more unglamorous work travel

This week I had to travel out to the central west of NSW to lovely Dubbo, home of the really cool Western Plains Zoo which is so big and spaced out that you can either drive or bicycle between the animal exhibits (no cages here, it's a free range zoo) - almost like McDonald's drive thru but for animal viewing. I was there for a few days giving some training and participating in a workshop with staff from our regional offices located all over inland NSW. Whilst rural NSW is not the most exciting of places, I had a good time with everyone and didn't stuff up my training delivery (yay for the brain still holding up its end of the bargain). This will probably be my last trip for work that involves long distance travel, it is a bit tiring and I'm getting on in this pregnancy caper.

And best of all there were 4 op shops within walking distance of where I was staying! Sadly I had to hold back on my purchases since I was flying, because I saw the coolest 1920s style cocktail cart for only $15, but I did purchase about 30m (gulp!) of fabric and a big tin of buttons which was a major scoop because finding buttons like that is getting rarer and rarer these days - there must be obsessive collectors like myself cleaning out all the op shops.

I held back on purchasing any more patterns since they were mosty fugly 1980s styles - will there be a market for these one day? I only managed to fit half of the fabric purchases into my luggage and that was with wearing a few layers of clothes to make room! So I had to stuff some of it in the overhead lockers on the plane which was pretty funny. And looky looky at what I got - there's colour! there's prints! there's no grey, although I didn't photograph the lengths of a lovely white and grey mini houndstooth check wool or a taupe brown wool which I also bought, but here is my haul:

From left that is a red self stripe cotton seersucker, a blue floral polyester (shudder, but I liked the print), a vivid blue with purple flowers cotton, a graphic orange and blue print wool crepe, some more polyester with another graphic yellow green print, a polyester chiffon with yellow red and yellow spots, a yellow hanky linen and a cream heavy cotton with brown flecks that is actually a curtain but I'm sure can be repurposed into something better.

No specific plans for these fabrics and there is a real danger they will become long term residents in the stash but I am thinking of using the red self stripe cotton seersucker for a lightweight summer jacket using jacket 102 from BWOF 6/08. Possibly with a red and white fine stripe cotton for scallop edge centre front placket, and some funky buttons:

I've been feeling really big lately and my belly button has flattened out, but there were two other pregnant ladies at the workshop who were one and two weeks ahead of me, and they were HUGE so I'll just shut up now and stop whingeing.... Plus I had an antenatal class today with the hospital physio about pelvic floor muscles, looking after the lower back muscles, exercises and stretches to do and not to do etc and the variety in sizes and shapes even though we were all pretty close in weeks gone was just amazing.

So another weekend already, isn't time flying by? I was in the shopping centre this afternoon after the physio class and some stores already have christmas decorations up! Anyway this weekend I hope to finish another UFO, photograph the other two I finished last Sunday and Monday although we're in for a wet weekend here in Sydney so I'll have to see.

Happy and productive weekend everyone!