To knit or not to knit

On one of my email lists there has been a lot of talk about taking knitting needles on airplanes. Seems that it's kind of random as to whether you're allowed to take them on or not. I've flown twice recently and this is my experience with those weapons of mass destruction.

February - On a recent shopping expedition to another city my three friends and I all bought bamboo knitting needles and had started scarves. When we got to the airport we asked if we could take them on board. The lady at the check in counter asked if we had knitting on the needles or if they were empty. Seems that if you have some work in progress you are less threatening. So that's one trick to try ... load your needles and knit a few rows. I think the fact that they were bamboo and not metal helped too. Of course I had a wicked water buffalo horn in my carry on that would have made a bigger hole in someone that a knitting needle would but they didn't blink an eye at that either.

Then a week later I flew to California and I took my knitting again. I put it in a clear plastic bag and made sure I had some work started. They didn't bother me at all.

Moral of the story? Who knows? It's all arbitrary. But actually having knitting on the needles seems to help. Maybe the security screeners relate knitting to little old ladies sitting on porches, serenely clicking away. They just didn't know granny had a shotgun by the door and moonshine in her teacup!