Last week began with a visit to a craft group at a friend's retirement village to show them Nelly's collection of Bulgarian embroidery and talk a bit about it. I was too preoccupied with setting up and ensuring the PowerPoint would work to take photos until the very end, after we had packed up.
It was, I think, a success. There was interest and enthusiasm. A number said they had never seen anything like it. One woman was very excited because she made the connection between the monk Cyril, tasked with developing a script, and Cyrillic script -a connection that I had missed myself (duh!).
On Thursday I took the grandchildren to the River Cafe for lunch. We had a good time. It's a lovely venue - light and airy, near the weir that ensures Adelaide has a riverside. I was too engaged to think of photographs. This one is courtesy of the restaurant website - and captures it well.The food has bit of Italian flare and always good.
Sunday. was Anzac Day At one time this was a public holiday only if the day fell during the week, but some States, South Australia included, now give a public holiday regardless. Marches occurred without onlookers and dawn services were limited in numbers with many people lighting candles in their driveways at dawn instead.
My brother posted this tribute to our father, Leading Torpedo Man Leonard Haynes RN, whose service in WWII took him to Sydney where he met our mother and stayed. The background view is of Botany Bay where he spent the rest of his life.
The research into my grandmother's sister, Mahala Eliza Talbot Bearcraft has led to some extraordinary stories, as Melanie, my fellow-researcher in Portsmouth, and I continue to unravel the mystery. This week Melanie followed Mahala's cousins, the only niece and nephews of Mary Jane Talbot, the newsagent in Marylebone we believe to be Mahala's mother. These three children were orphaned when the eldest was 10. The two boys, aged 10 and 7 were sent to Canada as Dr Barnardo's boys and separated on arrival in 1907. Harry Elbon Noble, the eldest, enlisted in WWI on 7th May 1915. In May 1916 he was deployed as part of the 38th Canadian Battalion to Portsmouth via Bermuda. While in England he seems to have made contact with his aunt and named her as his next of kin. He was deployed to France in August 1916 and killed on the Somme on 27 October 1916. He was 20 years old.
Back in Canada, Herbert, his younger brother, married. His marriage certificate registers his parents as unknown. One of the saddest things about this story is that Melanie and I appear to know more about the two brothers than they knew about each other following their separation on arrival in Canada.
I spent quite a bit of time working up a little narrative embroidery using the stitches and techniques of traditional Icelandic embroidery as part of the Guild's Design Online Course and also for the workshop I'm giving in June to the Certificate Course group. The photo is a bit dark, but it shows the stitches - and also the use of the printable, stick-on Sulki. I've now packed away the kits, notes and samples for the workshop until I need them in June.
On Friday we had our first Sit'nStitch for a while. Susan has made great progress on her Margaret Light piece, which I didn't photograph. Jennifer made strides on Sophie's Universe . It's really beautiful - the textures are remarkable.
Susan and I have been giving thought to what we might do with the box of wools that Jennifer bought us. I'd like it to be something that does justice to the colours and variety so I've been experimenting.
I thought a stripey shawl might work, but abandoned it (right) after figuring it would result in too many joins on the very short rows at the ends of the shawl. I tried a basketweave but this didn't seem to work well with multicolours. Then I came across a pattern for an Entrelac scarf which looked promising. 
I tried it out on a small sample (left) and thought it promising. I then worked it on 140 stitches, which should give a width of about 75cm. 
Now that I've got the hang of the pattern it is pretty easy knitting - and hugely satisfying.
Yesterday I went to Basics 2 Beyond at the Guild. There were 9 of us there and it was a really pleasant time. Most of the others are working on one of the five projects in the Basics Course. I took along the linen and thread for three of the classes I have enrolled in this year - all counted projects that require preparation of the base fabric. I'm not good at this preparation, which involves tacking the guide lines for each project - with stitches that go over and under 4 fabric threads. By the end of the session I was querying whether the Jobelin fabric I had chosen for the Fisherton-de-la-mer class was suitable. I came home and ordered some blue Permin linen online, even though the Jobelin colour is great. I'm pleased I went to the group. Much better to work this out now than in the class itself!
Today I went to a Retired Secondary Principals' lunch. The group meets twice a year for lunch but didn't meet at all last year. I was a bit uncertain about attending. It was a new venue, at an RSL (Returned and Services League) Club in Blackwood - about 25 minutes drive away and I had no idea if any of my mates would be there.
It turned out well, even though I got lost twice on the way there and had a bit of trouble parking. There were 22 there, of whom 5 were women. One member, now working as a university researcher, presented some of his research.
There was lots of socialising, strong interest in Chris's research and plenty of discussion. I was very pleased I'd gone. The ranks are a bit thinned, but there was a lot of care. I am, after all, it seems, part of this tribe.
The building next door continues to rise and yesterday a crow made a claim to the view, if not exactly to a crows nest.
It didn't keep the doves away. They have been frequent visitors, ruffling their feathers, soaking up the sun and hoping for food.
On my front balcony my three frangipani trees are looking at their best even as they begin to shed their leaves
while at the back the succulents are putting on a bit of a show.
The most spectacular sunset was last Friday. I was home from Sit'nStitch just in time to capture it.
We continue to go about our business cautiously. Western Australia has had a short lockdown and we have stopped flights from India in the light of the numbers of Covid cases from that country now in hotel quarantine here.
It may seem that things are pretty relaxed and normal here in South Australia, but there is still 'an abundance of caution'. There's no room anywhere in the world for complacency.
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