Post 543 My chair is back!

The big event of the week was the return of my chair - re-overed, comfortable, clean and smoothly delivered to its customary place by 9am on Friday. It even has removable arm covers, neatly held in place by an inconspicuous swivel button on each outer arm.  It's great to have it back. It is the most comfortable and supportive chair I have.

The idea of the matching cushion was to replace one, a kantha embroidery on a green ikat background, that clashed a bit with the maroon cover on the couch. 

Once the new cushion arrived, I almost immediately set to work to remove the embroidery from it's ikat background and washed it ready to transfer. It took a while to dry, but before I went to bed I was able to pin it on. 

On either sofa or chair it was going to work! I went to bed happy. Over the weekend I stitched the Kantha on to the cushion by hand. It was a bit awkward to do, working with one hand inside the cushion cover. I had a bit of undoing to keep it straight.  I think it works on either chair.

I used the last of a roll of thread I inherited from my maternal grandmother. It was in her sewing kit when she died. This is the cardboard cylinder in the centre. The company seems to have been taken over by Coats, still in Seven Hills. My grandmother would, I think, be pleased to know her thread was useful in my home.

Wednesday was World Embroidery Study Group day at the Guild. Arrienne, who is a long-term member of the Guild's Museum team, talked to us about the Signature Cloths, in particular, a History Trust project the Guild undertook a few years ago, to catalogue Signature Cloths in South Australia. Over 150 were identified and catalogued, containing some 37,000 signatures, Most are held in local museums, belonging to organisations, families of local councils.  A spin-off from autograph collection, Signature cloths were used for fundraising, memorials or celebrations. Invities signed their names on fabric and a needleworker embroidered over the ink signature with thread. 

This is a sample of signatures on a 1901 cloth from Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills. The catalogue and photos are available on the Guild Museum Website

It was an engaging and informative presentation. Few of us had any idea of the scope of the project and its cultural significance.

The Agave at the Pilates Studio has opened a bit further at the lower levels.  The bees are loving it.

I took the opportunity to visit Queen St Cafe for a lime milkshake. The chef had left for the day, but the owner made me a ham and cheese croissant. 

I accepted the quote for my fabric blind. It's likely to take about 6 weeks to make.

Late on Friday afternoon we got a message to say there was no free-to-air television coverage in the building, presumably caused by damage to the rooftop aerial. Someone was booked to fix at at 11am on Monday. 

Fortunately I can access live television via my Apple Box.  I nevertheless watched 3 episodes of British Gardens in Time on Britbox. I found them surprisingly interesting. I really like history through a specific lens, and this proved to be just that. The aerial was restored yesterday. I watched the final episode last night. I recommend it to anyone interested in social history (or gardens!),

In my little patch of garden things are responding to the rain. The poinsettia that blew right out of the soil is justifying its rescue..

There were 4 of us for dinner last night. Anthony was at home dealing with urgent aircon issues. The vegetable and sausage bake proved pretty easy to prepare and to eat. This time I used potato, carrot, parsnip, capsicum, fennel, brussel sprouts, an apple, some broccolini and a sprinkle of fetta before serving - a bit of a combination of recipes. One of the benefits of this dish is the choice it gives individuals. Katherine and I ate the brussel sprouts! 

We had a wide ranging conversation, and it was only this morning, after I woke up for the 5th morning in a row with lower back pain, that the significance of the discussion about beds hit me. I've been focused on  my sleeping position and hadn't considered that the bed might be the problem (duh!). It doesn't seem saggy but must be close to 20 years old.  It's queen size, and I have only turned the mattress once in the last few years, because I can't do it on my own, and it's never convenient or on my mind when there is anyone here to help.  To see if I could somehow swivel the mattress, I moved the bed on its castors away from the wall, Only then did it occur to me that, while I couldn't lift or swivel the mattress, I could swivel the  bed! 

That done, I remade the bed the other way around. It means no valance at the bottom of the bed (since I can't lift the mattress to change the valance). The quilt isn't long enough to cover it, but the cotton underblanket is - and I'm not that houseproud anyway. Looking at  it anew, the side on which I have been sleeping is noticeably lower than the other.

I am working out the logistics of buying a new mattress, but in the meantime, I will be interested to see how my back is tomorrow morning.

I have undertaken to talk to the World Embroidery Study Group in September about Phoebe Anna Traquair, whose embroidered panels, now in the Edinburgh Museum, were the subject of a class at the Crewel Work Company's Embroidery Tour of Scotland I attended in 2015. It's been a while since I thought about this, so I've been revisiting it, reading the two books I have (thank you, Christine, for one of them - it has been put to very good use, and brings back memories of some good times we shared).

I got entirely absorbed in it for hours today. My PowerPoint is underway and I am enjoying refreshing and updating my understanding. 

Last, but by no means least, the knitting!  I'm not as advanced as I would have been without Phoebe Anna, but I am now on the final reduction for the raglan part of the sleeeve.  The photo shows the current piece, on the needle, against the other sleeve

About 60 rows to go, but they are reducing rapidly. I should be well into the front edging by next week. 

My comfortable, supportive chair will hopefully get a bit of use.