The big switch on!

It was time for the big switch on times two!

I had some extra lights and overhead sockets fitted in my studio this week .... the frame from my longarm blocks one of my windows...they are only small windows anyway and don't get the sun till late afternoon so it can be a little dark in there.....

Not now though.....

I didn't want fluorescent strips as the ceiling is low and fluorescents strips can be too stark for me but these low voltage lights are just right!

I still need to sort out some rigging for the overhead power cable...at the moment I  have the cable running under my frame and up to the socket above the fabric advance.....it's already out of my feet....that's great as I can trip over my own shadow!

My good friend Kathy at Tamarack Shack sent me photos of her overhead setup and as long as my ceiling is high enough that should be great...just need to collect up some equipment....lol!

Eventually the Postie delivered Linzi's fuses.....Thank You Linzi! 
As it was obvious that there was something else other than paper in the envelope....it had to go through the guage that the sorting office uses....and there was an extra 10p delivery charge....well that was OK except that it held up delivery by 5 days and attracted a £1 handling charge....honestly!  That's more than the cost of the fuses and they arrived the same day as the fuses that I ordered online just 24 hours earlier!

Next time I need fuses there will be no problem......
As for the second big switch on....well take a look...

It was a bit nerve racking but the stitches looked very good on my trial sample.....I went on to quilt around 12 blocks over the weekend so I think I can now say 'I have timed my longarm'!

It's time!

I love to see this.....

White cotton sheets blowing on the line.......

But this in the morning .......

 Makes me think it's time to change back to flannelette....

This is the view from my house!

My dear Grandchildren, Kyle and Fieron were having fun riding their Quad Bike yesterday, it was Fieron's first day to ride the bike (this was her second shot), she's only seven years old....it was a beautiful day here in the Scottish Borders...this is the view I see from my house everyday...how cool is that?

Friday 13th.....

Last week we eventually got round to having a new ceiling fixed up in one of our bedrooms, I managed to get the room nearly all decorated before the carpet fitters came this morning....did wonder if it was wise to get out the gloss paint with a new carpet and finish up painting the doors on Friday 13th......

But all went well!

Great Venue!

What a place for a meeting...great venue.....

This wonderful old house is now used as a museum for local history, you can hire a room for a conference or meeting or just drop in for a coffee.....after the meeting I had to take a stroll around the gardens....I took a seat under a tree....took me a while to realise that this was a metal tree sculpture....

Guess some meeting venues are better than others!

Log Cabin?

Some of my quilting friends would really appreciate one of these...just the right size for a longarm....built by my DS...not for me, but for a neighbour for storage on this side of the river

It would be lovely to live in that church...lots of room for a longarm in there too but only a footbridge for access...hence the need for storage on this side of the river!

"Never cast a clout till May is Out"!

Well most people believe that to be the month of May but in actual fact the proverb relates to the 'May Flower' which is the flower of the Hawthorn tree....it's now in full bloom so I guess it's safe to take of those thermals! When I was young it was a 'liberty bodice'...who else remembers a 'liberty bodice'!.

The flowers on the Hawthorn tree don't last long but are still quite beautiful in their own way and have that intriguing musky kind of smell????

I bought Raffle Tickets!

'Guess what' I just bought raffle tickets...online...from Carla Barrett in Northern California!

They are for the  'Gold Bug Quilters' Guild quilt!

Fancy that!
This quilt is quilted by the wonderfully talented Carla!

You can see it here at  Feathered Fibers 

Reiver's Festival!

A couple of weeks ago, (I don't know where the time has gone) our local town had it's annual 'Reiver's Festival' ...

The Reivers were raiders who live along the marginal lands of the Scottish/English Borders from the 13th to 16th centuries....Scotland and England had many battles for the Borderlands, the livelihoods of the border people were affected greatly by all the fueding!
The Reivers stole for there very existence..... sheep, cattle, horses....what ever they came across.....I dare say one side of the border was as bad as the other!!

It's a weekend of entertainment for the townfolk, the procession heads off along the High Street at 10.45, headed by Reivers on horseback followed by the 'Fife and Drums' band, children from the towns schools present plays with tales of the Reivers, there's an Encampment with a 16th century market, a craft market, medieval market in continental style, music, story telling, even a quilt show (photos later), and in the evening a torch lit procession and fireworks!

Some of the folk are in period dress...

My Son Bella Wood  had a stall selling some of his handcrafted items

The weather was wondeful for the end of March....It was a lovely day!!

Home is where the 'Heart' is!

So what is the heart of your home?




This is mine!

It's an AGA and I love it!

This stove just sits there pumping out heat 24 hours a day.... unlike my previous stove, you don't have to stoke it, clean out the flues or chimney, or take out the ashes (which always used to scatter and fall leaving a trail of dust everywhere). It doesn't belch out smoke, soot or fumes and we don't have to carry in endless supplies of wood and stove nuts! I used to paint my kitchen every year, but with this stove every 2 or 3 years is fine!

This stove is oil fed, now I know maybe it is not so environmentally friendly but after 25 years of carrying fuel and ashes I love that it is oil fed!

Agas were designed in 1922, originally made in Sweden out of cast iron and are still made today the only thing that has changed about them is the ability to burn fuel more economically and there is now a more varied range of colours, ours is a dark royal blue.  We've had this stove for three years now, it only needs to be serviced every 12 - 18 months.  It's actually a refurbished stove and has been totally re-enamelled, so I have done something to save the planet!

You can cook on the top, the Aga’s ovens really look after your food, you can put a casserole in the bottom oven and leave it all day and it will be perfect when you return home cold, wet and tired.You can cook your Christmas turkey over night and it's always lovely and juicy!

I even made quilted hob covers to stop the stainless steel tops from being scratched, my husband calls them hand warmers.

The Aga makes a farmhouse kitchen into what it should be, the heart of your home, always warm and inviting, and over lambing time its also a great place to warm up those cold and weary lambs that just need a little help in front of the Aga to get going!

No affiliation to the company.... On days like today, I just love my Aga!!!

British Summer Time????

What's all that about? 
The clocks changed on Saturday it's official, it should be spring a least!
Look what we woke up to this morning!

I managed to get to work, only just!  I thought about pulling in to let a 4 wheel drive truck pass but then thought that it was safer to let him follow me....maybe he would stop and help if I went of the road???  It's only 6 miles, but mostly on a single track road, I should have stayed home or waited until the road was more used by early morning traffic!

But this is my last work day, I'm off for 2 weeks....'Hooray' what fun, lambing time, tax returns, IACS forms and general farm accounts 'arrhhh....I can't wait'!!

Hope to fit in some quilting time (I have a Yurt panel to quilt, more on that later) and to get a wholecloth designed at least (if not quilted).

This was yesterday...the river is level with the fields!

Going Public!

So, I think it's time to spread the word and put myself out there.....

So this is me.........right now.......Sunday morning in casual mode, heck I'm always in casual mode!!!

I've had a few thoughts on this and realise that now I am in the public domain so to speak, I'll have to be more careful what I do...... when you are in the public eye, things get blown up out of all proportion and are not easily forgotton!!!!






So....

• No more late night parties rolling about drunk and coming home with the milk man, (is that a British thing, the milk man)??
• No more talking on the phone while driving???(never do that anyway)....
• No more swanning around on the beach on holiday when I know I could loose 10lbs.....
• No more taking out the trash before I have brushed my hair and put on my mascara.....( you never know when the paparazzi will pop up from behind a bale of hay)....

Hmmm....What things would you change if you were in the public eye?????