I spend a lot of time on planes due to travel for work, but rarely am I overcome by the hustle-bustle of airport-hopping to the extent that I dread the need to strap myself into that seat.  I like a nice long plane journey.  There’s something about being trapped in that steel cylinder that makes me happy, and I’m pretty sure it’s to do with the fact that I can knit the entire time without interruption if I so choose.  Where else do you get that kind of sure-thing knit time?

Normally I stealthily avoid chatters on planes.  I prefer the window seat (so I don’t have to get up for someone else to go to the bathroom), and I try to board early, toss my carry-on overhead, buckle up, and whip out the knitting.  Wielding the knitting is very effective.  No offense to the fellow passengers that may end up seated in my vicinity, but I do try to avoid eye contact so I can stay focused on my happy place, the busy needles frolicking in front of me. 

Flight attendants like to ask what I’m knitting, and although it rips me from my revelry to answer the question, I can’t help myself from offering up my growing labor of love for a little touchy-feely.  It’s surprising how often the flight attendant will mention that someone else is knitting back in row 35, a blanket or baby booties or whatever.  Makes me want to raise up my needles in solidarity - you go, sister - before digging back in.  I’m hoping desparately that they don’t start letting us all use phones and the internet on planes…my excuse to knit will be harder to justify if I actually have work to do during that sacred time.

All that to say - we’re going to Phoenix for the weekend, where friends and family will bring on the good times.  Before the airport spits us out into the sauna this evening, it’s so comforting to know that I’ll have quality time with my Periwinkle honey - it’s been a while after a crazy couple of knit-less weeks, and frankly I can’t freakin’ wait.

Since, in my inability to churn out new rows to show off this week I have nothing new to show you, I thought I’d show off a couple of things my sister impressed me with during my last visit (which required a plane ride, which yielded much fun with the aforementioned honey).  For her birthday this year I sent her Amy Karol’s Bend the Rules Sewing, since she is an avid reader of Amy’s craft blog, angrychicken.  In past months she’s raved about Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing (and with good reason! if you haven’t seen it, you should check it out), so I went for the variation on a theme.

Hello, inspirational!  From Bend the Rules Sewing, Sis made the cutest little things - I went all squealy when I saw them.  The first item is a little pouch-wallet.  Very simple, yet surprsingly I-want-one with her funky choice of fabric.  She finds deals on swatches of fabric here and there and is a very patient shopper of Jo-Ann’s remnants and clearances (unlike me; I have very little ability to resist yummy things when I see them, and it’s very hard for me to peruse fabrics and yarns without buying something that is ridiculously NOT on sale).  Her one splurge was the button, which I love.

The second pattern is a cute little purse - again simple yet endearing.  She found 50-cent pillowcases at a second-hand shop (again I give her kudos for digging up the deals) and used two swatches for this.  The pre-loved cotton made the end result soft and familiar-feeling. 

I like the way one strap is longer than the other so that you can pull the long loop through the short one for a simple closure.  It’s not very big - 5″ x 7″, maybe, although obviously easy to size up - but it seems the perfect little accessory for a stroll on a sunny spring morning when you don’t want to heave the whole enchilada of your leather purse out with you. Tuck a $10er and your lip gloss in your little bag and meander down to the farmers’ market on Saturday morning, dangling your creation from your fingers, stopping for a yummy latte to enjoy along the way.  I want one!  She’s making a few more for a charity craft sale that she and a few other ladies are putting together, which I think is quite a cool thing.

Lordy, look at the time.  Gotta pack so I can catch my knitting-enabling machine.