WES group meeting was very successful for the 10 who made it. There were a lot of apologies, a combination of people travelling, recovering from operations or down with infections. We had a walk though textiles in some major British museums, including the V&A, Edinburgh, the Ashmolean, Shetland, Orkney and Dunrobin Castle. My recently purchased book on Women Textile Designers was much in demand. I haven’t as yet read it, but the level of interest was so high I lent it to a couple of members to share in the hope they will use it as the basis of a couple of talks next year.
My GP visit went very well. All blood test results were good, either steady or improved. I had a RSV vaccination with no ill effects for my subsequent Pilates class.
The third beekeeper cushion is finished. The fourth and last, is not required until Christmas Eve, so I moved on to embroidering the Peranakan batik dress.
The bird took about two days to embroider. I was in two minds about the need to balance it by embroidering a butterfly near the shoulder.
I consulted family: the butterfly is now embroidered and the dress ready to wear. Again, detail in my embroidery blog,
The hot weather arrived while all this was progressing. I've had the shade blinds down on my west-facing balcony on several evenings.
On Sunday evening the right-hand one came down smoothly but the left one stuck at an angle and wouldn't move either up or down. I phoned a repair service on Monday morning. They are flat out for the next two weeks but have managed to schedule an inspection and possible repair this coming Saturday. 30C is forecast Thursday and Friday, but I can live with it. I changed the battery in the remote last night and the wonky blind spookily retracted! It still only comes down to the position in the photo.
The other negative to report is another mug breakage, I don't use this one much. I love the size, shape and look (it's hand-made from the Jam Factory) but the rim is a bit thick. I thought it about time I gave it another try, and have been doing so. On Saturday I let it slip on my marble bench as I was about to wash it with the result seen here. At least it isn't in a thousand shards, so can join the lineup of cup-sized plant pots on my balconies.
I have spent most of today writing the notes for my Certificate Course Workshop next April and designing the student projects. What is left for me to do is to work the projects myself.
That is quite a lot, but is possible as I now have two designs ready to trace on to fabric and a set of three joining stitches to try on another piece of fabric. Progress.
I have started the fourth and last Beekeepers Cushion. There is no rush, but I might as well get on with it. I am also halfway through the first authorised Miss Marple novel in 70 years. I'm not yet sure what I think. At the moment it seems like a decent story - but not very Miss Marple, and certainly not in the Christie style.. It would make a good Book Club discussion.
