getting ready...to get ready

We're weeks away, but for some reason, I'm ready....to get ready. (very unlike me)

Before any trip, first things first.  What knitting to pack?  I was planning to take the Abide Shawl.

oops.  That came off the needles yesterday.  It would have been the perfect travel project....big enough to last a whole week in spite of some serious flying time, but portable and easily memorized.  I might have to make another one.

So, while mulling over the knitting problem, I started gathering stuff for the travel journal.  I've been doing these for years and years.

I started just using generic journals, then moved to some really beautiful (take that to also mean...expensive) leather ones.  

The pretty leather ones are all used and I didn't want to invest in another when I had a little stash (ha! and you thought only yarn was stashed?!?) of blank ones.

They are all ugly (compared to the leather ones...the bar has now been set higher).  But the insides are perfectly fine.  Only solution is obviously to cover the cover.

I've read that the newest issue of MAKE is going to have a little tutorial on just this thing, but my copy hasn't arrived yet, and patience is not one of my virtues, so I had a little self-directed DIY day and did my own.

Back 'in the day'....the olden days according to the grands... we had to cover our textbooks.  I LOVED to cover my books; loved it so much that I covered all my friends books, too.  And we decorated the covers with doodles, 'art', notes, so-and-so-loves-so-and-so...you get the idea.  So, I've had quite a bit of book-covering-experience.  

I grabbed some linen, grabbed the blank journal, and got to work....where I would have taped, I stitched.  Simple.  And the cover fit perfectly the first time.  Experience, even if it's OLD experience, matters!  And, because the cover slips on, it creates little pockets for stuff in both the front and the back.  Brilliant, right? I had forgotten about that little perk.

We're going on a river cruise on the Danube, visiting Christmas markets in Austria and Germany.  A little doodle-stitching was in order. By this point in the process, though, I was pretty done---it's that gnat's attention span I have---so I cut short the embroidery by a gazillion ornaments that I had originally planned to stitch on the tree, and just went with the flags of Austria and Germany.  (Wouldn't Sheldon Cooper be proud of me?  Maybe I'll get invited to be a guest on Dr. Sheldon Cooper's Fun with Flags.) I added a woven strip of bias tape I got from Kate Davies' shop a couple years ago to serve as a bookmark, and TA-DAH!

Journal...check.  

Journal pouch restocked and packed.....check.

Books?  BLAH.  The Hapsburg book is a real yawner, and while Danubia promises (on the cover) to be a chuckle, I haven't found anything the least bit entertaining yet.  I still need a good read.

And a good knitting project.

.....THEN (and only then) can I think about packing!

 

It's probably a good thing I'm getting ready to get ready early.

 

 

Comments

[karen]

how exciting! you are quite the adventurer this year! I think that while you would love alexander hamilton it is quite the BIG book to lug around. I would do it but it will add to the weight of your luggage :) :)

[AsKatKnits]

The Abide Shawl will be a January gift to myself - selfish knitting and Netflix! And, yes - a journal stash is a very good thing!

[Jacqueline Webb]

Good luck with the packing and the journal cover looks fab what a good idea with the flags. The abide shawl looks amazing and another one would always come in handy. It can be cold in Europe you know. Hmmm dies Freddy know yet or is it still on the QT.

[Jacqueline Webb]

Should say does Freddy know.

[steph@woolythyme]

Shhhhhhhhh. No suitcases out so he's still a blissfully happy boy. 

Sent from my iPhone

[Vera]

Your journal cover looks fabulous and your trip sounds likewise. Enjoy! Someone is not going to be happy though......

[Ann Denton]

We did the Danube on the Viking and loved it. The entire sail is like a fairy land. Vienna is over the top. Have a wonderful trip! Bon Voyage!!

[Jane]

I love your book covering. I loved to cover my books when going to school. Lately I have been dabbling in book making. i was going to make four or five for Christmas gifts but they take lots of time so I have decided to work on them in the coming year. I'm not sure if I'm planning ahead or running behind. Have a lovely time on your trip. How fun.

[Julie]

oh wow, that is going to be a wonderful trip, and such a perfect choice for this time of year! Finding the perfect travel project is always a crucial decision. And I love your travel journals! What a wonderful way to capture your trip, and remember it forever.

[Andrea @ This Knitted Life]

A. Wish I was going with you

B. The shawl IS BEAUTIFUL

c. Wish I was going with you

[Tien]

What a grand holiday adventure! I have a DVD showcasing all of the Christmas markets in Europe and the ones in Germany are particularly enchanting. Love the embroidered journal cover. Don't forget to pack a couple of rolls of Christmas themed washi tape for it too!