Holiday Time

I don't often take time off work. I work as part of a very small team so it gets a bit tricky organizing leave. But I finally did it. I took a whole week off. Unfortunately I don't get to spend it all by my self (which would have been very very nice).It started with this on Friday - 

oh, flat flat Canterbury, how I have not missed you

Since it was Queens Birthday here in New Zealand, I road tripped up north a bit to visit friends and family while they wouldn't be at work either. As boring as the long, straight, flat roads of Canterbury are, it was a very nice day for a drive. Such visits, however, always end in a headache for me - I love my family dearly, I just like them better when there's nearly 400km between us. And despite, or perhaps because of not having the internet for a few days, my trip resulted in an actual finish finish.

Not perfect, but not bad for a first attempt at putting on canvas

One of the friends that I was visiting has just bought a caravan, so naturally this little pattern that I had done a couple of months ago seemed like the perfect gift. It is just stretched over a mini canvas that I found in Lincraft, backed with white felt and a length of ribbon attached to form a hanger. First time I had ever tried anything like this, usually my finished languish in a box under my bed, but her and her partner both loved it, so I'm calling it a win.

The trip also resulted in a sneaky surprise new project, though now that I'm home it may get put to one side for a little bit while I finish up some others (but more on my staycation plans in a bit). There was a serious crash on my route home so I was stuck in traffic on State Highway One in the middle of nowhere for about four hours (not as bad as those in the front of the line that had a wait of over 6 hours, but still a decent wait). I had found a pom pom hat kit in my travels, and thought it would be a fun way to learn how to knit more that squared or scarves. So sat by the side of the road, surrounded by sheep and other stranded travelers, I started to knit.

Three times.

Turns out I'm not very good at knitting.

That's not to say that I am going to give up on it. Its just going to take concentration and You Tube for me to get the hang of it, so it can wait for the proverbial rainy day.

Finally, nine hours into what should have been a four and a half hour drive, I made it home, and now am ready for my real five day vacation to begin. I have updated the WIP page above, so my starting points are all up to the current. I have one assignment to do for work. But other than that, I plan to stitch my little heart out. I would really like to get some of the smalls that I've started out of the way, plus I'll probably attempt the Diamond Embroidery kit that arrived from China the day that I left. In five days, hopefully I can get a good amount done - I'm feeling a little starved for finished this year. I guess that's what happens when you focus on the big pieces.

So watch this space.