Travelling west

I'm on holiday for the next ten days or so. My travelling friend Jan and I have decided to take a road trip west to Mildura - making our way westward along stretches of the Murrumbidgee River and returning along the Murray River. We have some plans, but they're the kind of plans that can be changed if we are diverted by alternative attractions. Our travelling has a history of diversions.

At this stage our road map includes some or all of Narrandera, where I spent two years in the late 60s as a very beginning school teacher; Hay, where we're fascinated by the history of its POW and internment camps; Mildura itself - including a visit to Stefano di Pieri's restaurant; Wentworth with its old gaol and the Murray-Darling confluence (we're a bit taken by confluences); Mungo National Park with the Walls of China rock formations and evidence of very ancient settlement; Echuca and its riverboats; and Rutherglen's food and wine experiences. Let's see what we manage. I suspect we'll get diverted, but we're very experienced at sacrificing some destinations for others with which we unexpectedly fall in love.

I've had little difficulty deciding on which clothes to take, but I've still not made an (absolutely) final decision about the knitting.



Two projects are definite - my current Personal Sock Club project - Nancy Bush's 'Country Socks', and the 'Indigo Noragi' kimono jacket from Vicki Square's 'Knit Kimono'. The grey merino/silk kimono was begun more than a year ago, and my knitting program for 2009 schedules me to finish it by 7 May - Thursday next week. I have no chance of meeting this deadline as it entails quite a lot of blocking and finishing that is absolutely impossible while travelling; but I am planning to finish the knitting by my scheduled deadline. To achieve this, I have to apply myself in a strong, single-minded fashion.

That all sounds very sensible and organised.

But as with travelling, so with knitting. I've been diverted. I've just finished knitting a very simple beanie (ravelry link) and I want to knit another one in a different colour. The hat's knitted according to the wonderful Mustaa Villaa's recipe and is destined (along with any others I manage to knit) for Sally's Winterwarm charity knitting.



I've assembled the yarns and needles I'd need to make another hat, but so far it's not been packed. I keep telling myself that I mustn't be diverted from the kimono. I'm still undecided about what to pack. I imagine you're all predicting the same outcome from my indecision...

I'm not sure if I'll be able to blog while I'm on my road trip, but at some stage I'll report on my travels, bore you with photos, and let you know what happened with my knitting.