I’m back from a horrific spate of deadlines prior to a trip to see family in Florida for the holiday, and about to launch into another round of equally horrific deadlines. (I need to embroider a sampler that says “Another Day, Another Deadline.”)

But in the mean time, I can present the mindless knitting I did on the plane. I finished the pair of Noro Kureyon Sock slouch socks, and have almost finished another totally boring and featureless sock, this one of Regia 4-Ply, in their Design Line color grouping endorsed by Kaffee Fassett (Color 04455). Interesting play of colors, but like all stripers with no texture, miles of plain old stockinette.

Why knit these boring socks? Because I’m not a good traveler. The motion of the plane coupled with the gentle aroma of blended jet fuel exhaust and unwashed traveler, compounded by the coffin like minimalist seating squash makes me green. I can only work on things I don’t have to watch closely. Knitting from written or charted directions is a special challenge to both my personal equilibrium, and ability to contort to hold all in view without elbowing my seatmates. So for the trip, it’s plain old socks or some similar non-challenging bit of work.

On the ground in Florida I started a lace scarf. Again, separated from my reference library I relied on a simple printed pattern. In this case, the Estonian Lace Scarf by Nancy Bush, offered up on Knitting Daily for a limited time (it’s a reprint from Interweave Knits back in the Fall of 2001, if you still have access to that issue).

I’m using some Malabrigio Baby Merino Laceweight in a garnet-strawberry blend. It is not an optimal yarn for this project. First of all, it’s heavier than what I would consider to be a true laceweight, and would look better on a larger size needle than recommended in the pattern (the only one I packed for the trip). It’s a highly twisted single, more similar to a 3-ply in bulk. Second, the color variegation is fighting with the lace patterning. In particular the highly-annoying-to-work p7tog nupps (aka mini-bobbles) totally disappear. If I put in that finger twisting effort, I want the result to be seen. And finally, the pattern specifies 504 yards of yarn to complete. One skein of the Malabrigio is 470 or so yards. To save yarn, I planned on shortening the scarf by one repeat and improvising an edging instead of working the one shown. Even so, I am not pleased with the result:

I’m now thinking of carefully ripping it all out and starting over, either working this same pattern on a larger needle, or (now that I’m home) drafting out a different lace pattern that would be better suited to the color combo and available yardage. So it goes.

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