weight (or even just not put any more on!) and her husband arrives home with lemon meringue muffins.  She could try using some willpower, but unfortunately, her willpower packed its bags and left home long ago!!

 

Fortunately, said husband only supplied half a muffin (oozing lemon curd) with the afternoon cuppa!

 

Of course I could have used the excuse that I needed to build my strength up again after the effort of being guest speaker last night ...... but that would have been a fib, as it all went very well!  I took along some extra quilts to decorate the table (thanks Tricia for the idea!)

I had all the quilts and fabrics arranged in order in two suitcases

 

But things were slightly less tidy by the end of the night!

 

The ladies all seemed to enjoy themselves

 

Here they are busy working on their bowls

I took photos when I was making the samples for the bowls, so some time soon I'll get them organised into a tutorial.  You know I'm a bit of a technophobe, but I should be able to to scan the template, then email it to anyone who would like to make a bowl of their own.

 

There was one more thing to enjoy last night ...... when I was leaving, I was delighted to see that the Abbey was floodlit.  The photo is slightly blurred, as I was using my small camera, but I think that adds to the slightly spooky look!!

Fear and trepidation!

Just a quick post, as I will be leaving shortly to go to Kelso ...... I have been invited by Abbey Quilters to be their guest speaker tonight.  I haven't done a talk for a while, so I am just a little bit nervous!  The Kist ladies were here today, so they put me through my paces, with lots of helpful advice.  I looked out piles of fabrics and quilts to illustrate my talk (The Fabric of My Life).

 

 

 

Once the talk is over, we will be doing a little project, when we will start with this

 

 

and end (hopefully!) with a fabric bowl.

 



Of course it had to be tonight that Typepad had one of its little wobblies and not centre the photos and I don't have time to beat it into behaving!  I'll tell you all about my talk tomorrow - if I have emerged from recovering in my darkened room with scented candles and soothing music!

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!!

 

Hard graft!

Don't worry, I haven't been working my fingers to the bone, rather I was grafting the toe on Malcolm's second sock last night.  This is also known as Kitchener stitch (but I don't know who Kitchener was!).  No matter how often I do this, I have to read the instructions and then keep reciting the method as I work my way along the stitches

 

 
all ready to start

 

 

finished!

 

This afternoon, it was off to Borderland fabrics for an afternoon of patch'n'chat.  Anne S. brought in her latest project - she has completed the centre of her quilt top, and is ready to add her first border

 

 

I made a start to my first owl

 

 

And of course there was cake - one of Annette's lovely sponges with delicious raspberry jam

 

 

It has been a rather miserable day here, so I thought we ought to have something lovely to look at to cheer us up ...... I hope these two orchids do the trick

 

 

 

 

I hope you have a super weekend, love, Anne

Safe arrivals!

I was delighted to hear from Leenie and WandaFish that their Giveaway parcels have arrived safely, so now I can reveal all.  After yesterday's problems, I have made mosaics, so that if they vanish, it will be much quicker to do it all again!

 

 

These are Wanda's gifts - a notebook and tissue holder, a gift bag and lavender bag, a kit to make an angel, a Thistle Stitchery (designed by me!) ..... and as Wanda mentioned that she has a little girl, a Winnie the Pooh blanket for her teddy.

 

For Leenie, a tissue holder, a cross stitch embroidery, a knitted wash cloth, a knitted brooch and a Thistle Stitchery

 

Now for a photo you should have seen yesterday - I have finished the flower row for my quilt

Then last night, Malcolm drew my owl for me

 

I've still had problems composing this post - everytime I try to centre the last photo, it's the first block of text the centres - and when I try to align it left it takes the mosaic with it ..... so I'm not going to fiddle anymore (and I am also going to save this before I publish it, in case it vanishes like yesterday!!)

Four more sleeps!

I have never really grown up, so I'm getting very excited that it is almost my birthday!  I was delighted this morning to recaive a parcel in the post from Sarah, but I was very good and only opened the envelope

 

 

And there was even more excitement to see an envelope with foreign stamps -  Lee has sent me a card from Australia

 

 

This morning I lined up the bag with the lavender and two other bags on the table

 

 

The leaves were stripped off into the middle bag (they'll go on the fire to make the studio smell nice) ans the loose flowers into the last bag to be used for lavender bags.  I then tied the lavender up into bundles with raffia

This will be the third attempt to post this - minus the last photo, as half the post keeps vanishing - blame the new Typepad Editor, which isn't working!!  Fingers crossed things are better tomorrow!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gloomy!

It has been one of those miserable days - grey and dreary, with drizzle in the air.  Some of our rooms have small windows and can be a bit gloomy, so I have been looking online at CSN Stores for lights  - you may remember that is where I got the tagine and the slow cooker from.  I was very impressed with the service, so will have fun later browsing through their extensive selection of lights.

However, I had no trouble with light on Saturday, when I was taking photos to show you the different weights of thread.  So - why is thread categorized by weight?  Thanks to Dawn Cameron-Dick, I can tell you!  When a new thread is created, it is fed through a machine which measures the yardage.  The thread ends up on a scale, and once the scale shows one pound, the yardage is checked.  A thick thread will have fewer yards to the pound, so if the length is something in excess of 40,000 yards, it is a 40 weight thread .... more than 50,000 yards, it is a 50 weight and so on.  This information is shown on the spool

 

50 weight - probably the most commonly used thread

 

 
 

35 weight - a much thicker thread 

 

I decided to be brave, and fit the scary foot to my new machine

 

the free motion foot, with three  options

 

 

calico layered up for some practice  

 

 

first attempt - could be better

 

 

oops , the stencil moved so the lines are slightly squint 

 

 

but not as squint as my sewing - it's terrible!!

 

 

slightly better, but I am so out of practice at machine quilting

 

 

it should look like this, with even stitches and smooth curves   

 

Never mind, at least while I was stitching I was nice and cosy, with the stove lit for the first time .......

 

 

...... which helped the lavender to dry out more quickly

 

 

On Saturday I also put food on the bird tables - I don't feed the birds over the summer, as there is plenty of food available in the fields and woods for them.  We knew that the sparrows had raised two broods this year, but I didn't expect to see quite so many .......

 

on the ground .......

 

 

on a large shrub .......

 

 

and silhouetted against the sky on the hawthorn tree!

Over for another year!

I'm sitting with my poor aching feet up on my footstool, after a wonderful day at the last quilt show of the season (which is probably just as well, as the piggy bank is decidedly empty)  But first, of course, I have to tell you about last night's dinner with the birthday boy.  We were talking so much, I forgot to take a photo of the starters - tempura veggies for me and salt and pepper chicken wings for Stuart.  Then we shared a platter of sushi ..... we couldn't quite manage to eat it all, so the leftovers went home with us in a doggy bag and Stuart took them to work today for his lunch.

 

 

As you know by now, I can't post detailed photos of quilts, but I did take some general views - some photos may make it look as if the show was quiet .... but I took them when a lot of people were at lunch!

 

 

 

 

 

However, I will show you this one, the winning miniature quilt, as it was stitched by my friend Mhairi and I'm sure she won't mind!

 

 

And to show you just how small it is, I put my (small) hand next to it (don't worry, I'm not actually touching it!!)

 

 

As always I met up with lots of friends and chatted to lots of other ladies - we quilters really are a friendly bunch.  At lunch I shared a table with some delightful ladies who were showing off their purchases - beautiful fabrics and all sorts of patterns and projects.  So did I buy anything - well maybe just one or two little things

lovely ric rac

 

a top up for my batik collection

 

a tiny beach hut to add to my seaside themed bathroom!

 

But please don't think that Malcolm has been left out of my shopping - when I was in Falkirk yesterday I bought him two books

a charity shop bargain!

 

this should keep him busy for a while!

 

Don't panic, I haven't forgotten about showing you what I was doing on Wednesday!  I was at Borderland Fabrics to do a workshop on Invisible Machine Applique with Dawn Cameron-Dick.  We learned various techniques and made four samples

a section of dresden plate

 

a corner of drunkard's path

 

a neatly stitched heart

 

a very cute bunny

 

To achieve the invisible stitching, we used ........ invisible thread!  In the past I've struggled to use nylon thread - it tends to have a mind of its own, but with Dawn's expert tuition, I had no problems at all.  I love hand applique, but I will certainly use this method again.  Some of us stayed on for the evening talk, so we had fish suppers for dinner - naughty but nice!  If I tell you that Dawn's talk was on needles and thread ...... yes I can see you yawning all ready!  But the talk was very interesting, and will be a big help in future when it comes to choosing the right  machine needle and the correct weight of thread for a project.  (we learned why thread is described by weight - but I'll tell you that another time).

 

I'm hoping to get a lot of sewing done this weekend - the chickens have been sadly neglected!!  I hope you all have a good weekend, love Anne