The most critical item to pack for a trip

A few posts ago I recounted the adage I had heard, that if you have your passport and credit card then you are good to go for a trip abroad and not to sweat the rest of your packing list.  However I think for crafters there is a third essential item:  what craft project are you taking?  Or in my case, what knitting project?

After much consideration of factors such as weight/bulk (needs to be small), longevity (most knitting time for weight of yarn carried) and complexity (need to be able to pick it up/put it down but it shouldn't be boring), I've decided to knit another pair of Sanquhar gloves.  This is the pair I knit eight years ago in Jamieson & Smith 2ply laceweight using the 'Duke' pattern.

Ever since I saw another pair in cherry red/white, I've been thinking of reknitting in that colour combo, so I've decided to go for it.  Although they look complex, the motif pattern is easily memorised.  The only minus factor is that they are  knit on very fine 1.5mm steel double pointed needles.  For airplane projects I always take wooden needles or bamboo for passing through security, but they don't make wooden needles that thin (I guess they would be too breakable).  So I'm going to see if Security will let me through with a set of fine steel pointy things.  For backup, I am also taking a 1.5mm metal circular needle for the plane, and for double backup I am taking another set of 1.5mm steel needles in my checked luggage in case both the aforementioned get confiscated on the flight.  As a triple backup, I will take a couple of extra needles from a fourth set just in case the first two get confiscated and I lose a needle from the third set (easily done when they are this fine).  I was explaining my reasoning to DH and DS.  They were both looking at me with identical expressions like I am crazy but I'm sure you knitters out there can follow my reasoning!

I ordered the laceweight from Jamieson & Smith and it's turned up now so I will cast on and knit a half inch or so to get the project started, so I can at least show Security some knitting in progress for additional credibility.  The flight is 11.5 hours so I sure hope I can do some knitting on it because I can't sleep on planes.

In other knitting, I decided to turn my Winterland Mittens into fingerless mitts because I wear those a lot more often as a commuter than full enclosed mittens which don't allow you to fish out your train ticket easily etc.  So I worked some ribbing at the point where the mittens would have tapered, and now I am working on the thumb.

I reached a crisis of confidence on the 30s Sampler Quilt regarding the accuracy of my block sizes and the inevitable final assembly problems.  So I spent a couple of hours re-measuring and fixing all the blocks so far.  Most of them weren't as bad as I remembered, perhaps a quarter inch out which some coaxing with a steam iron could remedy.  A couple I needed to unpick and resew a seam or two.  One applique block was so short in width that I have sewed some additional background to one side although I'm not sure if it is going to look terrible when I sew the blocks together, we'll see.  So they are all fairly reasonable now size-wise. 

I also put some thought into why the problems were happening.  I think it's because I was just blindly following the instructions without engaging my brain.  The minimal instructions rely heavily on the method of "add 7/8th inch to the finished measurement" to specify cut square sizes which you then cut diagonally into two half-triangles or four quarter-triangles.  The problem with this method is it leaves almost no room for cutting/sewing errors.  The instructions also don't specify any sizes for the sub-units to allow you to check accuracy as you build sub-assemblies.  So I spent some more time bending my brain to arithmetic (very difficult for me) to work out the sizes of the sub-assemblies for the remaining blocks in the quilt.  I've also started cutting triangles using a Fons and Porter Half/Quarter scale triangle ruler which is a lot more accurate for me, and cutting things over-size where appropriate so I can trim down to the final unit size after seaming.  For the red block below, I used Thangles papers to get accurate triangles.

As a result of the above improvements, I've managed two six-inch blocks which came out the right size first time! So I'm feeling more optimistic about this project now.

I finished the balcony railing for the fourth porch of the Japanese dollshouse and then assembled the shingled roof which for some reason gave me a lot more trouble compared to the first three porch roofs.  Got there in the end, although I still need to add the decorative end roof beams.  Then it will be time to hinge both 2nd floor porches to the main structure.  After they're hinged on, I will install the inner sliding doors to each porch. Then the main structure (pre-roof) will be done.

Kits 90 onwards are to build the big elaborate Japanese-style roof, but before I start on that, I will backtrack to sweep up a half dozen furniture kits that I had put to one side while I worked on the main structure.

It's turned quite cold here now.  Our old house can be a bit drafty inside so I am wearing my recently completed Itineris Shawl a lot around the house as extra warmth around my neck, it's nice and cosy. For outside I've upgraded to DEFCON 1 on my handknitted hats, which is the Windproof Hat I knit a couple of years ago in double-stranded chunky pure wool with a deep ear band. It's so warm I can only wear it in the coldest weather.

Stay warm!