Holiday knit 2016: "Unilintu" shawl

Finding a good holiday knitting project is not that easy. I used to go for socks but I'm bored of that and in the end, how many pairs of woolly socks can you actually wear? I've had a pair for more than 10 years and it's not worn out yet.

So recently I've been going for shawls, mainly for the following reasons:

• The project has to be lightweight. Max. 100 g! Who wants to drag half a kilo of yarn around when you're backpacking?
• It has to be a simple pattern that you can learn by heart quickly. I hate reading complicated instructions on a bumpy bus ride which usually means I'm getting sick sooner or later. 
• Ideally, it can be knitted on my wooden knitting needles to pass airport security without problems (and yes, I've had needles confiscated in the past).

At the moment, I only have smaller sized wooden needles but I'm planning on investing on a kit in different sizes to make it easier to choose. But in the past years, I haven't had any problems with metal needles in my carry-on luggage either, it seems to get more common or maybe security staff just thinks its funny to see somebody knitting who is under 60. 

Anyways, this years' holiday knit was therefore once again a shawl (after both my Peru project and my Iceland project) and it turned out well. The pattern is called "Unilintu" and you can get it for free on Ravelry. It's a very simple but it looks great when it's finished. I like the geometric shapes and that it doesn't have too much of a "lacy", frilly, look to it. That's how I like my shawls!

I actually already cast on a second shawl with the same pattern, this time in a thicker yarn for the winter. Depending on how much I will travel under the autumn, I'll hopefully finish it before Christmas.

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Pattern: "Unilintu" by Luminen
Yarn: Reclaimed  "La Doro" lace yarn by Wollgarnspinnerei Ferner, from my frogged "Birch" shawl