Travel Knitting: Sweater, Socks, Or Socks?

Rhinebeck Rhinebeck Rhinebeck.  That’s all anyone who’s into yarn is talking about this week.  What to wear to Rhinebeck.  What to pack for Rhinebeck.  How to play interactive bingo at Rhinebeck.  And, most importantly, what project to bring to Rhinebeck. It’s been a dilemma for many a knitter.

Well, I have a dilemma, too.  I’m not going to Rhinebeck… huh?  No no, that’s not the actual dilemma… I mean, it is a dilemma, because I really would’ve loved to go, but that’s not what I was getting at… what?  What other dilemma is there this week, you ask? Well if you’d let me finish, I’ll tell you.  Shush.

I’m not going to Rhinebeck because I’m going to NYC for the day with my daughter.  We’ll mostly be doing stuff she loves, like going to the American Girl Place,

Simultaneously the most amazing, and the scariest, store in NYC.

going to Times Square to watch the billboards,

going to a museum,

My daughter will LOVE this exhibit... her favorite insect!

and all the while, enjoying the culinary delicacies that NYC has to offer.

... but do they have roasted chestnuts? I will NOT leave the city until I get some. Period.

Doesn’t sound like much of a dilemma, does it?  Turns out that I have the same problem that many of those Rhinebeckers have, something that I’ve been spending a lot of time pondering but not making much headway:  what knitting project to bring on the trip?  So I’ll ask you, my loyal readers, for help on what I should bring.  Check out the poll in the sidebar… let’s have a little fun with this.

For a 1-day excursion, in which you’ll be pounding the pavement part of the time, and sitting on a bus part of the time, would you bring your current WIP,

Making great progress on this... I'm working on the sleeves now.

yarn to start another pair of socks for yourself,

This is Dyed Bright Here's High Society Sock Yarn, colorway "Polo Ponies".

or yarn to start another pair of socks for your child?

South West Trading Company's TOFUtsies. Originally for me, but then my daughter found my secret yarn stash...

Majority wins, but I’d love to read your opinions, too.  Feel free to leave comments.  What is the best kind of knitting to bring on a trip?

The Rhinebeck Sweater.

Back in May, my LYS-Away-From-Home was having a Grand Reopening celebration, and they had 8 different lottery drawings for yarn and pattern booklets and things like that.  I showed up just in time to drop my raffle tickets into a couple of the prize buckets… and guess what???  I didn’t win. But my mom won, and she gave me her prize – 10 skeins of this gorgeous yarn along with the Debbie Bliss Glen pattern book:

This yarn is wonderfully soft. But what will it become... ?

And now Rhinebeck is upon us.  Surely I need a Rhinebeck Sweater… I mean, everyone’s knitting one right now, or so it seems, according to Ravelry and Twitter and… well, everyone.  So here’s mine:

The Cable Detail Sweater, from my Glen pattern book.

 

… and here’s how far along I am:

This WILL be my Rhinebeck Sweater... in 2012.

No, I’m not going to Rhinebeck this year.  I’ll be in NYC with my daughter, celebrating all things American Girl.  But next year, I will attend Rhinebeck… wearing this sweater.