My week has been dominated by our World Embroidery Study Group activity. Junette told us about cloth and embroidered quilts from Rarotonga and brought along examples she has gathered and tried out herself. It was interesting to hear about the community groups that make quilts together, and the quite particular way in which that is done.
It was a good turnout with plenty of sharing and discussion.
Maureen, the group's oldest member who rarely makes it to meetings these days, turned up in a taxi with a suitcase full of folders for the group. The six folders hold the notes on World Embroidery that she has accumulated and organised over the years. She is giving them to the Guild, via this group.
She has given me carte blanche to deal with them - suggesting members take what they want.A small group of us got together on Friday to work it out. We have set up a database which I will explain when it's finished, but I spent much of the weekend and Monday entering data into a spreadsheet in relation to the 70 items in one folder. We are women on a mission to do justice to Maureen's work!
On Thursday I had bought 2 salmon fillets in an aluminium tray that went in the oven. I cooked both, ate one and then made salmon patties with the other, something I haven't done for years. They improved in the fridge on Friday so I had a quick and easy meal when I got home from our meeting. I might try that again sometime.
Veronica is on a school camp this week. There was a chance it would be cancelled because it now includes the public holiday to mourn the Queen, but it has gone ahead. The Day of Mourning public holiday also happens to be the twin's birthday. It's the first time they will be apart on their birthday - so quite a memorable birthday for them. We missed Veronica at dinner on Monday - but the broccoli went further!
I've begun the sampler of knitting stitches, marking out a piece of sheeting for the 16 samples. I have added another since the photo. I will attach each by hand. I can see differences already, but I'm not sure that at the end I'm going to feel wedded to one over another. Maybe.
I'm still knitting a shawl, and the wool from Virtual Yarns for Brigid's Aran jumper has arrived in Melbourne. It should be in Adelaide this week.My brother's vest is ahead in the queue, but awaiting a measurement!
Yesterday a friend (thanks Viv) drew my attention to a photo, on Portals to the Past, of the Ground Floor of David Jones Department Store in Sydney in 1963. This is a zoom in to the top left hand corner of that photo, showing the Lady's Handkerchief Department where I worked for four weeks every Christmas from 1962 to 1968. The island counter ran between the two posts, on the side in the left of the photo was handkerchiefs and on the other side, obscured, were scarves - separate staff, and we stayed on our respective sides. The woman in the light coloured coat is at the counter, which was a display case. Behind the counter, between the posts, were drawers and drawers of handkerchiefs. At Christmas we did a roaring trade in nuns' handkerchiefs, 1/- cotton, 2/- linen. Teaching nuns must have had an endless supply.
On Saturday I had a biopsy on my left eye. I spent a lot of time waiting, getting prepped, having anaesthetic drops in my eye, before the actual tissue extraction. I don't get the results for two weeks. The ophthalmologist thinks there is some underlying auto-immune disease causing, or contributing to, my eye problem. My eye was a bit achy and twitchy for several hours but now none the worse for wear.
It continues to rain a fair bit. While it's grey and gloomy, the plants are thriving.
The cards and books from the Grazig School in Quimper, are now in the French postal system and on their way. I'm gradually putting together a presentation using the material I already have, in anticipation that some Guild members will be interested next year. I've also been trying to draw together my November presentation on Anglo-Saxon Embroidery. Happy in my obsessions!
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