Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Travel knitting: tools and packing aids

With a holiday by air coming up soon, I've been sinking a lot of time into hunting up various travel aids to make knitting en route both practical and possible.

First up: knitting bag.  You know I love my tinyhappy bags, but they're all lined vintage fabric, which means both weight and bulk, as well as 'can't replace if lost.'  So, this is what is coming with me on the trip:
It's a RuMe baggie, made of fabric that weighs pretty much nothing and closed with a nylon zip whose teeth are so snuggly I can't imagine ever getting my working yarn caught in them.  At time of writing, and at the link given, they cost $4.95 and come in a variety of colours and prints.  Who could ask for more?


Plus, once you stuff yarn in there, the baggies work as a pillow... or potentially even something to clutch in a moment of turbulence-related panic.  Gotta love the multitaskability.

(are these hints about what I'm knitting with the green wool tormenting you at all? no?  h'mmmm.)

I should mention that these bags are also food safe and can be washed in the dishwasher like a plate.  So: useful for trail mix too, especially if you get the 'pocket' size.


I'm bringing one of these too, but it's going to be my toiletry bag.  They're also perfect for knitting tools, or a pencilcase - bright enough to be easy to find in a bigger purse.  And honestly: who among us can resist that owl embellishment?  Not I.

Next challenge: knitting tools.  I've decided to risk bringing (and losing) a circular needle with me but I don't want to bring metal just in case that comes off looking too threatening, thereby upping the likelihood of the 'losing' option.  Instead, I thought I'd go with bamboo.


These are Addi Naturas, from the Addi Needle Shop, which stocks them in every imaginable size and cord length.  If their points turn out to look a little sharper than is likely to go over well at Security, I can always sand them a bit, right?

Just in case sanding doesn't do the job and the circular needles are taken away from me, I will be packing a peaceful-looking crochet hook or two:


This hook is also Addi Natura, and again from the Addi Needle Shop (so loving that store.)  The yarn I pack will work with either tool, as long as it isn't taken away, which it won't be because I won't cast on till after I'm through security.

Now for a carry-on-able bag to put it all in... Probably that bag will be my new knitting bag/purse (more on that another day, because it is working out too well for me not to tel you about it), but I may also opt for this much larger RuMe:


Yes, my personal RuMe All is this very same zippy, zingy purple, and yes, I am going to be slinging it over my bright red coat.  And I will be happy to do that because this bag, which zips shut and which can hold up to 50 lbs worth of anything I can fit in there, weighs just three ounces.

Wonder if I can find a full-size suitcase that weighs that?

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