As I’ve mentioned on our Facebook page, we are exhibiting at the Quilt, Knit, Stitch Show! in Portland, OR, next week. We are making it a family vacation by driving up there. We are leaving today (Aug. 8) and arrive in the Portland area by Sunday, Aug. 10. My aunt and uncle live there, so we are going to be staying with them, which will be fun!
It is roughly a 1,000-mile trip from California, which means a lot of driving. Luckily, I don’t get carsick, so this means I have some good knitting and sewing time!
I have planned out my projects that I want to work on as we drive. My Chic-a print of choice for the projects is Cherries, with a little bit of Chic-a Pink mixed in!

I have two knitting projects that I am taking. One is the Blue Whale scarf by Stephen West. I had seen this scarf knit up at Wild Fiber Studio in Santa Monica, CA, and knew I wanted to make it. I am knitting with Malabrigo Finito and I really like it. It is so soft and a nice dark grey/blue!
The other knitting project I will be starting on the trip. The pattern is called Chevron Lace Tank by Mari Chiba. It is part of a pattern book called In Bloom by Knit Picks. There are a lot of patterns I want to make from this book!
Since I haven’t started this, I am bringing my new set of Caspian interchangeable needles from Knit Picks. That way I will have the right size for gauge! The yarn is some from my stash, a periwinkle blue from Hemp For Knitting. I haven’t knit with this yarn before, so I’ll see how it goes. I had wanted to make this tank for summer, but it looks like it will be for fall… good thing September and October are warm months in Santa Barbara!

I have also included my Chic-a quilt project that I started. I have some of the hexagons done, so I need to start sewing them together. All of these pieces fit nicely in the All Clear Pouch. Hopefully I will get some of this sewn together before the Show so I can have it out on display! I haven’t really tried sewing in the car. I’ll have to see how that goes! Note the sunglasses in the picture… they are reading glasses! Yes, I have to wear glasses to see my stitches, and these work great in the sun.

The last thing I have included in my pile of stuff to do while in the car is my drawing notebook, pencil and colored pencils. I know this might not work in the car, but if I get an idea, I want to be able to sketch it! I’ll probably need those sunglasses for this, too.

I need to find a book to read, too, before we leave. I always like to have a book to read and I just finished the second one in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. Such a fun, different, mystery series. If you like literature, this is a great series to read.
All of this fit into the Market Tote bag, which really surprised me! I even have room for the iPad and snacks. This will fit nicely next to the passenger seat in the Chic-aMobile! Now, I just have to convince my husband to drive the whole time …
