Packing Decisions

We are going on a trip.

This is not unusual for us.

What is unusual is that we are taking nine high school students with us. Or is it they are taking us with them?

Anyway, it's a ten day educational (snicker) tour covering London, Paris, Florence, and Rome.

Now, you know I've already been to Paris. And I spent a weekend in London when I was in England for my Junior Year Abroad. I've never been to any part of Italy.

Don't get me wrong. I don't at all mind going back to London and Paris. But I'm really looking forward to Italy.

And the Chunnel.

What does all this have to do with knitting?

Why, I have to pack projects, of course!

Now a normal knitter would tell you that a 10 day trip needs an ungodly number of projects.

But, as we've established, I'm not a normal knitter.

My plan is to take my active project--Lucy Neatby's Sea Lettuce Scarf in her Cat's Pajama Yarn in Honey Pot that I've had for ages--and one back up project.

For reference, when we took a 10 day trip to California last summer I took four projects and basically only worked on one. Although I finished it and started a new one on the trip home.

The point is, two projects will probably be rather adequate based on past behavior.

The second project will, not surprisingly, be a sock. They are still tops for travel projects because of their portability.

But as I pawed through the dining room credenza trying to decide on which sock yarn to bring, a little voice said, "There are plenty of stockinette stitch sweaters you want to make. Why not bring one?" However I dismissed it since I wouldn't want to track multiple skeins of yarn.

That is another advantage of socks, generally a single ball is required.

As I was making my decision I first reviewed my Ravelry stash and was reminded I have a staggering amount of sock yarn.

Then I pulled it all out and put it on the dining room table, confirming how much there was, and confounding the situation because it's all so pretty!

There was a moment of panic when I realized I couldn't find one of the yarns I bought at Rhinebeck last year, which led to me realizing I couldn't find any of the sock yarns I bought at Rhinebeck last year.

After a few minutes of turning storage places over I realized they were in a bag next to the china cabinet. phew! Nine skeins of sock yarn would have been a big investment to go missing.

With them all laid out before me decision making could begin in earnest. I was debating taking a known quantity, like Jitterbug or Indulgence, that I could just cast on and go since I'd used it before. I also wouldn't need to carry multiple sets of needles.

But I also thought taking an older yarn that's been waiting for a while would be good.

After sorting my Ravelry stash half a dozen ways, I settled on the Dream in Color Smooshy Sock Yarn that I bought back in 2009(!).

It was a pinch battle between that and the Seacoast Sock Yarn I bought in 2010 that is so soft and pretty.

Basically, the Smooshy won because it was already balled.

To solve the needle dilemma, I paused the Sea Lettuce Scarf this afternoon and went ahead and swatched. My US 1.5 Darned Pretty Needles seem to be doing the trick.

With my projects settled, I just have to worry about packing clothes now.

The irony of all this is that I'll probably just work on the Sea Lettuce Scarf the entire trip and won't have to pull out the back up project at all!