Monday, April 20, 2009

Help me choose

Ok, so I'm doing a bit of overseas travel this summer, and I think I need a sizeable yet mindless knitting project to keep my hands busy. I do have a couple design projects I'd really love to work on, but I think both will be too tricky to manage while on the road. This evening I thumbed through my stack of vintage knitting magazines and found a few candidates. Any thoughts?

Adorable striped cardigan. The dark stripes are seed stitch, while the light ones are stockinette. I love this in the two shades of gray.
From Fleisher Hand-Knit Favorites vol. 37 from 1967

This placket neck sweater might be the leader at the moment. I'm seeing it in a soft fawn brown color, but not mohair like the original.
From The Mohair Book by Bernat, 1961.


This bulky cardigan is so great with the collar and cables. It reminds me a bit of that really popular Drops cardigan. I'm seeing this in a rich navy blue. Bonus for this pattern is that it calls for Fleishers 'gigantic' yarn on size 15 needles. It looses points for the same reason though, as it would take up more space in the luggage.
From Modern Needlecraft No. 42 Fall Winter, 1963

EDIT: Thanks for the great suggestions so far, guys! I should note that I will be abroad for 8 weeks, and I will be nowhere near a yarn shop (or any other shop, for that matter). The length of my trip (and my flights) and the lack of opportunity to buy new yarn is why I was thinking of going with a bigger project.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't believe I am the first to comment on this great question!
If this were my puzzle to solve - I would knit mittens or socks. Sets of dp 4-6s (for DK weight) are easy enough, it's a small project, you can see where you are easily (for picking up & putting down a lot). You can put a coupla pull-cakes in your suitcase & acquire more yarn as you travel. Another option is an easy reversible scarf pattern, like Ribbed Scarf with Crocheted Edging from Knitting Daily. I love this scarf, it's easy, works in any size yarn or needles, you can do the crochet when you get home if you want. Speaking of any size - there's also Beret Easy, which is darling, easy & can be any yarn & any needles. Looking forward to seeing what other people suggest!!
Jennifer
dizzylettuce on Ravelry

Stephanie said...

I like the one with the cable. But maybe it would be easier to knit something like a blanket - some thing huge that can be knit in many separate pieces. So you can just grab a ball of yarn and go.

carlarey said...

Don't know how you travel, but I used to always pack a big project, imagining hours of uninterrupted knitting time. Unless I spent a rainy week at the beach, I never found as much knitting time as I thought I would. By the end of the trip I'd realize that I'd taken up valuable luggage space for a sweater that hardly got touched.

So now I pack something small, (or two somethings, in case I finish one) and patterns for sweaters I really want to knit. If I get a chance to yarn shop, and find something I totally love, then I can get started right away, and I don't have a suitcase half filled with a project that never saw the light of day.

Ariane said...

I love the striped cardigan! The idea of the dark stripes in seed stiches is nice!

Hilary said...

Oh, how to choose?! My vote is for the striped cardigan -- seems like it would be easy to knit while traveling, and you would get a lot of use out of the finished product!

Tina said...

I vote for choice B. Mayb in two colors? I used to have a sweater like that in gray and creamy white in wide vertical stripes that I wore to shreds.

Erin said...

You might want to check to make sure you can bring knitting needles on the airplane. I read on another blog about a gal who brought her crochet hook on board and it was promptly taken away from her. It may have been just a persnickety flight attendant, but I can see a legitimate reason for confiscation. Needles are rather pointy. However, when you think about it, a pen or pencil could do the same amount of damage and they don't take THOSE away... Anyway, it might be worth checking out :)

But I digress! I vote for the second mohair sweater (minus the mohair)! It looks so comfortable and figure flattering :)

Teresa said...

I'd agree with your front runner and put my vote in for the placket necked sweater. Very retro-cool.

I would also second your idea re: not being a mohair. The soft brown would be a lovely shade for that pattern.

Unknown said...

Have you thought about taking along a lace shawl or stole project? Lots of knitting mileage with little bulk. Having said that, I really like the cardigan. So many decisions.

Wisy said...

Hi

My vote is for the cable cardi on size 15 needles... Loving it!

So much that I was (cheekly) wondering if you could scan in the pattern???

Thanks!
Is
(ipires on ravelry)