Try Not to Look Like a Tourist

Because we are planning our travels, all sorts of travel related posts come up on my social media feeds. One that appeared recently was asking about pickpockets, I think in Italy and if it had got worse since their last visit three years previously. 

A couple of things struck me in the responses. Firstly, how lackadaisical people are about their personal belongings in their home town. There are opportunist thieves everywhere so you should be careful wherever you are. Although it is easier to replace your lost items in your own country especially where there is no language issue.

Secondly, although most of the responses were helpful there were a few that said “don't look like a tourist”. And that misses out on the whole point of visiting other places. You want to look up, around, stop and take in all you see. Look at a map, nowadays on your phone, but many people still carry the paper maps issued by tourist information. In other words by not looking like a tourist you miss out on the whole point of being somewhere else. There was one response that said they totally look like a tourist, they take photos ask others to take photos. It was a change for a realistic response.

While I was composing this post, I received a message from a friend about what shoes to wear in Rome because she didn't want to look totally like an American tourist. An interesting question because she's going to be touristing and as soon as she speaks it will be obvious she is not local. I refrained from advising her to not be an obnoxious American and not to expect everything to be the same as home.

Why I Hate the Self-Indulgent Knit Along

 

Today’s post is brought to you by a Substack essay. Disclaimer:- I do not know anything about the author; I was sent the link.

I have written at various times about groups on Ravelry and the make-alongs they run and I might participate in. It is no secret that in previous years until I got my WIPs under control, I loved the WIP make along. But one knit along I will not join is the Self-indulgent one. When it was first introduced it started on 1 January, and then it was moved to 24 December; the idea being that you had finished your gift making now to do something for yourself. (The start date has now been moved to middle of December to fit in with the end of another make-along.)

So why do I hate this make-along? Easy answer, crafting is a hobby and although I wouldn’t call hobbies self-indulgent per se, they are definitely for your own pleasure, in whatever form that takes. In other words, if you are not doing it for yourself, then it is a chore or unpaid work. That doesn’t mean making things for other people or for charity is wrong or shouldn’t be done but is still under the heading of doing it because you want to. And sometimes that “want to” might just be “because I love my sister”.

I keep records of what I have made, read, exercised. But I always have, before there was an app for that. I don’t do it to compare myself to others. Maybe I compare myself to myself but mostly it is a record to look back at for pleasure or to get information on what size needles I used or what route I ran.

Here is the link to the Substack. Tell me what you think, have hobbies been ruined?

Technology and Transportation - A Good Thing

 In my last post I talked about technology and why it might not always be the answer. Transportation is definitely an area where technology is helping the traveller. Firstly just being able to check different routes and different modes on your internet enabled device. (That sounds old-fashioned but so many options now.) makes it easier to pick the right one for you, rather than the ticket office giving you one option because there is a long line behind you. With the added benefit that most transportation websites have an English option.

Tickets can be purchased and sent to your phone. Nothing to print which is difficult when you are not at home. Although I have been surprised by how many people have printed tickets. But it is a good back up. What if your phone loses power or you can't access the app? I take screen shots in case of an internet problem but that doesn't help with the power problem; so you have to keep an eye on battery level if you've been using your phone throughout the day.

Now at railway stations not only do they have the information on the next trains arriving at the platform, when the train is about to arrive the screen will indicate the number of carriages, which are for bicycles and first class and where they will be at the platform and in the UK the screen shows how full each carriage is. 

But even with all this information at your point of departure, you can follow the journey of your bus or train to see where it is and follow along once you are on. This is very useful when buses do not have information inside to indicate the next stop.

Although all this technology can cause angst, like when we were waiting for a bus in Finland at a stop with no screen just the timetable and the bus stop sign. The website had been very helpful in getting us from our hotel to the bus stop but watching the passage of the bus arrive and leave "our" bus stop was very worrying and while trying to decide what we should do, the bus turned up. We were at the stop after the one we thought we were at. We never did find the original stop and wondered if it was one of those places where the locals knew the buses stopped.

Technology and Museums - Not Always a Good Thing

We have visited many museums of many different types and it has been noticeable how they are changing -  the displays are becoming tidier and cleaner and more information is being provided. Quite often you can scan a QR code that takes you to a link where you can hear and/or read about the item. Information is provided in at least two languages - the home country's and English so many more people can learn about the displays.

So why is this not a good thing? Many museums have now added touch screens so that you can read about the objects. The problem with this is that it limits the number of people who can read about the items. You may be able to read over someone's shoulder depending on how the touch screen is placed but that doesn't help if they are reading in a different language than the one you want. Also, so much information is provided on these screens that a person could be standing at one for quite a while.

Therefore you can have two different reviews of the same museum that are both true:- great displays with much information stayed longer than expected; boring museum, not much information, not worth the money we paid.

Like anything, you are not going to please all the people and museum curators are passionate about their subject and want to spread the information and this is an easy end result. Although I am sure that it is much more work than a numbered display.

Personally, this is a dilemma, I appreciate the information but found that sometimes I was spending more time reading than looking. Technology is a good way to provide information but not the only way.

 

Blogging About Our Trip

Remember in the early days of social media when you were warned not to post that you were on vacation, at a concert etc? And now everybody's lives are spread all over the internet. 

Way back when, but only two posts ago, I wrote about choosing yarn to take on a trip, and have been silent since the end of March in a way indicating that that trip was taking place. Initially it was so that I was not giving away the exact dates of our trip and then posts were delayed because I was wondering what to write about. If it was just about knitting, there wouldn't be much to say. How many variations of, long train journey spent knitting, out all day hiking/touristing too tired to knit, could I make sound interesting?

I was unsure what I could add to what is already out there, if I wrote about the places we visited. I thought about just writing about why we chose the different forms of transport when travelling between cities, in the hopes it would be of use to someone but I wasn't sure that would be of much interest to most people. In the end I've decided to just do what I have always done for this blog - write about my crafting and whatever else interests me.

And if anyone had wanted to take the time to find my exact address during this absence, they would have been disappointed to find that there were people living in it.

 

2025 Crafting Plans

 

I am starting 2025 with six projects on the needles. That sounds like a lot but four of them are blankets and one of those is on going so cannot be finished yet. The other three will be finished this year. Two are from the year long make along and the knitting of the squares is complete but I have to join the strips. Thinking about this will take longer than the actual joining. The other one is the mitred square blanket. I have finished all the squares I want to make now I have to border and join them all. The other two projects are a pair of mitts and a pair of socks. All the knitting on the mitts is finished but there are a load of ends to sew in. Again thinking about it will take longer than doing it.

I do have plans for this year but today will not be cast on all the things day. I want to get four of the WIPs finished and started on the borders of the old blanket project before I think about anything new. Although that really isn’t true as none of them are really take along projects so I will have to start something easy.

I have a big trip coming up in the middle of the year so I would like all three blankets finished by then plus I will want to take some easy projects and bigger projects with me; all using yarn from my stash. So as the year progresses there will be cast ons without much movement as I prepare my makes for the trip.

2024 Round Up

 

It’s not quite the end of the day but any knitting I do is not going to produce another finished object so I need to knuckle down and just write about my year.

I started the year with five projects, two of which I finished, (a dress and a hat), one I frogged and the other two are blankets. During the year I started 28 projects and frogged only two of them. Of the remaining 26, five were crocheted and the rest knitted. I made six hats, 10 pairs of socks, plus one unfinished, one bag, one toy, one pair of mittens and another pair unfinished, one finished blanket and two unfinished, one adult garment and one baby garment.

The number of items I finished was slightly more than last year but the total yardage was less.

The amount of yarn in was still low. I bought one skein of yarn as souvenir shopping and I purchased yarn to finish the mitred square blanket in 2025. I was given a decent amount of yarn to knit the year long blanket and I received a few skeins as gifts. Otherwise the yarn in was again low which I am happy about.

I finished or frogged the projects from 2023and two blankets are my only projects more than a year old.

I am happy that I am not adding to my stash and not starting all the things before finishing all the other things.

 Just a quick edit. I noticed my plans for 2024 were:- use old yarn (I did), knit a blanket square each month in the knit along (not each month but I came through at the end of the year), finish all the mitred squares (achieved), use the minis I got in December (achieved - 3 projects). There was also a statement about knitting socks and using patterns I own. (Mostly, I did knit the mystery one month.) So pretty pleased with myself that I set achievable goals.

Happy 2025 to you all.