Holiday knitting

Hurrah, I'm officially on leave! My Out Of Office is on (having been composed at about 9:30am) and I have unsynced my work email from my various i-devices so that I don't get drawn in by anything. Nine days off work and this time tomorrow I'll be in the Lake District - that's assuming I survive the hellishness that is Euston and Virgin Trains mind, oh how I wish I could drive...

Anyway, after much in depth research and dragging various yarns out of the stash cupboard, I have decided what knitting to take! Given that I'm going to be out Doing Things for the majority of the day and that I've got plans to spend lots of time luxuriating in the roll topped bath our rental flat possesses, I doubt I'll need the amount of knitting that I'm taking. But I've learned from the Yarn Harlot's mistakes and I don't think there's any LYSs where we're heading, so I'm going prepared! In the luggage are...

• My Kind of Red shawl (Kind of Blue by Lauren Frehel in Malabrigo Arroyo in Jupiter) this is nearly finished and I'd hoped to get it done before I left, but the rows are getting longer and looooonger so even though I'm halfway through the final repeat its taking me forever. Really like how it's shaping up though and I'm looking forward to blocking it, even if I doubt I'll have enough space in the flat to lay it out!

• My Stand on the Right, Walk on the Left mittens (Frankenfingers by Elizabeth Green Musselman in Mind The Gap by Trailing Clouds) I got terribly excited as soon as I got this yarn and cast on for these amazing elbow length mittens straightaway, then lost enthusiasm for the endless ribbing and couldn't decide whether I wanted to throw in some decreases for my skinny wrists or not. But they'll be a nice mindless knit while we watch the West Wing and I will make a decision about the decreases on the train, I will!

So, that would probably do, but I'm also taking the yarn and needles for two new projects...

• Cheer Me Up by Olga Wedbjer Rambell in Manos Del Uruguay Lace in Silver. Isn't this the prettiest little shawl? Bought the pattern ages ago but have been held up but the first direction which is something along the lines of "cast on 300 stitches using long tail cast on" :s

• Crooked Paths by Melissa LaBarre in Malabrigo Worsted in Simply Taupe. I love me a Mal Worsted hat and I've been wanting something neutral and slouchy like this to wear with my navy White Stuff coat. Obviously I won't now be wearing either of them until next winter, but I'm planning ahead!!

So, does that seem like overkill or a sensible amount? All I'll say is don't be surprised if I post next weekend to say that I finished nothing and cast on nothing...

Oh, I'm taking a knitting book too! I bought Knit To Flatter by Amy Herzog because I really enjoyed her Fit To Flatter blog posts and this book expands on those ideas. I'm hoping it might give me some inspiration to Cast On A Damn Jumper (the COADJ project, if you will) so I'll do a review when I get back.

So off I go with a bunch of finely laid plans that will probably come to naught! I'd like to try and do a couple of short blog posts while I'm away, but that's only likely if I can find an iPad app that actually works properly with Blogger! I'm not holding my breath for that either...

Wish me luck with Euston!