Knitting on a Jet Plane


It does happen.


It's even, well, allowed.  On this morning's flight to Charlotte, I was seated next to an overly-perfumed and made-up woman and her teenage daughter (ditto).  They slept most of the flight.  I sewed buttons onto a baby sweater and knitted.  As we were making ready to land, I got out my bag and began stowing the knitting away.  This involved shifting everything in my bag.  As I was rearranging the sack of clementines and shoving in the knitting, the woman gestured to my bag and said "I can't believe they let you carry those on board!" in shocked tones.  

I thought she was referring to the fruit, so I told her, no, food was allowed as long as it wasn't packed in water.

"Oh, no," she said, "I meant those!" and pointed to my knitting needles.  (They were aluminum straights, but they're size fives.  Not miniscule by any means.)

No, I said, they're perfectly legal.

"But it would be so easy to..." She made a motion as if to stab someone.

Well, I said, you'd probably actually do more damage with a sharpened pencil.  Or a toothpick.  Security is fine with it, I said.  (Besides, I thought, anyone who takes the trouble to knit lace is not going to risk ruining it by doing something ridiculous like stabbing another passenger!)

She turned away with a sigh and a shake of her head, and said nothing more to me.  I shook my head, too.  I sew buttons on baby sweaters and I knit lace.  Clearly I'm a hardened criminal who oughtn't to be allowed to have even semi-sharp objects.

Look.  Lace and non-dangerous needles!
Hopefully my seat-mates on the next flight will be more enlightened.  But even if they're not, I'm going to knit anyway.  And then I'm going to drive home and hug my cat!

Comments

  1. Oh dear, I'm laughing so hard as I read this! Sigh. People can lack common sense SO much. At least they were sleeping for most of the flight! The lace is lovely.

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  2. I kinda wondered if they'd be allowed on flights. As, if I ever get my butt in gear and teach myself, I had thought, in passing, that maybe I'd knit on my 5 hour flight to WA next month. I'll probably just end up with books/mags/cross stitch though.

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  3. Although, I might have made some snide comment about, I can't believe they allow so much perfume on the flight. That stuff could kill a person! (gives me headaches). lol

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  4. I dunno. I worry about sharp objects in the hands of a Zombie Queen.

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  5. Sarah, I've started calling it "uncommon sense" to myself, because it's so rare now!

    Dawn, they're completely allowed. You can even have scissors! (As long as the blade is less than 4" long.) I've never had any trouble at the security line, and the flight attendants often ask me what I'm making :-) I like your comment about the perfume - it gives me headaches, too!

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  6. Unbelievable! Somehow I don't see you as a hardened criminal, Gillian. Btw,I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your visit. You and your mother always make me want to pick up my knitting.

    Joy

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  7. I so enjoyed visiting! I loved "Miss Ranskill Comes Home", by the way. Such a good story :) Thanks for lending it to me!

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