Post 578 Getting sorted

On Wednesday, I had  coffee and lunch with Panayoula, while her husband was being operated on. She left for the hospital when he emerged from surgery. She is, as ever, quite a woman, and a really good friend. I bought grapes on the way home, then settled in to finish the Guild's Diamond Anniversary challenge. My effort, a lipstick container, is at least creative. Details in my embroidery blog. 

While looking for double-sided tape to help in its construction. I found the missing Evil Eye! It was in one of my drawers of embroidery tools. I had had a bit of a tidy-up in my sitting room, putting away various items from completed projects, amongst them, the circular  template and colour wheel I used to draw circles on the recent Sashiko bag. The mandala was the same size and I had  unwittingly picked it up hidden underneath them and put it away in a tools drawer. It could have been weeks, even months, before I went there again! In the end I didn’t use the double-sided tape but I’m glad I thought I might!

The set of mandalas is now hanging beside my apartment door, with the approval of my neighbours who like it. It is easy to take down for my talk.

Less fortuitously, my luck in finding the colour match for the Nordic cushion didn’t last. There was no win from my lottery tickets🤷🏻‍♀️.

In the tidy-up I emptied the large basket I bought in 2023 to hold the 16 different colour balls for the Rowan coatigan . It had remained in my sitting room as a receptacle for all things related to projects I was working on, including the shawl from the leftover Rowan wool. 

I have found a smaller basket for the wool and proper homes for all the other paraphernalia. After Pilates on Thursday I returned the large basket to Vinnies, from whence it came in February last year. . $10 was a bargain rental for 12 months use.  The women at Vinnies are planning to use it for display.

It actually rained on Thursday! The fans were on at Pilates as well as aircon, an attempt to deal with the humidity - a rarity in Adelaide.  The back balcony rejoiced in water from the sky and the Geisha Girl Durante celebrated with a bloom.

I began work on the Kasia Jacquot kit I bought from the Art Gallery shop after seeing the Radical Textiles exhibition. I was drawn to the kit by the name (Veronka), as well as the colours, design and desire to support the gallery. I was thinking, as I stitched it, what I would do with it. As I went to bed, still thinking about it, I had the germ of an idea about some cotton craft bags I had bought a couple of years ago, intending to embroider or colour them. 

First thing in the morning I dug them out, took the partially embroidered linen out of the hoop and Voila!

I had bought a dozen of these bags in a variety of colours. When I looked at them it occurred to me that they were well suited to this style of embroidery. I checked Kasia Jacquot's website and discovered she sells the printed linens at a very reasonable cost. Matching her linen colours to the craft bags I have, I ordered 5 of them. Really mad woman behaviour. It was still only breakfast time!  Fortunately they are not yet despatched, so I have time to finish other things. 

I had an 11.15 appointment with my audiologist for my annual checkup. At 9.30 I had a phone call to say she was ill and my appointment needed to be postponed. I was a bit relieved. The appointment had crept up on me, and I had intended to have an ear wax extraction before seeing her. It also meant I could be home for a couple of postal deliveries, the Garden of Curiosities book for the Guild library and a Nancy Bird top for myself.

I’m pleased with the top. I bought it larger than I needed, so I could get maximum length. It’s made in Melbourne and hand-smocked. Once the parcels were delivered I went shopping  for Monday dinner ingredients. It promised to be a busy weekend so I wanted to be organised. I got everything I needed and had a late lunch of grilled fish at Mr Nick’s.

Saturday was a Certificate Course workshop. I didn’t want to miss it as Christine Bishop was teaching the stitches for a mat she had offered as a class last year.

I had enrolled in the class, but it didn’t reach the necessary numbers to proceed. I had prepared pale blue linen for the class, but found a smaller maroon piece for the stitch workshop. There was a good turnout and a focused, enjoyable camaraderie. It took concentration, but by 2pm I had a sample of the stitches and felt confident that, with patience and the notes, I can work the mat. I’m not sure I will return to the pale blue. I’m a bit taken now with the maroon!

Saturday night was a break from routine with all of us invited to dinner at the home of family friends with a six-month old baby. It was a lovely meal, and such a joy to be in the company of an alert, engaged, curious baby. It’s been a while for me and I’d forgotten how uplifting it is.

Sunday was Book Club at my place. I was up early to tidy up and get organised for coffee, biscuits and my notes. There were no parking hassles and we had a really animated session. I had chosen the books we discussed and gone a bit overboard, nominating the whole Lilly Pilly Creek series along with Elly Griffiths’ latest and The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey. To my relief the consensus was pretty enthusiastic about all of them in one way or another. We were agreed it was great to read a series set locally, and to anticipate more to come but also agreed that The Wolf Tree was the standout.

Apart from a long conversation with my brother, I spent Sunday afternoon cooking lemon chicken for Monday night. It’s a long time since I cooked this - 2 chickens salted and browned with garlic and ginger, then covered with lemon juice, soy sauce and stock and cooked until the meat falls off the bone.  

It smelt delicious as it cooked. I remove and deboned the chickens, using my hands. It ends up shredded, because I need to ensure there are no tiny bones left - a lengthy process, but essential for peace of mind. The stock is refrigerated overnight and the fat skimmed off in the morning before the chicken is returned to it. It goes well with rice, but the easiest is to add Hokkien noodles about 15 minutes before serving. This week I made a both a carrot and a Greek salad to go with it.  I will be eating lemon chicken and carrot salad for a few days without complaint.

Today turned out to be very quiet, waiting at home while plumbers chased leaks in our apartment hot water service. Our water was to be off from 10am until 2pm. I cancelled the cleaners, got up a bit early to clean and tidy  up, filled buckets and jugs with water,  and had thought I might go out, perhaps to join the Tuesday Stitchers at the Guild. However, just after 10am I had a request to turn taps on, to help the plumbers drain the water tanks. Nothing came out, but taps needed to be left open until clean water began to flow again. At this point I decided to stay home to monitor. I finished reading a book and advanced my embroidery until 2.17 when with a hiss and splutter, water began to flow.  The buckets of water are now on the balcony pot plants. The dishwasher can wait until tomorrow.

I have almost finished all the motifs in my hoop. I can do a little more on the lower flowers before removing the hoop. It's a joyful design. Tomorrow is my endodontist appointment. That may be a root canal treatment, or more scans and preparation.  Hopefully I will be able to finish the embroidery. 🙏