Post 196 WES Group, scanning and birds

I was up relatively early to get organised for the World Embroidery Study Group meeting this morning. We were discussing Icelandic Embroidery and I had books, a PowerPoint presentation, my thermos of coffee and my Icelandic Endless knot bag to take to the meeting.

While getting ready I noticed Myrtle and a young dove on the balcony, the young one coming quite close to my glass door. which was open with the screen door pulled across. This was the best I could do to photograph the new bird. I reckon it is the young adolescent that Myrtle and Turtle chased away a couple of months ago. I reckon it could be their last year's fledgling now accepted as sufficiently adult to forage here. There may be other explanations. It will be interesting to see how it develops.

Incidentally, those delicious looking grapes I bought on Monday have not lived up to their promise - good looking sour grapes!

We had a very good WES Group meeting; nine of us, two new to the group. We had a Covid Marshal and tables are set out to ensure we stay 1.5 metres apart. It's a good arrangement and everyone cooperates. Out Icelandic embroider discussion was, in one member's word 'inspiring'. Lori had worked her own design using the two most used traditional Icelandic stitches, long-armed cross stitch and eyelet stitch in perle cotton. As Lori pointed out, these stitches, but particularly the long-armed cross, are great solid filling stitches.

Margaret is working a much finer version of the Endless Knot design, also interesting.

Barbara brought along a number of Korean wrapping cloths she had made several years ago. The large on is for wrapping a table!

These are machine stitched with a particular  narrow enclosed seam.

Back at home I attempted a bit more scanning. After I'd scanned 30 photos, the app ceased to scan. Eventually I looked for a solution online and discovered this is a common fault of the app. After 150 or so scans it frequently crashes. At least I got 233 photos out of it! The solution is to remove the scanned photos from the device you are using, delete and reload the app and then continue.  This is disappointing. Not sustainable for the number of photos I am dealing with. There is also a fair bit of discussion about the quality of the scans compared to a flatbed scanner.

So I gave in. I rang the Apple service shop at Norwood and asked if they would remove old drivers from my laptop, check the connection to my flatbed scanner and either restore the connection or let me know that it is no longer compatible and suggest an alternative. If I can drop the laptop and scanner in tomorrow morning they will do their best to have it sorted by the afternoon for me.
Nothing like doing it properly!

Late in the afternoon I heard the tell-tale cooing. There on the back balcony was the young dove again. Curiouser and curiouser.

It flew away, of course. I then noticed the unfolding aloe.






















On the front balcony this morning I noticed that the native bush I bought a couple of years ago at an Australian native plants expo  is finally blooming. It is labelled as a Meuller's Daisy but doesn't look very daisy-like. I'll check it again tomorrow to see if the flowers change shape as they open.


This evening's work on Caterina has progressed the project. The thread count, however is out by two threads as I reach the centre line. so I will need to track the error tomorrow when I am less tired and have daylight.