six and a half stitches

BACK

While I was away:: Someone gave birth. Someone died. Someone announced a pregnancy. Toilet training went out the window (approx. 3 weeks ago). The house descended into chaos. My brother-in-law decided to start squatting in our garage and turning up unannounced in the house while I'm in the shower. 2 parcels arrived - 1 from Nicole full of biscotti, and the other from Anne full of lovely alpaca and cards and sweets of which photos will come shortly. I took, basically, no photos. The job I was working on descended into chaos (do you get a  sense of a theme developing here?). The passionfruit plant went ballistic and needs taming.

Returning to what should be my normal life has been slightly harder this time. For many reasons, this trip was really important for me, and I feel I only accomplished about half what I thought I would on it. Some things have blown me away and created magic where I least expected it, and other things created stress where I least expected it. It was an excellent trip, but I'm feeling down and sad about a life I do not belong to, about the farawayness of the countries I most love, the people I love, and the things which inspire me. I wish on trips like this, I could bottle up all the emotions and experiences and draw on them every now and then. I know it's not that far away, and I can techincally go back whenever I want, but today, I'm missing it all, and wondering what happens next, and feeling tired and emotional.

I still need to tell what happened in NY, but need photos to do that, and they wont happen till I have some energy. But it was fabulous, the yarn purchasing was fabulous, and Cari is fabulous, and Sadie and I had intimate moments with tongues and ears, and go wish her congratulations, because she's having a baby of her own and it's very exciting (Cari that is, not Sadie). So much to blog about, and I don't know where to start.

THE STREETS ARE COLD

I go away for 2 weeks and Nicole's hijacked my blog. But please go and have a look at the flickr images for backtack because there really are some great pieces in there, and I hope we're catching everyone's submissions as they come in. I know we've missed a few, but I hope we're rectifying that.

So this week has been about keeping busy and shopping. Wool shopping. Material shopping. Ribbon shopping. Vintage ribbon shopping. Chocolate shopping. Don't laugh. I got carried away with beautiful packaging and poor Cari and I will be sick as dogs next week. Book shopping. Sock shopping. Max shopping. There will never be a better dressed child in the playgrounds of Sydney next winter. And he will have fancy socks. and lovelt toys for christmas.

Jane and I chit chatted over coffee, more coffee, muffins, and dim sum and had a ball. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with her and she's so lovely (yes, you are). And everyone at the knit group at Foyles - so lovely to meet you all! And lovely Jane gave me a lovely mini doll - all white. Beeeaaauuutiful. Thankyou! 4 lovely's. Must think of more imaginative words.

Yesterday I went down to Exeter and met my dear friend Rosie - remember I wrote about her little premature girl? Scarlet has been in and out of hospital since her birth, and it's been hard on everyone. So to meet her was such a gorgeous wonderful experience that I will cherish. More so because I am her godmother and that just makes me so, so happy and honoured. I have some lovely photos of us, but I'll have to post them when I return home.

My time is up. Next posts from NY..............

BT2 image library update

Hey Al, I'm highjacking your blog whilst you're gallivanting around the world, didn't think you'd mind.

There's been an update to the BT2 image library. Get on over.

1 PLANE, 2 TRAINS, A COUPLE OF TAXIS, AND SOME BUSES

3 weeks seemed like such a long time, but now it doesn't seem very long at all given all the things I desire to do. And now the first week has gone. And I feel disorientated, and slightly not really part of anywhere in the world right now. So a little lost.

Anyway...Paris. Was wonderful and amazing and so much better than my fear it would be. I can have a great time in Paris, or a terrible time in Paris, and I never know quite how it will go till I get there. The Hotel was incredible, and perfect. The area I stayed was perfect. The weather was perfect (I'm ignoring the rain on the third day). The children's clothes and toys were perfect. The fact I didn't sleep at all wasn't so perfect, but it was a small price to pay. I'm planning the next jaunt back in 2 years already. Yes. I am.

La Drogurie kind of threw me because I had expected wool but not walls of ribbons of every colour and texture, and I got so overwhelmed I had to leave. The wool was nice, but not exceptionally nice.

London has been welcoming, and so familiar it's like I never left. But I did. And my life has moved on, and so has London, but it's nice to be back. The shopping is great, and I'm picking up little bits and pieces for everyone - everyone, you know who you are :) I got up to Loop in Islington, and if ever there was a wool shop not meeting it's potential, it's Loop. But I will award bonus marks for the little snuffle of Pluckyfluff handspun in their window (NFS). And I still bought wool.

Liberty remains my shopping mecca, and I'm returning in the next day or two to buy copious quantities of material and ribbon, and perhaps some wool. Still amazes me they have such a crap needle range though. And then around the corner, down the street is The Cloth Shop which is new to me, and young Nicole, Hillary and Amy, you would just get dizzy at the mere sight of this shop. Zakka-ites, I have found material nirvana. Are you loving the fact I'm not linking to anyone or anything. Sorry. Internet cafes aren't my ideal blogging atmosphere, and I'll recap everything when I return home and can link away with gay abandon.

And the socks - what about the obsidian socks which consumed a vaste amount of thinking time before I left. They were started, and I thought I'd have whipped up at least one of them by now, but no. I've been busy and tired each night, so not much knitting being done. They look good and I love the Mountain Color Bearfoot, but they're taking forever.

The smell of oily foccacia is getting to me in the cafe. I hope everyone is well...

BT2 flickr gallery live!

Go on - get on over to flickr and check out the amazing creativity. We've had heaps of positive feedback from everyone. Thanks! We really enjoy seeing your creations and love your enthusiasm.

Some housekeeping - if you've submitted pics but don't see them in the gallery would you please email them again to backtackATgmailDOT.com. If you haven't sent them yet, please do so and we'll update the gallery.

The next incarnation will be in April 2006. So keep your eyes peeled.

SPT - THE LIST

I know. There's no flesh, so technically it can't be a self portrait. But if I was to open up my head, this is what would be inside, piled on top of drawings and documents and more drawings and faxes and emails and masterplanning documents, and sketch designs and about a small forest worth of trees cut down into paper, and a bunch of pens in varying thicknesses and some invisible tape, a pencil sharpener and a couple of coloured pencils.

This is one of the many piles of Important Information I Need To Get In One Place Before I leave. This is a map and restaurant guide pile. The confirmation and travel document pile is elsewhere, and I really hope the cleaners don't throw it out because I realised after leaving the office it is lying on the floor. Paris, New York maps. My iPod which needs to be reloaded and charged. CD's waiting to be loaded. Ok. One CD waiting because I am at this moment in time panicking and feeling very disorganised because I have not completely re-fashioned myself according to what I am listening to on my ipod. And the whole thing got wiped when I changed computers. So legitimately I can reinvent myself. Extremely disorganised. In my head I have everything perfectly planned. In reality....the sides are letting me down. I haven't got addresses for some places. I haven't heard from some people and don't know whether to keep trying or forget it. My carefully laid plans are falling apart. I can't find the wool I was going to bring. I've reorganised the wool I was going to bring. And the patterns. I have no idea what I'm wearing. And most of it still needs washing. I now have to do a talk on contemporary architecture in New York when I get back and this wasn't on the original agenda and I haven't a clue what's new in NY or what's cutting edge architecturally. I need months to organise that sort of thing. Not days. I have 4 days to go. I have pieces to finish sewing and send out and I don't want to rush, bt I've added the hours up and I have a negative number. Silently the panic is rising into anxiety which will consume me at some point before I take off and I will cry like a girl. I practised during Mary Bryant this evening - for those in the UK - later this year they'll be showing this on ITV. It's good. Really good. But Jack Davenport isn't. And I cried the entire second half of the second installment. There were children in it. I had to cry. My sentances are getting shorter.

I like to be ordered. I like to know everything is done, and organised ahead of time. I like lists. And piles. Order. When I have one big pile, and a bag full of clothes, I'll feel happier.