Another way you could do it

When I packed for my recent trip to the UK, I took only one knitting project. The honeycomb lace scarf was small to carry and more than enough knitting to keep me going. It hadn't gone so well on an earlier trip to Melbourne, but after weeks of messing it up and a fair bit of tinking (undoing knitting, stitch by stitch), I had established enough of a rhythm with the pattern.

I usually go for fairly easy, boring knitting for travelling, or any time I'm knitting with other people. It should be something without much counting required, and that I can put down at a moment's notice. That used to mean plain socks in the round, but I've gone right off knitting socks for now. The honeycomb lace is not at all boring or easy, but I felt that I had settled into it sufficiently. I really wanted to make some progress on it during those long flights (and in the end, I did).

But I wasn't really committed to only knitting on one project for almost four weeks. I saw Jane Eyre not long before I left, and came home with the desire to make one of those basic, slightly daggy garter stitch shawls. It was quickly pointed out to me that Sunday Knits had already written a pattern for the shawl(s) worn in the film, with several variations.

So I purchased the pattern and brought a copy with me, as well as a Knit Pro cable and a couple of sizes of interchangeable needle tips. My plan was to buy some suitable wool to knit it while I was away.

What I didn't take (though I considered it for a moment) was any of the double pointed needles that I use to knit pods and pears in the round.

So, when I found myself wanting to make and felt a little pod from some souvenir Welsh wool, I had to improvise. And I am here to tell you that it is possible to use your Knit Pro needle tips as DPNs! It was a bit fiddly, the stitches wanted to slip off, especially as the stitch count increased. This was partly because I only had four needle tips (two 4mm and two 4.5mm) and I normally use a set of five DPNs. It would have been much more difficult with the slippery nickel ones.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the finished pod.