Knitting

Lately I've been doing a lot of knitting. Awhile ago I noticed a woman crocheting in an airport and I struck up a conversation - told her I was a knitter, but too bad you can't take knitting needles on airplanes. Oh, she told me, yes you can - its right in the TSA rules, knitting needles and crochet needles are allowed as long as they are plastic or metal. So now I am a peripatetic knitter, and always have at least one project in my bag when I travel. Its especially great for long-hauls, and also nice because its something you can do besides read while you're taxi-ing, taking off or landing, not just flying or waiting in the airport. You do have to be careful, however. On one trip last year to Australia I flew from New York to Los Angeles, LA to Sydney, Sydney to Melbourne - and it was going out of Melbourne for Wellington that the airport security guys told me 'you can't fly with knitting needles'! I said 'how do you think I got here?' Anyway, long story short, he was a complete hard-ass and my 'little old lady who knits' act did not go over well, and so I wound up pulling the sock off the needles and mailing the whole thing home. Now I travel with stitch holders and an envelope just in case.

Projects need to be small - who wants to lug an entire sweater on a trip, especially one you can't wear yet! So I've taken up sock knitting. Socks are fun to knit, small, and the new sock yarns are fabulous. And short, double-pointed needles are great if you have the misfortune of sitting in a center seat. I've just finished a pair that will be a gift for KB, in a very pretty burgundy superwash wool - they are called "Eagles' Flight" and thank you to Megan Humphrey for the free pattern on the PT Yarn website. Another sock 'artist' on the web is 'Cookie' over at Knitty, a great blog with really innovative patterns. Check out her latest sock here.

So - if you play your cards right and be nice to me, you just might get a pair of lacy, hand-knit cashmere socks in your favorite color, that have been around the world!