Hi friends, My vacation is just a week away and I've got my work cut out for me if I'm going to have my sweater finished in time. That means I'm knitting at every opportunity: on the bus, on the subway, at lunch – my knitting is with me everywhere I go these days. One of the handiest things I own as far as travel knitting is concerned is this tin filled with knitting notions. The tin is about the size of an Altoids tin, and here's what I keep inside:

• cable needle
• tiny Swiss Army knife (love those wee scissors!)
• safety pins (great as stitch holders, or to mark right side/wrong side)
• bodkin (for sewing in ends)
• retractable measuring tape
• stitch markers (two kinds and multiple colours – I like to code my markers)

At times you'll also find buttons, short lengths of wool (great as stitch holders, stitch markers, or for provisional cast-on), straight pins and a thimble. I've also got my eye out for a short crochet hook – something like this would be perfect. I think that a tin like this would be a great gift for a novice knitter (Christmas is only 109 days away, after all). If you're looking for more inspiration (or if you're like me, and just plain nosy about what people keep in their knitting bags) check out the " What's in your knitting bag?" pool on Flickr. What's the most essential tool in your knitting kit?