MBurts

I regularly knit on airplanes - it's a wonderful tool for dealing with the inevitable flight delays. When I hear "we are 45th in line for take off," there is something extremely satisfying in being able to shrug my shoulders and say "guess I'm getting a few more rows done."

Pretty much all of the "horror" stories I've heard actually occurred in the few months post 9/11. For a while I put my projects and supplies in a mesh project bag and tossed it in a bin along side my shoes, but lately it hasn't mattered. In fact a couple of weeks ago my carry on got pulled for a bag check, the project bag (complete with scissors) was of no interest -- the dried apricots and block of cheddar, however, needed to be swabbed for explosive residue.

Another thing about air travel is to keep in mind that if you are traveling internationally TSA rules apply for your outbound (and the switch to domestic after Immigration & Customs) but that wherever you are boarding internationally will have their own set of rules and guidelines. For example while TSA seems to be fine with small scissors these days, security in France was not. A quick check of the posted guidelines on the airport website, let me know to slip the scissors out of the project bag and into checked luggage for my return flight. Actually taking the time to read the guidelines has saved me numerous headaches.

For confined spaces, I recommend circular needles or double points. A thread cutter and/or small nail clippers are useful for when scissors are not allowed/appropriate. The other knitting accessory that I consider mandatory for traveling is a yarn bra; not having to worry about my yarn tangling in my project bag is invaluable. If I'm working on a project on double points, I also use a keeper (two end caps joined by a piece of elastic) to prevent my project from sliding off the needles in the project bag.