Ye Queen's Cabinett Unlock'd

luggage, return trip

This post probably falls into the TMI category, but you asked for it. 

The following went to Ireland packed in the (checked) suitcase. 

·         1 pair black knit waleless corduroy pants
·         1 short sleeved white t-shirt        
·         3 long-sleeved t-shirts (white, grey, black)
·         1 mulberry poly-crepe long-sleeved dressy tunic
·         1 red cotton/acrylic blend v-neck pullover
·         1 tan cashmere/silk crewneck pullover
·         1 grey light-weight cotton/poly knit cardigan
·         1 red/blue faux Pashmina paisley stole
·         1 tan/red silk rectangle
·         1 pair black walking shoes
·         Pajamas (black leggings, red Illinois State t-shirt)
·         2 pair black socks, 1 pair white sweat socks, 4 changes of underwear
·         Toiletries in a small plastic travel kit, meds, Chapstick, Visine
·         Trifles that I didn’t want to have to explain to the TSA (mag light, small pair of sewing scissors, extra knitting and cable needles, needle gauge)
·         Adaptor for chargers/cords
·         Small jewelry box with two pairs of earrings and a gold chain
·         Spare glasses (and a good thing too, because I stepped on my primary pair the third day out)
·         Empty carryon bag (for souvenirs/yarn/books)

I carried these items in my purse.

·         Wallet
·         Cell phone (Samsung Galaxy, bought just before the trip)
·         Tablet
·         MP3 player and headphones
·         Chargers for phone and tablet
·         Small notebook, pens
·         Knitting bag with tatting and mindless garter stitch project for the flight
·         1^st aid kit that included among other things my Red Cross ID, CPR mouth barrier and surgical gloves, along with a multi-purpose metal Leatherman-type tool that the TSA fortunately overlooked.  Kit actually used during the trip when a fellow participant stabbed himself in the hand during the felting workshop.  Serendipitously, I also found it to be just the right size to put under the small of my back during long bus rides.
·         Passport, itinerary, e-tickets, etc.
·         Hairbrush, travel-sized Vaseline Intensive Care lotion, Kleenex.

I wore this outfit on the plane trip over.

·         Black jeans
·         Grey-blue long-sleeved t-shirt
·         Running shoes
·         Socks, underwear
·         Grey/sage green/mulberry shawl
·         Sage green rain jacket with zip-in lining, leather gloves in pockets
·         Silver earrings

Everything in the suitcase was either knit or very lightweight (or both) and wrinkle-resistant.  The pajama pants, the red pullover and the black pants were layered into the suitcase.  The rest was folded into rectangles and then rolled up as tightly as possible and stacked in rows alongside the shoes that were holding down the pants/pullover. 

I did “washings” as necessary in hotel bathrooms of several items including socks/underwear, the short sleeved white t-shirt and the cashmere sweater, and sent the long-sleeved knit tops and the black jeans to the hotel same-day laundry service halfway through the trip at a cost of 9 euros.  A hair dryer does a good job on stubbornly damp sweat socks, by the way.  Fit the sock over the blower end and hit “high.”

There were no formal events on the itinerary but the mulberry tunic and the black knit pants, accessorized with gold earrings and the chain, would have passed muster just about anywhere.  I wore them to the welcome dinner the first night.

The grey shawl was large enough to be folded into a triangle/halter top and worn under the grey cardigan in a pinch.

Everyone else on the trip had a monster wheeled suitcase and most of them had two, in addition to a variety of carryon bags.  I had three different drivers ask me if I was sure that was all the luggage I had.

Coming home I was able to mash into the carryon and the suitcase a purchased sweater, ten skeins of yarn, three knitting books, half a dozen knitting patterns, a variety of postcards/refrigerator magnets/souvenir beer coasters, a silver shawl pin and earrings, several different types of rocks that I picked up for the spousal unit’s geography class (this is mandatory whenever I travel, particularly overseas), a mousepad of puffins from the Cliffs of Moher, and an Irish bird book, as well as all my workshop projects (two headbands, one honeycomb cable sample, two felting samples, and a knitted wire pendant).  I packed the grey shawl in the suitcase and on the trip home wore a gorgeous oversized blue stole I bought at the Kerry Woollen Mills.

What I could have left behind.

·         The mulberry tunic. 
·         The red pullover, worn only once.  It used up more space than it was worth and another cashmere sweater in a bright color would have been a better choice.  I’m not just being a cashmere snob – it folds compactly and can be rinsed out in the bathroom basin, rolled in a towel to get out the excess water, and then dried suspended over the hotel towel-warmer during the night (thank you to the lovely people who run the Lake Hotel in Killarney).  The fiber content of the red pullover was not conducive to field-expedient laundry operations.
·         The tablet/charger.  It was a nice-to-have, especially for composing/answering emails, but not, strictly speaking, necessary.  I downloaded the Kindle and Adobe Acrobat reader apps to my new phone along with some music and games and it was much more convenient on the bus/airplane.
·         The earrings I wore on the flight over, one of which I lost in transit.  I will no longer wear earrings on airplanes if there is going to be sleep involved.

Things I forgot to pack and needed.

·         Sunglasses
·         Q-tips
·         A Tide pen.  Curse you, red wine and that craic on Inisheer.
·         A washcloth. I forgot that B&Bs and most hotels in Europe do not provide them.
·         A rain hat or travel umbrella.  I got soaked in a downpour at Blarney Castle on Sunday and am currently nursing a scratchy throat that is probably the result.

Things I wish I'd had room in the suitcase for.

·         Another pair of knit pants, in grey or khaki
·         Binoculars

Voila, c’est tout.