Packing for Prague

I'm leaving for my Prague/Vienna trip on April 20th and I have not a clue what to pack for my knitting entertainment. With everything else going on in my life and at the shop, this is what is consuming my thoughts!

I'm thinking socks are the way to go. They're small, they take a while, I owe Captain John a pair and I enjoy knitting them. But, a voice in the back of my head tells me that there is something far more exciting out there. What could it be?

I thought Color Affection in Alchemy Silken Straw might be the answer. I adore this shawl and know that it will be a tremendous amount of knitting but the end result would be worth it. I cast (casted?) on last week and started a test drive to see if it was road worthy. I'm thinking not. The yarn is rather splitty and requires very sharp needles, good lighting and each stitch (especially the M1s) requires concentration and needle dexterity. At the end of the project, I'm supposed to have 447 stitches on the needles. Yikes!  I'm thinking this is a project better left at home!

Color Affection

As usual, I log onto Ravelry for inspiration. I click on Patterns and look at "hot right now". Nothing looks familiar. Then, I realize I have "crochet" checked. I correct mistake and click on "top 20". I find two candidates, Quinn Sweater and Breezeway Cardigan both by designer Amy Gunderson from Knitscene Summer 2012. Drats! I don't have it yet.

Quinn Sweater

Breezeway Cardigan

I do a pattern search of the Color Affection designer, Veera Valimaki. Her designs are all stunning. I'm especially fond of Folded, a round neck pullover that is pleated at the front for more interesting shape. It’s stylish and cozy – all at the same time. The pullover is worked in one piece from bottom up.

Folded

 Is 800 yards of fingering weight yarn too bulky? Probably not. But, it's a heck of a lot of stockinette. Still in the running. I wonder if the Madelinetosh Steam Engine would work.

On a whim, I typed "Prague" into the pattern search. Stuff popped up, but nothing worthy of packing for Prague. Same with "Vienna". Back to the drawing board.

Next whim, check in on the YarnHarlot. I type her name into the people search and Voila! There she is. I looked at her queue, her favs and her projects. This woman knits LOTS of socks!  Just as I suspected, I've already knit many of her projects.

My queue now has 189 projects and 114 favorites. I have more UFOs than I can count. And...I still can't find a project to pack for Prague!