Sleeves are the New Socks

Stretch your arm no further than your sleeve.
-French Proverb

If brown is the new black and pink is the new brown, I declare that, for 2008, sleeves are the new socks. Sleeves are the new go-to portable knitting projects. Sleeves are the new knitting-while-reading project. Sleeves are the only way that my somewhat ambitious knitting plans for 2008 are going to come to fruition.

Exhibit A: One finished Salt Lake City sleeve

Exhibit B: One half-finished Salt Lake City sleeve

Exhibit C: all the time at home I did not spend knitting the plain stockinette portion of those two sleeves above

There's always a portable project, right? There's always something in your purse, backpack, or pocket of your white coat for those found and opportune moments, like waiting in line, pumping gas, or going to noon conference. Traditionally, I knit socks during these times. They had all the qualities in question - small, lightweight, easily-memorized patterns for maximal not-looking-at-my-knitting. Turns out that the first 15 3/4" of the Salt Lake City sleeves fit all of these criteria. So instead of slogging through 15 3/4" of stockinette on US3s in the round during my perfectly good knitting time at home, I got it done here and there. So when I did get home, it was the fun color chart that awaited me. And I dove right in and had a blast.

Now there's just that 15 3/4" of the plain stockinette body to do . . . Perfect plane knitting for my weekend trip to see my husband, and New Orleans.