Fremont Bike
I quilt and stitch and travel. A lot. With summer just around the corner now, it seems a good time to share some favorite gadgets and gizmos for taking the tools, as well as Pink Monkey, along. First of all – have you seen something as travelicious as this bike in a long, long time?
There’s no way, no how, Ms A would check her sewing machine. She’s seen how the baggage is handled from many a plane’s window. Her Bernina QE is too heavy to attempt lugging it through the airport. Therefore, she’s used this wheeled cart many, many times to travel to quilt shows, quilt retreats, to meet up with girlfriends far away, etc.
It works like a charm. It’s deceivingly heavy duty, can hold other luggage as well and folds up nice and easy. Being able to wheel your machine through the terminal and keep an eye on your investment is a good thing. All you need to do is lift it into the overhead space once you board, or ask for help getting it up there if you need it.
We love this combination ironing board/cutting board from Omnigrid. It’s light and easy to take on board.
It opens up to a cutting board on one side and ironing surface on the other. Both things a quilter needs.
Ms A used to take a counted cross stitch or embroidery project on flights. Post 9-11 however, because we can no longer board with sharp objects like scissors or needles, it’s no longer possible. But she loves and still uses this organizer for needlework when she’s on the go. She just packs it in her suitcase and checks it instead. One side for patterns, linens, threads, hoops, and what you can’t see is there’s a divider for a 2nd project to tuck underneath your current one. And the lid has pockets and hooks and velcro straps for all your scissors, needles, threaders, misc., etc. She picked this up at Jo-Ann’s years ago. It’s about 15″ square.
Love this little sticky case. It measures 3×3 and is great for holding needles and beads.
because this purple surface is sticky so beads adhere to it while you’re working with them. So ingenious, cute and compact. It was from a favorite local quilt shop.
One of these craft mats work well for keeping beads in place too, in neat little piles even, when you’re traveling – or at home. You can find them in the art & craft section at Jo-Ann’s, Michael’s, even Wal-Mart. They’re those lightweight foam kind of thing-a-ma-jigs and weigh nothing. Cost about nothing too. They keep tiny objects from rolling around.
We’ve used them in classes and while working on beaded and sequined Christmas stockings.
What kind of portable projects have you worked on while traveling? An old favorite that’s coming back in vogue, as old favorites tend to do, are yo-yo’s. Yo-yo quilts lend themselves perfectly to construction on the go.
Photo Credit: Decor8
Photo Credit: Red Brolly
There’s a great tutorial for making this adorable yo-yo quilt at Red-Brolly.
Years and years ago I was sitting at my sons’ tennis lessons and the woman next to me was working on a hexagon quilt. She had little scraps of fabric in a zip lock and a little template, some needle and thread, and a second zip lock where she plopped the finished pieces. Little by little she was finishing it. I’ve never made one but would like to. Aren’t they great? Fantastic for on-the-go.
Photo Credit: Melanie on Flicker of Texas Freckles
And if you’re cycling to some place closer than auto or airplane – wouldn’t you just love this bike carrier? Ms. A has this thing for bikes. I don’t have this bike and/or carrier. Yet. It’s on my list though. I can see my rotary cutters and pattern and threads etc. in the little pack on the left and my Bernina and Pink Monkey in the side car/carrier on the right. I love it!
Credit: Fremont Bike
How about you? Do you have tips for traveling with stitching/quilting/beading in tow? I’d love to hear what you do.
Love that bike!
I don’t fly on planes that often these days, but the TSA has relaxed the rules somewhat, and embroidery scissors (and tapestry needles) are allowed on flights. I travel with a cheap pair of scissors in case some overzealous TSA agent gives me a hard time, but I’ve never had an issue travelling with my cross-stitching stuff.
Susan @ Afford Your Passions recently posted..Little House Needleworks – City Stitcher, Country Stitcher
Susan, that is so good to know! I haven’t tried for years and like your caution at bringing some less expensive scissors just in case. Thanks for the heads up!
I found current info regarding current TSA policies, yes you can take knitting needles on board, and any scissors with less than a 4 inch blade. No rotary cutters. However, this changes for international flights. Many countries have different regulations. I also read it’s a good idea to print a copy of regulations from TSA site and bring it with you for domestic flights. Too bad when we have to do someone else’s job…..
I was trying to write a column for my quilt guild newsletter about traveling with quilting but could not find Ms A’s item that indicated that TSA policies allow scissors with less than a 4″ blade. I was intending to take the Clover thread cutter pendant and read here, “Items needed to pursue a Needlepoint project are permitted in your carry-on baggage or checked baggage with the exception of circular thread cutters or any cutter with a blade contained inside which cannot go through the checkpoint and must go in your checked baggage.” So not only is there no mention of scissors but it seems like the thread cutter pendant is specifically not allowed! This page lists scissors (“metal with pointed tips and blades shorter than 4 inches are allowed, but blades longer than 4 inches are prohibited”) as prohibited in carry-on but okay for checked. So does that mean that scissors shorter than 4″ are allowed in carry-on, or greater than 4″ are prohibited for all flying? It’s pretty confusing.
Kristen recently posted..changes and finishes
Hi Kristen,
Yes it is confusing and on top of what’s in writing, it also seems to depend on the particular TSA agent and the airport/country involved. My recommendation is to bring a copy of the TSA guidelines you find on line as back up if challenged while going through security, and I bring a smaller than 4 inch blade and an inexpensive scissors at thy. I don’t want to lose my expensive scissors along with a battle. I haven’t had ant problems this summer while flying with them.
Hope this helps.