{blogtober day 19} busy hands happy heart

When I was prepping for my impromptu trip to Sydney, I had two main thoughts in mind. One was that it was crazy to think this was something I would be getting used to this time next year. The other was “half hour at the airport, an hour on the plane, forty five minutes on the train…I’m going to need a new project”; and just like that I was dropping in the chat with three options to cast on for the board to approve.

In the end, we chose the Campfire Cozy Shawl; once free, now part of an ebook that I clicked “buy now” on as soon as I followed the rabbit trail of internet crumbs from the pin to the original post to the new source. It was reasonably priced, and as I flicked through it, I nearly wavered on the plan. So many cute options, maybe I shouldn’t lock myself in too early? Hilarious, really, that I thought that – when you book a ticket at 5.56pm, for a flight that will require you to leave home by 3pm the next day, “too early” is somewhat of an oxymoron. Cometh the hour, cometh the project, and I gave myself a mental slap and went with the first plan.

Into my favourite project bag went my needles, stitch markers, yarn gifted by an instagram friend whose mum was decluttering. Into my iCloud went the ebook. Into the car went I, and off I trundled to the airport. While I timed my arrival to minimise both stress and time waiting, there was still a bit of downtime, and I was able to cast on and knit the first two rows as I waited. I popped the bag into the bag I was tucking under my chair with the theory I would work on it during the flight, however a full flight in a small regional plane doesn’t really offer a lot in the way of elbow room, so instead I read on my kindle. The knitting did come in handy though on my first train ride, where I got a decent amount done, but the real progress was the next day, as I sat and chatted to my friend.

On the way home, it was another train knitting session, and a sitting-at-the-gate-watching-the-planes session to wrap up my weekend progress. Since my return, I’ve picked at it a little; a bit in the car for a weekend drive, some at the school table as the kiddos worked, a couple of rows this afternoon as I chilled and watched an episode of Only Murders In The Building while I waited for my sketchbook page to dry.

I’m about half way through the lace section, and ideally I would like to be finished that by the end of next weekend. We’re off to the big smoke on Monday, so I should be able to get some done while waiting for appointments. School table crafting is always a good way to get through big sections, and I might even take it instead of a book for my Thursday night drinkies. A big part of the problem, I think, is the lack of a deadline; the weather is warming up quickly and I don’t feel the pressure to keep moving on it so I can use it. What I do have a deadline for, though, is Sketchbook Revival with one day and three classes to go. I got two classes done today, am hoping for one more tonight, one in the morning and one tomorrow afternoon to complete the program and have a delightfully full sketchbook. After that, the knitting can come back into regular rotation.