Post553 Birthday, books, batteries, birds and Boreray

This week's highlight was Niamh and Veronica's birthday, celebrated with a family lunch at Osteria Oggi. It was an amazing lunch but not half as wonderful as the young women they have become. I am so privileged to be part of their lives. 

Their birthday this year fell on the Spring Equinox, with its harvest moon peeping through the clouds a few hours after their celebrations. My  hasty photo, DSLR held in hand at 1am, created twin moons!

The week began with an early message from Di, my immediate neighbour, offering me some lemons. When she delivered them an hour or so later we had a bit of a catch up. Theo is slowly on the mend.  After that I picked up We Solve Murders from Cumberland Park, then Seamless Embroidery from  Burnside. This has some lovely patterns and ideas. I might even embroider a couple of Christmas crowns!

I had been unable to download the photos of the supermoon I took with the DSLR last Tuesday night. Although I had purchased new connectors to accommodate my updated laptop, neither of my card readers was working (even the new one seemed to have bent pins), nor was the direct camera-to-laptop connection. In addition, one battery wasn't charging at all. 

So on Thursday I took the camera, the connectors, the charger, the batteries and my laptop to the market camera shop. Parking in the Market was a bit of a nightmare, cruising cars, tight corners, few spaces, but eventually I nabbed a spot. It was worth the effort to get their great professional help.  

I haven't kept up with camera technology. I didn't realise DSLRs have been superceded by mirrorless cameras. Nevertheless, I emerged with nothing more than a new battery and a lot of information. The card reader problem is from wear on the SD card and apparently almost always happens. Advice: don't use card readers with SD cards . The charger is fine, and the direct connector from laptop to camera works if the camera battery is well charged!  I could upgrade the camera body but the lenses are excellent. At home I downloaded the supermoon photos and read a lot about mirrorless cameras and newer DSLR camera bodies. For now I'm staying with what I have.  The twin harvest moon photo above was taken and downloaded subsequent to the advice.

As it was the girls' birthday weekend, I decided to shop on Friday for a smorgasbord of food for Monday, rather than cooking a single meal. I scoured the supermarket, deli, bakery and greengrocer for likely contributions, then called at the coffee shop to replenish my supply of coffee beans. I ended up getting the old suitcase wheel trolley out of the boot of my car to carry it all upstairs - three layers on the trolley and two to carry! Did the trick though.

After putting it all away I settled in to finish the Shetland hat. Details in my embroidery blog,

Wanting a knitting break, but still in a Shetland mindset, I dug out the Fair Isle Rope Basket kit I bought in March and took the plunge after dinner on Friday.

It was a bit of a challenge, but by midday Saturday I had a small basket to hold a potplant. It reminded me of the knot work my father did.  Again, details in my embroidery blog.

Outside the coral trees are shedding their flowers and donning their leaves, keeping a lovely symmetrical shape. 

The council does a fine job of keeping them trimmed and both provide favoured spots for picnickers and walkers.

Still on a break from knitting, I took my Sashiko on Saturday night, finishing it when I got home. Now, with help from Vivienne, I have 6 panels finished and 4 to go before hopefully joining them into a tablecloth. These are a blend of Japanese and Indigenous Australian designs which I find particulary interesting and attractive. 

Meanwhile, had been going through some of my many knitting books, looking for a pattern that would use up the remainder of the Uradale wool. It took quite a while. Along the way I found a pattern I think will use up the felted tweed I have left and also the British Breeds left from a couple of Marie Wallin projects.

I eventually found a shawl pattern in bands of garter stitch and simple lace which I thought might work. When I tried it, I didn’t like it (right). The Uradale wool seemed to lose it’s softness in garter stitch. It would, I thought look better with a colour pattern and stocking stitch.

Eventually I chose one from Mary Anne Mucklestone’s 200 Fair Isle Designs. It needed to be simple and narrow.. I settled on one, undid the first try and knitted it up again, keeping the basic concept of increases and lace bands.

I’m much happier with this, so proceeding. The plan at the moment is to change the background colour after four bands of pattern, (one in each of the four contrast colours) until the wool is used up. The lacy bands will become more open when blocked.

I had, of course, bought far too much of almost everything for last night's dinner, what I call 'bread and what you can get' and Brigid calls 'a feast'. Most of the left-over party pies and salami disappeared with my guests and I had salads, bread, cheese and mortadella meals today.  With holidays coming up, holiday jobs, sport commitments and some parental travel, I don’t expect to see much of the family in the next couple of weeks. It is wonderful to see them spreading their wings.

This morning I did a dash out to Create in Stitch to pick up a copy of The Handpicked Collection 3.  I resisted 1 and 2, but was captured by Di Kirshners Daisy Hussif, which I have come close to buying as a kit or doing as a class. I do like it -  but also have at least two similar hussifs. Christine Bishop's Tessellations pushed me over the line for this volume - I think it is beautiful. There are two or three other projects I’d like to do…one day.

From there I gritted my teeth and braved KMart to buy some organisers for my linen cupboard. The ones I has seen online proved to be too big so I left with two smaller ones to try. Haven't taken them out of their package yet. 

On the way home to prepare for cleaners I dropped in at the Guild to deliver some honey to a friend and chat with Tuesday stitchers. I came away with my square of pink silk for next year's anniversary challenge. No ideas yet, but they will come.

Much of the afternoon was spent trying to find a copy of the Advanced Care Directive I made in 2014.  Medic Alert bracelets can now be engraved with a QR code to provide paramedics with access to that information, but to have it done I need an electronic copy of the directive. My files turned up only the cover page. 

The original is held in a deposit box in the Law firm my solicitor previously worked for so we are now in the process of retrieving it, scanning it and storing it more appropriately, Should be done by next week's post (and I'm very pleased to have had a trigger to find it!)

Today was pleasantly fine and warm (22C) with rain beginning around sunset. The Alamanda Blue that Cathy gave me several months ago has done really well throughout winter, partly because of rain. The main pot, from which I extracted three chunks to start new ones, has not only recovered but is now spilling over on its way to covering the pot. The doves are attracted to them, drinking out of the saucers, which are always full of water.

Unfortunately, the Wolemi pine is not looking as healthy. I knew it was a risk. 🤞🏼

I'm currently meandering my way through The Lost Flock about the Orkney Boreray sheep, which fits nicely with the Uradale wool knitting. I need, however, to stop knitting for long enough to read at least one book for Sunday's book club. Better get to it.

Post 552 "The road goes ever on and on...

Although a couple of key members stayed away with colds (thank you!) from WES Group on Wednesday, 14 of us had a fine time hearing Barbara talk about the embroideries of four villages in Gujarat, which she visited several times, and examining a selection of the treasures she brought back.  

We also discussed at some length what we might do to record some of our memories of Lee to ensure her legacy is not lost. No decision as yet, but some possibilities to be further explored. It certainly helps to talk about it. Her funeral is on 27 September.

Nesting season is upon us. There are articles about avoiding being dive-bombed by Magpies (basically stay away from them for the next 4 weeks or learn to speak Magpie) but my balcony is host to less aggressively protective species.

The doves are puffing up to keep warm or feasting on the kalanchoe and a Rosella found a spot of sun above my balcony for a brief rest.

 

On Thursday  after Pilates I grabbed some lunch at Queen St Cafe before helping a friend with an insurance claim and staying for dinner. It was a good day - with more food than usual and great company.

On Friday I finally bit the bullet and got my tax information together. By cob I could email my accountant to request an appointment  (still no reply!) It's not an onerous task, just time-consuming and tedious. As I was on a roll, I spent Saturday sorting the wooden tray of receipts and to-be-filed documents. 

Before heading to family for dinner, I took a break to progress the Shetland beanie, only to discover I had skipped a section of the pattern, so undid the whole 5 rows I had achieved!   

Spring is very evident in Katherine's garden.

Sunday being a new day, I was  a woman on a mission,  summoning energy to don mask and gloves, open doors and pour chemical cleaner down my bathroom hand basin drain, following the instructions carefully, before heading out to the Jam Factory just after it opened. The basin has been draining slowly for a while but it was only after listening to the plumber working at the Guild a couple of weeks ago that I realised what I needed to do. As I had neglected this for years, I needed to leave the solution in the pipe for several hours before clearing with hot water, so figured I was best right out of the way.

At the Jam Factory I was in time to nab one of their four on-site parks,  find the gifts I was after, and visit the current Julie Blyfield exhibition, some of which I really liked, especially her pieces based around corals, a stunning combination of stitching and metal. It's the last week of the exhibition.

Back home I filed the results of Saturday’s sorting, prepared a package to be taken to the shredder, boiled rice to dry out for Monday’s dinner, had a long phone catchup with a Canberra friend, finished the drain process and knitted some correct pattern rows on the beanie. Amongst the discoveries in the filing are the beginnings of an inventory of my paintings, furniture and notes for a book I promised to help my brother with. At least they are now in a safe and accessible place (oh no, not that safe place again!).     

The small dot towards the top right hand corner of the sunset photo (above), taken at 6.50pm on Sunday, is, I'm fairly sure, Venus, the Evening Star, which, of course, put me in mind of Lord Tennyson. An appropriate sign at the end of the last couple of weeks. 

Meanwhile, today’s lunar eclipse occurred during the day here, so wasn't visible. The moon was particularly clear last night (right), while tonight (below) is the  glowing beginning of a super moon.

 

I’m curious to see what the Harvest Moon (northern hemisphere language: should probably be a Planting Moon!) on Sunday - the girls’ birthday.

Today I waited for postal deliveries before visiting friends. One was a Bothy Threads kit for - dare I say it - another cushion cover.  This one is of Bluebirds, for which I have a weakness. I sang Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover and Bluebird of Happiness all the way to my friends' place.

The second package,  Christmas decos, by First Nations artists again frustrated me. The two small boxes would safely travel in an envelope to go through a letterbox, but came in a box big enough for dozen such boxes requiring me to be home. Sigh.

I like the native animal ones best.

 My day concluded with a phone call with a Sydney friend, catching some images of the moon, posting some photos of my father, who would have been 105 today. and getting the Shetland beanie back to the decrease row that I thought I had reached on Saturday. The photo doesn't capture the subtlety of the five colours!                                         The road goes ever on and on...

Post 551 Time's Winged Chariot

It's been quite a week - a bit of an emotional roller-coaster.  On Wednesday, as I was acting as 'desk hostess' at the Guild, a phone call to the office reported the unexpected death of a Guild member. Lee was a friend, and had been at our August WES meeting. I often did her online book shopping for her, and she was the one who gave me packets of her favourite soup at the beginning of this winter.  I have been very much taken aback and saddened by the news, which was confirmed by a death notice on Saturday. Lee was on the distribution list for this blog, and frequently discussed it with me. I found removing her name from this list profoundly sad.

The uplifting part of the week was an 80th birthday lunch on Sunday. I rarely socialise outside a small group these days and I did not know everyone at this celebration. I came away energised, relaxed and immensely grateful for the friendships, the hospitality and the opportunity.

On Thursday I received the call that my coffee machine was ready to be picked up. I made it by 4.30, after Pilates and calling on friends.

The technician had rerun the cleaning process and it’s working. I’m now nervous but hopeful. The team are helpful and have provided me with a video link to supplement the written instructions. What is missing is an explanation of what went wrong. On the plus side, the coffee is good and I know the shop will continue to help if I hit trouble. I will be a bit on edge until the cleaning light comes on and I have to initiate the process again - but I just have to wait and see.                                                                                                The reason I called on friends was to deliver the healing blanket, which I finished on Wednesday night. I have blurred the message to preserve privacy. Details in my embroidery blog. It has been really important to me to complete this before my friend began chemo yesterday.

When I finished I had a bit of a clean up of left-over wool. Both the blanket and the previous Andes Cardigan were in Rowan Tweed, with some of the colours overlapping. I have just over 700 gms left (yes, I weighed it). 300 gms of that is in unopened balls. It's enough to knit another version of the blanket. I'm not going to do that, but I have been looking at patterns of shawls to use it.   There is one in a Noro book that looks promising and worthy of the colours I have.          

Before I settle on that, however, I turned to the free Cleckheaton Pattern and Verve 10 ply I bought two weeks ago.  It was fabulous to relax into a pattern I could remember after a couple of rounds - and bulky yarn that knitted up in a trice.  I also love the surprise of variegated yarn, in this case 70% wool, 30% acrylic. I now have two beanies.  The detail is in my AlwaysStitching blog.                        I have no recipients in mind for these hats (they will join my supply of tote bags for a rainy day).

I nevertheless stayed on theme, and dug out the Uradale yarn I had purchased for this year's Shetland Wool Week hat. A stark contrast - from 10 ply chunky to Shetland 2 ply! From 80 stitches on my needles to 144 - for roughly the same circumference. It took a few hours to adjust to the feel but I'm now enjoying watching the fine pattern emerge.  There are five different colours in the example!

It rained quite heavily on Friday morning, and I could hear water continuously dripping inside a corner of my apartment. There was no physical evidence inside the apartment. The sound lasted for the roughly three hours it rained. I reported it. It was investigated and (hopefully) fixed on (rain free) Monday morning. It seems to have been a gutter leaking through the roof and dripping down either into the lift well or into the wall between my apartment and the liftwell.                                                                                              I also took advantage of Monday's weather to wash my dressing gown and slippers. The latter took 36 hours to dry.

On Saturday I took a break from knitting and  from worrying about drips and aging, to get out my Derwent Inkintense pencils and try my hand at colouring a bag I bought some time ago. The ink sets permanently after wetting, so you can work with dry pencils on wet fabric, wet pencils on dry fabric or wet the fabric after you have worked with both pencils and fabric dry. I chose the first. I got quite a bit of bleeding, which I ameliorated but couldn't eliminate. I found the activity relaxing and will continue to work on it over time.  I figure I might be able to create a water wash over the background to incorporate the bleed.                                                                    Dinner was a bit later than usual on Monday because of parent-teacher interviews. This meant someone missed out, and I worked a bit of a shift for another but it was a good evening from my point of view - plenty of contact, news and food.                                                                                                                  The coral tree is now in its full glory - and birds are loving it.  Their cheerful noise, the blossom, light and greenery, along with my stitchery, and friends, are keeping me sane in the light of several remindeers of mortality and loss, real and potential.

Every day a gift. 

Post 550 Birds, a blind and ablaze with colour.

My personal big event this week was this morning's installation  of the blind I had ordered several weeks ago.

The installer arrived about 8.45am, with ladder, blind and left-over linen. Within minutes he had removed the old blind and had the new one balanced on his head as he positioned and drilled the screws in place.

By 9.05 it was all over. I had a new blind and he was off to his next job, taking the old blind and its fittings with him.

The new blind has sun protective backing, which will help considerably in temperature regulation.

It does take up a little more space when up than the old one (left), but I can afford to lose the tiny bit of light and sky.

I am delighted with it. I think I knew as soon as I was given the fabric, that it needed to be put to such use. It took a few years to pluck up courage. It does justice to the fabulous linen fabric, to the artist, the giver and the birds on the other side of the glass.  Gratitude.

While the blind uses the whole fabric piece I was given, the plain linen surround required to make it fit the window space resulted in significant off-cuts, which now belong to me. To my surprise, these are even-weave - 36 count, which is finer than I now choose to use, but not outside my stretch. At the very least there are fellow embroiderers who will use it.

More projects!

I had begun the week with a visit to the coffee machine shop to discuss the problem I was having with the clean and decalcify lights on my new machine. The staff had no experience of the problem and suggested I bring it in for them to look at. This I did the next day (sigh). They have only one technician at the moment and a backlog, so I am back to plunger coffee. To cheer myself up, I paid a visit to the wetlands, looking out for birds.  

                                  

I had no trouble finding them.          

They were all foraging in the ground and seemed to be finding what they were after.

The sulphur crested cockatoos were happy alongside

the long-billed corellas.

The magpie kept to itself.

My 8th COVID vaccine on Friday resulted in the predicted sore arm and tiredness, also about 48 hours of heartburn, which I can't attribute to any other cause. 

Knitting did not make my arm any more sore, so I'm pleased to say I am now on the home run with the blanket, currently adding the final side to the border. I will write it up in an embroidery blog later this week - once the recipient has it. The photo is of the finished squares joined together before the border (and before pressing!). It has had its challenges but I'm pleased with the result - and the process.

The temperature is warming a little and the signs of Spring are everywhere evident. The tree behind my balcony now has visible buds.

     The back balcony pots are awash with colour, and that ring-in coral tree has come into its own, matched by Thursday's sunset.         

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