Knitting on planes
It has led readers to ask if they can take their knitting needles on aircraft.
And the answer is yes. Knitting, tapestry and crochet needles are permitted through security screening, as per regulations by the Australian Government. They can be checked in and can be carried on to an aircraft in hand luggage.
+ One reader, who went to great lengths to make sure, phoned Perth Airport, where a helpful staffer called up their extensive list and said they definitely could. But when she came to check in at the airport, there seemed to be a question mark over whether her metal needles would be permitted, as opposed to those made of plastic, wood or carbon fibre. She ended up taking them from her carry-on and putting them in her check-in luggage, leaving her unable to knit during her flight to France.
+ But in the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) list of items, knitting needles are listed for both check-in and carry-on. The searchable list is handy: casa.gov.au/packright.
+ The UK Government's guidelines and most airlines flying in and from the UK permit knitting needles in carry-on luggage. But individual airport security may have varying policies, so it's as well to be prepared for questions. Print out or have screenshots of the relevant policies. gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/personal-items
+ European flight regulations also generally permit knitting needles in carry-on luggage, but it is best to ask at check-in or bag drop, when you can still put them in checked baggage.
+ For travel, it's probably best to carry needles made of plastic, rather than metal (aluminium), wood or bamboo. For the planet, it's probably best to use the latter. Those who want to start knitting might try the Boye kit 'I Taught Myself To Knit'. It has a book with 18 beginner projects, two pairs of knitting needles, a row counter, yarn needles and all the other tools you need to start. It is $25 at Spotlight.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
A whisky collector, PS40 bartender and bottle of Ice Magic walk into a new bar ...
Eating out Just open Pack up the Kingswood and head to Silver's Motel in Enmore to relive the great Aussie road trip. Previous SlideNext Slide The spirit of the great Australian road trip has been distilled into Silver's Motel, a new Enmore Road bar serving a 300-strong whisky collection alongside bright-green Midori Splice slushies until 2am most nights. Like the highway motel your dad pulled into after a gruelling six hours behind the wheel, Silver's is all nostalgia and unpretentious charm. Behind the art deco exterior, it's all vinyl bar seating, walnut laminate veneers and sunlight filtering through venetian blinds. Funk queen Chaka Khan is playing over the speakers, rare whiskys are hooked up to a line of spirit dispensers, and there's a conspicuous bottle of Cottee's Ice Magic behind the bar. Silver's Motel is the second venture from acclaimed bartender Michael Chiem, who owns and operates PS40, recognised as The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide's Bar of the Year in 2023. This time around, Chiem has partnered with former employee, bartender and whisky enthusiast Tynan Sidhu. 'We've always had a fascination with roadside motels,' Sidhu says. 'They're these beautiful time capsules of the 𝄒70s and 𝄒80s, and they really spoke to the kind of environment we wanted to create here in Enmore.' Enmore, which has become one of Sydney's go-to destinations for a night out over the past two years, feels more laid back than its Kings Cross cousin. With a 90-person capacity, Silver's Motel is set to be the largest bar on the strip, but Chiem says it was important for the pair to lean into the suburb's characteristic approachability. 'The concept came from looking around at all these fancy hotel bars [that were opening in Sydney at the time] and thinking, well, we're definitely not one of those – we're more of a motel bar,' Chiem explains. 'You know, somewhere that's approachable and warm, somewhere you can come and go as you please.' That means plenty of seating, at tables, booths and along the shiny veneer of the nine-metre-long bar. It also means a friendly bartender is on hand and eager to walk you through their whisky selection – demystifying a liquor that can be intimidating for some. Chiem says that same down-to-earth approach carries through to the drinks list, which features eight house cocktails, three whisky sours, a tight selection of mostly craft beers (the Crown Lager and GB Bitter being two necessary exceptions) and mostly Australian winemakers (save for the champers, of course), with standouts like Patrick Sullivan and Samantha May. 'Our drinks aren't too over-the-top,' Chiem says. 'They're very considered, very comfortable, and very delicious, but we're not trying to force new things onto people.' The house cocktail list ($24 each) channels rustic country cooking: the Semi Gloss cocktail is a three-day process of burning down mandarin peels to create a syrup, paired with gin, Margan vermouth, lemon verjuice and orange bitters; while the Marigold Rush is a whisky sour using freshly muddled marigolds.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
A whisky collector, PS40 bartender and bottle of Ice Magic walk into a new bar ...
Eating out Just open Pack up the Kingswood and head to Silver's Motel in Enmore to relive the great Aussie road trip. Previous SlideNext Slide The spirit of the great Australian road trip has been distilled into Silver's Motel, a new Enmore Road bar serving a 300-strong whisky collection alongside bright-green Midori Splice slushies until 2am most nights. Like the highway motel your dad pulled into after a gruelling six hours behind the wheel, Silver's is all nostalgia and unpretentious charm. Behind the art deco exterior, it's all vinyl bar seating, walnut laminate veneers and sunlight filtering through venetian blinds. Funk queen Chaka Khan is playing over the speakers, rare whiskys are hooked up to a line of spirit dispensers, and there's a conspicuous bottle of Cottee's Ice Magic behind the bar. Silver's Motel is the second venture from acclaimed bartender Michael Chiem, who owns and operates PS40, recognised as The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide's Bar of the Year in 2023. This time around, Chiem has partnered with former employee, bartender and whisky enthusiast Tynan Sidhu. 'We've always had a fascination with roadside motels,' Sidhu says. 'They're these beautiful time capsules of the 𝄒70s and 𝄒80s, and they really spoke to the kind of environment we wanted to create here in Enmore.' Enmore, which has become one of Sydney's go-to destinations for a night out over the past two years, feels more laid back than its Kings Cross cousin. With a 90-person capacity, Silver's Motel is set to be the largest bar on the strip, but Chiem says it was important for the pair to lean into the suburb's characteristic approachability. 'The concept came from looking around at all these fancy hotel bars [that were opening in Sydney at the time] and thinking, well, we're definitely not one of those – we're more of a motel bar,' Chiem explains. 'You know, somewhere that's approachable and warm, somewhere you can come and go as you please.' That means plenty of seating, at tables, booths and along the shiny veneer of the nine-metre-long bar. It also means a friendly bartender is on hand and eager to walk you through their whisky selection – demystifying a liquor that can be intimidating for some. Chiem says that same down-to-earth approach carries through to the drinks list, which features eight house cocktails, three whisky sours, a tight selection of mostly craft beers (the Crown Lager and GB Bitter being two necessary exceptions) and mostly Australian winemakers (save for the champers, of course), with standouts like Patrick Sullivan and Samantha May. 'Our drinks aren't too over-the-top,' Chiem says. 'They're very considered, very comfortable, and very delicious, but we're not trying to force new things onto people.' The house cocktail list ($24 each) channels rustic country cooking: the Semi Gloss cocktail is a three-day process of burning down mandarin peels to create a syrup, paired with gin, Margan vermouth, lemon verjuice and orange bitters; while the Marigold Rush is a whisky sour using freshly muddled marigolds.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
After rare flooding event, Aussies are flocking our largest lake
Like the sandpipers and terns, I've come to Lake Eyre (also known as Kati Thanda to the Arabana people), for a bird's-eye view of this stunning spectacle. After downing my burger and pint at the hotel, I meet Wrightsair pilot Jaiden Carter next door for a private aerial tour. It's a cool 15 degrees outside, but our white four-seater Cessna 172 glows like a firebrand in the afternoon sun. After a safety briefing, we're wheels up and soaring over clay flats and dunes stubbled with kerosene grass and saltbush. Within minutes, we encounter what looks like a vast inland sea at Halligan Bay Campground. Carter shares how record-breaking rainfall in Queensland in January and February created an 'inland tsunami' that has slowly surged inland to Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre. Satellite photos reveal a slow transformation: a steady trickle pools and expands to fill dusty gorges and flats, eventually swallowing the 1.2 million square kilometres of the Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre basin. Following the flow are the native birds, who are yet to arrive in full numbers when I visit in July, but as I look down from my perch, I can already see dozens of white wings stretching out across the rippling surface. Carter flies us over Silcrete Island, a boomerang-shaped island ringed by white salt that will soon be packed with over 200,000 pelicans. 'It'll be so dense with pelicans, they can't take off. They'll need to go in the water,' Carter says. Steering the Cessna back to Williams Creek, Carter says locals are sceptical about whether the lake will beat the record-high flood of 1974, but more water is pouring in each day. Nobody can say for sure how long the floodwater will stay, but the lake may start to shrink again in March. Until then, Carter is enjoying each flight as it comes. 'It never gets old, and every time you fly over there's something different,' he says. 'The position of the sun reveals new colours, or the wind ripples the water differently. If you're lucky, you might even see pelicans.' The details Getting there There are no direct commercial flights to William Creek Aerodrome. Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar fly direct to Adelaide from all Australian capitals, with connecting flights to Coober Pedy with Rex Airlines. Car hire is available with Budget and Avis at Coober Pedy Airport. Make sure to tell them where you plan to drive so they can provide a suitable car. See
