Knitting the friendly skies

Today was a good time to be a knitter. I arrived at the airport about two hours before my flight was scheduled to depart. It ended up being delayed about an hour and a half, so I had plenty of time on my hands.

My concern about getting knitting needles through security, particularly those pointy circs, proved to be unwarranted. I breezed through the metal detector and my belongings passed through the x-ray machine with nary a word from the guards. I settled in at the gate for some knitting, took a break to get online, and returned to more knitting when the flight was bumped back another thirty minutes. I got a lot done.

A couple of old women were intrigued with my activity and struck up a conversation with me. Neither of them knit--crochet and sewing are their bailiwicks--but they were genuinely interested in the hat I'm making. The flight attendants also were curious to know what I was doing. I feel a little guilty for getting the attention. The truth is that what I'm doing isn't hard, even if sometimes I make it that way for myself.

The flight itself was fairly unremarkable. I am in full support of my time on airplanes being unremarkable. I knit for a good portion of the trip, which kept me more relaxed. I'm not afraid of flying, but I get stressed about the popping ears that take forever to equalize and headaches. The descent was kind of rough on the ears, and I still feel like the right side of my head is in a bucket.

Per a tip from those savvier than me regarding aviation travel, I requested a change to an exit row seat and got one. The bonus was that I had no one sitting beside me and extra leg room in front of me. It was like flying first class without the $90 upgrade fee.

So, now I'm in Texas, although I did get momentarily disoriented while at the grocery store with my brother. Where am I again? I arrived in the dark, so the only difference I have noticed is the warmer temperature, which I've been told will not be sticking around for the duration of my stay.

I gave my brother the hat I made for him and his wife the blanket for both of them. Both were well received, although neither item would seem to be needed for the time being in this southern climate.

On Tuesday I'm meeting up with Donia, who has been gracious enough to offer to take me to lunch and show me a couple of yarn stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Another southern adventure begins...

Works in progress

Hooray for magic loop. I am really pleased with the way the hat is coming along, and the magic loop method deserves a lot of the credit. If I'd been knitting this on dpns, I expect I'd have ladders in it. As it stands, this is looking like something someone might actually pay for.

The long tail cast on gives the hat a neat edge, and the k6, p2 ribbing makes for a nice design. I want to have the hat finished now. The knitting of it is taking longer because the last stitches are exceptionally tight on the needle and don't like to slide as easily as the rest. I'm slightly concerned that the hat might not be big enough. It's pretty stretchy, though, so it should be fine. Heaven forbid the day when I make something that must fit. I have a feeling that much anguish will result.

The scarf is also showing good, if a bit slow, progress. I'm not worried about finishing it in time to send to my International Scarf Exchange 5 pal, but knowing how the last couple weeks haven't been the most productive knitting-wise, the fear whispers to me. I'm not completely in love with the pattern. Having already scrapped one pattern and frogged this a couple times to obtain the proper width, I think I'm stuck with what I've chosen. It's nothing against the pattern. I just think I may get bored with it.

It's less than a month until my airport and airplane knitting endeavor, but it won't be done to eat up time waiting on standby for a flight. I found out that my sister-in-law will be switching jobs. Naturally, when she leaves the airline, she loses the reduced travel rate benefit that extends to family members. I knew she was looking, so this wasn't unexpected news. It might have been fun to play The Amazing Race mini-game of "will I squeeze onto this flight?", but since I would have had zero persuasive power in the matter, it would have lost a lot of the luster. Knowing that I won't face several hours of waiting is kind of a relief. Plus, I won't have to abide by the airline's dress code for the program, although I suppose I'd accept wearing less comfortable shoes to save eighty bucks.

Up, up, and away?

I need your advice. The week of Thanksgiving I will be flying--and boy will my arms be tired. *rim shot*

Sorry, that was too good to pass up.

Anyway, I'll be flying and likely having a lot of time to knit. I mean more than one might ordinarily have. Because there's nothing I enjoy more in life than having as many possible things being uncertain, I am taking a risk and flying standby. My sister-in-law works for an airline. One of her benefits is allowing family members to fly for reduced rates. The catch, of course, is that there is no guarantee of a seat. If the plane is full, I'm out of luck until there is a flight with an opening.

The price difference between this option and buying a ticket on another airline is significant enough that I'm willing to take the chance. If I have to wait awhile, no problem. You know how I feel about airports. Better yet, I can knit until my heart's content. I will be relaxed and look oh so wise.

Here's where I need your help. I know that knitting needles are permitted on planes, but what advice do you have for transporting knitting supplies? Do you carry on all of it or just what you'll need during the flight? Scissors? Have you had knitting-related problems with security? Is it better to have an aisle or window seat to maximize knitting space? (I'm guessing aisle is better, but maybe this is a counterintuitive scenario.) Is there anything I ought to know not covered in these questions?

To make this standby situation even more interesting, it is possible this option might get taken out of the mix. If my sister-in-law were to change employers between now and then, this cheaper standby route becomes unavailable to me. So, in an attempt to save a decent chunk of money, I could end up paying more.

And I claim not to be adventurous...