With the holiday travel season in full swing, knitters everywhere are staring blankly at their yarn stash, biting their fingernails and wondering what to bring along.
Let's get one thing out of the way: yes, you can bring knitting needles on the airplane. There was only about one week, right after 9/11, when knitting needles were banned on airplanes. But knitters have been stressing and asking "Can I bring knitting needles on the plane?" ever since.
Be aware that the TSA still has the leeway to ban specific objects if they deem them threatening. Don't bring your favorite heirloom needles on the plane, or you might be forced to ditch them at security. Likewise, it's probably better to bring bamboo needles instead of metal ones.
Also, the flight attendant may ask you to put away your knitting during take-off and landing. Try not to get too annoyed with them. They are just doing their jobs.
As for what to bring, smaller is better. Afghan squares = okay. Afghans knit as one big seamless piece = not okay.
In talking to knitters, I have found that socks are the #1 preferred travel knitting. They are small and portable, but you get a lot of knitting out of one pair of socks. (I once estimated that there are as many stitches in a pair of socks as in a men's size medium sweater.)
If you're not a sock knitter, then I recommend dishcloths. Dishcloths are small, fast, easy, cheap, and make an excellent gift for someone once you arrive at your destination.
A reluctant third place choice is scarves. You have to turn them a lot, and they can get bulky and in the way, but they are relatively compact (compared to an afghan or a sweater) and most of them are mindless enough that you don't have to keep checking a pattern.
Image courtesy Flickr/knitwick
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