Post 336

 

Today I'm starting with the end of the day, rather than the beginning. This is my progress on the latest Nicola bird. I have seed stitch to complete in all sections of the bird and a black bead to add to the eye. 

I will then applique the bird to a linen bag which I have yet to make. I will embroider the legs and feet directly on the the bag once the bird is on it. They are two narrow to applique cleanly. I have based the colours on the colours of the Australian Blue Wren.

A fair bit of the bird was embroidered at our Sit'nStitch session this afternoon. Susan blocked one of her Anna Scott panels and Jennifer worked some of the second of the samplers we bought a year ago from Jenny McWinney. One is finished - and about to be made into a bag. She also began another round of Sophie's Universe, I should have taken photos, but was too focused in the moment of our discussions.

The building next door was much quieter today. I still don't know whether I will have a 9 storey wall against my apartment wall. This was taken from my balcony - the bluey-grey in the lower right corner is my balcony rail. The wall of the new building abuts the wall of our building (lower left hand).  All will soon become clear as the building continues.

I did a bit of an inspection of the progress made by the succulent slips I had put in, many from Margaret Adams and some from my own plants. These are all new growth. I will need to watch that emerging red flower - the Noisy Miner removed the last one before it got to open.

There's an awful lot of joy in seeing cuttings turn into new plants.

I should probably trim the petunia plant back a bit, but I am holding back while it is producing flowers like this, especially in the evening when it has such depth.

The Mandevillia has continued to flower and develop leaves. It has produced a white flower amongst all the pink ones. Pretty interesting.

I have a couple of empty pots now on the front balcony. I'm might look for replacement plants next week. The section I cut from the large Yukka last week is looking very healthy

For those living outside South Australia, who are interested, the Cherry Hills fire is contained but still being attended by crews from around Adelaide to put out flare-ups. The roads around the fire area remain closed. 

An interesting sunset tonight. 

I hope the kids have all had a good start to their new school year. I hope to hear about it tomorrow.

Post 329 Embroidery all the way; starts and finishes

 First thing this morning I checked the blocking. It was dry, but not wrinkle-free, so I tightened the pins and dampened it again.By midday it was dry and wrinkle-free,  so I removed the pins and added the bead eye. (Yes, I should have done this before I blocked it and the wrinkling around the head is the result).

I couldn't wait to try the two finished pieces on the chair. This is a rough pinning. The Phoenix and Flowers is in the exact position, Lady Ann's Flowers in more roughly placed. The space that is left is exactly the width of the Aesop Frame embroidery.

The two pieces are now rolled up safely in my embroidery roll.

 

Next week I will take the cover off and stitch these two pieces on. I had thought to wait, but the Aesop Frame is going to take a few weeks.

It was our Sit'nStitch afternoon - very relaxed but also productive. Susan finished her Anna Scott Mountain Oak. This is just out of the hoop. It's really lovely work, hugely detailed.

Jennifer is working on Sophie's Universe. This is the centre. The two outer colours were added this afternoon.       

I worked on these - or one and a half of them The rest I finished at home.

This morning I transferred the sketch I had made yesterday to linen using a light pad and a pencil. I haven't sketched in much of the fine detail but can do that as I go.  I fitted it to a hoop.

I also hooped up one of Nicola's bird linens. I'm planning to do this one in the colours of an Australian Blue Wren.

This evening I found some threads I want to use for both projects.

I began work on the easier of the two, using a deep blue Madeira metallic with quite a sparkle - which, of course. does not shop up in the photo. 

It's going to be fun doing this.

Tomorrow Alison and Karl arrive and I have a bit of preparation to do. Today's glut of needlework news is unlikely to be repeated.

Post 111 : Pottering around out of the rain

A quiet day, grey and wet. So grey and gloomy I didn’t even try to take photos. I spent time clearing emails, reading and knitting, changing the bed, washing the bed linen and drying it in the dryer - an unusual step for me, .

I also gathered some threads for the next two Nicola Jarvis birds. I will probably tackle the parrot finch first.

Some of the same threads will serve for the Gouldian Finch

I’ve gone for mostly silk and a little metallic. I can add as I go along but it gives me a base to work from.

I am not starting these until I finish the scarf. Just getting ready.

The doves came in the rain and cleaned up the seed.

The girls came after school, managing to dodge the rain and filling me in on the developments in yesterday’s school mystery. The weather gods that cooperated in keeping them dry in their walks to my apartment changed their disposition as I drove them to the netball courts. It was wet and miserable but only mildly dampened the girls' enthusiasm. They are so pleased to be back on a netball court, even if only for practice at the moment. 

Yesterday, after removing the flesh from the duck for the stir fry, I used the bones to make a stock. Tonight I turned it into soup with what I had on hand - spring onions, coriander, ginger and a handful of noodles. 

I knitted another band and a half on the scarf today (whole green and half a blue band). When I finish this band it will have seven patterns and measure 49 inches. It is meant to reach eight bands and 51 inches. This means it begins with a faun band (Quince, in pattern terminology) and ends with a blue (Eau de nil). As usual, my length tension is loose. I'm thinking of making it seven and one third patterns so it also ends with the Quince. I think it might look pleasing to have both ends the same colour. 

Tomorrow I am heading to Victor Harbor for a couple of days with friends. I have packing to do before I get away in the morning. Fortunately the forecast is for a sunny day, much better driving weather than today.

Hopefully the trip will provide something visually interesting beyond my knitting and thread choices! 

Post101: Iter Autem and Iterations

I awoke to two emails prompted by yesterday's post. In Brussels Genevieve is helping her son furnish a home, mostly with recycled and renovated furniture and fittings. This resonates and sounds like a lot of fun to me. Good on them.

The second email was from Christine in Watford. She is still pretty limited in what she can do outside the house. I'm glad she approves of my Nicola birds, since it is her example of the same which has been my reference point. Christine supplied the title for this post, in answer to my Quo vadis question. She is, of course, absolutely right - the only answer, keep marching!

I spent the whole day working on the Silver Eye. 

This is iteration 1.  I completed the border and filled in the background with seed stitch, and some French knots behind the green, which, I thought, needed something more definite.

I didn't, however, like the yellow bits on the head. It was partly the colour, and partly the stitch.



It wasn't easy to unpick, because it had been put in before the other colours, but I did it with scissors and and tweezers. I replaced it with stem stitch in the very limy green.

Iteration 2 a big improvement I think.










In  Iteration 3 I traced the legs and feet on to paper, cut out the bird (scary),








positioned it on the fabric,



and appliqued it. Without the legs, the only tricky bit was the beak.






Iteration 4, adding the legs, was not straightforward. Getting the angle right took a bit of fiddling, but it was a lot better than applique.

I also went over the beak again.


By then I had an urge to finish the project.





I cut out the fabric into a carry bag shape and raided my cotton fabric stash for lining fabric.

Iteration 5, making the bag, took some time but I have made enough of these now to be able to do it fairly efficiently.  Even so, I broke a needle, attached the handles upside down and stitched the base as a side panel before getting it right.

















It needs a good steam iron, which will happen tomorrow. Iteration 6.

I have enough of the fabric to make another one, and I also have two more of Nicola's birds. I'm in two minds about starting on another one while waiting for my Crewel Work Company parcel.







Because the balcony got vacuumed and washed this morning I didn't put seed out until Turtle held a sit-in waiting for me in the afternoon. He cleared up all but 3 seeds in next to no time. I think it must be good manners in the dove world to leave a token amount of food behind.




I dug out the owl bag I worked on planes in Feb/March and also Phillipa's Redwork Rabbit, which I'm going to tuck into a space on my chair, but knitting won. I've worked about 4 rows of the Fair Isle scarf this evening.

In the afternoon I watched the TV coverage of the Black Lives Matter rallies around Australia. Attendance was a hard call for many in these times. So pleased they were well attended, orderly and as far as was possible, adhering to health requirements. Christine's Iter Autem was appropriate in more way than one today. We need to keep pressure on our governments to implement all the recommendations of the Black Deaths in Custody Royal Commission. 

Post 98 Huckaback and more birds

Today’s tasks were more proof-reading, sending out a message to the World Embroidery Study Group and picking up Jennifer’s shawl to be blocked. 

The link today for the World Embroidery Study Group was on huck embroidery.

https://pieceworkmagazine.com/embroidered-huck-towels/

I've done a bit of this in my time and still enjoy doing it. The first piece of embroidery I did at school, in Grade 3 and aged 8, was a huckaback hand-towel, which I still have. It's a bit the worst for wear.

I made a single bedspread on monks cloth 

But my favourite is probably the panel for a bag, 


The doves were back together today. I broadcast the seed after they arrived. He stayed but she took fright, coming back when I’d gone.










They came right up to the door again and polished off most of the seed.

I picked up Jennifer’s shawl and set about blocking it. The stripes are on the towel underneath. It’s a beautiful shawl.  I have tightened it up a bit before finalising this post.

On the way home from picking up the shawl I noticed the Yiros Hut on Hutt St was open so popped in and bought a Yiros to take home.Lamb of course.  I was the only one in the shop. I’m not sure when they opened again, but I suspect only this week. It was a good Yiros and I’m glad the shop is open again.

I am working slowly on the next Nicola Jarvis bird. I think I can see how it will come together.

I should be able to progress it tomorrow in between a bit more proof-reading.

Post 93 Bookended by birds

The noisy miner was back this morning, surveying the scene and, yes, making a lot of noise. It made no attempt to explore the balcony - just made its presence felt with a lot of noise.

A little before this I had a message from Veronica to say "some wonderul person left seeds on your car" and the photo of my car. It turns out they placed it there yesterday, but because I didn't leave the apartment, I didn't see it.

The dove's now have a supply of chicken grain.

They were slow to take it up. I scattered some immediately. Turtle had come earlier and picked over the remaining parrot food. I didn't see any bird take the feed but two thirds of it had gone at the end of the day. I did have a full washing line with several things large and flapping. The rosellas were also around - and the other birds are very wary of them. There were at least three of them. I tried to get photos but I still don't have a battery for my SLR and you need a really good zoom to capture them.


In these photos the splashes of red are the giveaway

The rosella is even more elusive in the second set of photos.It's a bit Where's Wally?

After the excitement of photographing an Adelaide Rosella (well, nearly) I settled down to finish my writing task. I got the ending worked out and finished. Then came the long task of checking references, proof reading and adjusting. I took a break while my laptop recharged and went to the North Adelaide Village to get a few supplies.

Back home I  corrected a print copy - I always need to correct on paper to pick up errors I wouldn't have otherwise found.

I bought a Cornish pasty in North Adelaide for lunch. Once home, I heated it, along with some chips and sat on the front balcony while it heated. It was one of those golden afternoons.











I hope Jennifer can see all the begonias. The one I grew from the cutting is doing well.






I came in, however, and, around 9 pm, finished my editing task and sent the document off to my brother. Yay!





I didn't get much done on the Nicola piece, but it was something.

Tomorrow I hope to see the doves.

Right now I'm falling asleep and my laptop is about to do the same. I will post before either happen, without further proofreading!

Post 91 writing all day long

It's a pretty sparse post tonight. I have spent most of the day writing - about six hours- and reading/researching - about 3 hours. I took a break to check my letterbox, eat some crackers and cheese for lunch around 2pm, then returned to the task. I was in the swing of it. I took another brief break when I realised the sun was setting and I hadn't taken a single photo all day. A screen shot from my computer doesn't quite fit the bill!

Myrtle had appeared early this morning and spent 10 minutes or so devouring some of the seed still there from yesterday. I was too absorbed in writing to check throughout the day, but as the sun went down most of the seed was still there. My conclusion is that the doves do not like the new seed.

I had a choice in the supermarket of seed for parrots or seed for budgerigars. I chose parrots. The mix has less variety than the chicken grains I had fed them until two days ago. I think I will need to rectify if I wish to keep the doves coming.
Cupboard love!


The other task today was to send out a bulletin to the World Embroidery Study Group. One member had sent me an extract from a book and I had a article from Piecework magazine on Bagchi Dowry bags from the Sindh Provence in Pakistan. Some readers may be interested. At the end of the article are links to other articles, including one on the Embroidery by Medieval Anchoresses and Nuns, which I also enjoyed.


I also had a phone call from my Pilates Studio. Sessions are beginning the week after next. I'm ready to participate.  Groups will be no more than 4 - which is normal.


I feel satisfied with my writing today. I need a couple of hours to finish a first draft and probably another day to edit, check and rewrite. The end, however, is in sight.

I spent the evening on Nicola's bird, which is a lot of fun. I'm using a variety of silks and a little metallic thread.

I think it is going to look right at home on that Ink and Spindle bottlebrush linen.