…blogtober day 7 :: linarii progress…

Never once have I managed to pack a realistic amount of craft projects for travel. Going for a month? Need a full crate. Going for a weekend full of events? Three projects minimum. A week in the city? Well, let’s try and be realistic – two projects, the iPad to draw with, three podcast episodes to edit, daily blog posts…and there’s always the shops if I run out.

Needless to say, I haven’t been as productive as four days without kids or husband would suggest I should be. I’ve been off on long walks exploring the area and running errands. I’ve met with friends, and visited the shops. I’ve driven all over Sydney, and somehow survived the city traffic in my very country 4WD. I’ve taken the kids out for dinner, and spent ages browsing bookshops with them. Tomorrow we head for home, and not a lot has gotten done, of that pile of projects I brought with me.

The cross-stitch hasn’t been touched. I never got back to the art shop where I was thinking about buying a gelli plate and some paint to do some collage prep in my “free time”. I’ve only read one chapter of one book. Only one of the three podcast episodes got edited, mainly because I needed to have it up this morning. The only one thing I managed to do was get some of my shawl knitted. Then came the problem of having it in my blog calendar, but no camera, and no photo set up…instead, meet the lobby of The Concourse!

The teenagers scurried off to their friends when I started dragging out the knitting, hoping to distance themselves from their very embarrassing mother. It makes for a fun record of our time though! Look at all that wonderful squishy texture in the shawl, and that’s before it’s been blocked. How much nicer is it going to look finished and blocked?

I’ve knitted 15 of 23 repeats of the centre lacework. I’m hoping to have the rest done by the end of next week, and then onto the final eyelet sweep. Spring poked it’s head out briefly, and has disappeared again, so I’m still hopeful of getting some wear out of it.

It’s 2.5 hours until open session and final pick up. What a frenetic week full of beautiful people and wonderful moments. I’m about to send my first blogtober newsletter (details below), and then I’m whipping around to get this place tidied up, ready to hit the road first thing tomorrow, in search of big sky country. Our little bush hearts are full, but ready for home.

It’s newsletter day! I’m experimenting with this different form of content as a complement to the blog. It will come out once a month, showcasing my favourite recent blog posts and podcast episodes, the occasional tip or tutorial from the archives, along with a newsletter-exclusive mini post, chatting creativity, connection, life, and inspiration. Over Blogtober I will be sending it out every Friday (monthly thereafter), giving you a round up of the week that was. Perfect if you want to follow along without a daily blog reading habit! Sign up here!