Catherine here, in the midst of packing for an big adventure! I love to travel, and I’m fortunate that I get to do it fairly often. My partner and I especially enjoy trips centered around birding and natural history, but any trip we take has a built-in bonus for me: lots of knitting time as we make our way to and from (and sometimes around) our destination.
I take my knitting with me everywhere, although the type of project I take varies a little. If we’ll be staying mostly in one place (visiting family, for example) I might take a larger project - sometimes even a sweater. Most of the time, though, I’ll take one or two small projects that I can start and finish over the course of the trip. Knitting keeps me alert and engaged through long flights and drives, and I find that my memories of the trip become woven into the project.
Later this week, I’m heading to Japan to meet up with a friend for a birding tour. I’ve never been to Japan, and I’m looking forward to a fabulous adventure filled with great people, birds, and food. And of course, I’ve had a lot of fun planning my knitting for the trip, too. For the flight to Tokyo, I wanted a project that was interesting without being overly complicated. After consulting with Molly, Connie, and Koryn, I settled on The Shift by Andrea Mowry. If you haven't encountered this pattern before, it's a cowl knit flat using three different skeins of Spincycle Dyed in the Wool. Everyone I've asked says it's a fun knit - and the color changes in the yarn will hopefully keep me going for the 12 hours I’m on the plane. I may even have a new cowl before we land!
Once we arrive in Japan, my friend and I will be traveling around Japan with a small group of birders. Some days we’ll have several hours on a bus, plane, or shinkansen (i.e., bullet train), so I’ll need a small knitting project that will easily fit in my daypack. It also needs to be something that I can pick up and put down easily, since we'll often be stopping frequently. This is a perfect situation for socks! I have been wanting to try West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4-Ply sock yarn for a while. I love self-striping yarn, and these colorways are named after birds! Since one of the birds I am most hoping to see on this trip is a Blakiston's Fish-Owl, how could I *not* choose the "Owl" colorway? Fish-owls are rare and mysterious. Although we’ll be staying at a spot where they're known to show up, it’s not a guarantee that we’ll see one. I’m hoping to manifest a Fish-Owl sighting for our group by knitting owl socks, complete with "owl-eye gold" for the heels and toes. I’ll have to report back after the trip to tell you whether this works. Either way, I’ll have a great pair of socks and a good story!
If I can, I also like to visit local yarn shops wherever I’m traveling. I’m hoping to have time to visit one or two yarn shops and department stores in Kyoto and Tokyo to look for yarn, fabric, and fun notions. I can’t wait to see what we find, especially as I’ll need a project for the return trip! Stay tuned – I am excited to share more when I get back at the end of February.
How about you? When you travel, do you take your knitting along? How do you decide what project to take? Do you have any finished projects that remind you of your travels? Share with us in the comments – I’d love to hear about your travel knitting!