Kilt hose are fairly easy to knit on the go...John Anderson's are toe up and pretty simple, although they do have cables up the sides and the cuff is cabled as well. If you are comfortable with counting crosses in your cables, this pattern is a fairly easy one to memorize and work on in the car. I've knit a pair of JA's in Knit Picks Swish DK...economical yarn and they wear well. I knit them with a size smaller needle so that they would fit snugly-but that's the way my DH likes them-doesn't like loosely knitted hose. Swish also gives a very nicely defined cable. Another easy one that you can adapt the cuff on...this was the pattern I used for my very first pair of Kilt Hose...is the Toirneach from Knitty Winter 2007. They are super easy to knit-plain ribbed legs and the cuff has a nice pattern which you can pretty much adapt to other kinds of fancy patterns. I've knit these hose twice and DH loves them! BTW there are several Kilt Hose knitting groups on Ravelry.
Good luck with your hose...hope they will help pass the time!