An August Full of Travel & My September Plans
I’m not sure anyone reads these update posts, but I write this deep into the first week of September and deep into creating my new online course ‘Learn to Sew’ which officially starts on Friday!
August was a month like no other. We were away for most of it, and I really struggled to get the work done. I know, I know.. flash back to my July Recap and I did state that I would be kind to myself, but it’s hard when the ideas are flowing and the time to work on them isn’t.
If you’re here for the personal stuff, it starts just below, if you’re here for the business stuff, it’s way down below all the photos!
Disclaimer:Â This is a personal blog entry and you will not learn anything from reading this other than my thoughts and feelings, which will help you to know me better! 🙂
The Personal Stuff
Our time away from home was mostly spent in the UK. We spent time with my family, time with D’s family and time researching an academic project of D’s too…
I think I walked more in the month of August than I did the six months previous! Which had the great effect of toning up my legs and tummy, but the downside of that is that trousers I had made which fit perfectly were back to being loosey-goosey again, something I have struggled with a LOT this past year due to ‘sudden menopause’ (as diagnosed by my Doctor).
If you’re a woman and your body has fluctuated in such a way, please feel free to share insider tips, I don’t have my go-to person (Mum) around anymore…
Time With My Dad
I love spending time with my Dad. We chat, we watch quiz shows (specifically The Chase), we cook together, we potter in the garden..
This time was no different, and I managed to help him get the 8ft tall hedges cut back before the winter, and also ate my fair share of fresh vegetables from the garden.
We refer to shop bought carrots and tomatoes as ‘false’ because they just do not taste like a homegrown version, and the same was true this year. Picking tomatoes from the plants just by the back door… pilfering them while ‘helping’ in the greenhouse… the number of tomatoes I ate probably helped with the trimming up of my legs and tum to be fair! 😆 And then there were the freshly picked beetroots and runner beans..
It was too brief though, and we were soon on our way to Thetford forest!
Thetford Holiday
This was a trip booked some months back by D’s parents (my future in-laws) and we got to spend the week with my future SIL and her children. It was so wonderful.
She and I went on a daily early morning walk with the dog to get steps in before anyone else was awake, and it was a great time to get to know each other better too.
We all ventured out and about each day, exploring the region (though it is East Anglia which is where I grew up) and there was a sense of pride showing them my home region.
If you’ve never heard of Thetford, it’s a sight to see, and we had great fun exploring both the town and the forest area around it.
Hunstanton
One of the firs day trips was to the old beach at Hunstanton (the only one where dogs are allowed during summer months) and I was so chuffed when a cricket landed on my arm and stayed put for some minutes.
There was a plan to make a bigger and better Sand Dragon (we made a smaller one during our Zeeland holiday) but the tide came in faster than expected so we made do with the best fresh fish and chips I’ve had in some years.
Norfolk Broads Walk
The following day we explored the Norfolk Broads by foot, parking up in a village called Ludham, and following a VERY LONG WALK in the AllTrails app.
It was fabulous to be out exploring, and I took far too many photos this day, as it wasn’t possible to stop and draw with two children around and there wasn’t a chance of me not capturing the local area!
Norwich Cathedral
We also visited Norwich albeit briefly, and it is on our list of places to return to, as there was so much more to see than we expected.
The only place of note that we had time to see was Norwich cathedral, which was stunning and much bigger than expected.
The Priory
I love old buildings, and I really enjoy walking around ruins and learning about the history. The Priory was a place we happened upon enroute to somewhere else, and it was worth the stop to explore it.
I spotted a small deer while there and followed it quietly towards the gated garden, where I was able to snap a picture.
While in Thetford we also met up with a friend for dinner, and enjoyed a wander around at sunset – the light was beautiful!
Kent
After Thetford, D and I travelled to Kent for some research work for an academic project he is working on. The train journey was long, and I got to work sketching snippets of what I could see as the train whizzed by…
I’m not sure it worked as a composition, but I have since used it for a small painting, and D seems to think it’s ‘the best I’ve ever done’ and said I’d ‘made it’… Considering he has always been more critical of my work than appreciative, I’m taking that as a win! 😆
(NB. He is never mean in his criticism, he just likes what he likes!)
I can’t share the best photos from our time in Kent as it might inadvertently give away what the project is about, and I promised D to keep my lips sealed for now. But here are two photos of the beach, to make up for it!
After Kent it was off to Birmingham, to spend time with D’s family. As well as being there for his birthday we also managed to get some wedding things organised – his mum is great for helping with that.
Personal Projects
As well as all the traveling in August I did find some time to get some personal projects in.
Mostly it was art, and I won’t share all that I did because I do have a dedicated YouTube channel for that, but here are a couple of pages in sketchbooks that I did in August.
And then there’s one small sewing project I did before heading to the UK, for my Great-Niece Baby M. I turned her baby sleep suits into a cuddly bear which will have beads added to match her birthweight.
The Work
You can probably tell from all of the above that I didn’t have a lot of time for work in August.
August Blog Work
My plan was to get 12 older posts updated and republished along with one new post per week. Ha!
I got ZERO posts updated… But I did get three new posts published in August, though they were not tutorials or guides. It is hard to create tutorials from scratch when away so much of the month.
If you missed them, the new posts were:
August Product Work
I had hoped to get two patterns finished completely by the end of the month, but reality was I barely looked at my computer throughout the month. When I was able to get online, it was to write and send my weekly For the Weekend email, so I’m taking that as a win.
I did manage to get the sales page set up for my Learn to sew Course and sent a week of emails to the sewing beginners who are subscribed to my newsletter, so we have some new students starting their sewing journey in September!
If you are new to sewing, you can join the online sewing course at any point, you just won’t have access to the live calls once the course has started as it was a special offer.
September Plans
And now we get to the accountability part for me – what I intend to get done for the month of September!
Blog Posts
The plan is to get at least four tutorial based posts up on the blog for the month. I will also add other inspiration posts, but four tutorials feels like a do-able amount.
I should also work on some holiday content for Christmas, but I’ll see how much time I have.
Online Courses
I have two online courses that I am working on (and hoping to complete) in October.
Learn to Sew
My Learn to Sew course is just what sewing beginners need, and I’m working on creating that throughout the month. It’s taking longer than the initial version (lost on the broken hard drive) because I decided it needed a different structure:
- Individual technique lessons that students can return to ad free again and again
- Projects that then use those techniques for reinforcement
And once I had uploaded the first two modules of lessons I realised that Squarespace (where I have my personal Eve Tokens website) does not provide captions for videos!
In a time when we should all be working towards accessibility requirements, this was astonishing, so I’ve been re-editing videos and manually adding captions before uploading them again.
It’s taking double the time, but I’d rather do it right from the start than go back again later to add them.
Pattern Making Basics
Years ago this course existed as a text only course that I emailed to subscribers. Then it because a course housed in another online platform, which took the hosting price sky-high for something that was so cheap, and that made it unfeasible to keep up with.
Now it’s time to bring it back with full video lessons, but slightly different to how it was back then, to better suit the needs of those who need it.
I think the sales page should be up and ready by the 8th September (I’ll come back and add the link when it’s ready) and then the lessons will start September 15th. I’ll probably provide live calls again for those who sign up at launch (as I have with my new Learn to Sew students).
A quick note – if you are an OG and purchased Pattern Making Basics back in the day, I do have a list somewhere, and you’ll get an email with free access to this new version. 😎
Patterns
I know I’m going to be spreading myself thin, but I would also like to get two of the sewing patterns that are in their final stages ready for sale too.
I’m not promising this, because reality is funds are really tight, and there’s more income generated from teaching skills than creating patterns, but it is a goal to get two finished. We’ll see how that goes!
Okay.. that’s all for the recap and goals my sewing friend! Thank you so much for being here, and reading this far. If you did, maybe leave a comment below with your thoughts so I can get an idea of who is reading these monthly chatty posts?
Big hugs to you,
Eve
