Knitting by Train

One of my favorite times of the year for knitting is summer, mostly because vacation time is a great time to get some knitting done--especially if that vacation involves train travel. I'm convinced that the train is the best way to get anywhere cross country if you have the time for it. It's relaxed and comfortable and all you have to do is watch the scenery go by. In other words, it's perfect knitting time.

This year's summer vacation involved a family reunion in San Diego with my parents, my three sisters (below), and their families. It was an amazing trip, with time to hang out and play with my nephews balanced by more traditional vacation stuff like a visit to Disneyland. I came home from the trip happy and relaxed in a way that means it was a really good vacation. I think the train had a lot to do with how relaxed I felt, even from the start of the trip.

The main part of our travel to California was on the Southwest Chief, Amtrak's line that connects Chicago and LA and runs through the American west. I have several strong memories from the ride: the beauty and sparsity of the landscape as you go further west, the swaying and slight claustrophobia of the upper bunk in our sleeper, listening to a little boy despair over a forgotten stuffed animal named Nuzzle in the lounge car one evening (so adorable), and the downpour that hit right as we pulled into Albuquerque and I was finishing my first Twiglet mitt.

For all I couldn't decide what to knit on vacation until right before we left, the Twiglets turned out to be a great travel project: portable, complex but not overly so, and the perfect size to make quick progress. And I love the color of this yarn; it's Verve from The Unique Sheep in the gold colorway. It's not the go-with-everything color of my favorite Veyla mitts, but I kind of like them better for it.

All-in-all, it was a wonderful vacation and I will always think of some of the little details of the trip whenever I wear these mitts. I'm of the opinion that we put a little bit of our current thoughts and experiences into our projects as we knit them. These mitts will therefore bring happiness and sunshine to my future self, which is a happy thought indeed.