If you’ve working on an embroidery journal, then you know how tough it can be to stay current with your daily icons. When going on a trip, this can sometimes cause you to fall behind. I’m currently working on my third embroidery journal and I’ve been on a few trips at this point over the past three years: One where I went to Tennessee for five days, one where I spent two weeks in California for my brother’s wedding, a shorter stint of a few days in Oban with my boyfriend, and most recently, I spent a week away from work with him and we spent a night in Inverness. So I know what it’s like to have these worries about staying up to date. Let me take you through my thought process when I’m put in this situation.
While You’re Traveling
- Before you go on your trip, open the notes app on your phone and jot down each date that you’re away. Throughout the trip, end each night by updating your note with what you did throughout the day. As an added bonus, you can also write out any ideas that you have for your icon of the day.
- If the trip is a trip is shorter than a week away, I leave my journal at home. I don’t love the idea of having to worry about packing my journal or getting it damaged in transit. Plus if you’re doing quite a bit of sightseeing, you might not even have the time to update it while you’re away.
- If you know that you’ll have a bit of downtime throughout your trip, bring your journal with you! Pack a small amount of floss and get stitching while you’re away (if you have an ort jar this is especially handy). I did this while I was away in California for two weeks and it was such a relief to not have to worry about getting caught up on my embroidery journal AND going back to work at the same time.
Post-Trip
If you don’t bring your embroidery journal while traveling, it’s time to enact a plan to get caught up.
- If you kept a running list while you were away, this makes things a bit easier. If you didn’t, look back through your photos and write down what you did each day. If you traveled with another person, ask them remind you of what you did on each day. You can also scroll through your photos and see what you did each day.
- Next, figure out your icon for each day. Then, take a water soluble marker and sketch out all of your icons at once on your embroidery journal.
- I prefer to just sit down and stitch all of my icons at once, but that’s not for everyone. If this isn’t your style, you can stitch 2-3 icons per day until you’re up to date. This may take a few days, but it’ll be worth it in the end!
- If you can, it’s nice to group all of the icons relating to your trip together. This isn’t always possible depending on how late into the month your trip is, but it’s fun to aim for!
Best of luck getting caught up and enjoy your travels!
Looking for more information regarding embroidery journals? I’ve written an entire in-depth 18-page long guide that will take you through the entire process of creating your own embroidery journal.
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Great tips that you have outlined here. As a retired person, I do travel, so I will be using your tips for sure when I start my first embroidery journal in 2023. One question – what is an oft jar?
I’m so happy that you found this post helpful! An ort jar is a jar designated for leftover thread. If you cut off a length of 6-strand embroidery floss and only use 5 strands, you store the rest in the jar and reuse that leftover thread for future icons! It’s great to prevent waste. Best of luck with your travels!