Progress!

I was supposed to be getting on with some plain silk veils, but the silk hasn't arrived yet.  Order deliveries always take longer than I think they will, probably because I don't take into account the time needed to process the order, which is a bit daft. It's only common sense that the supplier will take a day or two to receive, check and put together the order, package it up and send it off.  Still, for the last two orders I sent out to other suppliers, they took more than a couple of days and it looks like this one will, too.

I have a tendency to drift and dither when I've planned what to do and then can't, but this time I seem to be making some progress on a number of jobs. I have a bit more energy at the moment, and wonder whether it might be partly due to gritting my teeth rather than take painkillers all the time.

Xena thinks it's her bed

The mountain of laundry which built up while I was off my feet is at last giving way to a mountain of clean, dry clothes and linens.
I've managed a little cleaning and tidying (okay in small doses), changed the bedding ...
Done some designs for mounting cards/labels ...
I've even made some headway with accounts (again, okay in small doses).

I've finished off some fabric flowers (more about those another time), including a knotted ribbon chrysanthemum with a faceted glass centre, as part of a present for a friend's birthday.
She came down with her family to Pembrokeshire on holiday last week, so I used a visit to deliver her present as an excuse to drive for the first time since my op.  Apart from the car needing a jump start because it had been standing unused for so long, it was fine, and very much more comfortable than walking!
She had picked an idyllic spot for the holiday and we had a lovely evening.  After a meal of smoked mackerel, potatoes and salad, we had a drink outside the pub by the beach as we watched the sky and sea change colour and the sun disappear on what was probably the last nice, summery day.



Having said in May that my stash of ties needed to earn its keep, I decided to process some, ready for use.

I got out my ties and started with some of the polyesters, unpicking them to separate the tie fabric from the interlining and tippings.  In the process, I started to notice stains on the fabric I hadn't seen before and decided it would be a good idea to hand wash the components before use. Although I had stored the ties in bags to keep them clean, I know how much dust clothing can pick up just in the manufacturing process, then there is display, not to mention wear.  (Chaps, there are ways not to get breakfast on your ties, such as putting your tie on after breakfast!)

I was quite fascinated that some of the polyester ties were 'dry clean only', while others were apparently machine washable! I wondered what the difference was. Possibly it depends on the interlining used.  Some looked a bit like felt or light quilt batting, others closer to open-weave embroidery fabric; some fat and soft, some thin and stiff. Even so, I would hesitate to put a tie in a washing machine, even on a delicates cycle. The fabric is cut on the bias, and even hand washing could make it twist and move out of shape against the interlining.

Having done a small mound of ties, I started to wash the linings and was astonished at the colour of the water. It's not like any of the linings changed colour, but the water was a murky greyish brown. Better out than in! I wonder what the fabrics and tippings will be like when I wash them?  I'm giving the linings a gentle spin in the washing machine to remove more of the water so that they don't drip all over the kitchen.

In the meantime, I have to get my act together and go to the bank.

And lo! The silk has arrived!  That'll keep me quiet this weekend, and I hope you have a good weekend too!