How is it already Wednesday night? Because, that really means it's already Thursday. . . .time is moving much too quickly. This week has been crazy! Today alone was a series of meetings, recording this week's radio show/podcast, an interview with Yarn Market News (an industry publication), evaluating some incredible new yarns to add to our own Valley Yarns line. . . . it was a good day, but non-stop. Have I ever told you I love my job??? I do.
I read Yarn Harlot's blog when I got home. . . . that's what I do, I sit with the kids while they are doing homework/practicing piano, etc., and catch up on my blog reading, while overseeing what they are doing, helping them and encouraging as needed. She commented that she's leaving tomorrow for 7 days and struggling to decide which project(s) to take along. I had to giggle a bit. I faced this same challenge in packing for our Florida trip, when I went to Stitches West last month and TNNA in January. Now I have to admit, I tend to overpack. I'm a combination of "what if. . . there's rain, it's cold, it's warm, it snows, there's a tsunami, hurricane, earthquake", you get the idea. Admittedly, I also like my "stuff" with me. I cannot plan meals a week in advance, nor can I decide what I am going to "feel" like wearing. This tendency transcends to my knitting.
For vacation, I took our next radio/podcast knitalong project which has not been behaving for me, a project for our next catalog and scarf that is part of my "projects that were started and need to be completed before I start any new projects" New Year's initiative (please, no giggling). In total, I took those three projects, seven skeins of yarn and all of the necessary accessories. I had enough knitting to last me, well, much more than 9 days, even if I spent all 9 doing nothing but knitting. I had yarn in my carry-on bag and the "extra" packed in my suitcase. I am not a fast knitter, nor am I as dedicated as most of you are. I took all wool, wool blends, alpaca, etc. . . to Florida. I know, my intelligence is overwhelming you right now. Knitting Silk Garden, by the pool, with 2 inches of sunscreen on me, two wet boys and an umbrella drink was not necessarily the smartest decision I've ever made.
So, I pose the question. . . how/what do you pack your knitting when you are travelling? How do you decide? How are you sure you have enough, both quantity and interest? I am curious. . .. . .
Kathy
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I always travel with socks. They don't require much equipment or much yarn (and consequently don't take up valuable luggage space), I don't necessarily need to even bring a pattern, and they're small enough that I can knit on a plane without having parts of a sweater or whatever spilling over onto the person next to me. Sometimes if I'm traveling by car and space isn't an issue I'll let myself bring something larger, but if I'm traveling by plane, forget it. Socks all the way!
- One pair of socks, always.
- One full garment, usually a sweater, that I assume I can complete in the car if Gene does not trick me into driving.
- One small completely mindless project for standing in line at theme parks or waiting for dinner. (The socks do double duty here as needed)
- One project in case I finish the sweater and am bored.
I never feel like I have enough yarn. Gene, however, spends a lot of time trying to figure out where to put the maps and vacation guides and snacks, all of which I find superfluous. There's stores along I-95.
I bring one mindless knitting project, one interesting project, and then an extra ball of yarn with appropriate needles... just in case I hear about something and want to try a new technique. Then it depends if the trip is long or short - if it's long then another project in the wings.
First of all, hi Kathy! It feels like ages since Stitches...
I suffer the same travel packing method, your basic mild panic. That usually includes WAY too much knitting. I've definitely settled on socks as the perfect go-anywhere project. Something in the round is good as well, nice and mindless and all one piece. Completion is usually NOT a concern but that doesn't stop me from buying an extra project along the way!
Oh goodness, I think I under-pack for knitting. But I generally anticipate that I'll be doing so much during my vacation/trip that I won't have much interest in knitting. So I bring a sock. That's it.
My knitting is always the first thing I pack for a vacation. And I have a packing rule: set aside everything I think I'll need for trip, and then put half of it away. This helps with the over packing issue. But, I always bring more knitting than I could possibly finish. For example, the short trip I just got back from I brought an afghan, sweater (to lengthen the sleeves), gloves to mend, socks, and felted bag. Turns out I forgot the bag pattern, wore the sweater but never lengthened it, mended the gloves, and did a lot of work on the afghan and socks since one was mindless and one was portable.
So I would suggest always packing something mindless, portable, and then maybe something time consuming like an intricate lace shawl, in case you worried about a hurricane coming along.
I'm a notorious over-packer too, so I tend to take a lot of knitting!! Socks are always a must - usually two pairs. And if there is a yarn store where I'm going (and isn't there always) I be sure to my Knit Picks Options case and all my DPNs so I can start something new immediately when I find a great yarn!
I tend to take socks... they seem to travel pretty lightly and fit on carry ons as well :)
Family plane trip: Two or three mindless projects, packed in checked luggage. Maybe a sock in my carry-on. I've finally realized that I don't actually get anything done when I'm on a trip with my son.
Business trip: Mindless project on non-threatening needles for the plane. Three or four projects in checked luggage.
Car trip when I can expect not to drive all the time: my knitting bag and whatever's in it (currently, about six projects of varying sizes and complexity).
I also bring way more than I can possibly complete, but I never know what mood I'll be in. So, I always a have a couple of hats going (I knit ribbed hats for the homeless). They're mindless enough and done in the round. I can even knit the hats after the sun goes down on long road trips. I also bring whatever sweater I'm working on for an adult and usually one or two for my grandbabies. I'm always worried that I'll finish something and won't have any knitting to do. Wouldn't that be just the worst?
Like everyone else, apparently, I always take socks (actually, I always take socks everywhere, in my purse). But I also take one sweater with me. For a shorter trip, I'll take one that's in progress, but for a longer trip, I'll take needles, yarn, and a pattern, and start a new one, just for the trip. I started an Ariann when we drove to Lake Tahoe (11 hours each way) last month, and finished it on the drive home, four days later. But I, too, have a dilemma: we are going to Jamaica this summer. What is the appropriate knitting project for lounging at a nude resort?
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