So this weekend a plan finally comes to fruition. The girls (minus one because she is busily running about the USA) and I are getting away for a crafty retreat.

I have been super busy lately so some things are not done and planned as much as I would like but all in all I think the weekend will be a blast.

We have a booking at the Retreat in Woodend  It is fully equipped with an amazing craft studio and is nestled away in the Macedon ranges… there is even the potential for a little bit of snow.

I have been busy with secret projects ready for this weekend and have a massive pile of things to take with me because who knows what I will want to work on over three whole days of craft!

Some of the inclusions are:

• quilting (who knows I may finally take the plunge)
• bits and pieces for that skirt I’ve been meaning to make for ages
• Loads of wool and knitting wips
• There is even some stitching both HAED and the trusty old Shaz

I am still wondering how we will get all the crazy contents of three craftrooms up there but I am sure we will give it a great go.

So… no end of the month update until I get back from bliss.. given most people that read my blog will be at the retreat I’m sure I’ll be able to get away with it.

Oh and in other news my long awaited wool order has arrived… after almost 11 weeks I finally have the madelinetosh and malbrigo I bought on impulse just after the Bendigo show… no pictures yet I’ve been too busy picking out stash to take away.

Hmm guess I better think about packing some clothes too.

Here we are, sunny sSptember, hard to believe but the calendar assures me it is so.

So where did I end up with all those goals I was aiming to have done by now… lets see

Augusts Goals were

155 rows Tombo 18 (this works out to about 5 rows a day) Spin 20mins a night 3 times a week 2 hours on Shaz 1 repeat on woodland lace scarf and maybe just maybe cast on my Stockholm scarf if I manage the others.

Surprisingly I came close: 150 rows on Tombo 18 were completed in August. For a while I was even managing to do it by just doing 5-6 rows a night but as the month got busier and the nights at work got later that fell by the wayside a bit and I found myself doing “catch ups”. The scarf now reaches the ground on both sides when I place it around my neck so it is progressing…. it just still has a long way to go.

As for the spinning… three nights a week was a tough one to maintain throughout the whole month but all told I would have done about 2 hours worth of spinning which is still much better than I have been doing. I am slowly getting finer singles and hopefully will eventually end up with something I would be happy to knit with in the not too distant future.

Woodland actually got a full two repeats completed this month, I don’t think it would take long to finish if I could dedicate proper time to it but that’s just not going to happen so I will keep it limping a long as well as I can.
Rose of Sharon has had a few stitches put in to her… and a few ripped out o_O when I discovered a rather significant counting error in an early stitched area. All in all I think I managed about two hours… looking at how much is still to go I need to get a move on if she is to be completed by the end of the year.

So there we have it.. my small progress for August. There were a lot of weekend outings though during the month and the ever present work but all in all I’m happy I just managed to make some time to get anything done.

So what does this mean for September….

Well School holidays are approaching and while this time around it will mostly be filled with work I am hoping that I can squeeze in a bit more craftiness here an there.. I have a few secret projects I need to finish but other than that goals this month are focussed on making progress.

So my Goals for September are:

• 18o Rows Dr Who Scarf
• 20 min 3x a week spinning (Aiming to finish the second bobbin of green and get it plied)
• 10 hours on Shaz
• Knit a slouchy hat
• Start on my T-shirt quilt
• Secret stuff

Wish me luck