I love my husband.
I love my family.
I love my inlaws.

No matter how much love there is, it can be hard to spend extented periods of time at the homes of relatives, whether related by birth or marriage. It's just hard to relax at someone elses home.

This Summer I came armed with knitting - plenty of knitting. Knitting is part of my daily life, whether I am at home,or on the road, or at someone elses home. It just helps calm my body and my brain. Of course, I always travel with various projects, you just never know what kind of mood you are going to be in.

What do I look for in a 'family' knitting project? I has to be portable, either a small project or part of a bigger project; with only one free suitcase on most airlines today, you can't pack a second bag with only knit projects. Before you ask, yes I have taken a suitcase full of knitting with me on more than one trip, but I am not willing to pay extra to bring a suitcase of knitting projects. And yes, you can bring knitting needles on the plane in the US (skip the sharp scissors though). It has to require the right amount of brain/body power. You need to be available to be part of the 'right' amount of conversation - enough that you are involved, but not so much that you're running your mouth and getting yourself in trouble. I also like to have something that you can get done while you're away. It's a great feeling of accomplishment to finish a project, but it's also nice to share that feeling with the folks that have to live through the process.

What are bad 'family' knitting projects? Well, this time around I knocked lace off the list.

Maybe it works for others but not for me. I just can't fix my mistakes with other people chit chatting around me. Also, knowing exactly what row you are on can be hard to keep track of if you are trying to carry on/listen to a conversation. For these reason, Fair Isle knitting if off the list as well (update coming soon on my foray into Fair Isle sweaters). I did bring a Fair Isle hat to try working on, but I brought the wrong needles. (Travel knitting involves proper planning - make sure you have everything you need.)

I think I may have found the perfect project in Leigh Radford's AlterKnits. It's a faux ruffle tank top.

I saw it knit up during the yarn crawl and fell in love with it. I went with pink Brown Sheep cotton fleece and added a Louisa harding ribbon to make the faux ruffles. This is a $30+ sweater - wooohoooo!

The pattern is simple, involving very little shaping and a minor staggered rib pattern in the front (you sew the faux ruffle on after it's all knit up). Don't get me wrong, I made lots of mistakes trying to knit and be part of the conversation, but for whatever reason I even enjoyed 'tink'ing this one.

It just fed my need to be doing something ... quieting my busy brain to handle two instead of twenty things. I think I had to re-knit something everyday, and I was okay with that. I have to admit I was knitting in the house, the car and even when we were out to dinner.

I think this pattern is worth keeping handy for future travel. It looked good even before I added the ribbon (it's the most expensive yarn in the sweater.) I might even thin about working in some shaping in the next time around.

Have needles, will travel!