Self-isolation Day8: Blocking, delivery and stitching decisions

My good news for today is that the Sydney friend in doubt about her cataract operation I mentioned on Wednesday did indeed have her operation yesterday and is recovering at home with clear sight! After she’d cancelled her transport arrangements, the doctor called at 8pm to say he would go ahead at 7.30 am the following morning!  She was able to fast, reorganise her transport and have the surgery. She’s delighted and grateful.

One of the advantages of self-isolation when you live alone is that you can dress anyway you like (unless, of course, you are going to videoconference with anyone). Today I’m wearing red leggings and a very comfortable beige long sleeved top that I bought a couple of year ago from Gardinarium, opposite Hampton Court. (No, I’m not going to take a selfie!) I’m very fond of this top but it has succumbed to the tshirt hole syndrome, as have several other of my tops. These holes appear, often after washing, in the front of the top, just below the waste.

I discussed this phenomenon last year with a friend who convinced me it was caused by the screw on my seated stitching hoop. However, when on holiday with my daughters in January we discovered they experienced it to - and they don’t use seated hoops. A Google search revealed this to be a global phenomenon. The consensus is that it is caused by zips, button sand the hard fabric of jeans rubbing on tshirt fabric, especially while at a sink or bench, and exacerbated in washing machines. I've been looking at creative ways of patching some of mine but at the moment I can wear them without attracting attention!

I had a long phone catch up with a friend of very long standing (63 years I reckon) now living in Canberra. Amongst other bits of mutually catch up, she tells me she has used Woolworths home delivery for ten years and found it totally reliable and helpful. She and her husband are happily spending most of their time at home and not meeting with anyone. Another Adelaide  friend had been to the supermarket briefly where people were steering around each other although some seemed not to understand the distancing notion.

I did a good clean of my bathroom and kitchen before getting out my blocking equipment and blocking the Muncaster Orange. It looks so beautifully thick - quite three dimensional. I imagine it will be thoroughly dry tomorrow and ready to attach to my chair.

Now comes the decision of what, in addition to the hexies, I will work on next. I have had the Mellerstain parrots ready to roll for the best part of a year, so that’s an option. I have my recent travel project, the owl bag to finish. While I keep projects like this going so I can 'grab and go' , it's unlikely I'll be going anywhere for a while, so I could finish the bag.

I have numerous kits, and the big, conceptual project I was planning for the Guild’s exhibition in October- the one for which Nicola gave me the sequins. I also have several knitting projects. I'm  wondering if I should vary my ‘one at a time’ rule to give myself a bit of variety?

I've made a selection. There is the Marie Wallin scarf I have started. I've worked one pattern. This is beautiful and nicely challenging but not the kind of project you can pick up and put down easily.

The Hematite Shawl is alpaca from Adagio Mills in Orange, NSW and will be fun and relatively easy to knit. The ball things are quick and easy to knit from left-over wool.

The embroidery length is from Jenny McWinney and is made up of four panels to be embroidered. Mine will, of course, be turned into various kinds of bags.

I haven't decided yet which to choose. I am leaning towards the Mellerstain parrot and the Marie Wallin scarf, running simultaneously, with hexies for light relief. I also have a counted thread bag I have been working on at Basics to Beyond. It will be many months before we meet again. I haven't written about that yet in my embroidery blog - but will get around to it.


For today, I've continued folding and tacking hexies but by  tomorrow I will be anxious to start the next project. Sleep on it.



The second big good news of my day is that Woolworths delivered my order! I had a message this morning confirming the delivery, followed by a refund of $2.47 on a item whose weight had been overestimated! Around 3.00pm I had a message to say delivery would be between 3.50 pm and 4.50 pm. The driver rang my buzzer around 3.30. I let him in but nothing happened. He rang again to say the lift had been called to another floor before he could enter. This, I suspect relates to lift precautions in light of the virus. I let him in again and soon heard the rustle of bags on the other side of my heavy door. I rushed to the balcony to yell my thanks as he re-entered his truck, before opening my door and hooking in 4 bags without leaving my doorway.
I am a happy camper. I'm assuming I will now be able to keep using this service. Woolworths this morning announced they are recruiting 20,000 workers nationally to keep and expand their delivery service.

Another friend rang as the delivery arrived. I rang off until the delivery was over and put away, then poured myself a glass of wine and called her back to catch up and celebrate!

Then one of my daughters rang and I caught up on family activity. The kids have another week of school before holidays and at least a term of schooling from home.

I had the last of my friend's pasties for dinner with a salad much augmented by my afternoon delivery (and, of course, one of the icecreams)!

While I am looking forward to the end of my self-isolation, I am well aware it is only likely to free me up to visit a supermarket or green grocery, my letterbox and the rubbish bins. To keep myself and others safe, I will probably be unable to socialise for some weeks. I have not set foot outside the apartment door since I arrived home. I am storing my recycling rubbish in anticipation of putting it into the basement bins next Friday and I have managed to freeze my food scraps to dispose of at the same time. My Woolworths delivery today means I have no room to freeze more food scraps. There is a rubbish shute on our landing for landfill rubbish but I have almost none of that and I haven’t been out on the landing. I’m sure, if necessary, I can negotiate to go to the shute while my neighbours are out for a walk, or inside, if I wear disposable gloves. It is, I’m told, OK at the moment to put food scraps into landfill, but it would be nice to manage without. I have a bit of a Plan B forming!

I have just watched Gardening Australia on Channel 2.Thanks to a tip-off from a neighbour downstairs, we knew that Alex, the gardener for our apartment block, was being featured on tonight's program, with his home garden. It was the last segment on the program and worth waiting for.

We're very lucky!

So, sunset, moon and evening star.

Tomorrow should bring a decision on my next project, and Muncaster Oranges to be appliqued to my chair!