Holiday Knits Again

Now comes the question of what to knit whilst I'm actually there. This is a difficult decision, fraught with emotion. Knitting is still my hobby but now it's my business too I guess I'm going on holiday to 'have a break'. The minute I booked the holiday I went checking for LYSs in the area and came up with a stitch and bitch group that I could easily walk to on my last day. I was dead excited and posted it on facebook and June came back with the rather dry, 'busman's holiday then?'. Hmm. I see what she means.

Thing is, if I don't knit on my holidays, then I literally never knit for me. And the reason I own a bloody yarn shop is because I love knitting and I love wearing my knits! So I've been thinking, since I booked, about projects that are exciting and a 'break'. I've come to describe 'break' as something different from what I usually do (essentially, that'll just mean knitting that I really enjoy). So, here's my first decision:

Oranje by Weaverknits

This has got to be at least the 50th time I've mentioned this bloody pattern here so I won't go on and on. I think you all know that I'll be using the Fortissima in the orange and I'll weigh whether I have enough cream/white and black 4ply in the stash for the other bits and bobs. Otherwise it'll be a case for the truly lovely Truly Wool Rich 4ply. That's that. That's a definite!

Now, the second project (because, blimey, I've got at least 12 hours worth of journeys and three days in between!) is still up in the air. The first thought was this:

Ropery by Michaela Moores

It's a bit of an odd shape isn't it? But I have two tops I bought from Primark about seven or so years ago (I stopped buying from them soon after). Both of the tops are in a bit of a tatty state -I'm not complaining, they lasted a million times longer than they should have done. But I know that the shape suits me, and that I wear it. I also have this:

Which is the yarn that I spun for the Tour De Fleece last year (that I never updated you about - smack my hand...).

It knits up like this:

which I love - but the pattern just wasn't doing anything for me... I think the yarn will work, it's somewhere between laceweight and 4ply (got thicker as it went along...) which is really perfect. But I don't know if I will be a bit, well, bored? The Ropery pattern is pretty much stocking stitch (though by the sounds of it there's a lot of short rowing which I need to concentrate for, not one of those techniques that just slips into my brain, if you know what I mean) and until you get to the interesting bit, the Oranje is just stocking stitch. I don't want to get stuck in a foreign land (well, Bournemouth) with two boring projects.

So, my next thought was a big shawl. A proper shawl. I only have one, my Golden Laminaria which I ad-ad-ad-ad-ORE! But it's again, looking a bit tatty now. So I thought, something slightly more substantial but still light-weight - enter: the Truly Wool Rich 4ply and if you've ever asked me about it in the shop you'll know how much I heart the dove grey colourway (and I seem to have over-ordered so we have tonnes in stock).

Here's my list of options for the shawl but I think I'm pretty stuck on either:

My Heaven by Patusha

or:

Mermaid Shawl by Yo-El

What do you think?!!?

Love Eleanor. :)