I keep two knitting tool kits; one is a rigid plastic pencil case, re-purposed ages ago from my kids, which sits mostly on the coffee table near the couch where I do most of my at-home knitting. The other is a medium-sized, zippered pouch which is soft and flat enough to fit easily in my handbag or travel-bag yet large enough so that I don’t have to spill everything out to find the one thing. In fact it is large enough to hold a small WIP such as a sock or two. Only the pouch gets to leave the house or even just the room. Each kit holds good scissors, yarn-darning needles, a few dpns for emergencies and cabling, see-through high-lighter tape, a needle gauge, markers, a stitch-counter, a pencil, some waste-yarn, etc. It’s worked very well for me over the decades in spite of my great talent for misplacing what I most need in every other area of my life.
Why didn’t I think of a box that can’t be moved! I have just the box, a very pretty old inlaid wood box I inherited. It’s now sitting in the dining room with useless stuff in it but now I will stock it with all the knitting helpers and give it a place of pride in the living room. Thanks for the suggestion. As for the travelling bag I have about 4, and still things wander - maybe too many and too small is the problem. Thanks for the ideas.
You can get them on most airplanes, but not all. Mine were seized at the Hong Kong Airport.
I fly a good deal, and so always have dental floss and a tapestry needle in my notions bag. The cutter in the dental floss case is handy in lieu of a scissor, and I use the dental floss for a lifeline if I’m traveling through an airport that might have a problem with my needles.
Canadian tire money. Nothing to do with knitting, but I have it stashed everywhere. It just feels right.
Very true. I started carrying dental floss in my knitting bag when I was flying fairly often, and I still keep a container of unwaxed floss in my notions bag for lifelines and the handy cutter.
I’ll bite…what is “Canadian tire money”?
Canadian Tire is a hardware/aurtopart/sporting goods/housewares/seasonal/etc store in Canada. It started out as tires/auto parts/hardware and grew. Anyway, its thing is that with every purchase you get an immediate rebate of 1 or 2% in Canadian Tire Money. Looks like monopoly money but the bill denominations are 1cent 5 cent, 10 cent, 25 cent. You can use it the next time to pay for part of your purchase. People save until they have $20 or $50 or so and then splurge on something. In the meantime, it’s squirreled away everywhere- coat pockets, junk drawer, car dash, etc.
And they don’t have a yarn department?
How about a Suggestion Box?
I don’t think I’d buy yarn from Canadian Tire. It would be dirty and it would smell like motor oil.
It’s our second currency. Mostly you just hoard it. Maybe use it to buy a lantern so you can knit while camping. I’d post a pic, but don’t know how. 
Disagree. Wouldn’t be dirty or stinky.
As much as I like a good canadian tire discussion, could we please direct the discussion back to the topic? I have cookies and stitch markers!
Yes you do! 
Thanks - that’s lovely. Much more interesting than the Green Stamps of my youth.
I have 4 silver mesh bags that are sized quite small to medium, each bigger than the next:
Smallest bag: stitch markers
Small bag: stitch safety pins in plastic
Medium-small bag: bits of yarn for holding stitches
Medium bag: scissor, tape measures, tapestry needles, pencil and eraser, note card, and the other 3 bags
I have a separate circular needle holder that I store near the spot where I knit in my house.
I try to have a notions bag in each knitting bag since I’m a multiple project knitter. I fly a lot so reuse the cases I get on international flights. Instead of scissors, I use a Clover yarn cutter pendant–airplane approved and doesn’t cut through the bag. Most of the r st of my items have already been listed. I keep multiple sized row counters as well for different sized n edges and thicker and thinner tapestry needles. I used to use the plastic ones, but I’ve found that the tips chip after lots of use.
I once received a bright orange mesh zippered pouch and it has become a favorite “notions” bag–you can see through it to be sure what you need is in there.
Another favorite notions bag is one I received as a gift from an Etsy vendor eons ago–the front side is made from seriously thick plastic–again, you can see what you have and find it easily. I don’t know if it has a tag to identify the vendor–it’s one of my go-to notions bags.
As far as accessories go, I don’t think I have anything new to add, unless your mother uses cable needles. There are a lot of fun ones in fun colors that might just add a little something to your thoughtful gift. I have a few neon plastic ones that make me smile, even though I don’t use cable needles often.
I spend a lot of time on planes and keep a pair of kids blunt tipped scissors, stolen from my son, in my little bag–TSA has never said a word (and they come in fun colors!).
I don’t know specifics about folding scissors, but I do know you can’t take one of those yarn cutter necklaces with the hidden blades on a plane precisely because of the blades. Scissors with blades under 3.5 or 4 inches are usually allowed, though you might get some side-eye from your agent. I usually pack them right next to my little ruler in case there are questions.
Right at this moment, my current little notions pouch in my purse contains a measuring tape, the clover darning needle case mentioned above with needles inside, some waste yarn and scraps of yarn, a cable needle, small scissors, a button from a LYS, a dpn point protector, and a golf pencil. The supplies inside sometimes change depending on it I need a special tool for my project on the go or if I pick something up while I’m out and about.
Those little scissors are great. They usually cut yarn quite well and have blunt tips - and are inexpensive enough to have in several key spots. I have a pair or 2 in the car…