Post 580 April is a cooler month…🙏🏼

Wednesday was unusually busy at the Guild, with the library team working to make up for a day missed because of the way the April calendar plays out this year. It's been a long time since I’ve overheard cataloguing conversations. The Guild group, comprising, for the most part, trained amateurs working together with guidelines, had more interesting discussion than my memory of professional cataloguers. We also had embroidery discussions. It’s a great group.

I try to give more books to, than I acquire from, the Guild library’s sale of surplus books, but today I was unable to resist a copy of Sheila Paine’s now out of print Embroidered Textiles. It’s a large, heavy, hardback format.  I resisted, but it has considerable information on Evil Eye embroidery not readily accessible elsewhere. I came home with it.

Apart from bringing in the bins from the curb and emptying the internal Guild bins, there was not much call on my time, so I got most of the blanket stitch border done on the Mountmellick pouch and finished it at home. 

 As the Library team was there and the Office Manager had left for the day, I also left early to visit Beacon Lighting with my bed lamp. It suddenly stopped working, and the base holding the globe inside appeared to be broken. It turned out the glass of the globe had completely broken away from the its screw base. The cheerful young assistant manoeuvred the screw out of the fitting, got me a new globe, Voila! I was delighted to admire her skill and laugh at my poor diagnostics.

On  Thursday, apart from time out for Pilates, I worked on the Mountmellick inner border of herringbone and linked chains. By evening I had the piece finished and ready for blocking. As a result my hands were sore. The thickness of Mountmellick fabric requires quite a bit of effort pulling the needle through.

I opted to get out my knitting rather than my Sashiko while watching tv that night- much easier on my hands. I now have in excess of 350 stitches on the needles and continually increasing. At the moment each row takes around 16 minutes - so progress is slow to show..

This year's Shetland Wool Week beanie pattern was released this week. I bought a digital copy but have no plans to work on it as yet. None of the colourways are available here in Adelaide at the moment. However, in a Q&A , the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers has instructions for converting the pattern to two colours. I might have a go at at that, but I have a lot of higher knitting priorities!

I’m pleased to report the daytime temperature has dropped to low 20Cs (although back to 30s next weekend). Weather Bureau figures released this week indicate the 12 months to 31 March this year was the hottest 12 month period on record in Australia, and March this year was also the hottest on record. I was right to put off repotting plants.

Friday was Fionn’s birthday, and a family dinner for 9 at Sunny’s restaurant in Prospect. The food was good and everyone in good spirits. An uplifting privilege to be part of it.

My audiologist cancelled again, giving me a free day to construct the pouch. Details in my embroidery blog.

Saturday was for sleeping in, changing over my quilts, washing the summer one,  blogging and shopping for Monday dinner. Not enough lamb shanks at the butcher and none at all in the supermarket, so Osso Bucco.  Preparing it took care of much of Sunday morning, along with washing clothes. As I put the clothes in my front-loading washing machine I felt some resistance but didn’t check. I had, of course, forgotten all about hanging out the quilt when I returned from shopping on Saturday! It’s quite light, and had wrapped itself around the drum. It is now very clean, but the resulting large load gave me some drying challenges, solved with the help of my rarely-used clothes horse.

Since I had an extra hour, I turned zucchini,  bought earlier in the week, into muffins, checking a few recipes, then launching into my own version with the ingredients I had; self-raising flour, eggs, butter, honey, yoghurt and cinnamon. I ate three around 11.30 - whatever meal that was, and at 2.45 (really 3.45) put out the rubbish and headed to Prayer for the Wild at Heart for a meal while reading Louise Penny’s A Better Man. 

By sunset at 6.30pm (right)  the kitchen was clean, washing away and I was half way through A Better Man. Finished it at 9.30 - don't think I've ever read through Antiques Roadshow, The News, QI and Vera  before.

I think I got value out of my extra hour!

I slept well and on Monday awoke to Venus (white dot in top left quadrant between cloud and tree) rising ahead of the sunrise. 

Around midday the electrician and apprentice turned up to inspect the exhaust system in my bathrooms. I so admire their scientific method and skill. They were here for well over an hour. It seems the current extraction from bathrooms and laundry channels into the air-conditioning ventilation system. It works but isn’t strong. Since my ceilings are directly under the roof, which has two whirly-bird vents to the exterior, I can have extra exhaust fans installed. Quotes are being prepared. I’ve also asked for a quote to replace my kitchen extraction fan - and for Shaun-the-Geek to check my modem. Very happy.

There were 5 of us on site for the Osso Bucco, and a take-away for Fionn. Another hugely privileged time.

Early this afternoon I headed out to fill the car with petrol, pick up some graph paper, some Haigh's Chocolates and a copy of the Mountmellick Bible from Create in Stitch.  As I hoped, this has a good history, as well as very clear instructions for the stitches and several projects.  I am very pleased that the pouch I made did not include the fringing that was traditional for Mountmellick. It would not have appealed. I might try another pouch using a pattern from one of this book's projects. One day.

Right now I'm playing with knitting patterns, using the graph book I bought today. If anything comes of it I'll report back.

Post 572 Mostly heat and health.

 

My blood test results last Wednesday were pretty good. At the moment there are no kidney danger signs. My GP has set up my Care Plan - a government initiative not supported by the previous practice. I’m pleased with the management of the  more connected, larger practice. I continue working on weight reduction, largely by maintaining my eating regime but exercising more, and watch Vitamin D levels during the summer heat. It was great to take the time to work it all through. I now have a bone density test booked.

I was a bit late to my Desk Hostess duty at the Guild, but all was quiet. We had only one visitor, I brought the bins in and managed to tie quite a lot of knots for the Aquile tassels. It's finished, and written up in my embroidery blog. 

Annoyingly, when I got home, there was a  courier notification to say I had missed a delivery and giving me a web link that told me I could pick it up somewhere in Adelaide sometime soon. Basically, keep checking, and eventually you'll find out when and where to pick it up. Alternatively, I could have it redelivered for a fee. 

 Their website identifies a collection point at Pack and Send, a block away from me. However, it was not until 2.30pm the next day that the information about my missing parcel appeared on the much-checked website. It was at the Courier’s Depot at Port Adelaide.

I took  the 30 minute drive, eventually found the warehouse entrance in 34C  and collected the parcel.

 It turned out to be, of course, a book I had ordered from England. Back at home, around 4.30pm with the aircon on, the book proved to be as clear as Mary Corbett had suggested.                                       

On Thursday morning  I had a fitting for the dress being made from the fabric Alison and Karl gave me. Connie had made a toile, which was a good move. It is basically a muumuu which hung really well, but the shoulder and neckline needed a lot of adjustment. All pinned and ready to be translated into a pattern. 

I also took along my dress purchased a year ago from Mexico. I’m having the strange side wings removed. It’s a fabulous dress, but a strange shape, with peaks, like wings, at the hips. It felt odd doing this on 6 February, which was my late friend Lorraine’s birthday. This time last year she asked me to order one of these for her, as she loved it.  I was trying to organise for her to try it on when she became ill, and it didn’t happen. That’s sad, but I have joyful memories of her enthusiasm and shared interest.

After the dressmaker, I went to Cumberland Park looking for a Bookclub pick for this month, the latest Peter May, but they had sold out. I’ve now bought the ebook.  Friday was a regular friends lunch at ITL in Sky City. A lovely relaxed catch-up. 

There was a brief respite from 30C+ temperatures from Friday through to Sunday. I made a couple of shopping excursions to prepare for a salad-rich meal on Monday when the temperature once again soared. After dental appointments, or work, 8 of us assembled around 6pm for bread, cold meats, party pies, party sausage rolls, Greek, Waldorf and coleslaw salads, prawns, pickled octopus and rollmops. Lots to exchange and catch up on. I won’t need to worry about cooking for a few days! 

It took a while this morning to do chores and prepare for the cleaners, but once done I have been relaxing out of the heat. My finger is sore and tender, but healing nicely. 

Tomorrow is WES Group, and the current forecast is 42C. Fortunately the Guild aircon is usually effective.

I’ve progressed the Certificate Course Huckaback piece. Yesterday I managed to swing past Create in Stitch to pick up a supply of perle 3, which is making the last stretch of the border much easier. There is still a way to go, and I need to take frequent breaks because of my finger.

I managed, however, to work a second bargello motif (right in photo) today. Five more to go. 

Better get on with it.