Post 543 My chair is back!

The big event of the week was the return of my chair - re-overed, comfortable, clean and smoothly delivered to its customary place by 9am on Friday. It even has removable arm covers, neatly held in place by an inconspicuous swivel button on each outer arm.  It's great to have it back. It is the most comfortable and supportive chair I have.

The idea of the matching cushion was to replace one, a kantha embroidery on a green ikat background, that clashed a bit with the maroon cover on the couch. 

Once the new cushion arrived, I almost immediately set to work to remove the embroidery from it's ikat background and washed it ready to transfer. It took a while to dry, but before I went to bed I was able to pin it on. 

On either sofa or chair it was going to work! I went to bed happy. Over the weekend I stitched the Kantha on to the cushion by hand. It was a bit awkward to do, working with one hand inside the cushion cover. I had a bit of undoing to keep it straight.  I think it works on either chair.

I used the last of a roll of thread I inherited from my maternal grandmother. It was in her sewing kit when she died. This is the cardboard cylinder in the centre. The company seems to have been taken over by Coats, still in Seven Hills. My grandmother would, I think, be pleased to know her thread was useful in my home.

Wednesday was World Embroidery Study Group day at the Guild. Arrienne, who is a long-term member of the Guild's Museum team, talked to us about the Signature Cloths, in particular, a History Trust project the Guild undertook a few years ago, to catalogue Signature Cloths in South Australia. Over 150 were identified and catalogued, containing some 37,000 signatures, Most are held in local museums, belonging to organisations, families of local councils.  A spin-off from autograph collection, Signature cloths were used for fundraising, memorials or celebrations. Invities signed their names on fabric and a needleworker embroidered over the ink signature with thread. 

This is a sample of signatures on a 1901 cloth from Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills. The catalogue and photos are available on the Guild Museum Website

It was an engaging and informative presentation. Few of us had any idea of the scope of the project and its cultural significance.

The Agave at the Pilates Studio has opened a bit further at the lower levels.  The bees are loving it.

I took the opportunity to visit Queen St Cafe for a lime milkshake. The chef had left for the day, but the owner made me a ham and cheese croissant. 

I accepted the quote for my fabric blind. It's likely to take about 6 weeks to make.

Late on Friday afternoon we got a message to say there was no free-to-air television coverage in the building, presumably caused by damage to the rooftop aerial. Someone was booked to fix at at 11am on Monday. 

Fortunately I can access live television via my Apple Box.  I nevertheless watched 3 episodes of British Gardens in Time on Britbox. I found them surprisingly interesting. I really like history through a specific lens, and this proved to be just that. The aerial was restored yesterday. I watched the final episode last night. I recommend it to anyone interested in social history (or gardens!),

In my little patch of garden things are responding to the rain. The poinsettia that blew right out of the soil is justifying its rescue..

There were 4 of us for dinner last night. Anthony was at home dealing with urgent aircon issues. The vegetable and sausage bake proved pretty easy to prepare and to eat. This time I used potato, carrot, parsnip, capsicum, fennel, brussel sprouts, an apple, some broccolini and a sprinkle of fetta before serving - a bit of a combination of recipes. One of the benefits of this dish is the choice it gives individuals. Katherine and I ate the brussel sprouts! 

We had a wide ranging conversation, and it was only this morning, after I woke up for the 5th morning in a row with lower back pain, that the significance of the discussion about beds hit me. I've been focused on  my sleeping position and hadn't considered that the bed might be the problem (duh!). It doesn't seem saggy but must be close to 20 years old.  It's queen size, and I have only turned the mattress once in the last few years, because I can't do it on my own, and it's never convenient or on my mind when there is anyone here to help.  To see if I could somehow swivel the mattress, I moved the bed on its castors away from the wall, Only then did it occur to me that, while I couldn't lift or swivel the mattress, I could swivel the  bed! 

That done, I remade the bed the other way around. It means no valance at the bottom of the bed (since I can't lift the mattress to change the valance). The quilt isn't long enough to cover it, but the cotton underblanket is - and I'm not that houseproud anyway. Looking at  it anew, the side on which I have been sleeping is noticeably lower than the other.

I am working out the logistics of buying a new mattress, but in the meantime, I will be interested to see how my back is tomorrow morning.

I have undertaken to talk to the World Embroidery Study Group in September about Phoebe Anna Traquair, whose embroidered panels, now in the Edinburgh Museum, were the subject of a class at the Crewel Work Company's Embroidery Tour of Scotland I attended in 2015. It's been a while since I thought about this, so I've been revisiting it, reading the two books I have (thank you, Christine, for one of them - it has been put to very good use, and brings back memories of some good times we shared).

I got entirely absorbed in it for hours today. My PowerPoint is underway and I am enjoying refreshing and updating my understanding. 

Last, but by no means least, the knitting!  I'm not as advanced as I would have been without Phoebe Anna, but I am now on the final reduction for the raglan part of the sleeeve.  The photo shows the current piece, on the needle, against the other sleeve

About 60 rows to go, but they are reducing rapidly. I should be well into the front edging by next week. 

My comfortable, supportive chair will hopefully get a bit of use.

Post 542 Plant-based post on new laptop!

I'm delighted to be posting this from my new laptop! I drove into the city around 10.15am on Wednesday with my old one. I'd have taken the bus but as I had Pilates 10km away at 1pm I  figured I'd need to go straight there. At Apple I waited about 15 minutes before my attendant arrived with the new laptop, asked a few questions, took some details, got my signature  - and told me I could go home and they would send a text when the data transfer was complete! I was stunned. It made a difference that I had backed up to a hard drive. While I was there I bought a new back-up hard drive. It seems risky to trust my 8 year-old hard drive to back up the new machine.  I also bought a stylus for my iPad Mini. It is taking some of the pressure off my left thumb, which I've used repetitively not only for knitting, but also on the iPad for word and number games. 

I was home by 11.30 and the crumb brush I had ordered was in the letterbox. It's neat, and a lot more efficient than the pokerwork one, which I will now dispose off. 

As I was leaving at 12.40 pm for Pilates the message arrived to say my computer data transfer was complete and I could pick up both laptops! I  collected them on the way home from Pilates. 

The new one operated flawlessly - all programs, passwords, content  operational- including those that had ceased working on the out-of-date operating system of the old one.  All tribute to the Rundle Mall Apple Centre!  (I have nevertheless chosen not to include a photo of a laptop!)

There were only two of us at Pilates - a good workout. While on the balance board I look out on the studio garden where an Agave is preparing to bloom. It looks as the one at the Guild did a couple of years ago.

I'm looking forward to seeing it bloom. 

To celebrate the laptop (and because, by 4pm, I was hungry) I went to the pub for a 4pm lunch  of whiting fillets. 

In the letterbox was a lovely little embroidered bag with hand lotion  - a gift from a neighbour from my old Hindmarsh home, who had presumably been passing while I was in the city. It all made for a magic day.

The sun shone on Friday as a neighbour from the floor below came up to ask my advice on her next knitting project. She wants something to knit while at a chatty craft group and to keep her hands busy while watching TV. She's tired of the blanket she's been knitting for months. I pulled out some fairly easy patterns for shawls and cardigans, and she's taken them  with enthusiasm to think about.  After she left I took myself of to Craft Alive at the Showground. It was on over the weekend and I figured Friday would be less crowded. 

It was fun to look around. I had a talk to the women on the Handknitters' Guild stall (after they plied me with questions about the cardigan I was wearing), and waved to the volunteers on the Embroiderers' Guild stall. I was tempted by some Sashiko threads, including metallics, and some beautiful turned wood encased stitch rippers and needle threaders but came away empty handed. It was a pleasant outing and good to get a notion of what's out there at the moment.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the western balcony, soaking up sun and plant perfection.

The Euphorbia Trigonum I bought a few years ago as a ‘rescue me’ plant, about 12cm high is thriving. It had a growth spurt this year. The main stand is now about 90cm high and there are numerous new stems. the narrowed bit is where it regrew after it broke in transit and I put it together with sticky tape! 

 ' ' 'The western balcony is protected from the wind which raged all night and though Saturday. On the eastern balcony,  I found the yellow poinsettia I had planted (obviously not well!) several weeks ago lying on the tiles with roots exposed - lifted straight out of its container!  I've put it back in, watered it well, and placed rocks on top.

Although it is school holidays, with three family members working in the city and two without Monday sporting commitments,  dinner went ahead here yesterday. I cheated and bought family pies from the bakery, to serve with roast potato and veg, but it worked well. I am blessed.

This morning Michelle came to measure for my blind, and is now preparing a quote. It's going to look great - and improve insulation.  

When she left I took myself off to Bunnings to buy a strong metal plant stand. I had noticed on the weekend that the wooden one holding up a barbecue lid I had turned into a garden bed, was collapsing under the weight. The lid has a substantial handle which  means it won't sit on the ground. Bunnings have just the thing - a metal stand with a circular top in which the lid sits nicely. 

I also bought potting mix to pot up the plants from last week's church sale. 

In the late afternoon I got a bit of warmth on the Western balcony while adding to this post. The battery charge on the new laptop has lasted all week. It hasn't been in constant use, but the old one was barely lasting 3 hours! My current plan is to charge and back up each Tuesday night after posting this.

I finished the first sleeve of the coatigan and am working on the second. I have 35 rows to go to the decrease. I don't think the sleeves are roomy enough, compared to the body and have formulated a plan to adjust them.

I have set myself a goal to finish by the end of the month - so on with it!

Post 542 Mostly retail therapy, some scary.

 

Wednesday began with a visit to The Bobbin Tree, to pick up the three kits that I ordered the day before from Inspirations. They are, indeed, inspiring, but I am sticking to my knitting. I'm not going to show or discuss them yet, but one is Aquile by  Maria Rita Falleri, whose work I love. From The Bobbin Tree, determined to bite the bullet, I headed into the city to the Apple shop, waited impatiently until one of the helpers was free, then explained I wanted a new laptop.  I had worked out two options, one a Mac Air and one an iPad with keyboard. Explaining took a while, as did finding the only assistant who could help, explaining again and discussing. Eventually, it appeared the iPad option didn't quite fit my criteria, but the Mac Air did. As the store did not have one in stock with the memory I needed, we have ordered it, to be delivered to the store early next week.  I chose store delivery to get help with data transfer. Maybe I don't need that, but I need reassurance. 

In the meantime. my old laptop battery is draining faster and faster. It’s close to 9 years old. I've put off replacement because my computer skills and knowledge are, like the laptop, out of date, and I don't have an IT crowd on hand as I once did. I know I can do this, but change is scary, and time-consuming.

As I was about to drive home, my phone revealed a postie seeking access to the apartment foyer to leave a parcel. I let him in from my phone and the parcel was in the lift when I arrived home, a reminder that I've coped with a change to an app for remote entry! It turned out to be a book I ordered for the Guild Library several months ago. It's stunning.

The Guild Library team meet about fortnightly. When I checked, it was their workday, so I jumped back in the car and delivered it to them. It’s another one WES members will make good use of.

I was still hoping to get to the Aptos Cruz  EOFY sale, the one I abandoned last Tuesday because of the rain. As they have the business on the market, I wanted to get there if possible. Only Thursday or Friday remained to visit. I checked the weather carefully.  The best  forecast gap in the rain was early afternoon on Thursday, so I cancelled my Pilates class, eyed the sky, and set off around lunchtime. It could have been a worse drive, but blinding rain still caught me for several kilometres of the freeway in both directions. Both up and down I found a truck to sit behind and followed the tail lights. A bit scary, but I did it.💪

It was worth it. I got the last of their books Prada and Chanel books for Veronica and two Japanese bowls to match the one I  have used constantly since I bought it on my last visit.

  

I now have my personal set for all occasions , which should cover most meals from soup to toast or roast. Left is the middle size.

My real indulgence was a necklace of shells. I could see myself wearing it. As shell jewellery always does, it reminds me of Alice Walker's poem We Alone. 

This could be our revolution: 
to love what is plentiful 
as much as 
what is scarce

I want to be part of that revolution. I recognise the irony. While shells are plentiful, shell necklaces are not. I hope the artisan got joy in (and appropriate payment for) the making. It's beautiful.

To my surprise, the stand came with it. Aptos Cruz has them made by a local metalworker to fit each piece.  It needs a cord to connect the outer edges of each shoulder, as they stick up, from the thickness, when worn. It's a simple enough adjustment that I can make.   

I’m very glad I made the trip when I did. Friday’s weather was miserable. I waited in for a postal delivery, then headed to Frewville for some pork for Monday, calling at Create in Stitch to drop off my Botanical Embroidery bags for their 20th Anniversary exhibition opening tonight, then bunkered down  to sudoku, crosswords, and word games with the heating on.     

Saturday was also gloomy and wet. I set out for St Margaret’s Woodville Market morning, with an Almanda Blue (left) for the couple who run the plant stall. I promised to start one for them before Christmas, now, thanks to Cathy, I could deliver. They were surprised and pleased.  I had forgotten to go to the bank for more cash but had just enough to buy 7 more plants!    
I got them home, grabbed a bit of lunch before Heading out to an organ concert at the Cathedral. Planting had to wait.    

The St. Peter's organ was sent to Durham, England to be overhauled in 2017 and reinstalled in December 2018. With cathedral acoustics, it is a powerful  sound.          

There is a camera in the organ loft, trained on the keyboard and organist's upper body. While the screen spoils the aesthetic, it provides a lot of useful information. I was astounded by the number of stops. I ended up wanting a second camera on the pedals!
            
I enjoyed some pieces more than others. I didn't much like the last item, the brief Jean Langais' piece written for the liberation of Paris in 1944. I reckon the bells of Paris would have upstaged the organ! 

Back at Katherine & Anthony's place afterwards, Niamh and Veronica were hosting friends for dinner. The three of us who were non-party participants had an excellent risotto before tackling our weekly crosswords.

Sunday, before her last exam on Monday, was Niamh's 50th AFL game, celebrated by her leading the team through a banner on to the field, before winning against the second highest team on the ladder! The rain held off. I followed the score from home. Niamh is my June Superwoman!

Today has been a bit of a run-around. I set out to visit the upholsterer who has my chair. Five weeks ago, he said it wasn’t quite finished, but would be ready the next week. Last week, having heard nothing, I rang them, in business hours, and left a message asking them to ring back. I have repeated that every business day since. No one answers the phone. No one rings back. Today I visited the shop . The door was locked. A clock sign in the window said they were out and the clock displayed 6.30. I began to search for records of bankruptcy. 

Armed with 2 metres of lovely linen cloth one of my daughters gave me a couple of birthdays ago, my second stop was a maker of blinds,. I’ve thought long and hard about how to use the linen and concluded it needs to hang. Originally I thought it needed light behind it but the pattern is in fact better seen against a solid. I don’t need new blinds, but I could do with better sun protection and window insulation in my huge bedroom window.  The fabric would look lovely hanging there and would fitting in light of the many birds outside the window. It is possible, it seems, to add a border to the 2 metre length, back it with insulating fabric, and create a Roman blind. Michelle is coming next Monday to measure and quote. 
 In passing I mentioned to her my concern about the upholsterer. She deals with a supplier who also works with the upholsterer, so she made a phone call. The upholsterers (it’s a family business) are in Queensland on holiday and will be away for another week! A message to that effect on the answering machine and/or website and/or shop door might have been helpful. I am relieved. So far Michelle is my July Superwoman!

Before I headed out to the Guild to drop off something for a friend, a message arrived to say new my laptop was ready to pick up from Apple. The promised link to an appointment for  help transferring data wasn't there. A phone call eventually established I don’t need an appointment, Thursday morning will be fine BUT I need to have backed up the old machine to a hard drive, otherwise they will do that in the shop, which could take hours! When I revealed my Airport back-up hasn't worked reliably for several months I was immediately diverted to tech support. This resulted in such
an absurd conversation with a machine, that I hung up, found online instructions,  dug out the hard drive to which I backed up six years ago and set a back-up going. What began as a prediction of 23 hours to complete, took under 3.   Please think positive thoughts for me, especially on Thursday morning Adelaide time. If we get through this, I will be posting from a new laptop next week. 

I am far more confident on the first sleeve of the coatigan. I am now decreasing at each end of the knit rows for the raglan section. I enjoy the increase in speed as the rows decrease in length - about 70 rows to go. While there is still another sleeve to knit, I have the scent of a finish, and the energy that generates. 

Post 541 It's Winter in Adelaide

I captured half an hour of sunrise last Wednesday morning, between 7.05am to 7.34am on the clock. I was pleased to have snapped it, as thick cloud obscured sunrise for the most  of the rest of the week.

It was my only day without appointments, and the only one likely to be fine for most of the day, so I did the washing, hanging it out around midday. There was a brief shower, but plenty of breeze. By the end of the day it was what my mother would have called too dry to get wet. I brought it in as the rain began and finished it in the heated bedroom.

The zygo cacti have settled well to their new home and are blooming generously, while the Wolemi pine is also looking happy.

The Almanda Blue I divided has recovered and the three transplanted pieces have growth already. These are now ready for new homes.

The one in the top left is my original. The bottom is the mother plant, from which the three smaller ones were taken.My original, while looking really healthy, has a way to go before it hangs over, perhaps because it is planted lower in the pot. None of them are anywhere near the original cultivated by John Walmsely, but I’m hopeful.

When I  extended the table last Monday night, I used a tablecloth that barely fitted so needed my crumb brush to sweep up escaped crumbs. 

It is a vintage pokerwork set, badly in need of bristle replacement. I've tried several times, unsuccessfully, to find a repairer. It’s not entirely useless, but far from efficient. This week I admitted defeat and ordered a new, contemporary set from a small business in Sutherland, NSW.  I'd still like to have this repaired, but I've reached my limit of making-do with it as it is.

On Wednesday last week I added angel hair pasta to the some of the remaining liquid from the lamb shanks I had cooked for the previous family dinner. That was my pasta quota for the week, and delicious. 

 

I had registered the Winter Solstice as being Saturday, so missed checking out sunrise on Friday, the actual Solstice. I did however, take photos walking home from the dentist mid-morning, so photos on the right show the day of the Winter Solstice in Adelaide,  and on the left, the same day,

moonrise  over the Adelaide Hills.

Between the dentist and moonrise was a  Sit’nStitch, our last for a few weeks. 

My hand braces and exercises are working well, complemented by Pilates. 

With at least six books on the go at the moment, I plunged straight into The Coat Route when it arrived on Friday.. The author travelled the world to see how each of the components of a $US50,000 bespoke Vicuna overcoat, made in Sydney for a Canadian customer, were made, through networks of breeders, ranchers, engravers, button-makers, spinners, weavers and tailors. Some WES Group members are going to love it.  It is not, unfortunately, lavishly illustrated. I galloped though it - my kind of book. If interested, my review is at. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16099182

I couldn't, however, convince anyone at our Crime Bookclub on Sunday! We took a bit longer than usual, with several members having read a lot in the last month. Not me. I will need to do better this month, as I have to have our August reads chosen when we meet next month. 

After Bookclub I took myself off for a late lunch at A Prayer for the Wild at Heart and then had a good look at the yarnbombing effort I missed with COVID. Our Square has 4 quadrants, each one carrying, in copper, across the central corners, one of the words The Forest of Dreams. Our quadrant is Forrest. A pretty good yarn bombing effort.

Another relaxed dinner yesterday, this time for 7. Inspirations magazine arrived and a couple of its projects seduced me into ordering kits. A Guild friend rang to tempt me with a hat pattern.

Today I set off with a list and good intentions. I picked up a parcel from the post office, an indulgence of two more scarf pins, then went on to a bookshop, the only one in Adelaide carrying Miss Austen Investigates which I wanted to test out for the Book Club pick.

I had planned to go on to Big W for Bone Lands, the second one I am considering, but in the end, supported the independent bookseller, and bought it. 

I was heading for the Hills next, to visit Aptos Cruz, which has finally announced a closing sale. A bit low on petrol, I stopped to fill up just before the freeway. By the time I’d paid, the rain was bucketing down. I don’t fancy the drive up or down the freeway in this weather, so I headed for home, put on the heating, had some lunch and began Miss Austen. 

A message from Inspirations said my kits could be picked up from the Bobbin Tree. I was tempted to head out straightaway, but decided to leave it until tomorrow morning. I’d love to have them, but I don't intend starting them,  the shop closes at 4, and the weather was off-putting. 

Time for woolly slippers, coatigan knitting and another episode of Donaldson and Dodds.