Spoiler alert: You don’t have to leave your quilting at home. Sewing on vacation is possible.
Contrary to popular belief.
Just because you’re flying doesn’t mean you have to take a quilting break. And yes, I know you have limited room in your checked bag.
Where are you going to put your sewing machine?
Where will all your patterns fit?
How can you pack in all of your current WIP’s?
And some skeptics will ask, “But will you even have time to quilt while on vacation?”
If you know you'll have some downtime, there's no reason you can't bring a project with you. You’d bring a book, wouldn’t you? So, why not a simple quilt project?
After years of traveling with quilting projects, and most recently flying across the country to visit my son and his family in California, here's exactly how I keep up with my sewing on vacation.
Here’s the story.
I made a trip across the country to meet my new grandpumpkin, excuse me, granddaughter (Hi Baby J! Grammy loves and misses you!). Part of my planning was for the downtimes. (It’s a shocker, but you know, you really can't hold a 2-month-old 24x7.)
So, I knew I was going to want to do some sewing while I was there. Which many people would think is a little bit wild. Why would you plan to sew while on vacation? Don’t you want to enjoy your time? Spend time with family?
And I absolutely did, but as we all know… spending every single moment with family means we need some breaks.
Since I knew I was going to be sewing on vaction, the best strategy was planning ahead.
Here’s how I planned:
Choose the right project before you pack
Not every project is good as a travel project. And you don’t need to bring every project (just enough for your every whim as it constantly changes).
The best projects to take are:
- already planned
- mostly pre-cut
- repetitive
- portable
For me, I knew weeks in advance what I was going to bring, so I got busy cutting and organizing and packing.
Ship things ahead of time
Trust me on this, you won’t regret shipping. I didn't try to take my sewing supplies with me on the plane (that would have been a nightmare); I shipped two boxes ahead of me.
And they arrived right before me.
One box had fabrics for some in-progress projects (which I did finish!) and some extra fun fabrics I thought I might use. The other box was loaded with tools of the trade, so to speak.
The only things I didn't ship were a sewing machine (I borrowed my daughter-in-law's mother's machine) and a cutting mat (my 18x24 wouldn't fit in the box, but it fit nicely in my suitcase).
I didn’t know what kind of machine I'd be using or what, if any, tools she would have with it, so I put a good variety of what I thought might be useful in the tools box (as long as it fit).
A little reminder:
Shipping is a great way to ensure what you need makes it. However, if you’re going somewhere you can’t ship things to, just remind yourself of the rules of what can go in a checked bag versus a carry-on bag.
The TSA agent probably doesn't need a surprise rotary cutter in your carry-on.
Make sure you check your airline regulations before you pack and fly.
Setting up a small space
I figured I'd be sewing at the table and moving everything at least daily. I was WRONG!
Turns out the kids (I know, I know, but that's how I think of them!) have a motorized standing desk in their living room. It was being used for flat-surface storage. I was able to use that, which made it a single setup/single pack-up experience.
When I was done, I just raised the desk, pushed the rocking chair back under it, and went about my business (or baby business). And when I next wanted to sew, I lowered the desk into position and did my thing.
The beauty of the standing desk is that it usually has a digital display showing the height of the work surface. I found what worked, wrote it down on a sticky note, and kept it on the sewing machine where I could see it when I needed it.
Not having to pack in and out every day made my setup a lot easier. But I was prepared to have to do it.
If you have a tight space and need to pack things in and out, go check out our last post about Quilting on the Go.
But for either situation, make sure you:
- protect the table—my grandbaby was only 2 months, but for older kids you’ll have to make sure their little hands can’t grab anything dangerous or pull something heavy on top of them
- have good lighting—you preferably don’t want to be tucked away in the corner with no light. If that’s your only option, make sure you find a light source better than your phone light
- keep your tools together—it’ll be easier to come back to the next day or next sewing session if you keep them together and organized.
- tidy up a little each day—remember, shared space!
The goal isn't recreating your sewing room… It's making a comfortable, safe little corner.
If you’re curious, here’s a list of what I shipped to help with sewing on vacation:
I shipped a lot of things, and a number of things actually are staying there for future visits. So, take this with a grain of salt.
Tools & gadgets (stayed in CA):
- 2 pairs of scissors–one for fabric, one for paper
- 1 pkg of freezer paper
- 1 "Magic Wand" by Studio 180 (for half square triangle block making)
- 1 size 45 rotary cutter and extra blade
- 1 6" by 12" ruler
- 1 2.5" by 6" ruler
- 1 folding 6" by 24" ruler
- 2 mechanical pencils
- 1 cutting glove
- 1 fabric marking pencil
- 1 60" retractable measuring tape
- 1 set sewing machine screwdrivers
- 1 fabric marking pencil
- 1 spray bottle
- 1 dry iron
- 2 wool pressing mats that interlock with each other
- 1 foldable iron trivet (make sure you get a silicone one!)
- 1 pkg of sewing machine cleaning brushes
- 1 pkg of Glow Line Tape
- 1 Hera Marker
- 1 partial roll of 3" blue painter's tape
- 1 3 yd by 3 yd piece of flannel (for a design wall)
- 1 magnetic pin cup with a lid filled with flat head (Biird) pins
- 1 large spool Aurifil 2310 (Light Beige)
- 1 pkg of Schmetz Universal needles–assorted sizes
- 1 magnetic pin pick-up
- Half a dozen fabric clips
- A couple of storage containers (plastic box, zipper pouch) to keep things contained
- 1 Electric Kettle (so I didn't have to heat water on the stove for tea - the savages!).
Projects (came home to ME)
- 5 partially done or ready to sew Stand 'N' Stow bags w/pattern and coordinating threads (the finished bags were left in CA as they were made for my daughter-in-law’s sisters and parents; threads and pattern came home with me)
- 1 Fat Quarter Bundle of bright fabrics
- 3 multi-yard pieces of fabric for backgrounds with the FQ bundle (chicken-wire printed white, swirl tone-on-tone gray, and black-on-black dots
- 1 set of acrylic "crazy" patch templates
- 1 set of multi-size curved templates
- 2 pattern books (one for the "crazy" patch templates)
Just take the Quilt. You'll Be Glad You Did.
Just because your hobby is a little bit bigger (and requires a bit more stuff) doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong on the trip.
Quilting doesn't have to stop just because you're away from home. Whether you’re going on a beach vacation, a cabin in the woods getaway, or for a great couple of weeks across the country to meet your new grandbaby, there’s always a way to make quilting a part of the trip.
And really, sometimes the change of scenery is exactly what your creativity needs.
Besides… if your family disappears to the pool for two hours, are you really going to complain about getting a little uninterrupted sewing on vacation time? I didn't think so.
