Post520 Finishes, food, fabric.

It's been another week of mostly stitching, with a couple of finishes to show for it, the first being the prayer shawl I was working on. The detail, of course, is in my embroidery blog.

On Wednesday I had a lovely long lunch with my friend Lorraine - half way between our two birthdays. 

On Thursday I called at the Guild after Pilates and purchased some fabrics which I have cut ready to make bags. 

No hurry. I will iron them into shape for stitching when I have a chance. I also called at OfficeWorks and bought another set of document drawers, into which I reorganised all my cotton reels, including the ones I brought home from Canberra. I now have a good range ready to use.

The most exciting thing that happened all week (aside from my Adelaide family arriving home on Sunday from their 3 week holiday), was the arrival of the Otomi top I had ordered from ArteOtomi. This Etsy shop went out of their way to get this to me in time for my World Embroidery Study Group presentation in  February.       

It is extraordinarily beautiful, the inside almost as good. I have ordered a dress and some pants.

In keeping with my Mexico obsession, the sampler I began last week took up a lot of my time.

 Most of the main side was cross stitch, which is much easier held in hand rather than hoop. I eventually dug out the wrist brace for my left hand which develops RSI from being held too long in the one position.  I worked an Otomi design on the back. This required a hoop, so was easier on my hand, but is not really suited to a loose even weave linen. Nevertheless, I persevered and late yesterday constructed a bag from the sampler. 

If interested, the detail is in my embroidery blog.

The sciatica and piriformis pain I mentioned last week continued for the early part of the week, but was helped a lot by the exercises my Pilates instructor took me through. I weaned myself off the ibuprofen I had taken for 5 days, drank a lot of lemon juice in warm water, tried not to sit for too long without moving and continued short stints on my vibration exercise machine.  My back is much improved. Today I missed swimming to see my GP and have my first Shingles re-vaccine, discuss weight loss and the sciatica/piriformis bout and agree to monitor until my Shingles booster/flu vac in early May.

School was back yesterday. I made the Chicken Maryland with Halloumi that I had tested on friends, and Katherine picked it up for them to eat at home, since they are all catching up on sleep and commitments after being away.

A final bit of madness for the week. This is a set of biros I ordered from a company that produces pens without plastic. They have seeds inserted in the top. When the pen runs out, you plant the pen in a pot and it blooms - mine are mustard, tomato, Glory and spinach. I have a lot of pens from my past working life, but increasingly they don't work and I am frustrated at the plastic waste. Refills are hard to find and more trouble than they are worth, so I thought I'd give these a go. They might, of course, take longer than my lifetime to get to the planting stage!

The 5" ebony needle set also arrived, so I am set for knitting the Rowan blanket and cardigan. I'm working on the Sashiko at the moment, with weather not ideal for working in wool. 

Today the extra Sashiko squares, and the fabric for serviettes arrived. Unfortunately, on examination, 3 of the 4 Galaxy 2 squares were green, not indigo. I really don't think that will do, so emailed IndigoNiche straight away. They are sending the Indigo replacements and a pre-paid envelope for return of the green. Great response. I'm certainly not ready to start embroidering them.

With school back, the temperature is heading into February's usual 30Cs and our Friday Sit'nStitch resumed.

I've enjoyed January and welcome February.