Post645 All sorts of mending

There’s been quite a lot happening with friends and family this week. For the most part I’ve been at home stitching my thoughts, hopes and wishes into several projects. My major outing was a lunch with friends at Ammos Restaurant at North Adelaide, delicious, plentiful Greek food and great company.

It was 6C on Sunday morning at 8am. That’s cold for Adelaide. I had spent much of Friday finishing my presentation on English embroidery in the Anglo-Saxon period for WES tomorrow. Hopefully, with minor adjustments, it will also serve for the embroidery Tour Group I have to talk to in August. 

It has bothered me, because the topic needs  visuals but I'm troubled about possible breach of copyright using photographs from books or the Internet. I now have a visual presentation in which every photograph has the origin or link acknowledged in full. Even so it will never be seen other than in the physical presentation. I spent all of Sunday writing a paper (9 pages) telling the story of the presentation, with no illustrations, but links or detailed references to every source. That way, anyone wanting a copy can have the paper and follow the links. I printed it off on Sunday night and edited it on Monday morning from the printed copy, transferring changes on Monday afternoon while finalising the lamb shanks, potatoes and broccoli for dinner. I’m finally satisfied. Tomorrow WES Group can critique it and offer suggestions. Whew!

While I was in getting-things-off-my-list mode, I tackled the huge pile of mending on my sewing machine table.  It turned out there were two jumpers, two brooches and a necklace to be mended and a lot of bits of fabric looking for a home. I found the right drawer or storage bin for the fabrics and mended the jumpers  - or so I thought until I wore one and found another hole, now also mended.

The brooch was a greater challenge. Bought at a craft fair many moons ago, it was a mixture of beads and wire. The simple pin had been inadequately attached with a single loop of the wire, evidently at the end of the making process, and had come away.

I could see the problem. The structural wire was very tightly woven, giving no hold to attach the pin. I had been using waxed thread to lash the embroidery for the tea box, so threaded some up in a needle and poked and wrangled until I had secured the pin. Neither artistic nor professional but I’m hoping it will hold. I wore it for a day and it held 🤞🏼.

The finished tea box went into the mail on Thursday and has been well received. 

As relaxation I knitted Justice beanies. I can now do these from memory, once I get clear in my head which wool ply I am using. A few more will be required next year, so it’s a liesurely job. 

It is now three weeks since I had the repair to the piercing on my right ear and this morning, as instructed, I removed the stud and inserted a sleeper. The problem was that, no matter how I tried, I could not close the loop. In the end, I jumped in the car and returned to Essential Beauty and Piercing who had done the repair where, with some difficulty, the duty assistant closed it for me! It has to stay in place for another three weeks. That should be OK. After that I may need to find a different solution when not wearing regular earrings!

Additionally, one of my 8 year old hearing aids is emitting a loud noise whenever switched on. I have an appointment with my audiologist after the WES meeting tomorrow and I'm guessing it will result in replacements. 

This afternoon, after a lovely long phone conversation with a friend, I began the next tea box while watching the sun go down. A nice contrast with the way the week began.

I am so grateful for friends, family and the opportunities afforded to us.

Deo Gratias.