To The Borders

On Thursday it was time for our visit to Anne and Malcolm. Anne's blog, 'Frayed At the Edge' is full of lovely things she has made as well as all sorts of other interesting bits and pieces. Anne invited us over when she read where we were having our holiday-reasonably close to where she lives. We arrived about 10.30 and, after the initial nerves at meeting, had a fun and packed day. Anne and Malcolm had worked out an itinerary that took us to many of the major attractions in the Borders, an area I did not know at all before. It was a lovely day.

This is the Trimontium.

Our first stop was to look at this view.

Smile please!A big and unidentified bird-probably a buzzard-I love seeing them whirling round on the wind. Look out tiny rodents.
This is the Leaderfoot viaduct-a fact I am afraid I did not remember but google helped me! It is a lovely colour don't you think? I am sure that was not the leading factor in its construction but still...
This place was a very posh seller of fancy woollen clothes and other country type items. Everything was very soft and finely made and way out of our price range! Lovely to look at and touch though. Actually Andy did buy a McCallum tie for a reasonable sum.

This is in the Baxters shop-I couldn't believe that you could get a whole chicken in a tin. I don't think you can now-this is a historical artefact!A dress made from Baxters soup labels. Perhaps I could make one from wine labels.
We had our lunch in a lovely wooden cabin near a mill. After a stroll down to the weir we were back on the road, off to visit Hawick. This is the Hawick webcam! This is from a textile museum being developed in the town's oldest building.
I love those boots and socks. There were even some woollen knickers with a big silk bow on the back. Not sure about those!

When we got back to the house I had a guided tour while Andy and Malcolm had some wine! I loved the house and all of Anne's quilts-she has made so many and they are great! They have travelled widely for Malcolm's job and their home is full of interesting things and stories to tell.

Then Anne took me to show me her studio. It is lovely-filled with fabric goodies and more of her beautiful work. And she doesn't just keep it all to her self-oh no-she has a group of like minded ladies round once a week to use the lovely space to knit, patch, felt and chat. What a great thing-I have to say I was just a little bit jealous! It really is a great space to work. It did inspire me to have a little go at tidying my back room(again!) where I keep all my materials. The trouble with dabbling in so many different arty activities is that it generates a lot of stuff. I have done it though and if I can just manage not to buy any more it should be fine!
When we had finished our studio tour Anne showered me with gifts! All hand made, all lovely, thanks again Anne! She also shared some choice pieces of fabric from her stash!

Aren't those wine glass coasters clever? No more wine rings!Pretty wrist warmers.

My very own mug bag for trips and courses!

Some of Anne's felty things!

The weather was really warm so we sat in the garden to eat the delicious dinner that our hosts had prepared. What a lovely day!
I will leave you with Anne, looking like a true blogger with her wireless laptop!

Thank you Anne and Malcolm for a lovely day which we both enjoyed. Hope we can entertain you too/two some day!