frayed at the edge

Consequences!

If you eat a lot of this on holiday ........

 

.......  then when you come home, you have to eat a lot of this!!

 

I took lots of photos in the garden yesterday while the sun was shining, which turned out to be a sensible thing to do, as we got up this morning to rain (that's because I was going to the hairdresser this afternoon!).  We have buds on three clematis

 

the early-flowering clematis only has one sad flower left

 

but lots of fluffy seedheads

 

I love the colour of the new growth on the pieris

 

this may look like something from a sci-fi film, but it is a poppy!

 

the shady corner is looking lush

 

and the back border has filled out

 

as has this border

 

the rosemary and chives are flowering

the grape vine is flourishing

 

the front garden is looking good too

 

when we came back from our holiday, we were delighted to find that we had blue tits in one of the nesting boxes

 

and great tits in a hole in the back garden wall

 

the front garden as usual is filled with sparrows

 

to finish, more sheepies for Thimbleanna, as she wasn't impressed by the Spanish ones!

After a slight delay ........

....... here is the last instalment of our holiday photos!  It is annoying enough when Typepad has problems, but is is seriously annoying when it is because of morons who deliberately attack the website to put it offline!

One evening when we were enjoying dinnerin  an Italian restaurant in Pollensa, a parade went past - and yes, that is Spongebob Squarepants in the middle of the traditional figures!

 

most days when we were in Puerto Pollensa, we saw a seaplane flying over the bay.  Then one morning I was able to takes photos as it took off

 

a collection of scenic shots

 

an arty seed head shot!

the bakery where we bought the wonderful LMP (you buy the cakes then go round the corner to the restaurant to sit down for your cuppa)

 

I wanted this chair, but it wouldn't fit in my suitcase!

 

the villa we were staying in is surrounded by fruit trees ....... lemons

 

 several hands of bananas

 

lots of pear trees

 

and grapes

 

excellent advice

 

my goodness, there are still lots of photos left, so here is a random selection, then perhaps the odd one will sneak into posts throughout the rest of the week!

 

I nearly forgot this one ........ Spanish sheepies, especially for Thimbleanna! 

 

much as we enjoyed all those wonderful cakes, we enjoyed this wonderful cheese scone just as much on Sunday!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with some sewing!

Pretty little things

Hooray, we finally had a good long Sunday morning walk!  We went to Harestanes, where we hadn't been all winter, as we knew it would be very muddy underfoot. But yesterday it was dry, and everywhere we looked there were signs of spring

 

the new bridges over the stream are looking good

 

this tree was very big ........

 

........ but not as big as it used to be, having lost an enormous piece off the back

 

of course after a long walk, there is only one thing to do ....... eat scones!

 

I went out for a walk at lunchtime today, as we had seen lots of lambs in the nearby fields when we came home yesterday.  Before seeing the lambs, there were horses big and little to be admired

 

and the donkeys were enjoying the sunshine

 

 

but the sheep weren't co-operating, and were all at  the far side of their fields!

it was good to see the sun shining on the Mintos .......

 

......... and the Eildons

 

on round the bend there were sheep much nearer the road - but there were no lambs!

 

but then, in the next field - hooray

 

 

of course on the way home I had to pause to take a photo of my favourite view

 

remember to leave a comment to be included in the draw for my giveaway to celebrate reaching 1,500 posts on Friday (I still don't knw what the giveaway will be, I will have to have a search in the studio tomorrow!)  To finish, I am sure you thought that today's title referred to the lambs ....... wrong!!  It referred to these little beauties - my new shoes for the summer

Rush,rush,rush

It's Abbey Quilters' monthly meeting tonight, and as I have been sewing all day, I am rushing to post this before I make the dinner (nasi goreng).  I have been working away on my sampler quilt.  Having made some blocks, I decided to audition fabrics for the sashing and borders.  Should I use red

 

or black

 

I haven't made a grandmother's fan block since I made my first sampler quilt in 1993.  Having made the fan, I had to make a template for the background fabric

 

unfortunately, as you can see, the finished block is a little bit small

 

however I have a cunning plan to sort it out!

 

next I made the maple leaf block, and pinned them all on to the black fabric

 

then I added the rail fence block, and the first stages of an applique block 

 

this morning I was pleased to see the ewes and lambs back in the field across the road

this last photo is for Jessica ....... I may not have pheasants in my garden, as she does, but I do have them in the field behind my studio 

No more excuses ..........

......... for this full-to-bursting concertina file

 

....... this ever-growing heap of paperwork

 

...... and the clutter on my desk

 

because this morning I bought a second-hand filing cabinet 

 

I can hear you asking about the certificate on my desk, awarded to me for winning a triathalon.  Is this a sporty part of my life that I have, until now, not shared with you?  You will be even more surprised when I tell you that I also came second!  Puzzled?  Let me explain ........ when we first went out to Indonesia, we lived in a rather posh apartment complex in Jakarta, which had a very well equipped gym.  As all the socialising meant that I put on weight, I decided to venture into the gym and, for the first time ever, partake in some keeping fit.  Barry, the charming Australian manager of the gym, took pity on me and helped me make the most of my very limited abilities.  He decided to stage a "triathalon" competition - using the rowing machine, the treadmill and the exercise bike.  Under the supervision of one of the gym staff, you had to cover as great a distance as possible in  a set time.  Having nothing better to do one afternoon, I had two attempts ........ and it turned out that no other females entered, so I won first and second places.  My prize was a bottle of wine and the cheesy certificate ....... I have a photo somewhere, being presented with my prize, I must see if I can find it

 

as we drove home from Hawick this morning, we saw that there were lots of lambs in the field at the bottom of our road, so I headed out with the camera to capture these little cuties

 

I remembered to take some photos in the garden

this clematis is about to flower

 

the fresh green of alchemilla mollis

 

one of a pair of wagtails who have moved into the back garden

 

a sparrow tucking into birdseed

 

and to finish, this photo is specially for Toffee Apple (she knows why!)....... we have just had a delivery of logs, which Malcolm has stacked very neatly in the left-hand side of the log store

An unexpected visitor!

No, Stuart and Alison didn't arrive with an extra guest, but look what turned up overnight!  Fortunately the snow was only on the hills, and didn't spoil the weekend

 

I bottled the sloe gin, and gave S&A two bottles to take home with them

 

they had brought a treat for dessert - a box of delicious doughnuts!

 

on Saturday we headed over to Berwick.  Of course we couldn't show them the inside of the flat we are buying, but we did walk past, and pointed out the shops, restaurants, takeaways and pub in the vicinity.  As we walked over the old bridge, we were delighted to see the seal was there again

 

and he was still there when we came back over the bridge later on

 

we had an enjoyable, if slightly chilly walk.  The wind must have made things tricky for these golfers

 

I didn't need this sign to take care to stay away from the sharp drop beside the footpath

 

this is the rail viaduct, which carries the main line from Edinburgh to London

 

Saturday morning shoppers heading into town

 

as we headed for lunch, I was looking forward to a bowl of soup ......only to find that the soup of the day was cream of tomato, my least favourite soup!  So instead I had delicious macaroni cheese (it was such a generous serving that I gave some to Malcolm!)

 

when I was busy working in the studio yesterday afternoon, I was startled by a sudden loud noise ..... large hailstones rattling off  the veluxes

 

to finish, a little oooh and aaah ........ which of course means lambs!  These two, snuggling into their mum, look very new

Today's post is brought to you by ........

......... the colour yellow ........

 

......... with a little help from white .........

 

........ and a touch of purple

 

yesterday we went for a walk in Hawick

a rather grand house

 

an enviable woodpile

 

the new bridge was simply built over the old bridge

 

 

in memory of Bill McLaren, the best rugby commentator ever

 

a sad memorial

 

one of the many bridges over the river

 

the first welcome to the town

 

a second welcome

 

after a good long walk round the town, we headed to the Mill for a cuppa and (of course) delicious sconnage

cheese scone

 

chocolate and walnut scone

 

to finish ....... a very large amount of aaaaah and ooooh and sweeeet.  Yes, lots of lambs!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with lots of sewing.

Not so much rained off ........

.........as drizzled off!  When we left home yesterday morning, there was just the slightest hint of rain in the air, but by the time we drove down the hill to Hawick, there was a steady drizzle.  So we abandoned our plan for a walk, and instead headed to Milestone Garden Centre.  We had a cuppa and a delicious savoury scone - goat's cheese and spring onion

 

back home, I decided to rearrange the layout of my worktables, as when I was using the cutting mat, my back was to the television - this is a much better arrangement

 

in contrast to yesterday's dreary weather, today was dry and bright, so I headed out into the garden to capture some of the signs of spring

ornamental quince

 

flowering currant

 

now this is where I need the help of Jessica to remind me of plant names

 

I do know that this is forsythia

 

all the clematis have new growth

 

the hellebore is still flowering

 

these tiny buds, tinged with pink ........

 

........ turn white when they flower

 

in the front garden, the hawthorn hedge is turning green

 

and there are lots of clumps of tiny daffs

 

now that I have finished quilting the raffle quilt ........ I have been knitting!  I bought this kit from Kate some time ago, but just hadn't had time to do it, so I enjoyed making a start at the weekend.  But I have to confess that I should have started wih a Turkish cast on, or a magic cast on.  But I would have had to swat up on them, as it is so long since I used those methods, so I just did a standard cast on, and will have to stitch the bottom closed

 

this is the first time for weeks and weeks that I have been able to take photos of a project in the garden as it has been too wet or too windy

 

to finish - you will be delighted to know that the tiny lamb in the field across the road is thriving! 

 

 

Still waiting!

When the sun came out for about three minutes yesterday morning, I decided to go for a walk.  The muddy path was as muddy as ever .........

 

but I carefully traversed it to see if any more lambs had arrived - but, alas, the ewes are still waiting

 

I walked on round to the other field, but the ewes and lambs must have been on the other side of the slope, and all I could see was the top of the old donkey

 

although I was disappointed at not seeing any cute little lambs, I did have lots of wonderful scenery to enjoy.  I walked on down the hill, to where the funny little house was demolished last year.  The garden gate is still there - if I wasn't such a good law-abiding person, I would steal it!!

 

just beyond the gate, I took a few steps along a farm entrance.  Looking to my left, I saw (two of the three) Eildons

 

in front, (one of the two) Mintos

 

to my right, Fatlips Castle on top of the bluff

 

and further to my right, way in the distance, the Waterloo Monument

 

on the way home I had fun seeing monsters/animals in gnarly bits of old hedges

 

the sun was still shining, lighting up the church

 

of course sunshine and blue skies mean a photo (or two) of electrical gubbins!

 

what's that you're shouting, you want to see my favourite view?

 

this morning we went to Kelso, and had a potter round the shops.  We then went to the Hoot'n' Cat for lunch

 

Malcolm had a jacket potato with cheese and pickle, and a nice healthy salad

 

when I asked for a coronation chicken sandwich, the waitress asked if I wanted salad or crisps with it.  Immediately my inner crisp demon made me ask for crisps!!

 

I can hear you shouting at me again, asking if I bought anything when we were browsing round the shops.  You know I love magazines, and especially first issues of magazines, so of course I had to buy this one

 

these super cute pincushions may have to go on the to-do list

 

my other purchase is a brilliant bargain!  I was raking through a basket of fabric remnants when I found this piece of very heavy furnishing fabric with elephants - I think there are six repeats of the elephant.  When I showed it to Malcolm, he agreed it would make smart cushions for the front lounge.  I took it to the counter and asked how much it cost ......... when the shop owner said £1, I paid up quick and we made a sharp exit before she changed her mind and charged me more!  The elephant is actually a much richer colour than it looks in the photo, but the camera refused to show the true colour!

 

a bit of fun to finish - this brings a whole new meaning to walking the dog!!

 

The rest of the news ........

........ after the excitement of yesterday's lambs and donkeys, I hope you are not too bored by today's post of scenery and sewing (and some excellent sconnage)!!  I headed over to Kelso on Saturday morning for the Abbey Quilters' workshop.  It turned out to be a quiet day, with only seven of us there.  But it got off to a very good start when the lovely Val produced a tin of delicious scones, topped with a tasty, sharp cheddar

 

then at lunchtime she produced a wonderful chocolate tray bake - yum, yum!

 

I was working on my samples for my upcoming classes - more of that later.  On Sunday we got up to blue skies - hooray!  We decided to go for a walk to have another look at the Archimedes screws, as they were having problems with them when we were there just before Christmas with Stuart and Alison.  There was a lot of water going over the cauld

 

and a lot going through the screws

 

I paused to read the informative signs (click on the photos to enlarge them)

 

now that the building work is finished, we were able to walk on along the riverbank

 

I wonder why someone had spray painted this pine cone

 

we walked back to the Waterwheel cafe for a cuppa - but had a diversion over to the neighbouring field to take photos of the sheep

 

the scones were delicious ...... one cheese and one fruit

 

I took some photos of the scenery as we drove back down to Hawick - you can see a little bit of snow on the hills in the distance

 

today I finished off the prep work hhat I was doing on Saturday for the needlecase, which is week one of the classes, and pinned all the stages to a polystyrene sheet

 

I finally decided which fabrics to use for the kits that the students will get

 

this is what they will get on the first morning - I have still to add the ricrac and a length of ribbon

 

the last thing to go in the pack will be the worksheets - I know they will be last as I haven't written them yet!

 

I was very spoiled this afternoon when Malcolm brought out my hot chocolate ...... he had bought some custard doughnuts when he was out this morning ........  I will have to work extra hard on the implements of torture for a few mornings to work off the calories!!

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