Knitting at 20,000 feet

Don't modern planes fly higher than that, usually? Anyway, today will be the first time in ages that I'll be bringing my knitting on a plane, provided TSA doesn't mess with me. I've got my Vernal Equinox on the cable, with button-ends to keep it on. The needle tips are in a separate compartment of my bag, to keep them from getting damaged. I've got my cable key, my stitch markers, my dental floss for a lifeline, and my yarn needle, too. There's actually a Ravelry forum dedicated to flying with your knitting, and from what people there have said, it sounds like my departure and destination airports (Boston Logan and Washington National--I refuse to call it Reagan) are not usually problematic for knitters, nor is the airline I'll be using. Yay! Also, wooden or bamboo needles and circular needles seem to be less "threatening" to TSA agents than metal needles or straight needles. That's convenient, seeing as I'm using Knitpicks Harmony Options!

I'm terrified that my Skinny Bugga! yarn is going to arrive at my house while I'm away and get stolen. :( I hope that doesn't happen! Of course, I don't even know if it's shipped yet. The status says "processing" or something. We'll see.

I realize I haven't said much about how I feel about the Vernal Equinox pattern itself, yet. I'm enjoying it very much. The fact that there are seven charts to work through means there's a variety of different stitch patterns involved. Each of the patterns has so far been reasonably simple, but entertaining. The pattern is well-written, very clear. The half-pi shaping method seems very simple. I do have some experience with the pi method, since I made my cat a Kitty Pi bed, which is basically a very small and unlacy pi shawl knit in bulky yarn and felted. You know, maybe that Shipwreck won't be so difficult--after all, the biggest section is just faggoting stitch, which is quick and easy and mindless. So all the more complex work will be done in the smaller sections of the shawl.