Yarn cutter ... gone

The little yarn cutter I'd bought got its first outing... which turned out to be its last! I had a long journey to fill, involving coach, ferry, bus and airline travel so took a sizeable crochet project with me to occupy the hours. On the long coach journey and then the ferry I made excellent progress, and each time I changed colours the little cutter came in very handy, and was then put back into the ticket pocket of my jeans. I should have suspected something wrong when the body search at the airport didn't turn anything up but didn't think about it - it wasn't until I sat down to wait for my flight and got the crochet out again that I realised I'd lost the cutter. Spent a fruitless time searching the airport shops, hoping to find something like nail clippers - but no success. Then tried everything in my bag - surely something would have a sharp enough edge to cut through a piece of yarn? Finally I made it - one of my keys is quite new so still has sharpish edges and I managed to saw through the yarn with it. Not ideal, but at least the flight time wasn't wasted!
Anyway, my crochet hook has now added a cross-Channel ferry to its modes of transport, and Belgium to the countries where it's been used!

Much nearer home

When I started this blog about travelling crochet, I was thinking about long distance travel, not just a few miles. This evening I had to travel at rush hour through part of London... had my wool bag with me, and as the traffic was so bad that I was only moving forward one car length at a time, managed to get three rounds of a granny square done while trying to get through traffic lights. 3tr, engage 1st gear, move forward 10 ft, handbrake on, go to neutral, 1ch 3tr 2ch, back in gear... etc etc! Arrived at my destination in East London much less stressed than I would otherwise have been.

First project complete

The work I started when I last flew - result of a hurried search for a one-colour crochet cotton pattern - is finally complete - a shopping bag. Although the crochet work was completed while travelling, making up had to wait for some spare time at home. I've reused lots of bits and pieces of reclaimed stuff - stiffened the top edge with curtain header tape, lined with reclaimed fabrics and added rope handles from a store carrier bag. This will be one item for sale at a church fair, to raise money for building work to adapt part of the church building for community use. There's a lot of money to raise but as they say on the Tesco ads, "Every little helps"! Although the bag is white, which might not be thought too practical, it's cotton so will be machine washable.

Yarn cutter to go

Thanks to a link given to me by a forum contributor (on http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=52354363) I now have a little yarn cutter which I should be able to take with me when flying... roll on the next journey, when I can do something with more than one colour!

First outing

I love to travel, but spend hours in airport lounges, on buses and trains, wasting hours I could be using. I used to knit or cross-stitch, but can't take those through security. Recently it occurred to me that a crochet hook could not be considered as a dangerous weapon, so should be allowed through... though of course I couldn't take scissors, so I would have to work on a one-colour, non-cut item. In the loft - amongst over 20 years' accumulation of bits and pieces - I found a bag of balls of cotton, bought so long ago that I can no longer remember why I bought them. There was nothing suitable in my box of patterns, but an online search turned up a pattern for a crocheted cotton shopping bag... this was it! I had my materials to hand, and a travel plan booked which would take me through two lots of airport security. Time to try it out! At worst I would lose a hook worth only a pound or so.

I started off my first crochet bag while waiting at Gatwick airport then headed through security - no questions asked, and I was able to crochet in the departure lounge and on my flight to Pisa! As we approached Pisa, the plane made a sudden "go-around" and one of the stewardesses was thrown against a bulkhead and was injured. She needed a hospital check, but was worried about being left alone if the rest of the crew had to continue with the aircraft - so, having several hours to pass before my next flight, I offered to stay around in case she needed some company. I gave her my mobile number and said I would stay in or around the airport for an hour while her crew got help for her.

The sun was shining, and though only mid-March, it was warm outside. In front of Pisa airport are benches facing the statues of marine creatures rising out of the grass! I was able to sit there, enjoy the sunshine, and continue my crochet, while waiting to hear if I was needed.

Fortunately the stewardess didn't need any help so I then felt free to go and investigate Pisa for myself - taking the airport bus into town and then walking around seeing some of the sights - including, of course the Torre Pendente!

The next stage of my journey was a flight from Pisa to Gerona (again no question at security), and at Gerona I had to wait for a bus to take me into France... so this first crochet bag is a four-country effort: UK, Italy, Spain and France!