Knitting On the Road

So my husband and I went away for a couple of weeks. We decided we would drive down to Florida. Once we started planning the trip we realized we have never driven down to Florida on our own. EVER!! We have driven several times when the boys were small and again when they were in high school. We have flown several times with my in-laws, friends, family and ourselves. But driving on our own WOW! Would we survive it being just the two of us? Hubby will do most of the driving but I will take the wheel when needed. Generally I will knit.

My husband takes care of making all the arrangements. We get lots of maps too! No we don't have a GPS. He relies on a good old map and I have become a pretty good map reader.

We usually start staging our packing about a week before. But when it comes to projects to work on while travelling--or sitting by the pool!--I start a couple of days before I leave. I go through my patterns and see what would be appropriate to bring along. I usually have at least four projects with me. One I am generally working on and the others are to start once that is finished or if I want a change of pace. I also ensure I have stitch markers, measuring tape, my Knitters Pride interchangeable needle set, scissors and darning needles. All the little things you might need to complete projects.

Once the destination of the trip is decided I start researching yarn stores in that area. I have come across many a wonderful yarn store that way. I look for ones that carry yarns that area not carried at my LYS and one that might carry a local spinner and/or dyer. That helps write the story behind the project. This trip I found a great yarn store called A Good Yarn in Sarasota, Florida. I found the staff very helpful. They carried many brands I was familiar with and they also carried brands I had only seen advertised in magazines! I asked about locally dyed yarn. They did not have any but they have had some dyed by name brands specifically for their store. They also have a great clearance section too! Who doesn't like getting nice yarn on sales?

I will knit pretty much anywhere. I love sitting by the pool working on my projects. It is a great conversation starter. Many people approached me about the pattern and the yarn. They loved the yarn especially. I let them know that it was dyed by Yarn Enabler! A friend at my local knit night! I had many people this last trip see me on our walks and say, "You're the lady knitting at the pool!" By the time we left, I began seeing other women bring their knitting to the pool.

If you are lucky enough to be able to knit while you are the passenger on a road trip, there is so much you can accomplish.

How do you prepare for a road trip? How far in advance do you start considering which projects to bring? Do you research yarn stores? What has been your favourite knitting spot while on vacation?