Post521 As busy as...

February is going to be a busy month for me, so I'm glad to have the evening bat fly-by (to the left above the smaller pine) as the sunset fades to provide a sense of routine, calmness and beauty. They have been as regular as clockwork this week.

On Wednesday I did the worst chore early, ironing the fabric I had cut out last week to make bags.It took a while, folding and ironing in the seam allowances so  I can stitch them down on the outside.

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It is difficult to do this sitting, and standing aggravates my sciatica, but I did it in batches and ended up with 40 bags ready to sew. They include a few Japanese wrapping cloths I've had for a long time and am turning into wrapping bags.

To recover I sat and finished the Galaxy Dreaming panel and tried it out on table, along with the three panels I have from Vivienne. My thinking now is that I will complete 6 more panels and join them into a tablecloth. These 4 panels are placed for fit, not design, and I'm thinking it will look stunning when done. My arm was sore from the Shingles injection the day before and, between the injection and ironing, I was feeling very tired so I took myself to A Prayer for the Wild at Heart for a very late lunch/early dinner. On my return I began the Kaffe Fassett Inca Cardigan. I know it is hardly knitting weather, but I really wanted to see how it was done - and to try out my new ebony needles.

   Unpacking the wool I discovered that I didn't have a basket or bag that would hold all the wool with the needles and pattern. Given the number of colours involved,  the complexity of the pattern, and the time it is likely to take to knit, I thought it would be worth looking for a cheap basket at an op shop. As the first 4 rows of the pattern are all in one colour, I knitted that and called it a day.

On Thursday I stopped off at the Salvos and Vinnies stores conveniently side-by-side around the corner from Pilates. I soon realised that baskets are things that op shops use rather than sell! Eventually, in Vinnies, I found a large, if strange, basket in need of fixing.  The label has it as a product of  Aldi. It has a metal frame, with faux (ie plastic) canes woven in large loops around the outside. A number of these had come loose and been placed back willy-nilly. It was a good size, the frame was sound  and for $10 I thought I could make it work.

At home I lined it with a cloth before trying it out, to ensure the loose canes didn't catch the wool. It worked well, so I set about re-weaving the rods into their intended places. It took a bit of patience and logic, but produced a decent result. I doubt it's a durable, long-term product but is, I think, fit for this purpose - and I have an idea for using the frame with woven cloth strips in the long term.                

My obsession with using photos to create bookmarks took a turn on Friday morning. I went to the Vistaprint site to experiment with a couple of photos and noticed that they also print to tote bags. I had jokingly said to a friend who said she wanted one of my faces totes, that it would be great if I could print the embroidered design on to cloth. Bingo!

I then spent an hour or so, playing with photos and templates to produce a sample. It is only possible to print a 20x20 cm image, but we'll see how it goes. This is the photo of my finished template online. The printed product is due to arrive tomorrow.  If this works, I could try looking for a printer that can do larger images. Officeworks, I notice does print a larger tote surface, but only on one side of the bag. This one has an image on both sides.

A new way of making bags is hardly at the top of my to-do list. Experimenting and playing with photos and textiles, however, is.  

Late on Friday night I got a promotional email from the Innovations Catalogue that featured a small portable hose. This first hot summer in a couple of years had me thinking again of any way to get a hose to my front balcony. I had a tap installed on the back one, but putting one on the front balcony involves cutting several holes in my ceilings to feed the pipes through. The hose ad said it could fit any tap, which set me wondering. On Saturday morning first thing I examined my kitchen tap, which, it turns out, has a thread. It was JEMS day, so after I dropped Niamh at JEMS I visited Bunnings, found the same 10 metre long portable hose ($4 cheaper than Innovations and no delivery required!) AND an adapter for attaching a hose to an indoor tap!

 At home, it took me a little while to work out how to attach the adaptor.  The hose connection isn't perfect. There is a little bit of leakage, which increases with water pressure. The stream of water that comes through the 10 metres of hose is hardly gushing, but it is a lot better than carrying watering cans back and forth! It is slower than a regular hose, but I can attach the hose and water the whole balcony in 15 minutes. The bucket collects about half a pint of water from the leaking collection, which I can use on my indoor plants.

I can also leave the hose running to fill up the water wells in the large pots. I'll still need to use watering cans to fertilise, but this really does improve my front balcony gardening. An excellent innovation! Only took me 8 years to find it.

I made it back to JEMS in time to pick up Niamh. It looked like a good session with about 8 or so students. The Queen St Cafe owner was pleased to see Niamh and I and served our milkshakes and rhubarb friands without being asked. I caught up on school and holiday news. It was Katherine, Anthony, Brigid and I for dinner.  Brigid and Veronica had bought me a lovely Murano glass necklace for my birthday.  It seems to go with almost everything and I've been wearing it all week. 

This is a very busy family month, with school formal, Taylor Swift concert, several birthdays, including Brigid's 21st,  a bit of pressure on the school students regarding pending international visits and Special Projects. I got a sneak peak of formal dresses. Wow!  I have a number of commitments, including my Mexican embroidery  presentation and vaccinations.  

Today I got to AquaFit, the podiatrist and picked up my spare pair of glasses from the optometrist. In between I've been working on a canvas work cushion for a birthday next week. My original plan was to make it into a zipped bag, but on Niamh's advice I consulted the intended recipient, and, lo, she was right - he  prefers a cushion! Glad I asked.

I've ordered a ready-made zippered back, which should arrive tomorrow. It's a challenge to get it finished by next week, but easier than my original plan  - and I'm up for it . It's a long time since I did canvas work, and I'm not sure I've ever done one with the pattern painted on. It's quite challenging, with lots of hard-to-distinguish shading, but I am enjoying it. The texture is fabulous.

Better get on with it!

Post 518 Adventuring

I posted last week from Adelaide Airport while waiting to board my plane to Canberra, the first flight I've made since March 2020. It was a smooth and pleasant flight, taking off over the sea, then swinging around over fairly bare terrain and cloud for most of the flight. I used to fly to Canberra fairly regularly, and had forgotten the regular pleasure of descending through clouds to the unexpected vista of lakes and land that surround the city.

It's lovely - and a large part of (for me) the attraction of our National Capital.

Creeks and roads wind through the hills, eventually revealing isolated farms, and then the lakes emerge in the background, with a glimpse of carefully located wind farms.

I had forgotten the joy of it.

The best part, of course was being there, spending time with Alison and Karl, catching up with a couple of friends. I have quite a few friends in Canberra and I'm glad I decided not try to see them all. I want to do things mindfully. There'll be other times.

Canberra does wildlife fairly well. There were bird sounds from dawn to dusk, currawongs, miners, and plenty of sulphur-crested cockatoos.

I spent a few hours meeting friends in the Botanic Gardens where we shared deck space with this Eastern Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii). 

 The flowering gums along the path to the carpark were doing a fine job of attracting the bees.

I also visited The Crafty Frog, to spend the voucher Alison and Karl gave me for Christmas. They have an enormous selection of wools (which I avoided) and an excellent selection of threads I needed.  I came away with a treasure trove (right).

The book on Brioche knitting is a find. I've wanted to try this, but without a focus. This has very clear instructions, including how to cast on and rib for Brioche, how to work it in the round, tips for finishing, and, surprisingly, a section on developing ideas and designs.  It looks as if I won't be reducing my knitting projects any time soon!

The best find, however, was the ebony needles. I have been pretty committed to bamboo needles, which are much kinder on my hands than plastic or steel. at The .Crafty Frog had about half a dozen sets and I was intrigued so bought 2 sets in a size I could use on the project I had with me. It took about 10 minutes for me to decide these were the best needles ever.

They are hand made in India, smooth and silky to the touch. I want to use them always, and within 24 hours of being home, had found a supplier of interchangeable sets and ordered them. They are not easy to find. I suspect they are not being made in any quantity, if at all. If you are a knitter, and stumble across them, buy them!

We went to Pollen, a bit out of town, for lunch on my birthday, which was also my last day in Canberra. It was a delicious, leisured meal in lovely surroundings.

The flight home was a bit bumpy, but without drama. Our entry into Adelaide at sunset provided - in contrast to our Canberra entry 3 days previously- cloudless views of the city. Although both flights descend over hills, Adelaide is drier, more heavily populated, and jammed between the sea and the hills.

And of course there's the Oval.

I had forgotten the routine and pleasure of air travel. I had expected, but didn't experience, disruption and hassle. 

Security checks at Canberra on the way home did pick up two doubtful items in my luggage, a credit-card size steel all-purpose opener-of-everything piece of merchandise I had slipped into my handbag because I didn't know what else to do with it, (great idea if you are not flying anywhere!), 

and a bag of cotton reels that had belonged to my mother, passed to Alison and are now coming to me. As commonplace as these may be to some of my generation, it is hardly surprising that current airport security staff want to examine a 'bag of cylinder-like objects' showing up on their computer screen!

Since arriving home, I've caught up on sleep, been to my Book Club, had coffee with Panayoula and managed to get to Aquafit today. 

I've made quite a bit of progress on the prayer shawl, ordered some more bookmarks (yes, I know) using the photos above of the cockatoo, the lizard and the bees, and finished the tote bag of native plants. Detail in my embroidery blog.

The Duftin Tote Bag kit was waiting in my letterbox. I'm a little daunted by the punch needle component in cotton, not wool, but a piece of test fabric is included, so if I don't like the test piece I will embroider instead. 

As I predicted last week, the frangipani was blooming to welcome me home on Friday night and has further opened in the hot weather we have had since. It is a hybrid of the pink and white varieties and does have scent!

Temperature here is a bit warmer than I prefer, but it would be churlish to complain in what has been a simply fabulous week. 

Now I'd better get back to researching Mexican embroidery!  🙏

Post 487 Plenty to celebrate

Today is Fionn's birthday. We celebrated last evening with his choice of dinner - his mother's Mulligatawny Soup and apricot cake. I contributed rice and popadoms.   

It was a lovely evening of sharing, celebrating a fabulous young man. I am so privileged to have him in my life.

We are still doing Covid candles - and I for one cannot see myself reverting to previous practice. Blowing over shared food for 70 or so years? Once I stopped to think about it ....

Daylight saving finished on Sunday morning and the extra hour included a morning chill that prompted me to change over to my winter quilt. There were sufficient hours of sunshine to wash the summer one and get it dry, so the symbols and the housekeeping aligned.

I did enjoy the last few days of 7.30 sunsets. It's a good time to take in the loveliness. It's now dark by 6.30pm.

It was a neighbourhood kind of week. I worked steadily all week on my Glazig project and treated myself to a late lunch after Pilates on Thursday at A Prayer for the Wild at Heart along the Square. It was a bit windy sitting outside, but still pleasant and the food is excellent. It's pleasing to see how much the jacarandas, planted a couple of years ago, have grown this summer.

I arrived home to a call for help from a neighbour who is booked into hospital for a pacemaker fitting in April. The online registration form sent by the hospital had discombobulated them. It took us 2 hours to complete the online forms. I was very happy to help. It was convivial and we had a few laughs. It concerns me, however, that such a complex process is expected of patients. Many would fall at the hurdle.

On Friday Susan and I assembled the hap stretcher. It was an easy, if slightly awkward process. We didn't, in the end, use it to block her shawl, which eventually blocked flat on the table without pins. We did, however, learn a great deal. The stretcher will work well with any shawl with two sides at, or close to, a right angle.  Fully extended, it is 2metresx2metres but it can be assembled in many smaller sizes. If you enlarge the photo, you will see four square holes along each side. These are the positions for reducing the size.

My back-up duty for JEMS on Saturday turned out to be an easy gig.  It was a small group of 4 students, enjoying each other's company. One used the sewing machine to assemble her cushion and insert a zip. The others needed little help.

My major stitching achievement for the week was to finishYah Zour, my Glazig project. I am delighted with the result, which is detailed in my embroidery blog. I feel as if I am in the swing of this now, and might work a couple of small samples for my May WES presentation.

I am now concentrating on Brigid's jumper - a cable fantasy which will challenge me until I am into a rhythm with the 5 charts that are repeated in a sequence of 7 across each row. A day of so should get me into the rhythm.

Yesterday we had information that the abseilers engaged to undertake the much delayed painting of the western wall of our apartment block, including balconies, will begin their work at 7.30am this Thursday. I am sceptical, given the following day is Good Friday - but I will still have to clear the balcony in case (sigh). 

        

Also related to Easter, yesterday morning two young women buzzed my apartment. When I answered, one explained, My friend and I are inviting everyone to a party tomorrow. It's free. Can we leave an invitation in your letterbox?.  Having no interest at all in parties, but  being polite, and assuming they were locals preparing neighbours for noise, I agreed. 

The invitation turned out to be a Jehovah's Witness Easter Memorial Service some 12km away! Both ethically and theologically dodgy!

I hope your Easter experience is peaceful, personal, profound - and honest!

Post 481 Tired but Happy.

Today I drove down to Encounter Bay, 90km and 90 minutes south of Adelaide to visit friends who are currently living in the UK, but are here to prepare their Encounter Bay home for their return later this year. While the temperature in Adelaide today was 35C, it was lovely to sit on their deck and catch the breeze off Encounter Bay - a good 10 degrees cooler.

There were seals diving out in the Bay.

The view to the right of their deck is of the Bluff.

We went into Port Eliot for lunch, and on the way back stopped at a bookshop with a remarkable stock of current books, including a good supply of Lisa Hannett's Viking Women which is being launched in Adelaide this week. I had been working out where I could most conveniently get my copy. Now I have it.

I drove back this afternoon. It's not a difficult drive, but requires concentration. There are also sections of extensive roadworks along the way. It's been a lovely day, but I am quite tired. The forecast for tomorrow is 39C and I'm looking forward to doing very little - except taking my embroidered chair to the Guild Exhibition. Maybe not entirely restful .

Earlier in the week I visited Barrow and Bench and bought some replacement plants. I'm watering my plants twice a day in the current heat. They dry out so quickly.

My eldest granddaughter was 20 last Friday, and, on a high from the 90th Birthday bag, I made another one with 20 sea creatures for her. Again, details in my embroidery blog.

I'm also making her a couple of cushions. I forgot to photograph one (which is not embroidered) but I'm working on another one that has an embroidered panel.

It's a bit of a challenge. Originally I planned to use beads to give texture to this panel, but that isn't suitable for a cushion. It's progressing, and will, I think, work well.

On Thursday evening I had dinner with friends heading off on a cruise. Katherine made her fabulous pizzas for Saturday dinner. On Sunday I had Book Club in the morning and helped block 2 shawls for a friend in the afternoon. Monday's dinner was a selection of cold meats, party pies and salads  in view of the 35C temperature. Fortunately there was enough left to feed me tonight when I got home to 38C.

This little fellow came right up to my feet as I sat in the Square before everyone arrived for dinner yesterday. Bold.

Post 479 Doves return to the new normal

In the last few days I have been sitting out on my back balcony for a morning coffee. I haven't done this before - preferring to sit inside looking out. However, the morning sun, the more comfortable chair I moved there in November when the painters were working on the front balcony and the summer plants have finally drawn me out.

As I was sitting there yesterday, one of the doves arrived and stayed for a good 20 minutes. I couldn't resist taking photos, some closeup, some against the sky.

It is  a privilege to be so trusted. If I were a marketer I might call it my coffee experience!

The week has sped past, with a return to some routines - Pilates last Thursday, a quarterly lunch with friends, JEMS on Saturday, and the return of Tuesday Stitchers at the Guild.

The lunch was at Sho Sho, on King William Road - really lovely food and great company. JEMS seems off to a good start, and the proprietor of Queen St Cafe was very pleased to welcome Niamh and I back for our milkshakes afterwards.

My big achievement of the week was the completion of a tote bag for a friend's 90th birthday. Her celebratory lunch is this Friday. The bag has ninety embroidered stars and the details are in my embroidery blog. I've ordered some more of the fabric since it worked well.

Since finishing it, I have embarked on another baby cardigan, this time choosing the smallest of the 7 sizes in the pattern. I did have a 200gm ball of slightly off-white cotton in my knitting bag, ready to use, but have mislaid it somewhere along the line. I'm hoping it will turn up, but in the meantime I'm using ecru.

I've finished the back and one front, and am  working on the other. It is a LOT smaller than my first effort, which had 13  rows of motifs, compared to 9 here!

I had coffee with Panayoula in my diary this morning, but she had it in her diary for tomorrow, which is WES Group - so now we are meeting on Thursday!

We have a bit of reorganising to do tomorrow at WES, since our program for the year did not take into account the March Exhibition, which will close the Gallery for a couple of weeks. The request is that we staff the exhibition for that morning. Tomorrow will tell if we agree.  

I began another embroidery project at the Guild today - an idea that occurred to me this morning - but I'll save that to next week.

I will finish as I began, with the pleasant coffee corner on my back balcony. I should, of course, have taken the photo without the washing!