Self-isolation Day 4: phone calls and writing

Most of my activities today were not photo-worthy! I had planned a stitching day, but in the end I had lengthy phone discussions with a couple of friends - kind of coffee by phone, make a coffee and settle in to catch up, sort out our concerns and laugh.

I spent a bit of time replying to emails and staying in touch with my daughters.

I was in touch with our Guild employee, who is still working, and with Gay Sanderson, who prepared the Ort pot kits and product that I took to Stratford with me, to let them know the result. The $180 I will deposit with the Guild tomorrow as a result of the sales will offset what the Guild is losing in attendance fees at the moment. I also wrote up an account of the interest in the kits for our Guild newsletter - need to keep the stories coming.


Early this afternoon it was, oddly, sunny and reasonably warm (23C) on my back, East-facing balcony, but cloudy and dull from my front, West-facing balcony.  It felt a bit like a metaphor for our time.

Many of us are trying to work out how to avoid being overwhelmed by the cloudy view. The dot in the top of the sky just to the left of centre in this photo is a plane taking off. A site that will become less and less common.

balcony blooms.

Here in Australia we entered a new stage of lock-down last night with closure of all cafes, restaurants, clubs, gyms and, for some states, schools.

SA is keeping schools open. These are not straightforward decisions. There are unintended consequences either way.

The decision to close gyms will hurt a lot of young people, as essential as it is.

I am resisting the temptation to spend much time following the news. I do keep up, but am choosing not to watch or read endless analysis. I had planned to do several circuits walking around the apartment but focused instead on the coffee phone calls and emails. Tomorrow.

I need to begin thinking how to use this sample of sequinned net that Nicola Jarvis generously sent me. I had been discussing with Nicola an idea I had for our Guild's exhibition in October this year with a theme of Nature by Needle, and mentioned the difficulty I had found in last year's exhibition, creating both dead and live fish. Nicola got excited about the possibility of using the sequins on this piece of clothing she had bought in a vintage shop. She sent me a piece before I left England. So generous with both expertise and supplies!  I now need to work out if I can make the idea work.




This evening I made a salad with the duck fillet I cooked the other night. I finished my Qantas bottle of wine last night, so back to Chain of Ponds Pinot Grigio.

I still have no response from Woolworths regarding my home delivery application. I suspect they are overwhelmed. I can manage without at the moment, and I am heartened by the conversations today with my non-isolated peers who are managing their shopping without too much difficulty.







I'm finishing this day on my Muncaster Orange. I realise, as I photograph progress, that I should have embroidered the half-leaf before the orange!

Like fellow students, I now need to decide on a colour for the bow. In the light of the place in which I'm hoping to place it on my chair, I think I'll go for a slightly greeny-yellow. Or maybe a yellowy-green.

I shall try to produce a more visually interesting blog tomorrow. Talking, reading and writing keeps me going, but doesn't make for much of a narrative!

Day 7: Final Day of Midsummer Pillowe

This morning was Grey and overcast yet the light was quite good in our stitching room and the landscape outside very clearly defined.



The brickwork on the Theatre seemed particularly well defined.

Even through the lead-lighted windows in our stitching room it looked terrific.There are (what I assume to be) CCT cameras in the oddest places.





















We had a great day of stitching. Nicola's design is a pleasure to stitch. It uses varied techniques, interesting threads and you can complete small sections and see an immediate result. There were periods of silent concentration and times of talk. We have known each other now over several years and there is a level of trust.  We are privileged to have found people from all over the world who share our quite narrow interests.







We concentrated on the butterfly "Puck". I was able to finish - mine. That's one of the clever things about the design - it is possible to finish a complete element in a day.

Photos don't do justice to the three-dimensional impact of the finished piece, nor do they convey the sparkle.

I haven't finished Oberon - but it is well advanced. I have more than half of the major butterfly, Titania, to do and the small figure in  the top left hand corner. I'd love to keep working on it. I think it will be finished before I board a plane home.






The buffet lunch was excellent again, and the evening meal delicious. The chef seems to get  proportions right.


Tutors had set up shops this afternoon in the hotel reception area. I bought a Kate Barlow kit.



I also, with permission, offered some of the Guild's Ort Pot kits for sale. Last year I used one of my ort pots in class, and people asked for the pattern. I couldn't provide it, as it is copyright and a fund-raising activity of the Guild. So this year, Gay Sanderson made up some kits and some Ort pots for me to bring to sell. I was planning to offer these to anyone who asked about mine, but Laura suggested I could sell them on the market evening. Sales amounted to 56. The kits sold out completely, since one woman who has to run a workshop for her US Guild in making these pots, bought my entire stock to save having to make the kits herself!



After the market and before dinner Phillipa introduced  Sarah Thursfield, author of The Medieval Taylor's Assistant. on Dress in the Age of Shakespeare. Sarah used portraits to analyse the elements of both men and women's clothing. I knew quite a bit of this from the research project on Tudor clothing I helped Brigid do five years ago.


Sarah stayed for dinner. She was an interesting speaker and it was a privilege to be able to talk to her over dinner.

Tomorrow is our excursion day. It should be good.