When it’s a regular knitting journey either to knit-night or a short road trip, choosing what to bring is easy. The question becomes daunting when faced with longer travel and further complicated if an international trip is on the horizon. We’re approaching peak travel season here in the US. Early next month, I’ll be in Ohio for a weekend attending the summer TNNA Trade show. Technology (and maturity) have helped to moderate what I bring, but there is always a small degree of anxiety around the question of what if I need it?!
Today’s post will focus on how I prepare my notebooks for travel. It’s been asked why I don’t use this system year-round, I just don’t like it for doing intense long-term work.
How I prepare my travel notebook
I have a separate notebook that is smaller and lighter than my standard notebook. It is pure chance that my notebooks look very similar this go around!
I then photocopy and glue in pages from the current book that I am convinced I absolutely need.
This is often sketches of proposed designs, swatch notes, and some basic reference measurements.
One page is also devoted to addresses and potential gift ideas for friends.
How I prepare my travel technology
I rarely travel with my laptop anymore, my tablet is my constant companion and I can make do for 99% of the work that might happen while I’m away. Dropbox is essential for me and I make sure that any files I might want are toggled for offline access.
I make sure that I have removed any files I don’t need, I generally pull off most of the images (especially if it’s foster kitten season).
To ensure I’m fully entertained I check that the library ebooks I want to read and any podcasts are downloaded. It’s much easier (and faster) to do this at home with reliable wifi.
From the stitch dictionaries I own, I have often photographed/scanned stitches I think I want to work with. Now that many dictionaries are available as ebooks, I just borrow them from the library.
While I’m traveling
Here is where my routine varies drastically from normal, I use the bullet journal system almost exactly as Ryder Carroll released it.
This is drastically different from how I’ve used my logbooks for years.
I find having this time-centric log of work beneficial when (and only when) traveling.
When I return
After I am back home and begin to catch up I set aside a chunk of time to transfer notes from my travel log into my master notebook. I also try to keep a note page of what I used, what was unnecessary, and if there’s anything I should do differently next time.
Other resources
Next week I’ll write about how I choose and pack the rest of my stuff.
See also:
- the bullet journal system
- Clairefontaine notebooks
- Tom Bihn for travel bags and accessories.
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