Angela Modzelewski of Crafts Americana Group had emailed me about Kelley Petkun. She’s come up with a list of her top 5 reasons knitting is the ideal travel companion. It’s a little quirky, and Angela thought there was a chance it might be of interest to readers. Kelley’s Blog
1. Knitting eases the strains and frustrations of travel. While everyone else is upset by delays, you see it as more knitting time!
2. A knitting project and an MP3 player are an extremely effective defense against an overly-chatty neighbor when cramped seating in airplanes can quickly cause claustrophobia.
3. Knitting is a good friend. Travel solo with confidence with a knitting project as a constant companion.
4. You can handle any situation with patience and grace if you have your trusty knitting to keep your fingers and your mind occupied. The historical site you planned on visiting opens an hour later than the guidebook stated. It’s pouring rain so you have to delay your walking tour. You’ll always have a back up plan in your bag.
5. You’ll meet new people. According to Kelley, “Knitting is an inviting activity that either fascinates those who have not had any experience with it, or encourages fellow knitters to welcome you into their world. I was inChina, it was very rural, and most of the women knit. It was like there was no language barrier at all! We just sat and knit together!”
Kelley and her dog Xena are world travelers, she has personally inspected every Knit Picks supplier from the Andean alpaca herds in Peru to South Africa to Europe. Like Kelley, her knitting has traveled extensively. A couple balls of sock yarn were tucked into a backpack for a hiking trip in the Atacama Desert in Chile. And a baby blanket, a slightly larger project better suited to a more leisurely trip, recently tagged along to Mexico for the holidays.
As an expert in knitting while traveling, Kelley can verify the TSA’s policy on bringing knitting needles in your carry ons. All knitting needles, including metal needles are not classified by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as sharp objects and are allowed on airplanes on US flights. Even metal scissors with pointed tips are allowed in your carry-on as long as the blades are shorter than four inches. If you are planning on taking an international flight hosted by a foreign airline, Kelley suggests checking with the airline before your travel day and packing wooden needles like Knit Picks’ Harmony needles and nail clippers or children’s safety scissors to ensure you won’t encounter unexpected delays.
What can I say….
