Post 454 A lot of productive time waiting for car services

The big news this week was that the painting of the exterior of our apartment building is about to begin on 7 November. It will take 6 weeks and includes our balconies. The bad news is we are asked to clear our balconies! My balconies are gardens and I have art works riveted to the walls. Removing either plants or wall art is a major undertaking. The alternative is to move the plants to the centre of the back balcony, or the window side of the front balcony. I have, of course, chosen this option. 

Theo, my neighbour, very kindly knocked on my door and offered to help. That is immensely kind. He also came up with the idea of covering up the pieces on the walls. That made me feel a whole lot better.

On Saturday, Ali, my cleaner offered to move all the plants - and we rearranged the front balcony. The two cane chairs are now stashed in the spare bedroom. I've decided to only put one cane chair back when it's done, and to put the other on the back balcony. That means I can dispose of two mesh outdoor chairs. I never use more than one on each balcony, so this minor downsize should work. 

I also bought 4 packets of eco-friendly Glad Wrap and plan to encase all the wall pieces before 7 November. I might need Theo's help for a couple. l I feel much more relaxed.

On Sunday morning, before the rain  I moved the hose, potting mix, fertiliser and tools into my spare bathroom and a couple of pots from the back balcony inside.

I now have a couple of pots right next to my bedroom chair. My bathrooms have no windows, so not an option for plants for 6 weeks. Next weekend I'll finish stacking the plants in the centre of the back balcony and, hopefully, cover all the wall art with plastic.

A friend and I had plans to visit St Dominic's Priory on Sunday when their embroidered cope was being exhibited. It turned out to be only from 10.30am -12.00 noon, and my friend was rostered on for her church service at the same time, so we cancelled. 

Possibly a good thing, given the rain that was bucketing down by 11. 

It cleared up a bit in the afternoon, so I went for a walk in the wetlands. There were quite a few dog walkers and a family of ducks assessing the water. 

While I was waiting for my cleaner to arrive on Saturday,  a pair of Adelaide Rosella's began feeding on the native frangipani. I managed to get some photos to brighten up this post.

I spent last Wednesday morning waiting while my car was serviced - no hardship, there is decent coffee and a wide open, well-ventilated waiting area with wifi. I read an article in a  New Yorker sent to me by a friend, caught up on emails and didn't get any knitting done. All is well with my car, although it was due for new tyres. These were replaced today - a 4 hour job. Once again I chose to wait, rather than chance spend time walking in the rain and catching buses.

I finished off this post, worked on my WES presentation for next week, and had a surprise visit from a friend from Melbourne, passing through on her way to Ardrossan. The time passed very quickly.

Last week I also finished off the pouch I was making from last week's Certificate Course. The detail is in my embroidery blog.

The New Yorker article I read while waiting for the car last week  (thanks Pat) was "On the Rocks: A hundred years of The Waste Land" by Anthony Lane, When I got home I found my copy of The Waste Land  and read it aloud, not as well, I'm sure, as Benedict Cumberbatch, whose reading, accompanied by an orchestra and Anthony Burgess's score, Lane had attended, but enough to retrieve the rhythm and some of the nuance.

I had to go back quite a way in my archive of photos (not, of course, back 100 years!) to find any that were remotely suitable for discussion of The Waste Land.  Oddly, those I found were taken on a visit to the Flinders' Ranges in 2009, with the friend who sent the article! We were flying over Lake Eyre on one of the rare occasion it was in flood. Obviously these were taken outside the flood area!

One thing Lane discusses is the different context to which generations apply the poem - more environmental today and more political in its early years. 

At the moment, Eastern Australia is experiencing severe flooding, while the west is in drought.   The Murray River System is as full as it's ever been - while, I gather, the Mississippi River is barely navigable in places. We maybe need the Ancient Mariner alongside The Waste Land.

Eliot's words are still powerful - and say far more than any photograph. 

I think I'll stick to my knitting, embroidery - and the birds, all life-affirming.

I had a request a few days ago to talk about Bulgarian embroidery at the Guild's General Meeting on 7 Nov, using the newly acquired Museum items. I'vs agreed. I don't usually go on Mondays, as I am  preparing for dinner, but I'll have to get organised in advance. 

Sunday's excursion was cancelled, but Saturday made up for it. Dinner was at Grange Jetty Cafe because the surf season has begun and Anthony & Brigid spent the afternoon on surf patrol. After our relaxed, pleasant meal we had coffee at their place, did the crossword, and I picked up my year's supply of Who Gives a Crap toilet paper which is more easily delivered to a house than an apartment.

Also on Saturday, an old friend, now living in Darwin, was in town and called in. I haven't seen him in years and it was wonderful to catch up. He is still trying to convince me to write with him! Maybe.

I've put in a bit of work on my last PowerPoint for the year which began as Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Embroidery but is morphing into English Embroidery in the Early Medieval Period, for the November WES meeting. This has been a long and wandering journey, which I reckon started in my undergraduate course. I had planned to do my honours work on Culture and Society in the Middle Ages, but the option was pulled a month before my final year. Embroidery - or even textiles - would not have featured in research back then, but I'm making up for it. It is now a rich mine of information and has led me unexpected places and conclusions . 

A friend sent me a clever and amusing article I had missed on the joys of knitting, Thanks Peter.

Meanwhile, my brother's vest has reached the arm holes. I am delighted to be now working the top in sections, knitting back and forth - no steeks! What a sensible pattern! 

I haven't progressed it as much as I hoped while waiting for my car, but I'm back on it between wrapping the balcony in plastic.

Post 451 Stepping up

This week I've made a bit of an effort to walk. It has worked quite well until the rain set in again today. I won't call it a triumph - or even a breakthrough - but I have resurrected my step-count app and doubled the average number of steps taken over the last few months.     

                        

Some of the credit goes to the wetlands, which I really enjoy. There is new growth (and maybe a bit of mistletoe) appearing and several species of waterbird. 

On Wednesday I paid another visit to Sandy's 100 Year Climate Project which was taken down on Friday. It was good to see it mounted, because visitors could get quite close and see the detail of the stitching.

Hopefully it will not be in storage long before being able to tour more widely.

I got to Grange twice this week. The main event was Sunday lunch with visitors from NSW. It was a long weekend here and almost no cafes or restaurants were open in the city. I had been unable to book a table at my go-to choice of the  Jetty Cafe but managed to secure a table at the Grange Hotel. 

On Friday, on a whim, I went early to Grange for Sit'nStitch with a view to walking a bit and eating at the Jetty Cafe. Out of luck. The cafe was full to overflowing, so I walked a bit and tried the Hotel. 

Not only was it good, but staff went to lengths to get my meal and account quickly so I could get away on time. On Sunday they were just as helpful.

I had the same thing to eat both times - Salt and Pepper Lemon Squid. I suspect the Jetty Cafe has lost a customer. On Sunday we spent 2 uninterrupted hours enjoying a leisurely meal and catching up in most pleasant surroundings before I dropped my friends at Henley Beach for their next appointment. 

I look forward to more meals there.   

On a far more mundane note, I had the sheet I mended last week back on my bed for two nights before it split again, parallel to the mend. I surrender. I washed it, cut it in two along the tear, opened out the corners and stored it to use as backing for embroidery projects. 

However, to keep my mending skills honed, I glued a broken handle back on to one of my favourite mugs. To honour imperfection - I painted the repair with gold paint (a nod to Japanese Kintsugi). The effect is more golden than the photo shows. I haven't tried coffee in it yet! 

Some paper fold-out Christmas decorations I ordered from Welcome to Country, a First Nations social enterprise,  arrived last week. Most of them are beautiful fold-out balls. I have always loved these paper fold-outs and these are superbe. I ordered two stars as well. Both feature art work depicting the Seven Sisters story. The gold one, in particular is so lovely I haven't taken it down.

I bought the balls as Christmas presents, but I'm not sure I will part with them!

The second package from Pascal Jaouen arrived. I knew it was coming today so, in spite of the wet and windy weather, went downstairs to wait for the postman. I had a two hour delivery window, and know the post usually comes in the middle of that, so I got in my steps walking around the Square where I could see the postman's approach. 

The bad news is that it included Glazig Catalogue No.1 when I had ordered Catalogue 2! I had ordered No1 from Amazon, assuming it was in Australia, but it seems to have been sitting at Heathrow for a couple of weeks. I have boldly constructed an email to the Pascal Jaouen people in my schoolgirl French to ask them to rectify.

The good news is the patterns are exciting, the threads lovely and the cards very, very clear and useful. 

Once I had the delivery, I dashed off to Unley to post a finished shawl to a friend - update coming in my embroidery blog soon- and to buy milk. The weather is unpleasant - gusty winds and rain squalls. 

I'm now on to my brother's vest. I knitted a couple of samples to get the gauge right. The pattern has a 13 cm chest difference between sizes and my brother falls between two. I was trying to solve the problem by needle size, but after knitting the samples, decided I can more reliably  adjust the number of stitches.

Interestingly, the samples both have a slant on them, which I am rectifying by knitting into the back of stitches on the purl rows. This works while I am on the rib but won't work when I am knitting stocking stitch in the round. Cross that one when I get to it.

A couple of interesting sunset skies during the week, but too much cloud cover tonight - and for the rest of this week according to the forecast.

These will have to keep me inspired. It's school holidays, so no dinners to be prepared. A mixed blessing.

I got the results of my eye biopsy on Saturday - all clear! Now that is a blessing. 

Post 448 Knitting, plants and plenty to learn

 

This week's major achievement was the completion of the Carbon Vest I had been knitting from Rowan Magazine No90. I'm pleased with the result and have written about it at length in my Stitching Blog. (I know I usually refer to this as my embroidery blog, but am being more accurate in light of the topic!). 

While on the topic of knitting, a couple of discussions at our recent Sit'n Stitch sessions might be of interest. The first involves stitch markers. Both Susan and I have been on the hunt for stitch markers that are simple, flat circles. 

I once had a supply of these, but  gradually lost them, leaving a mixture of safety clip, split ring and  solid circles. While I get by with these, all have their drawbacks, and none sit flat on the needle without distorting the space between stitches.   Susan ordered some from overseas. I eventually found some at Spotlight Online and they were delivered from Geelong as no local Spotlight stores had a supply. Fussy, I know, but flat works more smoothly.       

The second knitting discussion arose from a discovery at our Sit'nStitch, where, as you can see, the Gymea Lily continues to open. 

Both Susan and I have been knitting in our current manner for decades and discovered that we put the yarn around the needle in opposite directions for a knit stitch. I was taught by my grandmother nearly 70 years ago, but I have no idea if I have deviated from the way she showed me. I'm not even sure that I knit the same way on every project. I suspect I vary from project to project as the yarn, needle size and tension changes. 

Since our discovery last Friday I have been doing bits of research, and have begun to work a series of samples showing the effect of variations in the direction of yarn wrapping. 

It's proving interesting.  I found a blog that explores the 16 different combinations of placing yarn either clockwise or anticlockwise around the needle, using  the back or the front of the stitch.  I've worked samples of the first two, left is yarn anticlockwise around the needle in all stitches and right is clockwise. I plan to work samples of all 16.  Will it change my practice? I don't know - but I can see differences in the samples already.

I've been a bit into plants this week. There were some pots of Boronia  at the Supermarket on Sunday. I love Boronia, especially this strongly scented brown variety, and bought a pot for my living room. The flowers are not yet fully open so you have to get close to smell it. No doubt that will change as they open.

Today I dashed off to Adairs on the last day of their current sale, to buy yet another plant stand for my living room. They had a few appealing ones, but only one with a circular base. As my floor is carpeted, circular bases leave less of a mark. This isn't the plant I have in mind for it, but it will do the job until I get a fuller one.  It looks gigantic here, but is about 90cm high with the plant. The wooden pot is separate, but  fits, and I like being able to put the philodendron below and emerging.

The rest of my Glazig purchases arrived and I am hooked. I had also not registered that the kit my Belgian friend Genevieve had bought for me last year on holiday in France, was  a Glazig kit! Sending was delayed because of the Covid postage situation - but Genevieve has reminded me - and it will soon be on its way. This is now a double excitement. One of my books has a page of small samples that will work well, I think, for Guild members interested to try. I have begun to translate the stitch names and might order some of the cards used to explain the stitches.

Last night we had everyone present for dinner - despite Parent Teacher interviews, after-school jobs, and tutoring commitments. The food worked (I've learned to bake broccoli!), the company and conversation vibrant.  So satisfying.

Today I had my post-Xray appointment with the surgeon about my right index finger joint. There are two distinct bone spurs. The swelling has not yet formed a cyst. We decided to leave it alone for the time being. If and when it develops a cyst and there is fluid present, I will return to have the spurs removed. An operation will put my right hand out of action for weeks so I don't want to do it prematurely. The danger is from infection if a cyst forms and the skin is broken. I've added it to the list of things to monitor!

Also today, my new sheets arrived. I recently split yet another sheet. I will mend it, but it means I now only have one unpatched sheet for my bed. Even in my mend-and-make-do mindset, I know it's time to buy a new set. 

I was curious to try The Lad Collective, a rural Australian company making 40% cotton, 60% bamboo sheets which they market as foolproof for young men (and manufacture off-shore). The fitted sheets come with cloth tags on each corner to help orient the sheet - BR for bottom right. While I remain sceptical about this marketing rationale, I admire the inventiveness - and I am into bamboo, so we shall see. The sheets certainly feel good to the touch. I'll report back.

Finally, I should mention the death of Queen Elizabeth that has dominated this week's news coverage. I do remember her Coronation, and, as I blogged in May, still have the plastic Coronation mug we were given at school in 1953. Hers was a remarkable life and era. 

I was also saddened today to hear of the death of the Australian actor, Uncle Jack Charles. I remember his first film performance in The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith. Another remarkable life and sad loss.