The Journey Jacket

I am a fidgeter.

A nervous fidgeter.

A bored fidgeter.

Just all round fidgeter.

I think that’s what makes NeNe & Bop so perfectly me, it is exactly the type of business a fidgeter would create, always creating and playing with different textures and sizes. Glueing, stitching, painting, drawing… essentially it’s all productive fidgeting isn’t it?

Needless to say when I’m travelling, whether it’s been hiking and backpacking or a relaxing trip to the country…I need something to keep my hands busy.

This trip has been no different, I felt like I needed something reasonably compact, that I could add to when I felt called, something that could evolve, I didn’t want to be trapped finishing a piece I’d lost interest in.

Enter, The Journey Jacket.

A plain denim jacket that I can patch, stitch and sequin to tell the story of our journey. So far I’ve added bright flowers a nod to the bright tropical flora of our stopover in Singapore. A sequinned pocket (because it wouldn’t be NeNe & Bop without one right?) and I’ve started work on a wee

And most brilliantly….

I can wear it when I’m not working on it! Because we all know when travelling (overseas especially) every gram of luggage is like gold.

I threw together a little pack in a Purse Plus 2.0 that I can clip on and off as I please. Don’t want to take it to dinner? Clip it off and leave it behind. Think there might be some down time on a train or waiting about somewhere? Clip it on.

Inside I popped-

A wee embroidery hoop

DMC threads (the best by far in my opinion)

Needles

Beads

Sequins

A frixion pen (can grab at woolies and disappears with the heat of a hairdryer - perfect for marking out a design)

Paint Pens are another handy one to throw in, they’re great for covering a large area with colour.

AND

An old floss container….umm what?

Yep! It is the most perfect little tool for cutting thread, and you don’t have to go to the effort of declaring scissors on a plane or anywhere else for that matter. 

You don’t have to be some sort of embroidery pro to do it either, I’m certainly not. Generally, what doesn’t come back to you from high school “Domestic Science” classes, you can teach yourself either from Pinterest or YouTube.

If you can master the following 7 stitches I’d call you a modern day pro, no one at your local CWA will be overly “wow’ed” but you’ll sure get by.

Simple stitches-

Running

Back

Stem

Split

Chain

Satin

French Knots

I really do hope you give a Journey Jacket a go, or perhaps just a…well “doing it without the travel -pocket of your jeans” doesn’t really have the same ring to it, but it certainly would be just as enjoyable.

In fact I think I might carry this on when we get back, it’ll be great for all those fidgeting moments, waiting in the Dr’s office and watching the kids swim lessons!