One lovely thing about taking some sort of stitching or needlework on a cruise is that if you are in one of the lounges with your needlework, people will stop by, say hello, and ask what you are doing, so it's a great way to meet some very nice people. (If you are reading a book they just walk on by.) Once when I was on the QE2 working on a bit of wholecloth quilting in the lounge near the casino, a woman stopped and was so excited she could hardly contain herself. It seems that she had lost a critical button on one of her formal dresses and still had the button, but no sewing kit. She asked whether she could borrow a needle and thread, and then dashed down to her cabin to retrieve the dress and the button. The thread I had didn't match at all, but the button was situated so that didn't matter, and she was a very happy lady who even bought me a drink in thanks.
So -- check the TSA rules about what you can and cannot take in your carry-on. They are at
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However, you should knowthat the folks at the screening area can and do confiscate thingsanyway! I have lost scissors, pair after pair, even though they ALLmet the formal guidelines, and even the little fold-ups, so now Inever take any scissors I care about. And I carry 2 pair -- one withmy stitching (occasionally confiscated) and one tossed into the bottomof my purse with carkeys (never confiscated yet). Other than that, Ihave never had any problems getting stitching things through security,and that includes embroidery stuff, tatting stuff, knitting withstraight and circular needles, crochet, and hand-piecing andwholecloth things for quilting.