Crafting is one of my favorite things. I love knitting, sewing, papercrafts, and just making stuff in general. Pre-baby, I spent many hours learning and honing new crafts. But as a full time working mom, not to mention a road warriorette, there just aren’t nearly enough hours in the day. Finding time to get my real job work and my blog work done is hard enough (not to mention little things like sleeping and eating), much less extra time for knitting. Because of this, I’m getting very creative about carving out small pockets of time for knitting and other crafts. Even though traveling for work definitely makes me busier, it also allows me some down time I wouldn’t otherwise have. There is almost always a little extra time in an airport, after meetings in the hotel, or even while flying to get my craft on.

Obviously, it’s not always practical to get out your knitting needles or sewing kit, like when you’re on a small plane or sitting in the middle seat. But I take my knitting on every trip, and nearly always find a chance to get it out and knit a few rows. So far, small, quick projects like hats have been easiest to do because they don’t take up much space, plus I like the feeling of accomplishment after a short time. I’ve also been focusing on projects that don’t need a pattern. But now that winter is basically over here in Texas (and winding down elsewhere) the need for knitted hats is waning. I’m wondering if I should branch out and do something more complicated. It’s just that other types of crafts, such as sewing or paper crafting, seem so cumbersome, and keeping to a knitting or crochet pattern when working only in short bursts is asking for mistakes. (Pictured: a recently completed project, a hat for my baby. And yes, it is super cute on him )

(If you’re wondering what the rules are about travel and knitting, check out my post answering that very question.)

So, Readers, what’s your advice? Do you craft on the road? If so, what do you do? Do you stick to simple projects or do you go for more complicated stuff?

On Monday I went to Nashville for the day. I was very excited to have some time to knit, as having a full time job and a three month old does not lend itself to much free time. My latest project is a hat for a friend’s three-year-old son, and on the way up to Nashville I got most of it done. On the way back I needed to work on shaping the crown and the top, so I got out my double pointed needles. (For you non-knitters, double pointed needles are exactly what they sound like—needles that are pointed on both ends. Here is an example.) When the flight attendant came through to do her final seatbelt check, she paused for a second next to me. I was half expecting a “What are you making?” Or “How cute!” But no. She said, “I’m going to need you to put that way for take-off and landing.”

Whaaaa? How many flights have I been on, with how many knitting projects—like 100? Often times I am using my double pointed needles. I have never, ever been asked to put away my knitting. What’s next, I’ll have to put away my book? My co-worker and the guy sitting next to me were equally confused. But since you have to do what the flight attendant says, I put it away and immediately fell asleep.

Readers, have you ever had a flight attendant tell you to put away something that seemed ridiculous?

I recently received a question from Reader M:

Like you, I’m a knitter. Is TSA allowing knitting items through now?

Great question!

After 9-11, there was some pushback about carrying knitting needles onto planes. However, a few years ago the regulations relaxed and knitters are once again allowed to work on their projects while flying. According to the TSA blog, there are no restrictions on what kind of needles you can bring through—bamboo, plastic, metal, circular, etc. Also, scissors with blades shorter than four inches are allowed. I would advise printing out the page from the TSA blog and TSA website where it says these are okay, just in case you get a TSO who doesn’t know what the rules are. If in the rare case that a TSO still won’t let them through, I would be prepared with some scrap yarn and a plastic needle so you can save your work. (Pictured: Lion Brand Speed Stix Size 50 knitting needles, available at Joann for $10.99.)

My own personal experience: I have never had anyone even ask me a question about my knitting needles, and have traveled hundreds of times in the US, and several times internationally, with them. Once, in Cozumel, it was posted that knitting needles had to go in checked baggage so that’s where they went. Other than that, it’s never been an issue. And it’s a good thing, because without my knitting to keep me busy I would not be a happy traveler!

Readers, have you ever had an issue with your knitting items? What about stuff for other crafty endeavors?

I am currently working on a lace shrug, and I need to consult the pattern on every row. In the middle of the flight, that’s not too hard—just lower your tray table. But during takeoff and landing, it gets a bit trickier. You can’t use your tray table to hold your patterns, but you still want to use that time to knit (or crochet, or crossstitch, or whatever your craft is). Enter crafty creativity. I figured out that I can hang my pattern from the tray table clip. This puts the pattern right at eye level, so it’s easy to glance at it without breaking your rhythm. I actually like that more than putting it down on the table.

In coach, this works great, and actually one of the few places where something is easier in coach than in first. Since there aren’t tray tables on the seat in front of you in first, I used the pocket that holds the blanket. The idea is the same, but the execution isn’t quite as good. Still, easier than no pattern at all!

A few trips ago, I packed all of my normal stuff for a plane ride: iPhone, Kindle, magazine, snacks, and knitting. It was only once I was on the actual flight that I realized I had forgotten to wind my yarn, and so had a pretty much useless skein. In my early morning purse packing, I had simply grabbed the nearest mass of yarn, not the pretty, ready to use ball I meant to get. (For the non-yarn crazy: Yarn is often shipped in a skein, which is basically a really long strand looped over and over, then twisted and folded.  You can’t knit or crochet when yarn is like that, as it would become a tangled mess. So you have to wind it into a ball. Imagine the scenes you’ve seen in old movies of someone sitting with yarn looped around their hands, and someone else winding it into a ball. That’s what I’m talking about.) Pictured: A lovely example of a skein from the Etsy store ByMelody.

So what is a girl to do? There I sat, mid-row, with plenty of yarn but no way to wind it. I looked around, thinking, can I use my purse? Or my knees? How about my arm rest? After a number of unsuccessful tries, and with mounting frustration, I finally was struck with inspiration. The tray table! I wrapped the yarn around it, then closed and locked it. I slowly started winding the ball around my hands, and it actually worked! It wasn’t perfect, but after about ten minutes I was able to get back to my actual knitting. So if you forget to wind your yarn before your trip, don’t despair! The seat back table in front of you will work in a pinch.