Travel Knitting! Let's Talk About It.

This week we're talking about our travel knitting priorities. What do we pack for planes, trains & automobiles? Which projects get the green light? Which needles and bags do we bring?

Hear all about it in today's episode!

Learn more about Sarah here: www.knotanotherhat.com

Learn more about Marie here: www.oliveknits.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to We Tried to Tell You, a podcast full of unsolicited opinions about life, fiber, and everything in between.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

I am Marie Green.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

And I am Sarah Keller. And today I want to talk about travel knitting.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Travel knitting.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Travel knitting. I have this on my brain because I'm going to be heading out on a trip next week. And I one of my favorite things in the world is to plan my knitting for a trip.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

It's more important than planning your clothes, if we're being honest. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

You can buy more clothes almost anywhere.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Almost.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Almost anywhere. But you cannot, I mean, you can buy knitting, and obviously I you should buy knitting, but of course. It is a very important part of your future happiness while you're traveling, I think.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

It is. And it's part of the like I knit the whole trip usually. Yeah. I knit on the plane, I knit on the train, I knit, you know, along the way. I just got back from a knitting trip, and knitting was a very big part of that.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

And I can't wait to hear about that.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

I was so glad that I packed a bunch of knitting, although I also bought a bunch of yarn. We can talk about that later. But yeah, it's always a little bit of a dance to get home with all your knitting. But yeah, yeah. Packing your knitting, love it.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Um, okay. Well, so on this subject, do you have any must-dos for yourself if you're packing for a trip? Or also do you have different ways that you would pack if you're doing, say, a road trip versus a plane trip?

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Yeah, with plane trips, you always have to think about how much can fit in a carry-on and that your scissors are small and you know, all those things. But kind of it's kind of the same either way. Obviously, I take more liberties when we're driving because I don't have to worry about whether we can see out the windows. Like who needs windows? Or the boss of ourselves. Um, but I what I've learned the hard way is that I will never count on there being yarn I can buy when I get there. Yes, usually there is, but there have been times more than once, when I traveled with maybe one little ball of yarn or none or like just enough to finish the project on the plane, you know, but nothing extra, thinking that's fine. I'm gonna be, you know, conservative this time and I'm gonna go buy the next project while I'm there, and then could not either find anything that I wanted or find a yarn shop at all, and ended up going bananas because I didn't have anything.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

I can't I can't. That no, we're gonna stress it.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Yes, yeah, and and it's happened to me twice. And I just thought, what are the odds that I, someone who knows better, would do such a thing. So now I pack basically my rule of thumb is I pack enough projects that I can still be knitting if I get stranded there for a month. That's where you're gonna be like, what if all the planes are canceled? What if the world shuts down? What if I'm gonna be stuck here? I really do think that way. And I think it's because when I was young, I lived through a tornado. And something about that, it was like a really big one. And something about that makes you uh, I think feel sort of like prepared all the time. Like you want to be, I I am always prepared to be trapped in an elevator, even though that's never happened to me.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

I was just gonna say this harkens back to Marie that brought an entire case of granola bars on our two-night getaway.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Hey, listen, we will not starve. That's what that's what the benefit is of traveling with me is yeah, is the kitchen completely full, even though we're gonna be there for three days? Yes. But if there's a landslide and we're stuck there, you will not starve. Perfect.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Yes, and you are the ultimate travel companion.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

And so there'll be enough for the whole cabin to knit.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Everybody, everybody can knit and eat. Those are my priorities. How about you? What are your must-do's?

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Um, I always overpack my knitting. I I mean, I cannot think of a circumstance where I underpacked my knitting. But I do have a couple, like, I I definitely think in terms of a few different niches to fill. Like, I'm always gonna try to bring two things that are a little mindless, you know, make a sock or a round and round hat, something that is um ongoing and doesn't require thought. Um, because invariably when you're traveling, there's other things going on, and it's not time to sit down and find where you're at in your pattern and the and in the stitch repeat and all of that. But then I also will bring a couple of other um projects that might need more concentration for downtime, you know, like hotel time in the mornings or evenings and you know, things like that.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Another thing that I think about is the kind of bags that I'm bringing because some of them work better on a plane, some work better if you are, you know, different travel situations. So I always have one that I pack specifically for the plane that is holds the yarn in there so it doesn't hop out of the bag and roll down the airplane aisle, which has happened to me twice. More often. Oh my gosh. And there is, I know, and there is this bag that is no longer being made, and it's like this parachute fabric. No knits. Uh-huh, no knits. And I got it at um String Theory. It's Jill's favorite bag. I love it. And it's like not the sexiest bag, but it's perfect for airplane knitting, and it has this little snap, and so you can like snap it over the you know, the little seat in front of you or something. And then it's just it's perfect. So that bag is with me always, even though it's like my least fancy. Like I have all these amazing cute bags, but that one I have to have on the plane. So that's something it's like I bring several bags, but I also have to have like the plane bag. And then I need one that can be my take around while I'm walking all over the streets of Paris or whatever. Something on my arm that I can have my knitting to. So multiple bags, multiple projects.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Um, yeah, that's really funny you brought that up because that is Jill's like ride or die for traveling. And um, that girl has traveling down to a science because she has spent a lot of years doing a um super saver affair where all she can have is one carry-on, like no, not even any checked luggage. And she'll go back east and visit her family for a week with this, and she's like the no-knit bag. You can stuff it really well. Um, but yeah, that's that is the bag for the plane, apparently. Um, I another thing I do pack, I just remembered. Um, I tend to do this, like especially for work trips. I pack some like chore knitting. Oh gosh. You know, like the project I've been putting off forever, but really needs to be worked on because I kind of feel like if I'm a captive audience to that project, then I'm gonna finish it. Sometimes it backfires and I end up just not doing anything because I really don't want to work on it. But that is a that is a technique I have employed, um, trying to trick my brain a little bit on trips.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

It's perfect. As much as I love the idea of having sort of a souvenir-inspired by the trip kind of project, I'm with you. I always pack chore knitting. And this trip I was just on, I was in Ireland for 11 days, and I took the four day knittlong cardigan and while and I finished it. And while I was there, I bought yarn to do a pullover version, and I'm half finished with that. And I did all of that on the trip, plus a few other things. So I really I've got to say, knitting trips actually do result in knitting, which is amazing. But I'll knit on any trip.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Yeah, yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

Um knitting. I mean, I wanted to, but I also was like, I would rather be knitting some fun Ireland-inspired something, but I was like, these need to get done. So I just sit there and do it.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

I do tend to, now that I'm thinking about it, um, I do tend to cast on one or two new projects like within 24 hours of my departure because it's so fun to have a new project on the needles to be excited about. So it is so funny. Travel knitting can spur so many things. It can spur finishing something that's been sitting around forever and it can spur casting on like three new ones. And let's see, do you have any specific things that you can think of from your trip to Ireland where having knitting in immediate, you know, vicinity, like in a bag or with you or whatever, really came in handy?

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Anytime there's a possibility of waiting, I apparently can't be expected to just sit and wait, and that's it. Like, how do people do it when they don't have knitting? And I don't mind any waiting anywhere. So knitting is like my security blanket, and as long as I have it, I'm good. But yeah, I we didn't really get stuck anywhere or anything, but there were always periods of sitting on the coach between towns and yes, you know, or maybe you're at lunch and you're kind of finished early and there's a waiting time. And so it's funny because some of the ladies getting off the bus would say, Should we bring our knitting for this? You know, should we bring it and we get off? And I'm like, Are you kidding me? Always bring the knitting.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Always when do you not bring the knitting?

SPEAKER_00 9:48

I always have it because if I don't have it with me, that's when again, I know this is ridiculous, and I may need to like see a therapist about this, but in my mind, I'm like, what if we get stranded in the elevator? If we do, if we have knitting, that's gonna be fun. If we don't have knitting, that's gonna be miserable. So it's gonna be terrifying. Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

I think you're totally right. I mean, especially if you're on a group tour like that where someone's driving you around and you don't have to worry about what's happening on the road. And um, it's a perfect opportunity. Presuming you're somebody who can do that. I thankfully can knit in the car and not get car sick. I'm so grateful for that. Um, yeah, me too. Um, so yeah, so there is the whole idea of packing the knitting for traveling, which is very heady and uh exciting. But then there is like travel knitting, as in this is a trip intentionally um centered on the idea of knitting. And that's what you just did, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:46

That's what I just did. Yeah, I took a group with knitting tours and then my customers, mostly net campers, to Central and Northern Ireland. And and I know you were just in Ireland recently, so yeah, but you saw a lot of parts that I didn't get to see. So now it was great. And then and having knitting with us was it was lovely because it occupies your hands and your mind while you're traveling between and you and for me, I can still look out the window and see the scenery while I'm knitting, especially those travel-friendly projects that don't require a ton of focus, which is always my preference. But then when we would go in places and we would see sheep and alpaca, I have to say, I came away with this brand new appreciation for alpaca that I did not have when I went. I'm gonna tell you about it later. But I very alpaca farm in Northern Ireland, not super far from Belfast, and it's called Mourne Alpacas, M-O-U-R-N-E. And they are just lovely people who are really serious about their alpacas, their health, their, you know, their emotional well-being, like everything. And I learned so much, and I thought, see, this changes my approach to knitting now because I had always sort of poo-pooed alpaca, especially baby alpaca, because it just the way that it feels on my needles, it's too soft for me.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

But I just had this sort of epiphany, and I thought this is gonna influence the way that I knit and the way that I choose fiber because I was just so taken with what I learned. And so sometimes those experiences change you as a maker, I think.

SPEAKER_01 12:26

Yeah, very interesting. So they um use obviously their alpaca fiber um to create yarn, sounds like yeah, they do. Um I know out here in the States there's so many alpaca farms that don't do anything with their fiber.

SPEAKER_00 12:42

Right. These are specifically for their fiber. They do it partly because of that therapeutic side, but also raise them for the fiber specifically, and they have it all processed and they have this little bitty shop kind of where you can, you know, pick up some different types. And it was just, yeah, it was it was really fun because I've seen alpaca farms here and I never really thought I just thought, oh yeah, they're so cute. You know, I've always thought they were cute, but I didn't really come away thinking, oh my gosh, I think I might be in love. And it was only on that trip, and it was just the the talk that she gave and learning so much more about their temperament and why she is raising them. And I thought this really changes my my perception. So I bought some alpaca.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Nice, is it 100% alpaca?

SPEAKER_00 13:28

It is, and but it's not the baby alpaca, so it's a little more substantial, which I think fits my knitting style better. Yes, but yeah, they do it for the fiber, whereas a lot of the sheep farming in Ireland is not for the fiber, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Oh, it's just for meat? Oh, I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_00 13:55

They're trying to change that, and that's you know, something to hope for.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

But so this trip that you did, is this something that you would do again? Is this a one-off?

SPEAKER_00 14:05

No, I'm doing it again. I well, I have another one, same tour group, but different guests coming in October to Scotland, and then I'm doing another Ireland trip next year, but it'll be Southern Ireland. So, you know, you want to go and then and also went to Barcelona next year. We'll go to knitting. And then I've already got two scheduled for 2028. So yeah, I'm planning on doing two tours a year with them.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Can you put me in your suitcase? Yeah, I will. I could be in the central part of your knitting. Yes, you could. Absolutely. I'm on board. Oh, wow. So fun.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

I know it.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

It's wonderful, it really is. And it does constantly force me to up my game for what I'm packing, how I'm approaching it, because you don't want to take too much and you don't want to take not enough. And so I felt like this trip, I packed the perfect amount. I had one more sweater that I had started, like just in case I got stranded. I had another sweater at Kid Knit, but I didn't need that. But I actually finished a sweater and a half while I was there, which Remarkable I can't even believe. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

I know that's really remarkable. That's crazy. Okay, I've got a question for you. I'm really curious to hear what you think. When you're going on a trip, do you pack all of your needles or extra needles? Or do you just take the needles you know you need for the projects you've packed?

SPEAKER_00 15:37

I'm so glad you asked that because I kept thinking I wanted to talk about needles, and my perimenopause brain could not hold that thought for more than 10 seconds. No, me either. I had to write it down. I kept thinking of it and then I would forget again. So thank you. Uh, so here's what I do I pack like seven or eight sets of needles. You know me. I use the fixed Chowgu red lace tips, fixed cords. I don't use interchangeables. I don't know why. That would make my life easier, but I can't do it. And I pack all the ones I know I'll need, plus a few alternating sizes just in case I buy yarn and want to cast something on. So, like I know the sizes of needles that I'm gonna use. I bring my standard notions. The one mistake I made on this trip is that apparently last time I put my needles away in my hanging organizer, I must have put some in the wrong spot because I thought I used that too. You did? Yes. What the heck? I thought I brought threes, fours, and fives. And I get there and I brought six sets of size five needles. Oh no. I was like, what? I was like, no, I've got a three in here. I know I have a three. No, all of them were size five. So now I learned next time, don't trust myself. Check just in case. But I do like to bring extra needles. Are you an extra needle person or do you you do interchangeable? So you probably just bring a set.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

I knew the whole set, but you know how many thousands of dollars of needles are in here? Because I, of course, don't just have the set. I have like the set times three because I've supplemented so many. And I know it's reckless. It is reckless. And I don't, I you know, I'll I'll check them in my luggage because I don't want to deal with security going through with all these weird pointy things, mental things. But I just, it's like a security blanket.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

It is.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

What if I need them? Right. Um, I don't even know if I could tell you if I've ever needed them, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

I can't believe you put them in your checked bag. I've never had any problem with my checked luggage, but again, this part of me that is prepping for a disaster. Yeah, you do. I always keep my needles in my carry-on. My whatever project I'm doing that's in progress is in my carry-on just in case. I don't know. I've never had a problem either way, except for flying out of Cabo, they will take their needles.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

So that was one of my um first realizations about how awful it can be to travel without your knitting. Is we went to Chile in uh like 2010, and I knew that I wasn't gonna be able to leave the country with my knitting. Like you can leave the US with your knitting, but it a lot of different international airports don't allow it. So I um, you know, put it in all in my checked luggage because I knew I couldn't take it with me on the plane, and we had a 14-hour travel day. And I took a book because I was like, well, I guess all I'll be able to do really is read or watch a show, you know. So I took a book. First leg, finished the book. So then at the layover, I bought two more books. Oh my gosh. It was just like it felt like those 14 hours were like 40 hours. It felt so awful to be there without my knitting. And I'd love to read, but it it's like after a certain point, my my brain needs to do something different.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

So I I hear you. I just get so antsy if I can't knit. I have committed a few crimes related to getting my knitting with me. Have you I don't know if we should say this. I but I've I know I was wondering I don't think I don't think I'm gonna announce my methods, but I will say that if you have long hair, you might be able to pin it into a bun, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

I also have pencil cases for things that Chilean trip um learned a few things about the needle tips on interchangeable needles being remarkably similar to other things that you can bring. Um we'll just leave it at that.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

We'll leave it at that. We we don't need to fully explain our crimes here, but I will say that me without knitting on a 14-hour flight is uh I am a danger to everyone in that situation because I will go, I will just go nuts. My brain will just make me think of every mistake I've ever made in my life. I will think of every stupid thing I've ever said, I will just completely be useless.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

Do you remember that commercial from like the early 90s or late 80s? And it was like an egg, and it's like, this is your brain, and then it's like this is your brain on drugs.

SPEAKER_00 20:24

That's my brain without knitting is that fighting and the Yes. I'm just a disaster without my knitting. So I feel like it's really in everyone's best interest, and in, you know, in the interest of safety, I really should have my knitting with me.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

That's my feeling. I agree. I bet I bet most knitters and crocheters out there would agree.

SPEAKER_00 20:44

And the thing is, I get such good knitting done on a plane because there's nobody interrupting you, really, you know, other than you know, the usual plane stuff. I one time was working on a sample for one of my books. It was my shawl book, and I brought just the right amount in my carry-on thinking what I thought one skein, you know, I'm not gonna knit through one skein of yarn in on this flight. And I put in a podcast, it was a true crime podcast, and it was very intense. So I am listening to this intense podcast and I am knitting faster like the wind. Yes, I'm knitting like the wind. I'm knitting faster than fast can be. And I am so in my zone, my perfect little airplane zone that I got to the end of the skein without even knowing I was close to the end. And I just went to knit a stitch and the yarn was gone. No more yarn. And I was like, oh my gosh, I ran out of yarn. Like I knit through an entire skein of yarn. It was not a very long flight. I don't know how that was possible, but but that's the kind of zone I can get in. If I have my knitting and I have my you know show or my podcast or something or my audiobook, I'm fine. But don't take those away. Like, have you ever had jury duty? Yeah, you can't take any knitting and

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Oh, I know. It's so awful. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

At least in Oregon, where we are.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

But there's a um have you heard about the like latest trend to raw dog it through through flights? I don't believe in that. That's like you take nothing and you just stare at the scene in front of you. I can't. Why would we not even imagine?

SPEAKER_00 22:18

No.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

I'm like, why is the perfect opportunity?

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Life is short. Why suffer? I mean, I'm in agreement that sometimes we do need moments of quiet.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

But I don't need to do it on an airplane when also just the phrase raw dogging. I hate that. I know. Right? It's so gross.

unknown 22:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

But surely they're driving everyone else crazy too, right? Like, I guess I haven't seen it happen. So I don't really know how that goes down. But in my mind, they're going to be restless and fidgety. Maybe the guy, I no, no, he was watching a show. But the guy sitting behind me on one of my flights back a couple days ago kept tapping the screen, which was perfectly so hard that you could feel it. So hard. And I was like, are you trying to get my attention? Or are you just oblivious? I feel like that's what you know would happen is just like some weird. Yeah. I'm just making this up because I've never seen somebody raw donging on a flight. So I don't know how it goes.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

So the very first time I heard that term, not knowing what it was referring to, I thought people were saying that they went they did they went on a flight without underwear on.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

Oh, that's great. I think that was similar to my first thought too, because I was like, I don't really know what we're talking about. I yeah, I I thought something similar. Well, it's getting harder and harder to pretend that we're young, is what I'm noticing.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Oh God, uh yeah. I was with my kids this weekend. Uh even Campbell actually got out lingoed by the um what is a 19-year-old Jen Y? I don't even know what her generation is. Jen A? Jen A, Jen Alpha. Um, Mallory threw out some lingo, and Campbell even didn't know. And I was like, oh snap, you're only about 23. You already don't know the words.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

Oh my gosh, we're getting phased out totally right in front of our faces.

SPEAKER_01 24:08

Well, this has really wet my appetite for my upcoming trip, and I've been scheming already about what I'm gonna take. Where are you going? I am headed to Chicago for H H, which is the annual uh US yarn and sewing trade show. And I am so excited. Julia and Jill are coming along, and I just hope we find all this fun and exciting and inspirational new stuff.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Oh, you'll find so much good stuff. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01 24:41

Oh, that would be a fun thing to talk about on one of our episodes.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

It would, yeah. We can talk about trade shows since that's where we met initially, was at a trade show.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

That's right. We should do a trade show episode. All right, put a pin in that. Put a pin in that. Oh gosh. Well, thanks for this fun topic, Sarah. Yes. If you have any fun, interesting things that you like to do related to your travel knitting, like how you plan, et cetera, please send us an email, drop a comment. We would love to hear it.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

Absolutely. And before you pack for your next trip and you're thinking about your knitting, just remember.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

We tried to tell you.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

We did. See you next time. Bye.